French left school at an early age, and the first decades of his life were characterized by working a variety of jobs and recovering from prolonged illness.

After co-founding a successful vehicular spring company, French gained prominence as a businessman and philanthropist in Pittsburgh during the second half of the 19th century.

[3] At this time, the company boasted around 450 employees and a facility spanning two city blocks, by some accounts the largest of its kind in the world.

[1] French also remarried, to Caroline B. Skeer of Chicago, and they had one child, Mary Adelaide, who died at age 18.

[4] French agreed to donate $2,500 unconditionally and an additional $3,000 if the government would match it; Hall convinced the state legislature to allocate $10,000.