FRENCH, Arthur I (1765-1820), of French Park, co. Roscommon

French, whose ancestors had settled in county Galway in the fifteenth century, was first elected (apparently under age) in 1783 for county Roscommon, which his family had represented, almost continuously, since 1721. A friend of Catholic relief and an importunate supporter of successive governments, who had done well for his family out of the spoils system, he retained his county seat without opposition at the general election of 1820, despite being too ill to canvass. Ibid. 244-5; HP Commons, 1790-1820, iii. 839-41; Add. 40296, f. 24; Dublin Evening Post, 9, 28 Mar. 1820. He made no mark in the following session, which was his last, for he died in November 1820, ‘after a severe indisposition of a few hours’, supposedly brought on by overexertion in the hunting field. He left £18,000 to be divided among his younger children, having already provided for his eldest daughter Mary with £2,000 on her marriage. His eldest son and namesake succeeded him as head of the family and county Member. Dublin Evening Post, 2 Dec. 1820; Gent. Mag. (1820), ii. 571; PROB 11/1644/333.