Patricio French


Patricio French was a Spanish politician and merchant, dedicated to the import of flour during the colonial period of Buenos Aires. Towards the middle of the 18th century he settled in the Río de la Plata, coming from Cádiz, forming a family in the city, being the father of General Domingo French, one of the founding fathers of Argentina.

Biography

Patricio French was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, son of Patricio French and Cristobalina Alcalá, members of a noble family of Irish and Spanish origin. He arrived at the Río de la Plata from Cádiz aboard the ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.
French was married in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires on May 25, 1772, with María Isabel de Urreaga Dávila, daughter of Domingo de Urreaga, born in Bilbao and Bernardina Manuela Dávila de Lafuente, belonging to a distinguished Creole family of the city of Buenos Aires.
He and his wife were parents of Domingo María French Urreaga, a patriot, who had an active participation in Argentine War of Independence, Patricio Domingo French Urreaga, married to Gregoria Soto, María del Rosario Dominga Ramona French Urreaga and María Josefa Dominga French Urreaga.
The house of the French Urreaga family was located on the :es:Calle Balcarce|Calle Balcarce neighborhood of San Telmo. The French's participated heroically during the British invasions of the River Plate. And they had prominent political participation during the events of the May Revolution.
Patricio French belonged to the noble lineage of the French family who were originally from Galway. His Irish ancestors include Oliver French, Mayor of Galway and his wife Margaret Joyes, whose descendants were exiled in Spain for political reasons.