Richard Franchot

Richard Hansen Franchot (June 2, 1816 – November 23, 1875) was a U.S. Representative from New York and then an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was also an executive of two railroad companies, Albany and Susquehanna Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad.

Richard Hansen Franchot
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th district
In office
March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863
Preceded byJames H. Graham
Succeeded bySamuel F. Miller
Personal details
Born(1816-06-02)June 2, 1816
Morris, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 23, 1875(1875-11-23) (aged 59)
Schenectady, New York, U.S.
Resting placeVale Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Children
Military service
AllegianceUnited States (Union)
Branch/serviceU.S. Army Infantry Branch
Years of service1862
RankColonel
Brigadier General (Brevet)
UnitUnion Army
Commands121st New York Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

Franchot was born in the town of Morris, Otsego County, New York, the son of French immigrant Paschal Franchot.[1] He attended the public schools and the Hartwick and Cherry Valley Academies. He studied civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York. He served for several years as president of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad.

Franchot was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862.

He moved to Schenectady, New York, and raised the 121st New York Infantry.[2] Franchot was commissioned as a colonel on August 23, 1862, and was brevetted as a brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers dating from March 13, 1865.

After the war, he was associated with the Central Pacific Railroad.

Franchot died in Schenectady on November 23, 1875. He was interred in Vale Cemetery.

Family

New York Superintendent of Public Works Nicholas Van Vranken Franchot (1855–1943) and State Senator Stanislaus P. Franchot (1851–1908) were his sons, Assemblyman Nicholas V. V. Franchot II (1884–1938) was his grandson, actor Franchot Tone (1905-1968) was his great-grandson, and current Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (1947-) is also his descendant.

References
  1. Bacon, Edwin Faxon (1902). Otsego County, New York; Geographical and Historical. Oneonta, NY: The Oneonta Herald. p. 56 – via Google Books.
  2. 121st Infantry Regiment History, New York State Military Museum.

Further reading

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
James H. Graham		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th congressional district
1861–1863		 Succeeded by
Samuel F. Miller
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