Holbrook line: Thomas French, Immigrant (following some of his children)

 There are several good sites for information about Thomas, our immigrant, but none of them are perfect and some disagree on certain parts of Thomas's life.  This is not unusual, for there were apparently several by the name of Thomas French, including the son Thomas who came several years before his father.  Some of the records of the two, both of whom settled in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts have been mixed, it seems.  Our Thomas was born in 1584 is Assington, Suffolk, England, the son of Jacob and Susan Warren French, and it appears that Susan, his wife, whom he married in 1608, was born the same year.  Susan, also seen as Susannah, was the daughter of John and Dorcas (possibly maiden name Black) Riddlesdale.  We don't know what Thomas did in England although his son Thomas was a tailor.  Our Thomas may well have followed the same trade, since Thomas Junior was his oldest son.  Traditionally, the oldest son followed in his father's footsteps. 

Thomas French came to New England after four of his children had made the voyage.  He and his wife Susan may have had as many as eleven children, although some are in dispute.  The most trustworthy lists I've found give eight names: Thomas, Alice, Dorcas, Susan, Anne, Margaret, John, and Mary.  These children were all born in Assington, Suffolk, England, and by the time John and Susan arrived in Ipswich they were both in their middle fifties, with at least some children still teenagers.  However, teenagers at that time were expected to earn their keep, so it's unclear how many of the children lived with their parents. 

It's believed that they arrived in 1638 or even earlier, because he owned land in Ipswich in 1638.  Records of their immigration have not been found.  We know that Ipswich was founded by John Winthrop the Younger, so this was a Puritan town and presumably our Thomas was also a Puritan.  The reason we know so little about his life here is that he had a short life once he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony.  He died shortly before November 5, 1639.  Since he was here such a short time it is tempting to speculate that one of the many contagious diseases that were prevalent took his life, but it may have been natural causes, or an accident.  The records don't tell us that.

We know he had time to write a will, asking that his land be sold to support his wife and younger children.   His wife Susan lived until 1658, and she also died in Ipswich.  

One can wonder what led two middle aged people to pack up and leave home?  True, several of their children were here and it may have been a chain migration.  They may have felt forced out so that they could worship God as they chose, rather than as they were told to do.  Maybe they wanted to be where their grandchildren would be.  Maybe they were adventurous, and had stayed behind in England only till the younger children could travel more easily, or until they completed business affairs there.  We will probably never know. 

We also may not ever know the extent of Thomas's education, or how closely the family conformed to the Puritan religion, or what his personality was like.  However, we do know that like it or not, they were willing to give up whatever they had in England in order to unite their family, and that is a trait worth honoring.

Our line of descent is:

Thomas French-Susan Riddlesdale
John French-Freedom Kingsley
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants