Standard History of Adams & Wells Counties, Indiana - 1918
Tyndall & Lesh - pgs. 462 & 463

J. D. French. A well known educator of Wells County is J. D. French, for the past nine years a teacher in the Petroleum public schools, and additionally one of the county's enterprising and successful agriculturists. He was born in Hartford Township, Adams County, Indiana, November 25, 1863, and is a son of William and Sarah (Johns) French, the latter of whom was born in 1828, in Virginia, and is still surviving and bearing well the weight of years.

William French was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, the second son of Joseph French, an early settler in this state. Joseph French reared the following children: Joel, William, John G., Minerva, Sylvia, Mary and Melissa, the eldest being an early teacher in Adams County. William French grew to manhood on his father's farm and then arrived Sarah Johns, who was an educated woman and a school teacher in Wells county. After marriage William French and wife took possession of the log cabin in which all their children were subsequently born, and they lived on the Adams County farm until 1882, when Mr. French sold that property and purchased a farm in Arkansas. He died shortly after taking possession. His widow remained in Arkansas for one year and then returned to Indiana and bought a farm near Linn Grove. There were five children in the family, namely: Charlotte, who is the wife of William Miller, of Muncie, Indiana; Joseph, who died at the age of thirty years; Melissa, who has been a teacher for twenty-five years; J. D.; and Andrew, who resides with his mother.

J. D. French was reared in Adams County and attended the county schools and was one of the first two graduates. This was in 1882 and he then taught school in Adams County until 1886, when he entered Valparaiso University, from which he was graduated with the degrees of B. S. and A. B., having completed the scientific course in 1890, and the elocutionary in 1891 and the classical course in 1894. Mr. French was then elected superintendent of the Linn Grove schools and remained there two years. Subseequently he taught at Whiting, Indiana, for four years, and at Lisbon, Illinos, for four years, and then took a post graduate course in science in the Illinois Normal University. Mr. French has life certificates in both Illinois and Indiana.

In 1901 Mr. French bought his present farm in Nottingham Townshp, Wells County, and is paying quite a good deal of attention to breeding high grade stock. In the meanwhile Mr. French has continued in the educational field and, as stated above, has been identified for almost a decade with the Petroleum schools, having taught in every department.

Mr. French was married August 18, 1894, to Miss Sarah McEhinary, who was born in Henderson County, Illinois. Like Professor French, she is a B. S. graduate of Valparaiso University, and prior to her marriage was a popular teacher in her native state. They have three children, namely: Fleming, who is a graduate of the Petroleum High School, later attended the Muncie Normal School and subsequently was graduate from an automobile school in Chicago, is one of the patriotic young men worthy of all honor, now a member of an engineer corps of the United States on duty in France; Helen, who is a graduate of the Petroleum High School, was a student for two years in the State Normal School and taught one term prior to her marriage to Christian Egly; and Winnifred, who is a student in the Petroleum High School.

Mr. French is a member of Linn Grove Lodge, Odd Fellows, of which he is past nobel grand, and Mrs. French belongs to the order of the Eastern Star and to the Royal Neighbors. In his views on public questions Mr. French has firm convictions, and in the belief that many of the country's ills are caused by intemperance, he has identified himself with the prohibition party and is an active worker for the cause. The family belongs to the Evangelical Church.