{{short description|American politician}} {{other people|John French}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Robert French | image = John Robert French.jpg | office = Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate | term_start = March 22, 1869 | term_end = March 24, 1879 | predecessor = George T. Brown | successor = Richard J. Bright | state2 = North Carolina | district2 = 1st | term_start2 = July 6, 1868 | term_end2 = March 3, 1869 | predecessor2 = Vacant | successor2 = Clinton L. Cobb | office3 = Member of the Ohio House of Representatives | term_start3 = 1858 | term_end3 = 1860 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | birth_date = {{birth date|1819|05|28}} | birth_place = Gilmanton, New Hampshire, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1890|10|2|1819|05|28}} | death_place = Boise, Idaho, US | resting_place = Boise City Cemetery, Boise City, Idaho | party = Republican | spouse = | children = | relations = Nathaniel Peabody Rogers | alma_mater = | profession = Publisher<br>Editor<br>Politician | website = }}
'''John Robert French''' (May 28, 1819 – October 2, 1890) was an American publisher, editor and Republican politician. He served as a Congressional Representative from North Carolina, as Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives during the 1860s.
==Early life and career== French was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire and received an academic education in Gilmanton and Concord, New Hampshire. He learned the printer’s trade, and for five years worked as publisher and associate editor of the ''New Hampshire Statesman'' in Concord. In 1847, while at the ''New Hampshire Statesman'', French published a volume of writings by Nathaniel Peabody Rogers titled, ''A Collection from the Newspaper Writings of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garrison|first=William Lloyd|title=A House Dividing Against Itself, 1836–1840|year=1971|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=464|isbn=9780674526617|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ojhsW0VgooC&pg=PA464 }}</ref> He was the publisher and associate editor of ''Herald of Freedom'' in Concord, one of the first anti-slavery newspapers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Appleton|title=Appletons' Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing Political, Military, and Ecclesiastical Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry, Volume 30|year=1891|publisher=Appleton|page=647|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yg0bAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA647 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Stacey M.|title=Parker Pillsbury: Radical Abolitionist, Male Feminist|year=2006|publisher=Cornell University Press|page=67|isbn=0801473950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kCXh2u1JTloC&pg=PA67 }}</ref>
He worked as editor of the ''Eastern Journal'' in Biddeford, Maine for two years. In 1854, French moved to Lake County, Ohio where he worked as editor of the ''Telegraph'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Chase|first=Salmon Portland|title=The Salmon P. Chase Papers: Correspondence, April 1863–1864|year=1998|publisher=Kent State University Press|page=39|isbn=9780873386180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spP3krfHXHQC&pg=PA39 }}</ref> the ''Press'', and, in 1856, the ''Cleveland Morning Leader''.
==Political career== In 1858 and 1859, French served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ohio. General Assembly|title=Manual of Legislative Practice in the General Assembly of Ohio|year=1920|publisher=Westbote Company|page=265|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJCjAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA265 }}</ref> In 1861, he was appointed by Secretary Salmon P. Chase to a clerkship in the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chase|first=Salmon Portland and Niven, John|title=The Salmon P. Chase Papers|year=1993|publisher=Kent State University Press|page=356|isbn=9780873384728|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quBEK5sya8MC&pg=PA356 }}</ref>
French was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as a member of the board of direct-tax commissioners for the State of North Carolina.<ref>{{cite book|last=Appleton|title=Appletons' Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing Political, Military, and Ecclesiastical Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry, Volume 30|year=1891|publisher=Appleton|page=647|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yg0bAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA647 }}</ref> He settled in Edenton, North Carolina at the close of the Civil War. In 1867, he served as a Delegate to the State constitutional convention.
Upon the readmission of the State of North Carolina to representation following the Civil War, French was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress, serving from July 6, 1868 to March 3, 1869.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wheeler|first=John Hill|title=Reminiscences and Memoirs of North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians|year=1884|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com|page=13|isbn=9780806303758|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Anm0ZuTZ8EcC&pg=PA13 }}</ref> He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.
He was elected Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate on March 22, 1869 and served in that capacity until March 24, 1879.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hinds|first=Asher Crosby|title=Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States: Investigations, inquiries, electoral count, impeachments, privilege|year=1907|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMul1yiWlO4C&pg=PA918 }}</ref> French was appointed secretary and disbursing office of the Ute Commission in July 1880, whereupon he returned to Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite book|last=Appleton|title=Appletons' Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing Political, Military, and Ecclesiastical Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry, Volume 30|year=1891|publisher=Appleton|page=647|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yg0bAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA647 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=U.S. Government Printing Office|title=United States Congressional Serial Set|year=1913|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=658|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AhdJtDZCJqcC&pg=PA658 }}</ref>
In his later years, French moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and then to Boise City, Idaho, where he was editor of the ''Boise City Sun'' until his death.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prosser|first=William Farrand|title=A History of the Puget Sound Country, Its Resources, Its Commerce and Its People: With Some Reference to Discoveries and Explorations in North America from the Time of Christopher Columbus Down to that of George Vancouver in 1792|year=1903|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|page=267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYEUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA267 }}</ref> He is interred in Boise City Cemetery.
==Personal life== French was Nathaniel Peabody Rogers's son in law.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Stacey M.|title=Parker Pillsbury: Radical Abolitionist, Male Feminist|year=2006|publisher=Cornell University Press|page=67|isbn=0801473950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kCXh2u1JTloC&pg=PA67 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Metcalf|first=Henry Harrison and McClintock, John Norris|title=The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine Devoted to History, Biography, Literature, and State Progress, Volume 7|year=1883|publisher=H.H. Metcalf|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7QVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|John R. French}} <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded --> * [https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SAA_John_French.htm Senate website biography] {{CongBio|F000378}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box |state=North Carolina|district=5 |before=William N. H. Smith<br/>(before Civil War hiatus) |after=Clinton L. Cobb|years=1868–1869}} {{s-off}} {{succession box|title=Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate|before=George T. Brown|after=Richard J. Bright|years=1869–1879}} {{end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, John}} Category:1819 births Category:1890 deaths Category:People from Gilmanton, New Hampshire Category:Politicians from Concord, New Hampshire Category:People from Lake County, Ohio Category:People from Edenton, North Carolina Category:Politicians from Washington, D.C. Category:Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Category:Politicians from Boise, Idaho Category:American newspaper publishers (people) Category:Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Category:Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate Category:Republican Party United States representatives from North Carolina Category:Journalists from Ohio Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Category:19th-century American male journalists Category:19th-century American newspaper editors