John Sylvester French was born in Beaumont, Texas on February 25, 1863, the son of John J. French, Jr. and Francis Cox French. The French family was originally from Louisiana.
Annie King French was born in Arkansas on July 23, 1883, the daughter of Dr. Jacob Henry Crosby King and Mary Alice Runyan King. Jacob H.C. King, and his father, Jacob Waldo King, were both doctors in Amity, Arkansas and in Pike City, Pike County, Arkansas.
The King's had moved to Arkansas from Alabama where they had been members of a prominent, successful plantation family.
Mary Alice Runyan King was the daughter of Isaac Newton Runyan and Rachel Robertson, and Isaac N. Runyan was the son of Isaac Barefoot Runyan, the progenitor of the very large and extended Runyan family of Amity, Arkansas. Isaac Newton "I.N." Runyan, who also had been born in Alabama, owned a general store in Amity for many years.
John S. French, who had been married previously, married Annie King around 1905. In the 1910 Census for Amity, Arkansas, John S. French was a 47 year-old house carpenter, and Annie was a 26 year-old saleslady in a general store, probably in her father's store.
John S. French was born in Texas, and spent most of his life there, both before he married Annie King and after her death. He died in Beaumont, Texas in 1933. There are no other French family members in Amity, so it is a guess that John S. French only lived in Amity while he was married to Annie. John French's death date was never added to his tombstone, but his Texas Death Certificate lists the date as December 17, 1933.
above photos:
Dr. Jacob H.C. King with sons, Stell, Cue and Paul
Mary Alice Runyan King
Isaac Newton Runyan and Rachel Robertson Runyan
The Amity, Arkansas Town Square, circa 1900,
with the I.N. Runyan & Son General Store in the background.
