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]
Career
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]
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]
^
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.
^"Susannah French Livingston". womenhistoryblog.com. History of American Women. 30 January 2009. Archived from
the original on 13 July 2016. 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.