According to the Hingham book, George Lane French had a son George who marries, first a Delight Rice in 1785, and secondly an Anna Rice in 1791. There seems to be two George French's around the same age at this time though, as the Hingham vital records has another George, with a middle name of Lincoln, marrying a Sally in December of 1790 and then a Betsey in 1804. So in 1790 there should be three George French's living in either Weymouth or Hingham; George Lane, his son George, and the George Lincoln French. I have no proof as to which George is George Lane's son, other than the Hingham book which states the George who marries Delight and Anna is George Lane French's son. The other George is not mentioned in the Hingham book at all.
The census for 1790 only has one George French, living in Hingham, that I have found. This George's family includes the following; 2 males under the age of 16, 1 male over the age of 16 and 2 females. As I mentioned in a previous post, this George does not seem to match the family of George Lane French. It also would not match the George who married Sally in December of 1790, as he would not be married and have children at the time of the census in April. This George in the 1790 census is probably the George who marries Delight Rice in 1785, as according to the Hingham book, they have 2 sons by 1790 under the age of 16 and one daughter. The other two people listed on the census would be George and his wife Delight. I should note that I did not find records of George and Delight's children in the Hingham records on newenglandancestors.org. The vital records of Hingham do show, however, that George's wife Delight and his son Phinneas, both die in 1791 at the almshouse in Hingham.
George Lincoln French is not listed in the 1790 census, probably because he could still be living with his parents (whoever they are) as he did not marry until December 1790. George Lane French is not listed either as a head of household in 1790, even though he is still living, most likely in Hingham. He could either be living with one of his children or already at the almshouse in Hingham, where he dies in 1814. I know from the Hingham Vital records that George and Sarah had at least three sons, Joshua, George and Nathaniel. The Hingham history book states they had 6 sons and one daughter (Phinneas, Theodore, Perez, and Sarah d. as infant). Let's say that George in the 1790 census is George Lane's son, we would know that his father is not living with him as there is not another male over 16 listed in the family.
George's first son, Joshua was born in 1764. I did not find him in the 1790 census, nor did I find any vital records of marriage or death in the Hingham or Weymouth records. The History of the Town of Hingham book has Joshua's death on August of 1778. If he does die in 1778, he obviously would not be listed on the 1790 census. There must be some church or town records that The Hingham author used for his data that I have not found yet.
I next looked at George's son Nathaniel, my 5th great grandfather. Nathaniel does not marry until 1797, but he is 22 years old in 1790, which means he could be living on his own. He is not listed in the 1790 census in either Hingham or Weymouth though. On another note, I want to address the possibility that Georges' son Nathaniel may not be "my" Nathaniel that marries Sally Chubbuck. I came to the conclusion that Nathaniel's (my 5th great-grandfather) parents were George Lane French and Sarah Tower through possible birth dates I obtained for Nathaniel trough the censuses. Using the 1800 and 1810 census for Nathaniel, he would have been born between 1766-1774. I then looked in the Hingham vital records for a Nathaniel born between those years and there was only one listed, the son of George Lane and Sarah, who was born January 19, 1768. I came to the conclusion that this is most likely my Nathaniel French. There is also a death record for a Nathaniel French for 1818. The records indicate that this Nathaniel would have been 42 when he died, which would not make sense for the age of Nathaniel if he were born in 1768. If this record is correct, the Nathaniel that dies in 1818 would have been born around 1776, which is too late for my 5th great-grandfather, who was probably born between 1766-1774. If my Nathaniel died in 1818, he would be about 52 years old. The Hingham records that I have access to on newenglandancestors.org were transcribed, which could have resulted in a transcription error, perhaps it does say he was 52 years old at death, and not 42. It is also important to note that the History of the Town of Hingham book lists my great-grandfather's death in 1819 at the age of 52, which makes more sense. I will have to find the original record of death to see which is the correct date for additional proof that I have the correct parents for Nathaniel. (I am not sure if it was recorded at the town or at a church). This death date of 1818 or 1819 does make sense for Nathaniel who marries Sally Chubbuck as his wife is listed as widow in the 1820 census. So there is some question as to Nathaniel's parents, but judging from the census information, it seems likely that they are George Lane French and Sarah Tower. I would like to find more of a connection between Nathaniel and George Lane French, possibly through probate and land records of Jonathan French (George Lane French's father) or Sarah's father, Nathaniel Tower.
Getting back to George Lane French's location in 1790, it is also important to look at his other sons that are stated in the Hingham book. Looking at their ages in 1790 though shows they would probably be too young to be listed as a head of household in the 1790 census. We still have not found where George Lane French and his family are all living at this time. As I mentioned earlier, it could be possible that they are in the almshouse by 1790, which would mean we would not find George in the census. There are a couple of more options to explore for George's location in 1790 though; his parents, parents-in-law, and brothers.
I checked to see if George's father or father-in law were living in 1790. However, George's father Jonathan died in 1780 and his father-in-law, Nathaniel Tower, died in 1767 according to the Hingham book. George Lane French also had two brothers that could have been helping him at this time. I found in the Hingham vital records that George had a brother Theodore born in 1744. According to the Hingham book, Theodore is still living in 1790 with a wife, a son and a daughter. Theodore is listed in the 1790 census in Hingham, MA. Unfortunately, I have let my subscription to ancestry.com lapse, so I am unable to see who is listed in his household. George had another brother, according to the Hingham book. The book names a Jonathan who was born about 1753 and marries in 1776. (I did not find his birth in the Hngham Vital records on newenglandancestors.org). There is also a Jonathan French listed as a head of household in the 1790 census for Hingham, which I will have to look at once I renew my subscription to ancestry.com. Jonathan and his wife would have had 4 boys and maybe 2 girls when the 1790 census was taken. It is also important to note that the Hingham book states that both Theodore and Jonathan reside on French Street, the same street that George Lane French's father Jonathan resided on. Perhaps their father Jonathan gave his property to his two sons, as George had already moved out and had his own land at the time of his father's death. The book states that George Lane French resided on Hersey Street. Also, George Lane French's son, George, who is listed in the 1790 census is not on the same census page as his uncles Theodore and Jonathan French.
to do list:
1. find where hingham book obtained information on George Lane French's family - church records maybe (Check out Peter Hobart's journal, published in NEHGR 121(1967):3-25, 102-127, 191-216, 269-294 - peter was the minister of the old ship church - although these records seem to end in 1688 http://dunhamwilcox.net/ma/hingham_ma_marr.htm)
2. find where George and his possible sons are buried - maybe with father/grandfather jonathan french - where is he buried
3. find almshouse records
4. find probate of nathaniel tower (d. 1767) and jonathan french (d. 1780 no probate listed in hingham book) see if they list grandchildren or george lane french and sarah tower french. Hingham was in Suffolk County until 1793. (UPDATE: index online for suffolk county probate, P-Z; no nathaniel tower - some sarah towers. The index for A-F is not available online yet, so could not check for Jonathan French)
5. look at 1790 census for brothers theodore and jonathan to see if george lane and his family could be living with them
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