Francis Griffith

Francis Marion Griffith was a U.S. Representative from Indiana. Born in Moorefield, Indiana, Griffith attended the country schools of the county, the high school in Vevay, Indiana, and Franklin College, Franklin, Indiana. He taught school and was appointed school superintendent of Switzerland County in 1873. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Vevay. Griffith was county treasurer from 1875-1877.

Griffith served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880. He served as member of the State senate 1886-1894 and Acting Lieutenant Governor from 1891-1894. Griffith was an unsuccessful candidate for attorney general of Indiana in 1894.

Griffith was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William S. Holman. He was then reelected to the Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth Congresses and served from December 6, 1897, to March 3, 1905. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1904.

Following his time in Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Vevay, Indiana and became city attorney 1912-1916. Griffith served as judge of the circuit court of the fifth judicial district 1916-1922.