John Forsyth (October 31, 1812 – May 2, 1877) was an American newspaper editor of the ''

Mobile Register The ''Press-Register'' (known from 1997 to 2006 as the ''Mobile Register'') is a thrice-weekly newspaper serving the southwest Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the ''Press-Regi ...

'' and the son of politician John Forsyth.

Biography

Born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, he attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

where he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

. Forsyth graduated from Princeton in 1832. In 1834, Forsyth married Margaret Hull, the daughter of Latham Hull of Augusta, GA. Their son Charles, born in Mobile, Alabama, would go on to serve as a colonel in the Confederate Army. Forsyth was for many years one of the foremost

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

editors of the south. He was Adjutant of the First Georgia Regiment in the Mexican War. In 1856 he was appointed Minister to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, but in 1858 demanded his passports and withdrew from the legation. He went on to become the Mayor of Mobile, Alabama in 1860. By 1863, he served as Chief of Staff in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. In 1861, with Martin J. Crawford of Georgia, he represented the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

as commissioner to the National government, but his request for an unofficial interview with

William Henry Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senate, United States Senat ...

was declined. He left for

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and engaged in journalistic work until health problems compelled him to retire. He died in Mobile on May 2, 1877. The ''Mobile Register'' of May 5, 1877 (its columns draped in black) printed a lengthy obituary: "a large congregation of Mobile citizens were assembled to testify by their presence, their love and respect for the honored dead." A funeral cortege traveled to Magnolia Cemetery where the final interment took place.

References

*Burnett, Lonnie.
The pen makes a good sword : John Forsyth of the Mobile register
' (University of Alabama Press, 2006) *Shadburn, Don L. ''Pioneer History of Forsyth County Georgia: 1832-1860, Vol. I''. (Pioneer-Cherokee Heritage Series, 1981) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, John Jr. 1812 births 19th-century American newspaper editors 1877 deaths People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico 19th-century American diplomats American male journalists 19th-century American male writers