John French

John French (1670 – October 25, 1728) was a Scottish-born judge in the Thirteen Colonies who served as a justice of the Colonial Delaware Supreme Court from 1726 to 1727.

Biography Though his exact date of birth is unknown, French was born about 1670 in Scotland. He emigrated to North America in 1703, settling in the colony of Delaware. Shortly afterwards, French was elected to the position of Delaware high sheriff. When Delaware was given its first separate assembly from Pennsylvania, 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.

French later became an ambassador between the colony of Delaware and local Native Americans. As sole ambassador, he helped signed a peace treaty in 1719 with the Mingo, Shawnee, Delaware, and Conawage Indians. He was removed one year later, when documents were shown that alleged he made derogatory comments about the Penn Family. He died one year later, on October 25, 1728, in New Castle.