Mary
French
formerly [surname unknown]
Born about in England
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of
Thomas French
— married
1639 in New Haven Colony [uncertain]
Descendants [uncertain] 
Mother of
Hannah French, Mercy French, Elizabeth (French) Isbell, Mary (French) Evarts, Deliverance (French) Parks, Sarah (French) Hayden, John French, Martha (French) Dudley, Thomas French, Ebenezer French and Rebecca French
Died before
before about age 48
in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut
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[send private message] and Richard Williams [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 30 Aug 2010
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There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
The Birth Date is a rough estimate. See the text for details.
| Mary (Unknown) French migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Biography
Two French children of Thomas & Mary appear in the Guilford, CT vital records:
- Martha born 6 Aug 1654
- Thomas born 12 Jun 1656[1]
Mary died sometime before 1667 when Thomas remarried to Deborah (Wathen) Joy, the widow of Walter Joy.
Research Notes
Disputed Origins / Parents: A previous version of this profile claimed, without source,that she was daughter of John Button and Grace Unknown. But Great Migration Begins' featured article on John Button says he had no descendants, so she has been detached.[2] The identification of Mary as a Button comes from Button Families in America which assumes that the reference to John Hanniford as a son-in-law of John Button meant that his wife was Abigail Button.[3] Further, it suggests that the reference to "sister Mary French" in Hanniford's will,[4] meant that she could be Mary (Button) French, Abigail's sister. Given the evidence supporting that John Button had no children, there are more likely interpretations of these relationships.
Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700" does actually state her name as Mary Button but reviewing all of his cited sources, none of them have primary sources of their own so her last name at birth is justifiably "Unknown". Torrey says this:
FRENCH, Thomas & 1/wf Mary/Elizabeth? [BUTTON]; by 1652, by 1649?; Charlestown/Guilford, CT
{Charlestown 326; Beckwith Gen. 18; Bradley (1879) 9; Lane (,5) 19; Isbell 15; Parker (,9) 420; TAG 13:89; Reg. 47:357+; Sv.}[5]
There are many online references to "Guilford land records mentioned in the Boston Transcript, 1910, that William Stone Sr. & Jr. of Guilford testified that “Hannah, Mercy, Deliverance, Sarah, Martha, & Ebenezer French are the children of Mary French and Thomas French and the reputed daughter of Lieutenant John Button of Boston. Oath was taken Nov 22, 1682." If these records could be identified, the identity of Mary could be reconsidered.
Sources
- ↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) $subscription
- ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, profile for John Button (member$hip required)
- ↑ Nye, Robert Glen. Button Families of America. 1971. p 34 FamilySearch Book: 589520
- ↑ Vital Records from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/21077/149/1429260677
- ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015 $subscription
- Find A Grave: Memorial #161656861
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DNA
No known carriers of Mary's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
No known carriers of Mary's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Rejected matches › Mary (French) Hyde (abt.1632-1672) › Mary (Unknown) Button (-1828) › Mary (French) Evarts (abt.1647-aft.1689) › Sarah Lewis (abt.1652-) › Mary (French) Smith (bef.1634-aft.1693)
This week's featured connections are Redheads: Mary is 14 degrees from Catherine of Aragón, 13 degrees from Clara Bow, 20 degrees from Julia Gillard, 12 degrees from Nancy Hart, 9 degrees from Rutherford Hayes, 12 degrees from Rita Hayworth, 17 degrees from Leonard Kelly, 18 degrees from Rose Leslie, 16 degrees from Damian Lewis, 13 degrees from Maureen O'Hara, 20 degrees from Jopie Schaft and 32 degrees from Eirik Thorvaldsson on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
[Do you know Mary's family name?] | F > French > Mary (Unknown) French
Categories: Puritan Great Migration Project Needs Biography | Puritan Great Migration Spouse | Estimated Birth Date | Puritan Great Migration
New England Marriages to 1700. When a name is in square brackets, means name not derived from marriage record. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Torrey%27s_New_England_Marriages_Prior_to_1700. 3. To the right of the husband's name is the wife's name. If the surname is presented without brackets or punctuation, the entry is usually from an actual marriage record. If the surname is shown within brackets, it is usually inferred with confidence from a source such as a deed or will. If a question mark precedes or follows the surname, the identification is less certain or the source may be questionable. A line is shown in place of an unknown maiden name. If a line replaces both given and surnames, then there is evidence that the man had a wife, but is name is unknown. Small, SQUARE brackets indicate a maiden name not derived from marriage records. Kathy
edited by Katherine Cappon