Notes for John Peter French II: The date of death on John P.'s tombstone, 30 Sep 1912, is incorrect. The right date is 31 Aug 1912.
The first recorded sale of property we found for him was dated 11 Apr 1910. From his birth we can determine that he was 74 at that time and had undoubtedly decided to retire. He was 75 at the time he had a stroke and 76 at the time of his death. The following is copied from the 6 Sep 1912 issue of the Norborne Democrat, Norborne, MO.
OBITUARY
John P. French, one of Norborne's best citizens, committed suicide by hanging himself in the barn at his home, Sat. morning, about 5:00 o'clock.
Mrs. French had gone to the station with one of her granddaughters, who was returning to her home in Carrollton, leaving Mr. French alone in the house. During her absence, he secured a rope, tied a regulation hangman's knot in it, climbed up into the barn loft, raised a board in the floor, tied the rope on a joist, adjusted the noose around his neck; then tied his hands together and jumped through the hole in the barn loft. The drop was not sufficient to dislocate his neck and he died of strangulation. When found he was hanging in the stall where there was a horse, and was dead when cut down.
The coroner was notified, but concluded that an inquest was not necessary as there was no question as to how he died. Dr. Brunner issued a burial permit.
In Feb 1911, Mr. French was stricken with partial paralysis, his tongue and vocal cords being so badly affected that he could not talk sufficiently plain to be understood; this seemed to worry him greatly and he grew morbid; taking but little, if any interest in things around him. After being afflicted for several months his usually cheerful nature seemed to undergo a change, and nothing could restore his interest in affairs. He seemed to have lost hope, and with it, the desire to live. He knew there was no hope of recovery and the constant brooding over his condition probably unbalanced his mind and when in an irresponsible condition took his life.
John P. French was born at Greeneville, Tenn., Oct. 8, 1836, and there grew to manhood. In 1854 he was married to Miss S. J. Collier, and in 1855 they came to Missouri; first settling in Franklin County. In 1866 Mr. French left his home in Franklin Co. and started on a propecting tour of Texas. For nearly two years not a word was heard from him, and Mrs. French concluded that he must have been killed by Indians, that were at that time attacking whites who were traveling throught the state. In 1867 Mrs. French, having given up hope of seeing her husband alive again moved to Carroll County where she had relatives. In 1868 Mr. French returned to his old home in Franklin Co. and learned that his wife and children were in Carroll Co., and at once came here to be with his family, and has since been one of our best citizens. For more than 40 years Mr. French made his residence in Sugartree and Cherry Valley townships and Norborne, and during all these years has been esteemed and recognized as an honest upright man whose word was his bond. There were no better men than John P. French nor was there one who had more friends. No man can point to any act of his that breathed of dishonor, he was honest and just and foursquare to the world. His tragic death is truly and sincerely mourned by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife and seven children, Gentry, Jeff D., George A., Oliver, and William French, and Mrs. Thomas W. Jones, and Mrs. John Eden. Funeral services were held at his late home in this city, Monday morning, conducted by the Rev. John Tanquary, of the ME Church South. He has long been an honored member of Carroll Lodge #249 AF & AM and the Masonic Order had charge of the services at his grave, burial was in beautiful Fairhaven.
A search of marriage records of Greene County reveals that John P. French married Sabra Jane Collier on Sept. 24, 1854 (#2475 1838-1855 records), John F. Broyles JP officiating. From the tombstone in Fairhaven Cemetery in Norborne, Missouri, we learn that John P. French died on Sept. 30, 1912, and his wife Sabra Jane (Collier) was born Sept. 30, 1836, and died in Norborne, Mo. on Jan. 7, 1917. A search of files of the Norborne Democrat reveals the unfortunate circumstances of John P. French's death. A copy of his obituary is attached to this record. It is obvious from the newspaper report that the tombstone of John P. French contains an error. The tombstone shows his death as being Sept. 30, 1912, the newspaper issued on Friday, Sept. 6, 1912, states his death occurred Saturday morning about 8:30 (photostat in possession of Ruth N. Duffy). This would mean that he died on August 31, 1912. There are no files of the Norborne Democrat for 1917 so the obituary for Sabra J. French could not be obtained.
Some of the questions we had concerning John P. French have been answered on the receipt of his obituary; but as with all of this work, more questions have come up.
HIs birthdate has been established as October 8, 1836. The first recorded sale of property we found for him was dated 4-11-1910. From his birthdate we can determine that he was 74 at that time and undoubtedly decided to retire. He was 75 at the time he had this stroke mentioned in the obituary and 76 at the time of death. One question comes up--the record in the courthouse stated "Mud Creek," but the obituary makes no mention of this but calls it Cherry Valley. Perhaps it was locally known as Cherry Valley, since the title "Mud Creek" is not particularly inviting.
