Jacob French II

Jacob French was born in Billerica on May 16, 1696, the eldest son of Deacon William French and Sarah (Danforth) French, daughter of Captain Jonathan Danforth. He was a grandson of Jacob French and a great-grandson of Lt. William French, the first of the family in town. On May 29, 1722 he married Elizabeth Davis, daughter of Deacon Joseph Davis.

His father died in September 1723, and in November the estate was committed to the widow Sarah and the eldest son, Jacob French, yeoman. The inventory began with "The homsted Containing about 105 acres & the Buildings," and in the division of January 1723/4 the homestead east of the road was described as bounded "Southward by the land of Jacob French," so he already held land of his own beside his father's. Jacob took meadow and pasture lots in the division, and the rest of the homestead went to his younger brother William.

French was one of the town's steadiest officers in the generation after his father. He was a selectman in 1730 and 1731, every year from 1733 to 1741, and again in 1748, twelve years in all, and Billerica's Representative to the General Court for three years, 1739 to 1741. In the tax list of 1733 he stands on the south list with a minister's rate of twelve shillings a penny, and in the seating of the meetinghouse about 1736 he was placed in the "front fore seat" below the pulpit, among the leading men of the parish.

His wife Elizabeth died on February 3, 1737/8. On May 19, 1741 he married Sarah Brown, daughter of Captain George Brown; she died on August 16, 1765, aged 57, and on November 19, 1766 he married Mrs. Mary Curtis of Dracut, who died in 1769. His children included Elizabeth, who married Jacob Reed of Woburn; Rebecca, who married Timothy Rogers; Anna, who married Edmond Frost of Tewksbury; Mary, who married John French; and the sons Jacob and Joel; several others died young, among them a first son Jacob in 1734 and a daughter Sarah in 1750. Jacob French died on March 7, 1775, aged 78 years, 9 months and 7 days by his gravestone in the Old South Burying Ground.

References

1. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), births p. 82: Jacob, son of William and Sarah French, May 16, 1696
2. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), deaths p. 362: Jacob French, Mar. 7, 1775, aged 78 y. 9 m. 7 d. (gravestone); Elisabeth, wife of Jacob, Feb. 3, 1737-8
3. Vital Records of Billerica (1908), deaths p. 364: Sarah, wife of Jacob French, Aug. 16, 1765, aged 57
4. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 57: Jacob French (no. 12), son of Deacon William, marriages and children
5. Middlesex probate case 8529 (1723): estate of Deacon William French; administration to the widow and eldest son Jacob French
6. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 203: 1733 tax list, Jacob French on the south list
7. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 179: sittings in the meetinghouse about 1736, Jacob French in the front fore seat
8. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 304: list of representatives (Jacob French 1739-41)
9. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 306: list of selectmen (Jacob French 1730-31, 1733-41, 1748)