Author DFrench
Nathaniel Bowman, my 9th great grandfather (paternal) was born in Leek, England in about 1605 and immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in I630. Nathaniel, a yeoman, was one of the original settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1652, Nathaniel moved… Continue Reading →
I have been fortunate in the exploration of my family history to uncover individuals who bravely faced the British on the Lexington Common and documented others who served in World War I and II, the Korean War and Spanish-American War…. Continue Reading →
In 1937, my daughter’s great grandfather, Glenn Thomas Shonka Sr., played one season of minor league baseball in the Northeast Arkansas Baseball League (Class D) for the Jonesboro Giants. Class D would be the equivalent of today’s rookie leagues. Glenn… Continue Reading →
My maternal great uncle, Edward Francis Daly Jr., was born 20 October 1899 in Portland, Connecticut. Edward enlisted in the American Expeditionary Forces on August 8, 1917 and joined Company C, 3rd Battalion of the 20th Engineers (Forestry). According to… Continue Reading →
My maternal great-uncle, James Charles Daly, was born February 1892 in Portland, Connecticut. A cigar maker by trade, James enlisted in March 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces and was assigned to Company C, 103rd Field Signal Battalion, 28th Infantry… Continue Reading →
How is that to catch your attention? The person making the declaration was my great grandmother Mary “Minnie” MacEachern French who was calling out her husband, Walter A. French, for being a bigamist. The irony in all of this is… Continue Reading →
The above clipping from the Hartford Courant makes reference to my 4th great-grandfather, Bildad Fowler, witnessing a bill of sale for the purchase of a slave (Pegg) in 1761 in Hartford, Connecticut. Bildad was a local farmer who later served… Continue Reading →
Recently, I shared a humorous exchange with friends about boys (or families) in the neighborhood who your parents encouraged you to not to hang out with, in this case the Murphy, Reilly and Dugan boys. What is true today was… Continue Reading →
I recently posted a story entitled, The Shot Heard Round Buckman Tavern that chronicled my family connection to the famous tavern on Lexington Green in Massachusetts. This story is about my 10th great-grandfather Roger Mowry (1610-66) who ended up owning… Continue Reading →
My 3rd great-grandfather, Abiram Spencer (1812-1871) has been the subject of several of these posts. One area that I had not previously touched on was his involvement in politics. In the spring of 1860, Abiram was elected to serve on… Continue Reading →
