(1810-1880) a U.S. Representative was born in Landaff, Grafton County, New Hampshire, September 23, 1810. He attended the common schools and pursued an academic course.
He studied law in Bath and Plymouth, New Hampshire, was admitted to the bar in 1833 and began his practice in Portland and Waldoboro.
French moved to Damariscotta (then a part of Nobleboro) and continued his law practice. A member of the Maine House of Representatives 1838-1840, he served in the Maine State Senate 1842-1845, and as Secretary of State of Maine 1845-1850 and later as bank commissioner.
A newspaper editor in 1856, he assisted in organizing the Republican Party in that year. Elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1861), he was not a candidate for renomination in 1860.
French was member of the Peace Convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war. He was appointed Second Auditor of the Treasury August 3, 1861 by President Lincoln, and continued during the administrations of Presidents Johnson, Grant, and Hayes, serving until his death in Washington, D.C., April 24, 1880, with interment in Hillside Cemetery, Damariscotta.
Additional resources
Congressional Biographies.
FRENCH, Ezra Bartlett (1810-1880) Biography. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=F000377 (accessed December 20, 2020)