John Forsyth, Jr.

John Forsyth (October 31, 1821 – May 2, 1887) was an American newspaper editor of the "Mobile Register" and the son to politician John Forsyth and grandson of U.S. Congressman Robert Forsyth.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he attended the University of Georgia at Athens where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society. He was for many years one of the foremost Democratic Party editors of the south. In 1856 he was appointed minister to Mexico, but in 1858 demanded his passports and withdrew from the legation.

In 1861, with Marshall J. Crawford of Georgia, he represented the Confederate States as commissioner to the National government, but his request for an unofficial interview with William Henry Seward was declined. He left for Mobile, Alabama after the Civil War and engaged in journalistic work until health problems compelled him to retire. The "Mobile Register" of May 5, 1877 (its columns draped in black) printed a lengthy obituary: "a large congregation of Mobile citizens were assembled to testify by their presence, their love and respect for the honored dead." A funeral cortege traveled to Magnolia Cemetery where the final interment took place.

References

*appletons

Biography

Burnett, Lonnie. "The pen makes a good sword : John Forsyth of the Mobile register" (University of Alabama Press, 2006)

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=U.S. Minister to Mexico
before=Richard S. Spofford
after=William M. Churchwell
years=1856-1858