Ann Maria Thorne

Who was Ann Maria Thorne?

Ann Maria Thorne, more widely known as Mrs. French, née Mestayer was an early American concert singer and actress from Philadelphia. As "Mrs. French," she was among the most famous Singers in America during the 1820s. According to an 1896 publication, Annals of Music in Philadelphia and History of the Musical Fund Society, Mrs. Burke had been the most famous American singer until she was outrivaled by Mrs. French. Mrs. French had studied music with Benjamin Carr, an early American composer, music publisher, and music teacher from Philadelphia. The cover pages of several compositions by James P. Aykroyd – published by George E. Blake – advertise Mrs. French as a singer of the works.

She was born Ann Maria Mestayer and married young, initially taking the surname "French." In 1831, she remarried Charles Robert Thorne, an actor.