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Note: 51 SAMUEL FRENCH 4th, his FAMILY and BIOGRAPHY. 12 SAMUEL FRENCH 4TH son of Samuel 3rd and Elizabeth (Loring) Fr ench b Mch 9 1739 Stratford Conn; bp Christ Ch, Stratford Apr 1 1 1739; d Mch 28 1809 Manchester Vt; m May 29 1766 in Stratfor d Conn, Hannah Nichols dau of Samuel & Comfort (Mansfield) Nicho ls b Stratford Conn; d Feb 8 1813 aged 70 yrs., Manchester Vt. Children born in Ripton, Parish, Town of Stratford, Conn: * 1 Joshua b Feb 20 1767; bp Apr 12 1767 St Pauls Epis Ch. * 2 Betty b Apr 16 1770 * 3 Polly b Mch 11 1772; bp June 28 1772 St Pauls Epis Ch. Upon his marriage Samuel probably became a tenant upon one of h is father's farms in the vicinity of the present Huntington Cent er, then called Ripton Parish, the location probably being abou t two miles north-west of the village, on Walnut Tree Hill. Ther e were at least four persons of the name of Samuel whose land tr ansactions were recorded in the Stratford records between 1760 a nd 1775 and the bounds are so indefinite, as to present means o f identifications, that the location of the homestead of Samue l 4th seems impossible of identification. Many deeds of land i n the vicinity of Stepney in the Parish of New Stratford undoubt edly refer to the Samuels who were descendants of Sergt. Samue l of Stratford, now Bridgeport; the deeds of land in Ripton Pari sh describing the lands of the descendants of Samuel, the joiner , of Stratford. Samuel the 4th was a communicant of St Paul's Ep iscopal Church in Ripton Parish, now Huntington Center, and th e records of baptisms of two of his three children are preserve d in that church. The baptism of Betty was probably entered on t hat part of a page that is now missing from the record book. Th e importance of the baptismal sacrament in Samuel's mind is indi cated by the entry of Polly's baptism in St Pauls records on Jun e 28 1772 while her birth was not recorded until the family ha d arrived in Manchester, Vt. , where Samuel removed his family a bout 1773, with his father, brothers, sisters and their families . In 1764 settlers from Dutchess Co., New Yorl bought lands in Ma nchester from the New Hampshire patentees. Sixty-four 100-acre l ots were alotted to the proprietors. Samuel's unvle Jeremiah Fre nch of Beekman Precinct, Dutchess Co., bought some of the choice st lots and induced his kinsmen to settle there. Samuel's farm w as located on the easterly slope of Equinox Mountain, above th e valley of Battenkill Creek. The land was heavily timbered an d much labor was required to clear it for cultivation. The firs t year the settlors cut the tops from the trees and planted betw een the standing trunks. The following winter the trunks were fe lled for lumber and firewood and the stumps were dug out and bur ned. By this unique method there were able, the first year, to s ufficiently clear 52 away the virgin forest to prepare it for cultivation of crops. T he Colony of New York had laid claim to the land drained by th e Battenkill and granted it to settlors from the Hudson River ar ea, but the proprietors holding the New Hampshire grants had bee n tenacious of their rights and the later comers of the French f amily do not appear among those concerned to maintain their righ ts. When the Revolutionary War began Samuel was occupied in maki ng a living for his wife and young children and did not openly a nd actively espouse the American or the British cause. Yet subse quent wvents revealed his loyalty to the Church of England if no t to the British sovereign for whom, as a communicant of the Chu rch, he was accustomed to pray. His elder brother, Nehemiah Lori ng, and his youngest brother, Andrew espoused the Loyalist cause . They enlisted July 15 1777 in the 4th Company of the Queen's L oyal Rangers commanded by Capt. Jeremiah French of Manchester, t heir first cousin, son of Jeremiah of Beekman Precinct. Nehemia h was reported by Col. John Peters of the Queen's Loyal Ranger s as a prisoner after the battle of Stillwater. He was permitte d to return to Manchester and paid a fine of twenty pounds. Andr ew French served until the close of the war. On Dec. 14 1780 h e is listed as in the King's Works at Quebec and on Nov 25 178 1 he is listed at Veschere, Quebec. William Marsh, husband of Sa rah (French) Marsh, sister of Captain Jeremiah French, was take n prisoner at the battle of Bennington and was paroled to his ho me in Manchester. All of his lands in Manchester had been confis cated but he retired to a farm neat East Dorset and lived ther e for many years. Another cousin, Henry, son of John French, an d a grandson of Samuel French the joiner, served in the 3rd Comp any of the Royal Rangers under Capt. Justus Sherwood of Newtown , Conn., from May 24 1777 until the close of the war, as privat e and corporal. Samuel and his father displayed remarkable restr aint and self-discipline in remaining upon their lands when part isan strife became intense, with their old friends emcamped on n earby farms after their victories at the battles of Saratoga an d Bennington. After the signing of the peace treaty in 1782 Samu el French, senior, and his sons, Samuel, Nehemiah Loring, Elija h and Joseph, with his nephews Jeremiah and Peter, sons of Thoma s, signed a declaration, under date of Oct. 4, 1782 that they we re members of the Church of England and Rev. Gideon Bostwick cer tified as to their membership. This action was taken to preven t confiscation of their lands, as the treaty of peave provided t hat member of the Church of England would be allowed to remain i n possession of their property. On Sept. 6 1785, Samuel, junio r took the oath as a freeman and his son Joshua, took the oath i n 1791, thus ending any question as to their allegiance to the p atriot cause, although Joshua never became a communicant of th e Episcopal Church. 