French was born in Suffolk, England, and was sometimes known as Philip French Van London.[3] He was the son of Phillip French, a London merchant who owned property in Knodishall, and Elisabeth (née Crawling) French, his first wife. He has a brother, John French, who was mentioned in his 1706 will.[4]
Careeredit
French first came to New York in 1686. He returned again in June 1689, and became a prosperous merchant, working with Frederick Philipse on behalf of his father. In politics, he was an active anti-Leislerian. He became was Speaker of the Assembly in 1698 and an Alderman in 1701.[4] At the time, he leased the dock for £40 sterling.[5]
On September 19, 1702, he was appointed the 27th Mayor of New York City.[5][self-published source] French served from October 19, 1702 to October 1703.[4][6]
Another granddaughter through Philip, Elisabeth French (1724–1808), was married to David Clarkson (1726–1782), and they were the parents of Matthew Clarkson (1758–1825), a colonial soldier and politician, and Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson, the grandfather of Thomas S. Clarkson, the namesake of Clarkson University.[13]
^Caliendo, Ralph J. (2010-05-01). New York City Mayors. Xlibris Corporation. p. 63. ISBN 9781450088145.
^Mayors of New York City Retrieved on 12 June 2016.
^ abGreene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Morrison, George Austin; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Mann, Conklin; Maynard, Arthur S. (1878). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 118. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^ abcd"Philip and John French of NYC, FFA Chart #131". www.frenchfamilyassoc.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^ abCaliendo, Ralph J. (2010). New York City Mayors. Xlibris Corporation. p. 63. ISBN 9781450088145. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^Council, New York (N Y. ) Common; Osgood, Herbert Levi; Keep, Austin Baxter; Nelson, Charles Alexander; New-York Historical Society (1905). Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1675-1776. Dodd, Mead & Co. pp. 233–234. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^Hoffman, Samuel Verplanck (1903). Collections of The New-York Historical Society for the Year 1902 | Publication Fund Series. New York: Printed for the Society. p. 91. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^"Susannah French Livingston". womenhistoryblog.com. History of American Women. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^The American Genealogist. D.L. Jacobus. 1970. p. 238. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^Archives, Episcopal Church General Convention Commission on; Hobart, J. H. (1804). Archives of the General Convention. Privately printed. p. 506. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
^Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. New York: The Knickerbocker Press. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
^Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 1335–1336. Retrieved 16 November 2017.