Mansfield Joseph French (1872-1953) was born in New York City, the son of the merchant and manufacturer Joseph French and his wife Elizabeth Hull Smith. After finishing his public school education at Central High School in Syracuse, New York, French entered Syracuse University and graduated in 1894 as a civil engineer. While at SU he was active in Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (author Stephen Crane was also a member during his brief time at SU).
Association with several transportation companies during his professional career, French developed steady private interest in local history and genealogy. In 1934 he authored a short article for the SU alumni magazine on Stephen Crane. Another article concerned Champlain's attack on the Onondaga tribe in central New York (1948), while a third was titled "Ancestors and descendants of Samuel French the Joiner of Stratford, Connecticut" (1943). As an active life member of the Onondaga Historical Association, French served as its director and vice-president.
From the guide to the Mansfield French Papers, 1893-1952, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