We also can imagine the feelings of his wife, Sabra J., who, after twelve years of marriage and seven children, found herself without a husband. How did they live during the two years John P. was gone? Were they farmers and did she and the children run the farm? Did they own property in Franklin Co., MO? Did she sell it when they left? How could she have title to it without having John P. declared dead?
There must have been some money when John P. came to Norborne because the farm in Sugartree and Cherry Valley is very good land, and according to the obituary, they must have lived on it the rest of their lives. Or did it belong to some of the Colliers and was Sabra J. and family living there when John P. returned? There are still Colliers living in Carroll County. We have determined that there were Colliers there, and also Burgners, in Atchison County, MO. This is where James GENTRY French went and where his first wife, Margaret Amanda Burgner French, is buried. Records show that these three families (Collier, Burgner, and French) were all in Greene County, TN at the same time. Why was there a general exodus from Greene Co., TN?
Our research has indicated how terribly trying the post Civil War period was--especially for the citizens of Tennessee and the residents of Greene Co. in particular. Newspaper accounts of a 4th of July celebration held in Greeneville in 1868 indicate that farmers who had been Confederates were met at the city limits and not allowed to attend the festivities. Naturally, this would have resulted in some form of retaliation. This constant fighting among relatives, former friends, and neighbors must undoubtedly have been on of the causes of the exodus from the state. [There are no Frenches listed from Greene County on the Confederate rosters ("Tennesseeans in the Civil War," Vol. I, prepared by the Tennessee Civil War Centennial Commission).
The obituary states that the funeral was "conducted by Rev. John Tanquary of the ME Church South." While in Greeneville, we discovered that in 1816 the Methodist Church in its General Conference had made statements against slavery to the extent that "any slaveholder could not hold office in the Methodist Church." This irritated Methodists who owned slaves to the extent that in 1844 General Conference they split from the Methodist Church and formed the Methodist Church South. Naturally this caused a great deal of bitterness. We found that in 1875, the ME Church South sued the Methodist Church in Greeneville for possession of the building. The case went to the Tennessee Supreme Court, with the result that the Methodists had to vacate the building in favor of the ME Church South. Interestingly enough, they moved into the upper floor of the Courthouse and conducted services there until they could get their own building. This split continued until 1939, when the Methodist Church was finally reunited.
Mrs. Josephine French (widow of George French, son of John P. French and and brother of James GENTRY French) wrote a letter in 1959 stating in part, "John P. French and wife (Sabra Collier) married quite young and left Tenn. and went by flatboat on rivers until they got to Franklin County, Missouri,-- he bought a farm there and part of their family was born there. Later they moved to Carrol County, Mo., and bought land there. Gentry was their oldest child; and when a young man, he went back to Tennessee to visit and he met his wife there--her name was Mattie Burgner."
In checking with the Missouri Historical Society, I found that many early settlers in Missouri did come down the Ohio River by flatboat until they reached the Mississippi. They then took steamboats because a flatboat could not be propelled up the Mississippi or the Missouri. So, it must be assumed that John. P. and his wife did this. Probably landing at Herman, MO, since it was an active river port at that time and was nearest to Franklin County. Franklin County records have not been checked at this writing (1981)
Norborne, MO, is in Carroll County, and in the Carroll County courthouse, Carrollton, MO, we discovered a great deal of information about the French family. Records show many property transactions concerning members of the family. John P. and Sabra J. apparently were farmers living on a very rich Missouri bottomland farm located in the Sugar Tree and Mud Creek townships. George A. French was apparently a developer of town lots as additions to the town of Norborne. Jefferson D. and Henry S. also had several real estate transactions. There were only two entries for John P. One, a small parcel of land in the Mud Creek area, dated 11 Apr 1910 (book #211, p. 634), and then a peculiar one signed by Sabra J. French selling the main farm in Sugar Tree township. This transaction is dated 26 Feb 1917 (book #213, p. 492) and signed by her. It should be noted that the tombstone shows her date of death as 7 Jan 1917. We did not have time to pursue this mystery further since we did not have the obituary or death certificate, and we have already found that tombstones are sometimes in error. There are no files of the Norborne Democrat for 1917, so the obituary for Sabra could not be obtained.
(All of the above comes from the French Family Record, written in 1982, compiled by Ruth French Duffy and Philip A. Duffy.)
According to the 1860 census, John P. was still living in Greene County that year. His tombstone bears the wrong date of death (30 Sep 1912)
More About John Peter French II: Burial: Unknown, Fairhaven Cemetery, Norborne, MO.
More About John Peter French II and Sabra Jane Colyer: Marriage: 24 Sep 1854, Greeneville, TN. Marriage Fact: John F. Broyles, JP, officiated (#2475 1838-1855 records).
Children of John Peter French II and Sabra Jane Colyer are:
+James Gentry French, b. 31 Aug 1855, Greeneville, TN, d. 3 Apr 1939, Central City, NE.
John Peter French II (b. 1836, d. 31 Aug 1912)
Notes for John Peter French II: