Benjamin Brown French (1800 - 1870)

Born 4 Sep 1800 in Chester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Smith (Richardson) French — married 11 Jan 1825 in New Hampshire

Husband of Mary Ellen (Brady) French — married 9 Sep 1862 in Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 12 Aug 1870 at age 69 in Washington, District of Columbia

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Biography

Benjamin French is Notable.

Benjamin, the son of Daniel French and Mercy (Brown) French, was born in 1800. He would marry Elizabeth "Betsey" Smith Richardson, the daughter of Hon. William Merchant Richardson and her namesake, Elizabeth "Betsey" (Smith) Richardson, on January 11, 1825. Together they would have two sons:

Francis Ormond French, born in Chester, New Hampshire on Sept. 12, 1837; Francis married Ellen M. Tuck, of Exeter, New Hampshire, March 5, 1861. It is thought she was the daughter of Amos Tuck. Francis graduated from Harvard College in 1857 where he studied law.

Benjamin "Ben" Brown French, born in Washington, D. C. on Feb. 4, 1845; Benjamin married Abby M. Thomas at Chester, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1866.

Early on Benjamin didn't want to go on to school as his father wished. It must have been very difficult for the youngster growing up. His birth mother had died when he was just 2 years old so he never really knew her. His father married another woman and they had four more children before the second wife died in 1812 but before the year was out Daniel married for the third time. All of this happened by the time Benjamin was 12. He was the oldest of 11 children his father would have with all the others half brothers and sisters to him. He made up his mind to leave when he was 19. He went to Boston hoping to go to sea but couldn't get a berth so he opted to join the army instead. In four month's time he'd already become a sergeant while stationed at Fort Warren on Governor's Island in the harbor of Boston. Benjamin's friends from home went to the fort and convinced him to leave the service. They even provided him with a replacement so the army brass went along. Benjamin would later serve in the New Hampshire State Militia, a service that earned him the title "Major" that he used the rest of his life.

Over the next 5 years Benjamin studied law and in early 1825, right after he married Betsey, he was admitted an attorney at law. His father must have been very pleased. The natural progression led Benjamin to politics. He became a New Hampshire state legislator among other political positions he would hold. He also became the owner and editor of a newspaper, the New Hampshire Spectator.

Eventually Benjamin, a Jacksonian Democrat, would set aside his legal practice and the newspaper. He would move his family to Washington D.C. where he became involved working for the Federal government, first as assistant clerk of the Congress and then he was promoted to the Clerk of the Congress while Democrats remained in power.

In 1847 a friend, none other than Samuel F.B. Morse, encouraged Benjamin to become the president of a telegraph company. He oversaw the development of this new technology. One thing led to another as Benjamin was rubbing shoulders with the highest people in the government and his political affiliations changed. He became a Republican and actively supported Abraham Lincoln for President in 1860. As a reward, Benjamin was placed in charge of Lincoln's inauguration in 1861. It was during this time that he learned his wife Betsey had breast cancer. After a failed mastectomy she passed away in May of 1861.

Benjamin was devastated with the loss of Betsey. His brother Edmund's wife had a sister who came to help run his household and care for Benjamin. After a year and a half Benjamin would wed this woman, Mary Ellen Brady, who was 30 years his junior.

Benjamin proved himself as a staunch supporter of President Lincoln and the Union cause. He had become a personal friend and a member of the President's inner circle while serving in the Lincoln administration as the Commissioner of Public Buildings. He would become a driving force, overseeing the on-going construction of the capitol building and other government projects, all with the Civil War swirling around.

One can only imagine what the people close to President Lincoln felt as they rode the emotional tide of great elation at the war's outcome followed by sickening shock at the President's assassination. Through terrible sadness Benjamin Brown French oversaw the funeral arrangements for his beloved President Lincoln.

U.S. Capitol Building

In 1867 Benjamin was removed from his position as the Commissioner of Public Buildings. As a reward for supporting political figures who were now out of favor, French spent his last years working as a minor clerk in the U.S. Treasury Department.

It's interesting that Benjamin's friend, Abraham Lincoln, would be immortalized in marble by Benjamin's own nephew, Daniel Chester French.

Lincoln Statue in the Lincoln Memorial

Benjamin, over the course of his life, kept a meticulous journal that grew to over 4,000 pages. This would become the basis of a book that was published in 1989 entitled "Witness to the Young Republic: A Yankee's Journal, 1828-1870". Due to his being personally familiar with several US Presidents, this work gives several angles of insight into the operation of America's mid-nineteenth century politics and government as well as the internal dealings of the Lincoln White House.

Along with his ascent to the highest circles of American government, Benjamin also rose to the highest ranks of the Free Masons. At the time of his death in 1870 he was a Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, a Scottish Rite Mason and a 33rd Degree Mason.

Sources

• The Library of Congress - The Civil War in America. [1]

• Witness to the Young Republic: A Yankee's Journal, 1828-1870, by Benjamin Brown French, Donald B. Cole, John Joseph McDonough, University Press of New England, 1989. [2]

• The White House Historical Association. [3]

• Mr. Lincoln's White House - Employees and Staff: Benjamin Brown French (1800-1870) [4]

• Architect of the Capitol - Benjamin Brown French [5]

• Knights Templar Organization. Biography of Benjamin B. French [6]

• Miner Descent Blog by Thomas Miner. A study on the French families. [7]

• Speech given by Benjamin French in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. [8]

• "New Hampshire Births and Christenings, 1714-1904," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDJN-R8S : 12 December 2014), Benjamin Brown French, 04 Sep 1800; citing CHESTER TWP,ROCKINGHAM,NEW HAMPSHIRE; FHL microfilm 1,000,937.

• "New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLFW-2JJ : 26 September 2017), Benjamin B. French and Elisabeth S. Richardson, 11 Jan 1825; citing , Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord; FHL microfilm 1,000,990.

• "New Hampshire Births and Christenings, 1714-1904," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDJN-R8Y : 12 December 2014), Benjamin B. French in entry for Francis Ormand French, 12 Sep 1837; citing CHESTER TWP,ROCKINGHAM,NEW HAMPSHIRE; FHL microfilm 1,000,937.

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCV9-JDM : 13 December 2017), Benjamin B French, 1860.

• Find A Grave Memorial for Benjamin Brown French [9]

See Also

• Wikipedia Biography on Benjamin Brown French [10]