Carlos French (August 6, 1835 – April 14, 1903) was an American businessman and politician who served one term as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

from 1887 to 1889.

Biography

He was born in Humphreysville, Connecticut (now known as

Seymour, Connecticut Seymour is a New England town, town located in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 16,748 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Seymour is bordered by the towns of Oxford and Beac ...

). He was the son of Raymond French and Olive Curtis French. French attended the common schools of Seymour and General Russell’s Military School,

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. He engaged in manufacturing and is credited with inventing the spiral steel car spring and the corrugated volute spring.

Early political career

French was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

in 1860 and again in 1868.

Business career

He was employed as the president and treasurer of the Fowler Nail Company from 1869 until his death and also the vice president of the H.A. Matthews Manufacturing Company. He was also the director the Union Horse Shoe Nail Company of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and of the Second National Bank of New Haven, Connecticut. In addition, he was the director of the Colonial Trust Company of

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

and of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company.

Congress

French was a member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

and was elected as a Democrat to the

Fiftieth Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887, ...

(March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1888.

Later career and death

After leaving Congress, he resumed his former manufacturing pursuits and corporate connections. He died in Seymour, Connecticut in 1903 and was buried in

Fair Haven Union Cemetery Fair Haven Union Cemetery, located at 149 Grand Ave., covers in the neighborhood of Fair Haven, Connecticut. Although graves were there as early as 1803, the land was donated for the cemetery by local farmers Stephen Rowe and Nathaniel Granniss i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Carlos 1835 births 1903 deaths People from Seymour, Connecticut Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Burials in Connecticut Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut 19th-century American politicians