James John French (1926 - 2021)

Born 7 Oct 1926 in Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas, United States

Ancestors

Died 31 Jul 2021 at age 94 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States

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Biography

Jim French is Notable.

Jim French was an American newspaper editor, writer and photojournalist.

James John French was born on October 7, 1926 to Thomas (Perrett) French and Anna (Miller) French in Kansas City, Kansas.^[1] He was the second youngest child of ten.

Jim's father, a barber, died when Jim was just eleven years old. In later years, Jim wrote an article in his column "the french line" about the relationship with his father.^[2] (See images.) A few years after his father's death, Jim was living on Richmond St. in Kansas City with his mother, three siblings and three nieces and nephews while attending school. Jim finished high school in Kansas City and then moved to Topeka to attend the Kansas Vocational School for journalism.

In 1948, after finishing journalism school, Jim enlisted in the Navy, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer by the time he retired in 1969. In the Navy, Jim was assigned to be a photo-journalist for their publication ALL-Hands Magazine and was a station manager for radio and television stations in Spain, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. He was the first photo-journalist assigned to Vietnam's Mekong Delta with the American Army's 9th Infantry Division.^[3]

While in the Navy, Jim married Olivia around 1952 and they had four children. In 1961 they were still living in Kansas City, at 1934 N. 5th,^[4] but moved to Charleston, South Carolina while Jim was still in the Navy.^[3] After retiring from the Navy in 1969, he started another career which became a family business. He founded the Charleston Chronicle in Charleston, South Carolina in 1971, a newspaper dedicated to fair reporting of Black news. The Charleston Chronicle was a member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade group of Black owned media companies.^[5] Jim's family was involved in all aspects of running this paper, from writing stories to printing. It was in this weekly paper that Jim wrote his column "the french line." The paper played a significant role in predominantly Black Charleston and many awards were bestowed on Jim and on his paper. In 2016 Jim retired and turned the control of the paper over to his grandsons Tolbert and Damian Smalls. They ran the newspaper until 2021.^[6]

Jim died in 2021 in Charleston.^[7][8]

Awards

• Bronze Star Medallion
• Presidential Citation
• Order of the Palmetto (South Carolina's highest civilian honor)
• Renamed the juncture of U.S. Route 17 and Magnolia Road in Charleston, the "James J. French Intersection"
• City of Charleston proclaimed October 22 as "Jim French Day"^[5]
• The newpaper received The Corporate Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charleston Branch NAACP^[5]

Census Data

April 1 , 1930 (enumerated April 15)^[9]

Ward 2, Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas

- April 1 , 1940 (enumerated April 10) ^[10]

Ward 2, Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas

Sources

1. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Kansas, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 127
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #25159936 (accessed 27 June 2022)
   Name: James John French; Gender: Male; Race: Negro (Black); Age: 18; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 7 Oct 1926; Birth Place: Kansas City, Kansas, USA; Residence Place: Topeka, Kansas, USA; Registration Date: 7 Oct 1944; Registration Place: Kansas, USA; Employer: Student; Height: 6; Weight: 150; Complexion: Dark Brown; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Brown; Next of Kin: Anna French;
   Household Members Relationship:
   James John French Self (Head).
2. ↑ French, Jim. the french line. Charleston, South Carolina: Charleston Chronicle, date unknown. p. 9
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Journalism at its Best! Remembering Publisher James John French. Texas Metro News, August 4, 2021. https://texasmetronews.com/14170/journalism-at-its-best-remembering-publisher-james-john-french/
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. Kansas, U.S., City and County Census Records, 1919-1961 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; Collection Name: Population Schedules and Statistical Rolls: Counties (1953-1979); Reel Number: 43877_343848.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Wikipedia contributors, "The Charleston Chronicle," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Charleston_Chronicle&oldid=1058696510 (accessed February 3, 2022).
6. ↑ Charleston Chronicle no longer publishing after 50-year run serving Black community. Charleston, South Carolina: The Post and Courier. October 7, 2021
7. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKQL-JY32 : accessed 6 April 2021), James French in entry for Mr Willie Doctor Jackson, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, United States, 10 Oct 2007; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Daily Herald, born-digital text.
8. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVTM-5VBL : accessed 6 April 2021), James French in entry for Nannie Lee Turner-Banks, Missouri, United States, 15 Mar 2012; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing St. Louis Post-Dispatch, born-digital text.
9. ↑ "1930 United States Federal Census" Year: 1930; Census Place: Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas; Page: 22A; Enumeration District: 0005; FHL microfilm: 2340462 Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #34136046 (accessed 27 June 2022) James French (4), single son, in household of J Thomas French (68) in 423 Richmond, Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas, USA. Born in Kansas.
10. ↑ "1940 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1940; Census Place: Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas; Roll: m-t0627-01267; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 106-6
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #62018025 (accessed 27 June 2022)
    James French (14), single son, in household of Annie French (50) in Kansas City, Wyandotte, Kansas. Born in Kansas.

See also:

• "United States Public Records, 1970-2009", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJZT-ZZXF : 25 May 2020), James J French, 1998-1998.
• "United States Public Records, 1970-2009", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KBQG-M8Y : 18 January 2020), James John French, 2001.