Referenced in the family
Aaron French
b. 1819
Life
Records & Research
Aaron French was born July 4, 1819 to John French (1795-1874) and Sarah Clark (1801-1891).
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Aaron French was born 4 July 1819 and died 28 April 1909 at Peterson, Clay County, Iowa; he is buried in Clay Cemetery, Onslow, Jones County, Iowa (Find a Grave memorial 22604197). The same memorial names his parents as John French (1795-1874) and Sarah Clark French (1801-1891) - matching the known father and mother exactly on names AND life dates - giving three independent anchors (birth date plus both parents) that confirm this is the correct Aaron French. The memorial itself records death at Peterson, Clay County and burial at Onslow, Jones County, so there is no wrong-person conflict between those two places; both are recorded on the single memorial.
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Aaron French was buried in Clay Cemetery, Onslow, Jones County, Iowa, Row 2.
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Aaron French was a son of John French and Sarah (Clark) French, both of whom were born in Washington County, Pennsylvania and married there. This independently confirms the known parents (John French 1795-1874 and Sarah Clark 1801-1891). The biography of his brother Jesse C. French states John French died March 3, 1874 aged 79 (consistent with birth ~1795) and that Sarah was still living in her 90th year at the time of writing (consistent with birth ~1801). The Find a Grave memorial independently lists the identical parents and life-date ranges.
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Aaron French was a twin; his twin brother was Bethuel French (1820-1904). Both Aaron and Bethuel were farmers in Clay County, Iowa.
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Aaron French's siblings (children of John and Sarah Clark French) included: Bethuel (twin, 1820-1904), Aaron (twin), Joseph (1823-1900), Malinda (d. age 14), Elijah (1825-1896), Nancy (d. age 3), Jesse C. (1832-1905), Eliza A. (m. Wilson Jenkins; 1836-1916), Joanna (m. Eli Wilson; 1838-1923), and Isaac N. (1840-1912). The family lived in Washington County PA, then Licking County, Ohio (~1830), then Jones County, Iowa (1847). The surviving siblings on Find a Grave (Bethuel, Joseph, Elijah, Jesse Clark, Elizabeth Ann 'Eliza', Joanna, Isaac Newton) match the biography's list.
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Aaron French married Lydia Ann Duke (1829-1877) in 1846. The published genealogy 'Aaron French and His Descendants' (Charles Newton French) names his wife as Lydia Duke, and Find a Grave independently records 'Lydia Ann Duke French (1829-1877), m. 1846' as his spouse - so the marriage to Lydia Duke is now corroborated across two sources.
Differs from the report
death place vs burial place: report says “report has no death/burial data”, records indicate “Death is recorded at Peterson, Clay County, Iowa, while burial is in Clay Cemetery, Onslow, Jones County, Iowa - two different Iowa counties. Both facts appear on the SAME Find a Grave memorial (22604197), so this is not a cross-source conflict or a wrong-person signal: Aaron farmed/died in Clay County (Peterson) but was buried back in the family cemetery at Onslow, Jones County.”. Originally flagged as a possible source conflict; the direct fetch shows both places are recorded together on the single memorial, consistent with the family genealogy. No identity problem. Residence-vs-burial split is normal for a person buried in an ancestral family plot. findagrave ↗
Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.
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Aaron French was reportedly born in Amity, Pennsylvania. Sources disagree on the county: the published family genealogy and the Jesse C. French biography place the family in Washington County, PA, while Find a Grave records the birthplace as 'Amity, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.' Amity is a known place name in both Washington and Berks/Bucks-area Pennsylvania, so the county remains unresolved. likely
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Aaron and Lydia (Duke) French had numerous children, including John (1847-1929), Joseph (1849-1911), Calvin (1849-1876), Ira Enos (1853-1872), William Henry (1856-1941), Simon Arthur (1857-1929), Isaac Newton (1860-1921), Elizabeth Sarah (m. Orr; 1862-1954), Eliza Jane (m. Lybarger; 1864-1925), Abigail (m. Chesley; 1866-1915), and Mary Rosella Belle (m. Stanton; 1876-1966), plus several infants who died young. likely
likely birthplace county: report “report has no birthplace; family genealogy says Amity, Washington County, PA” vs. found “Find a Grave memorial 22604197 records the birthplace as 'Amity, Bucks County, Pennsylvania', whereas the published family genealogy and the brother Jesse C. French's biography place the family in Washington County, PA.”. Amity is the consistent place name across sources, but the county is contradicted (Bucks vs. Washington). Worth resolving with a PA vital/land record. The birth DATE (1819-07-04) is not in dispute.
Open questions (5)
- Resolve Aaron French's birthplace county: Find a Grave says Amity, Bucks County, PA; the family genealogy and brother's biography say Washington County, PA. A PA land, church, or vital record would settle it.
- Independently corroborate the children of Aaron and Lydia (Duke) French (currently from the Find a Grave memorial only) via the 1850-1880 US Censuses for Jones/Clay County, Iowa.
- Confirm the marriage place and exact date for Aaron French and Lydia Ann Duke (Find a Grave gives year 1846; place unknown).
- Obtain the full text of 'Aaron French and His Descendants' by Charles Newton French (1910; seekingmyroots.com PDF G002405) - it is a scanned image PDF that could not be OCR-read here; the Find a Grave memorial cites pages 10-11 of this book.
- Optionally verify Aaron's late-life residence at Peterson, Clay County, Iowa via the 1900 US Census, and confirm Bethuel's birth year (Find a Grave says 1820, vs. the 1819 expected for a twin).
Sources consulted (6)
- Find a Grave search result - Aaron French, 4 Jul 1819 - 28 Apr 1909, Clay Cemetery, Onslow, Jones County, Iowa · findagrave
- Aaron French (1819-1909) - Find a Grave Memorial 22604197 (directly fetched and verified) · findagrave
- Clay Cemetery in Onslow, Iowa - Find a Grave Cemetery · findagrave
- Delaware County, Iowa Biography Directory - Jesse C. French (brother of Aaron), Portrait & Biographical Record 1890 · biography
- Aaron French and His Descendants, compiled by Charles Newton French (Chicago, 1910) - PDF G002405 (scanned/image-based, read via search index only) · book
- Access Genealogy - Aaron French Genealogy · website
Ancestry
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