Ezra B. French

Ezra Bartlett French(September 23, 1810 – April 24, 1880) was aUnited States representativefromMaine.He was born inLandaff, New Hampshirewhere he attended the common schools and pursued an academic course. Later, he studied law inBathandPlymouth, New Hampshireand was admitted to the bar in 1833. He commenced practice inPortlandandWaldoboro, Maine.Later, he moved to Nobleboro, Maine (present-dayDamariscotta), and continued practice.

French was a member of theMaine House of Representatives1838–1840 and served in theMaine Senate1842–1845. He was the Secretary of State of Maine 1845–1850. He also was bank commissioner and worked as a newspaper editor in 1856. He assisted in organizing the Republican Party in 1856.

French was elected as a Republican to theThirty-sixth Congress(March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861) but was not a candidate for renomination in 1860. He served as a member of the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impendingAmerican Civil War.He was appointed Second Auditor of the Treasury August 3, 1861, by PresidentAbraham Lincoln,and continued during the administrations of PresidentsAndrew Johnson,Ulysses S. Grant,andRutherford B. Hayes,serving until his death in Washington, D.C., in 1880. He was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Damariscotta, Maine.

References

• United States Congress."Ezra B. French (id: F000377)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.