Bartholomew French enlisted as a soldier for three years at Athol, Massachusetts on 9 June 1781. This record has been accepted as the basis for membership in the DAR for many of his descendents. The family moved from Athol to Alstead, New Hampshire and then to Barre, Vermont in 1791. In 1796 Bartholomew the was one of the founders of the first church in Barre, the Universalist denomination. He built and operated a saw and grist mill in Barre and was considered an energetic man. In a booklet published for the 1894 Centenary celebration of Barre he and his descendants were credited with much of the towns prosperity.

Bartholomew and Susanna Gale French were the parents of 14 children born between 1778 and 1803. Remarkably, 12 of the 14 were alive when they youngest reached 60!

Bartholomew and Susanna are buried in Barre and their gravestones can be seen today. Their 12th child, a daughter named Betsy, was born in 1798.88