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'''Samuel John Welsh''' (September 17, 1879 – October 25, 1950) was a civil engineer, canal manager, and [[politician]] from Vinton, located west of the Calcasieu Parish seat of government in [[Lake Charles]] in far southwestern [[Louisiana]].

'''Samuel John Welsh''' (September 17, 1879 – October 25, 1950) was a civil engineer, canal manager, and [[politician]] from Vinton, located west of the Calcasieu Parish seat of government in [[Lake Charles]] in far southwestern [[Louisiana]].

A native of New Castle in Lawrence County in far western [[Pennsylvania]], Welsh studied civil engineering and relocated to Vinton in 1902 after his marriage to the former Margaret Friggle (1881-1940)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15003090|title=Margaret Friggle Welsh|publisher=Old.findagrave.com|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref> of Oil City in Venango County, also in western Pennsylvania. The couple had five sons: John Edgar (1903-1980) of Lake Charles, James Herbert (1906-1977) and Robert Bruce (1910-2000), both of [[Baton Rouge]], Samuel John, Jr. (1915-2000), of [[Houston]], [[Texas]], and William Max (1920-2004) of Sulphur, also in Calcasieu Parish. Welsh was a railroad surveyor and the  manager of the Sabine Canal Company. An active [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Welsh served on the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury from 1916 to 1920 and was a member and past president of the Calcasieu Parish School Board from 1936 to 1950. He was also a member and past president of the Vinton Drainage Board. He was a member of the [[Methodist Church]], Rotary International, and the Masonic lodge. For a short time prior to his death, he was a director of the West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital.<ref name=dlb>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-w/|title=Welsh, Samuel John|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref>

A native of New Castle in Lawrence County in far western [[Pennsylvania]], Welsh studied civil engineering and relocated to Vinton in 1902 after his marriage to the former Margaret Friggle (1881-1940)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15003090|title=Margaret Friggle Welsh|publisher=Old.findagrave.com|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref> of Oil City in Venango County, also in western Pennsylvania. The couple had five sons: John Edgar (1903-1980) of Lake Charles, James Herbert (1906-1977) and Robert Bruce (1910-2000), both of [[Baton Rouge]], Samuel John, Jr. (1915-2000), of [[Houston]], [[Texas]], and William Max (1920-2004) of Sulphur, also in Calcasieu Parish. Welsh was a railroad surveyor and the  manager of the Sabine Canal Company. An active [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Welsh served on the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury from 1916 to 1920 and was a member of the Calcasieu Parish School Board from 1936 to 1950 and was the board president at the time of his death. He was also a member and past president of the Vinton Drainage Board. He was a member of the [[Methodist Church]], Rotary International, and the Masonic lodge. For a short time prior to his death, he was a director of the West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital.<ref name=dlb>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-w/|title=Welsh, Samuel John|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref>

Welsh went missing on October 25, 1950; his body was found four days later in Dynamite Slough in Vinton.<ref>''Lake Charles American Press,'' October 30, 1950.</ref> At the time of his death, he was president of the school board. He is interred beside his first wife at Big Woods Cemetery in rural Edgerly near Vinton.<ref name=dlb/> His second wife, Fannie B. Campbell Welsh (1908-1964), who was twenty-nine years his junior, is interred at Forest Park Cemetery in [[Houston]], [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=73317770|title=Fannie Welsh|publisher=Old.findagrave.com|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref> The S. J. Welsh Middle School in Lake Charles bears his name.<ref name=dlb/>

Welsh went missing on October 25, 1950; his body was found four days later in Dynamite Slough in Vinton.<ref>''Lake Charles American Press,'' October 30, 1950.</ref> He is interred beside his first wife at Big Woods Cemetery in rural Edgerly near Vinton.<ref name=dlb/> His second wife, Fannie B. Campbell Welsh (1908-1964), who was twenty-nine years his junior, is interred at Forest Park Cemetery in [[Houston]], [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=73317770|title=Fannie Welsh|publisher=Old.findagrave.com|accessdate=January 19, 2018}}</ref> The S. J. Welsh Middle School in Lake Charles bears his name.<ref name=dlb/>

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