Francis Gashry (14 November 1702 – 1762) of Hollybush House, Parsons Green, London was a British official and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1741 to 1762. Gashry was the son of Francis Gascherie, perfumer, of Lamb's St, Stepney and his wife Susanna. Gashry's parents both originated from La Rochelle, France and his father was naturalized in 1709 as ‘Gascherye’... Gashry was Inspector of the captains’ journals and secretary to Sir Charles Wager in 1737, when Wager was first Lord of the Admiralty and was himself commissioner for sick and hurt seamen. He continued in Wager's service when Wager was assistant secretary to the Admiralty in 1738. Wager brought Gashry in as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...

at a by-election on 30 March 1741 and promoted him as a commissioner of the navy in 1741. At the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

Gashry was returned unopposed as Wager's candidate at East Looe on the interest of Edward Trelawny. In 1742 he appeared before a secret committee appointed to inquire into Walpole's Administration to give evidence on the payment of secret service money during Wager's election for Westminster in 1741. He was appointed comptroller of victualling accounts in 1744. In 1747 he resigned his office which, under the Place Act 1742, was about to become incompatible with a seat in the Commons. At the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henr ...

he was returned unopposed again for East Looe. When Trelawny went to Jamaica as governor, Gashry became the intermediary between the Government and the Trelawny family, and also personal agent for the governor. Gashry married before 1747, Martha Bolton, widow of Charles Bolton, who was a nephew of Admiral Charles Wager. Through his wife, Gashry succeeded to manor of Rotherhithe, and to Kilmenath, near Looe, when Wager's widow died in 1748. He became a director for the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

in 1749 and was appointed treasurer and paymaster of the Ordnance in 1751. Gashry was returned unopposed as MP for East Looe at the

1754 British general election The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the ext ...

. As director of the South Sea Company and Treasurer of the Ordnance, he was consulted by Newcastle on financial matters and subscribed to Government loans. He was returned unopposed at the

1761 British general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. This was the first ...

. There is no record of his having spoken in Parliament. Gashry died without issue on 19 May 1762 having long been in a declining state.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gashry, Francis 1702 births 1762 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768