Biography

1738 - 05/25/1815

Brigadier General Francis Gurney (Federalist1) Delaware, Philadelphia City and Philadelphia Counties 1798-1802

Early Life:

Brigadier General Francis Gurney, born 1738, Doylestown, Bucks County, Province of Pennsylvania, British Colonial America; son of Anthony and  Margaret Lovell Gurney; country school education; volunteered, Provincial Army, 1756, French and Indian War, under Israel Putnam; participated, capture of Louisburg, Cape Breton, Canada; enlisted, British fleet, for the capture of Guadalupe, French West Indies, 1758; merchant, militia financier, organizer, and trainer, Philadelphia; captain, Grenadier Company, 3rd Regiment, Revolutionary War 1775-1776; Lieutenant Colonel, 11th Regiment, Pennsylvania Line, battles of Ironhill, Brandywine, and Germantown; resigned, served on Philadelphia Committee of Safety, defense of the Delaware River and Bay; resumed merchandising pursuits, Philadelphia, 1783; Colonel, Pennsylvania Militia, 1786; appointed, Warden of the Port of Philadelphia; alderman, president, select council Philadelphia City, 1796; Colonel, 1st Regiment, Philadelphia Brigade, Whiskey Rebellion, promoted, Brigadier General, 1799; elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1790-1791; elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1794-1797; elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1798-1802; unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 1800; trustee, Dickinson College, 1798-1815; married, Mary Porterfield Gurney, children, Martha Gurney, Francis Gurney, Elizabeth Ritchie Gurney;; died, May 25, 1815, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Burial location unknown.

Early Career:

Captain, Grenadier Company, 3rd Regiment, Philadelphia Militia, later promoted, lieutenant colonel. Resigned his commission on October 22, 1777, after a failure to receive an expected promotion. 

Led 600 militia against rebelling farmers in western Pennsylvania, during the Whiskey Rebellion, 1799, promoted, brigadier general.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Philadelphia City, 1790-1791.

Elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Philadelphia City, Pennsylvania Counties, 1794-1798. 

Elected, Federalist, Select Council, Philadelphia City, Pennsylvania, 1796.

Elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district, Delaware, Philadelphia City, Philadelphia Counties, 1798-1802.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania District 1, United States House of Representatives, 1800.

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "G"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

A New Nation Votes (tufts.edu)

Francis Gurney (1738-1815) | Dickinson College