Francis Bristow

Who was Francis Bristow?

Francis Marion Bristow was a United States Representative from Kentucky. He was born in Clark County, Kentucky. He pursued preparatory studies and studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Elkton, Kentucky.

Bristow was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives 1831–1833. Later, he served in the Kentucky Senate in 1846 and was a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention in 1849. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Presley Underwood Ewing and served from December 4, 1854, to March 3, 1855 and was elected as a candidate of the Opposition Party to the Thirty-sixth United States Congress. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1860.

Bristow organized and served as the first secretary of the Green RIver Female Academy, a notable female academy located in Todd County, Kentucky. Bristow donated land for the academy and influenced the mission of the school, which under his guidance, established equal opportunities for women to study advanced mathematics and sciences, subjects typically reserved for men during the time period.