John French (1670 – October 25, 1728) was a Scottish-born colonial American judge who served as a justice of the Colonial

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisio ...

from 1726 to 1727.

Biography

Though his exact date of birth is unknown, French was born about 1670 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. He emigrated to North America in 1703, settling in the colony of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

. Shortly afterwards, French was elected to the position of Delaware high sheriff. When Delaware was given its first separate assembly from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, French was a member of it and later was its speaker. When a militia was requested from Pennsylvania and Delaware, the latter responded and he was given the position of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. French later became an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

between the colony of Delaware and local native Americans. As sole ambassador, he helped signed a peace treaty in 1719 with the

Mingo The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, and ...

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, and Conawage indians. When there were territory disputes between Delaware and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, French was appointed "Guardian of the Marches of the Province", and negotiated with agents of Lord Baltimore. He also bought four acres of land along the Christiana River, and opened a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, which, with his political positions, helped him become a wealthy individual, according to '' The Morning News''. In 1717, Sir William Keith was appointed governor, and became good friends with French. Keith gave him positions as register of wills for New Castle County and justice of the peace. When Patrick Gordon was made a successor to Keith, French was given a position on the

as top justice on July 25, 1726. He was removed one year later, when documents were shown that alleged he made derogatory comments about the

Penn Family William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...

. He died one year later, on October 25, 1728, in New Castle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, John 1670 births 1728 deaths Scottish people Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court