The French Family History
The part of the family I have been exploring are the children of George Smith French and Ann Sophia French between the years 1865 through 1904.
George’s father, Zadock French, was an early and prominent citizen of Bangor. He was born in Billerica in 1769 and went to Bangor in the early 1800s before moving his family there permanently in 1830. Source: Maine Historical Magazine 1888, V3
George and Ann Sophia were married in 1833 and had eight children, but only seven survived to adulthood. Our direct ancestor was their third child, Charles Haywood French.
Intro & Overview
French Brothers in NC
Charles Heywood French
Information about the header photo:
Built in 1827 by Zadock French, the French House was so big (with over 70 rooms) that it was known locally as 'French's Folly.' In 1828, the Penobscot Exchange Coffee House (named after Boston's Exchange Coffee House) opened, and it is this sign that is visible in the photograph. The building is made of brick, four and a half stories, gabled roof and eight chimneys. he Queen Anne ballustraided balcony was added later. Although it continued to be known as the French Hotel, it changed ownership several times among French's heirs and relatives.
The mansard roof was added in 1859, along with two extended wings, possibly the work of Benjamin S. Deane and Edwin Lee Brown. Additions and revisions were a constant theme, and the character of the building continued to shift. In 1908 a city ordanance required that all downtown buildings have a flat roof to aleviate danger from ice and snow, so the building was expanded to a full five stories with an Italianate cornice, as well as modern bathrooms and an elevator. In the mid twentieth century, the building was briefly a dormitory for Husson College, but was eventually razed in the Urban Renewal program of the 1960s. SOURCE