Francis Gurney

Born near Doylestown, Bucks County, 1738, to Thomas and Bethsheba Gurney; educated in country schools, volunteered in the Provincial Army at 18, French and Indian War, service in Canada under Israel Putnam; participated in the capture of Louisburg, Cape Breton; enlisted in British fleet for the capture of Guadalupe, French West Indies; settled in Philadelphia as a merchant; militia financier, organizer, and trainer.  Served in the Revolutionary War (1775-76); commissioned captain of the Grenadier Co., 3rd Regt.; promoted to Lt Col., 11th Regiment, Pennsylvania Line; participated in the battles of Ironhill, Brandywine, and Germantown; resigned to serve on Philadelphia Committee of Safety and for the defense of the Delaware River and Bay.  In 1783, he resumed merchandising pursuits in Philadelphia; promoted to Colonel, Pennsylvania Militia, 1786; appointed Warden of the Port of Philadelphia; alderman, president of the select council, Col. 1st Regt., Philadelphia Brigade during the Whiskey Rebellion; state House of Representatives 1790-91; 1794-97; state Senate, 1798-1802; trustee Dickinson College until his death on May 25, 1815, survived by his wife, Mary (Porterfield) Gurney.