SAMUEL L. FRENCH
BIOGRAPHY

AS RECORDED IN:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF TOLLAND
AND WINDHAM COUNTIES CONNECTICUT.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES.

PUBLISHER: J.H.BEERS & CO., CHICAGO; 1903

The French family has long been established in Connecticut. John French was a resident of Coventry, where he was married in 1736 to Mehitable, a daughter of Thomas Root, a deacon of the First Church. They removed to South Windsor, where he died, leaving two sons, Aaron and Nathan.

Nathan French, the great-grandfather of Samuel L., was the father of Eleazer, who was the father of Eleazer W., the father of Samuel L.

Eleazer French was born in Coventry, and was reared to a farmer’s life. Fanny Woodward, his wife, was also a native of Coventry, where they both died and were buried in the North Yard. They were the parents of the following family: Eleazer Woodward is mentioned below; Oliver B. married Jane French, a daughter of Aaron French, and moved to Michigan in the forties, and to Geneseo, Ill., in the fifties; John Butts married Jane Porter, and lived in Coventry; Daniel A. married Dorcas Bissell, of Bolton; Nathaniel Woodward, now of Glastonbury, Conn., married Catherine Brown, of Coventry; Mary E. married Charles Lee, of Vernon, Conn., and is now deceased; Ann married Henry Goodwin, of Coventry; and Abbie Sophia married Rollin Clark, of Mansfield, Conn., and is now living with her son, Charles, in Coventry.

Eleazer Woodward French, who was born July 30, 1807, married Aug. 20, 1835, Amanda Rosencrans Brundage, who was born Sept. 12, 1812, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Brundage, the former of whom was born May 30, 1785, the latter in 1795, and they died Dec. 8, 1827, and March 20, 1824, respectively; they had their home in what is now Mountainville, Orange Co., N.Y.

To Mr. And Mrs. French were born: Daniel, born May 9, 1837, died May 18, 1862; William Henry, born Sept. 27, 1841, resides in Coventry; Samuel Linneas, born March 17, 1844; and George Nathaniel, born April 5, 1848, resides at Bridgeport, where he is a conductor on the Consolidated Railroad (he is married and has two children).

Eleazer W. French lived in Coventry all his life, with the exception of a short time spent in New York, where he was married. A cooper by trade, he followed that occupation somewhat extensively, though he owned and carried on a farm. Many tierces for the Wellington Glass Works were made by him, and the cooper trade was only given up by him when ill health compelled him to retire from the shop a few years before his death, June 15, 1868, which followed that of his wife, July 5, 1864. An active Republican, he served as selectman some six or seven terms, first taking that office in the fall of 1858. In 1858 he represented his town in the General Assembly.

Samuel Linneas French was born in the Northeast School District, of Coventry, in a house now owned and occupied by a Mr. Skilton. When he was nine years old, the family moved to Geneseo, Ill., where they remained six months. Reared in his native town, he attended the local and select schools, the latter being taught by college teachers. In 1856 the family removed to Ellington, but spent only a short time there, soon returning to Coventry, where they made their home on Pond Hill. In 1862, through the efforts of Deacon Lillie, Mr. French was given a position at the Wethersfield State Prison, which he held for three and a half years. In 1865 he was employed for six months in the Penitentiary at Albany, then coming back to make his home on the parental estate in Coventry. In 1867 Mr. French came into possession of the family homestead on Pond Hill, consisting of 105 acres, which he cultivated until April, 1896, when he removed to Andover, where he occupies a pleasant and attractive home. His Coventry property still receives his close attention. In politics he is a Democrat, and takes a leading part in local affairs. For seven years he was a selectman, and was a member of the General Assembly inn 1887, serving on
the Fisheries committee during the time of the troubles on the Sound. Lesser offices have been filled by him, and at present he is town Health officer, and a member of the school board.

On Dec. 20, 1866, Mr. French was married to Ellen Caroline Loomis, a daughter of Samuel Tracy and Caroline Eunice (Fitch) Loomis. The father of Mrs. French was born Nov. 11, 1819, and died in his home Jan. 16, 1896; the mother was born Feb. 14, 1824, died Nov. 6, 1896, and was buried beside her
husband in the Center Cemetery of Coventry. The children of Mr. And Mrs. Loomis were: Ellen Caroline, born on Silver street, in Coventry, Jan. 28, 1845; Fanny Fitch, born Jan. 8, 1848, married Alexander H. Pomeroy, March 5, 1867, in North Coventry; and Carrie Elizabeth, born Dec. 11, 1861, married Robert W. Hamilton, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and is the mother of three children, Charles Tracy (born Sept. 20, 1880), Clifton Loomis (born Oct. 1, 1881) and Mabel Grace (born April 5, 1883). Mr. Loomis was a Republican, and a member of the North Coventry Congregational Church.

Samuel Tracy Loomis, noted above, was the son of Samuel Loomis, and the grandson of Daniel Loomis, who was a Revolutionary soldier. Daniel Loomis was born in 1758, and married Sarah Fields, by whom he had the following children: Russell, Eleazer, Ariel, Anna, Sarah, Timothy, Clarissa, Samuel,
Polly, and Daniel.

Samuel Loomis, grandfather of Mrs. French, was born June 2, 1790, died Jan. 2, 1858. He married Irene Tracy, by whom he had the following children: Mary E., Anna W., Calista, Samuel Tracy, Henry H., Charles E., and Fidelia M.

Samuel Tracy Loomis received a common and select school training, and at an early age began teaching in the winter and farming during the summer. At the age of twenty-four he bought a farm in Coventry, and twenty-four years later moved to the farm where he was living during the later years of his life, and where he also kept a hotel. Mr. Loomis was a Republican, and in 1865 was sent to the General Assembly from his town. In 1869 he was appointed postmaster in Coventry, a position he held until his removal to
Andover in May, 1891.

Reproduced by:

Linda D. Pingel ( great-great granddaughter of Cyrus White of Rockville,
Tolland

County, CT.)
Duncanville, Texas