Individual record
Joseph French
1823–1900 · 77 years
Life
Places in Joseph’s life
Notes & Recollections
In 1830 he moved to Licking County, Ohio. In 1846 he came to Clay Township, Jones County, Iowa. In 1849 he went to Nobel County, Indiana, and married Catherine Sinkey. In 1852 they moved to Jones County and remained there one year, then moved to Jackson County where Catherine died. Then he moved back to Jones County. He moved to Madison Township in about 1883.
Records & Research
Joseph French was born 19 March 1823 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, son of John French (1795-1874) and Sarah Clark (1801-1891), and died 3 July 1900 in Wyoming Township, Jones County, Iowa, aged 77 years, 3 months, 14 days. He was buried in Wyoming Cemetery, Wyoming, Jones County, Iowa (Lot 27, Block 12). He married first Catharine Sinkey (1827-1854) and second Grace Catherine Beever (1837-1911), and was a farmer in Clay Township (Section 21, P.O. Canton), Jones County. His identity is confirmed by Find a Grave memorial #70321941, which I fetched and verified: it agrees with the known facts on birth date AND place, death date AND place, both parents (with life dates), both spouses, and all seven children by name and birth year, plus a biographical sketch whose migration path mirrors the report (Licking Co. Ohio 1830, Clay Twp. Jones Co. Iowa 1846, Noble Co. Indiana 1849, Brandon Twp. Jackson Co.). This is an unambiguous multi-anchor match. Minor unresolved conflicts remain on the two marriage years and Grace's birth year.
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Joseph French was born 19 March 1823 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and died 3 July 1900 in Wyoming Township, Jones County, Iowa, aged 77.
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Joseph French is buried in Wyoming Cemetery, Wyoming, Jones County, Iowa, in Lot 27, Block 12.
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His parents were John French (1795-1874) and Sarah Clark French (1801-1891).
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He married first Catharine Sinkey (1827-1854) in Noble County, Indiana; she died in 1854 in Brandon Township, Jackson County, Iowa. Two children resulted: Charlotte (m. Richard DeMoss) and Angeline (m. Andrew Gracey).
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He married second Grace Catherine Beever (1837-1911) about 1856-1857 in Clay Township, Jones County, Iowa, on his father's old homestead.
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His seven children, with married surnames, were: Charlotte French DeMoss (1851-1903), Angeline F. French Gracey Dewitt (1853-1941), William Newton French (1857-1940), Mary Joanna French DeMoss (1859-1920), James Myron French (1865-1948), Sarah Jane French Bills (1866-1950), and Arminda Annabel French Bender (1868-1942).
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Joseph French was a farmer in Clay Township, Section 21, Jones County, Iowa (P.O. Canton). His migration: born Greene Co., PA (1823); removed with parents to Licking Co., Ohio (1830); moved to Clay Township, Jones Co., Iowa (1846); in 1849 went to Noble Co., Indiana; in 1852 returned to Iowa, then Brandon Twp., Jackson Co.; returned to Clay Township late 1854.
Differs from the report
death.place: report says “Wyoming, Iowa”, records indicate “Find a Grave: died Wyoming Township, Jones County, Iowa; buried Wyoming Cemetery, Wyoming, Jones County, Iowa”. Consistent; FindAGrave adds the township and county detail to the report's bare 'Wyoming, Iowa'. findagrave ↗
Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.
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His siblings may have included Aaron French (1819-1909), Bethuel French (1820-1904), Elijah French (1825-1896), Jesse Clark French (1832-1905), Elizabeth Ann 'Eliza' French Jenkins (1836-1916), Joanna French Wilson (1838-1923), and Isaac Newton French (1840-1912). likely
likely spouses[0].married (date and place): report “Married Catherine Sinkey in 1849 at Johnstown, Ohio” vs. found “Find a Grave: married Catharine Sinkey (m. 1850); biographical sketch says he went to Noble County, Indiana in 1849 and married there”. The report is internally inconsistent: its spouse field says Johnstown, Ohio while its own reportNotes say 'Nobel County, Indiana' (1849). The FindAGrave sketch agrees with the report's notes (Noble Co., Indiana). Marriage year is 1849 (report field/notes) vs 1850 (FindAGrave spouse field). Not resolved by a primary marriage record.
likely spouses[1].name birth year: report “Grace Catherine Beever (1836-1911)” vs. found “Find a Grave lists Grace Catherine Beever French as 1837-1911”. One-year difference in birth year (1836 vs 1837); death year 1911 agrees. Minor and unresolved.
likely spouses[1].married (date and place): report “Married Grace Catherine Beever 1856-12-25 at Canton, Jones County, Iowa” vs. found “Find a Grave spouse field: (m. 1857); biographical sketch: 'in 1856, married his present wife, Gracie C. Beaver' on his father's old homestead in Clay Township”. Report says 25 Dec 1856; the FindAGrave sketch agrees with 1856 while the structured spouse field says 1857. Place 'Canton' (report) vs 'old homestead in Clay Township' (sketch) is plausibly the same locale (Canton was the Clay Township P.O. per the sketch). Not resolved by a marriage record.
Open questions (7)
- Primary marriage record for Joseph French and Catherine Sinkey not located (1849 vs 1850; Johnstown, Ohio vs Noble County, Indiana); a county marriage record would resolve the report's internal inconsistency.
- Primary marriage record for Joseph French and Grace Catherine Beever not located (report: 25 Dec 1856 Canton, Jones Co., Iowa; FindAGrave spouse field: 1857; FindAGrave sketch: 1856).
- Grace Catherine Beever's birth year (1836 per report vs 1837 per FindAGrave) unresolved.
- The biographical sketch on the memorial is truncated at a 'Read More' break in the fetched text; the claim of an '1887 move from Madison Township to the town of Wyoming' could not be verified and was removed from the occupation finding (reportNotes instead give Madison Township as 'about 1883'). The full sketch should be retrieved to confirm.
- Siblings are a single-source FindAGrave family-tree linkage; individual siblings remain at 'likely' pending independent record verification.
- Census records (1870, 1880, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, indexed on Ancestry per the memorial) were not directly examined; they could further corroborate household and occupation but require an authenticated/paywalled source.
- Death cause not stated in any located source (report cause was null).
Sources consulted (3)
Sources
p. 192 Ancestry
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