53 Samuel French succeeded his father as a surveyor and held mino r offices in the Town of Manchester. He owned a farm and accumul ated a small estate. He and Hannah made trips to their old hom e at Huntington, Conn., during the Fall months, to visit their k insmen, and the tradition has come down in the family that the y brought back to Manchester oysters from Long Island Sound an d kept them in the cellar during the cold weather. Samuel and Hannah died in Manchester and their graves in Manche ster Center Cemetery are marked by white marble head stones. Sam uel's will is indorsed "Samuel Frenches Will and Testament Rot e by his own hand in perfect mind and memory" and is preserved i n the files of Manchester Probate Court. It is inscribed "This w ill was presented for Probate 1st Monday in April AD 1809 & reje cted not having the formalities required by Law. Att. Calvin She ldon Register." A verbatim copy of the will follows: In the name of god Amen I Samuel French of Manchester in the Co unty of Bennington and state of vermont being in sum infaremet y of body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be given unto go d Calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that i s is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this m y last will and testament that is to say principally and first o f all I give and recommend my Soul into the hands of almighty go d that gave it and my body I recommend to the arth to be burie d in descent Christian burial at the discretion of my Executor s nothing doubting but that at the general Resurrection I shal l receive the same again by the mighty power of god and as touch ing such worldly Estate where with it has pleased god to bless m e in this Life I give demise and despose of the same in the foll owing manner and forms appointing Joshua and price bardslee Admi nistration on my Estate after my death. First I give and bequeath to hannah my dearly beloved wife the w hole improvements or profits that Can be made on the farm we no w Reside or live on to be let or Improved at her descretion wit h all my household goods and moveable Effects during her widow h ood or as long as she remains my widdow and if she should see ca use to marry then after that to draw only her thirds our of my E state during her natural life also I give to my well beloved so n Joshua french five pounds lawful money to be Raised and levie d out of my Estate after the widows death or marriage. also I give to my well beloved daughter betsy thomas Sixty pound s lawful money to be Raised or levied our of my Estate after th e widows death or marriage. Also I give to my well beloved daughter pollu purdy Sixty pound s lawful money to be Raised or levied out of my Estate after th e widows death or marriage. and after the above sums is maid out to Each heir is their be En y thing left to be Equally devided between the three heirs namel y Joshua betsy and polly or their heirs the several sums to be b y them freely possessed and Enjoyed and I 54 do hereby utterly disallow Revoake and disanull all and Every ot her former testaments wills and legacies bequeaths and Executor s by me in any ways before named willed and bequeathed Ratifyin g and Confirming this and no other to be my last will and testam ent in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal thi s thirtieth day of March in the year of our lord 1796 on thousan d seven hundred and Ninety six Signed Sealed published pronounce d and declared by the said Samuel French as his last will and te stament in the presents of us who in his presents and in the pre sents of Each other have hearto subscribed our names Lazarus Beardslee Stephen Stoddard Samuel French As Samuel indorsed upon the will "Rote by his own hand in perfe ct mind and memory" and the phraseology indicates familiarity wi th the probate law, at least comparable to that revealed in hi s father's will, the questions arises, did Samuel draw and compo se the will or did another legal luminary dictate it to Samuel ? If Samuel composed it, he shows unusual familiarity with proba te law for a layman. It is quite certain that he was displease d with the legal decisions relating to his father's estate and t hat he had decided to be his own lawyer, as far as the legal aut horities would permit. Joshua may have advised the family of a s implier way to administer the estate. He had law books, was quit e well read in the profession and may have determined the procee dure. On Apr 3, 1809 Joshua presented to the Court a deed signe d by Hannah French, the widow, Charles Thomas, Betty Thomas, Sam uel Purdy and his wife Polly, as heirs of the estate, wherein, i n consideration of one thousand five hundred dollars paid by Jos hua French, they "remise, release and quit-claim to the said Jos hua French - all our right, title and interest or demand in or u nto the whole and every part and parcel of goods, chattels, righ ts, credits and Estate of said Samuel French" etc.. As Hannah li ved with her son, Joshua, until her death in 1813, the settlemen t of the estate must have been satisfactory to all concerned. Sa muel and Hannah are buried in the Manchester Center Cemetery. Th eir graves are marked by large white marble head-stones; probabl y made from marble quarried in the Dorset quarries, partly owne d by Joshua French.
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