Gunning Bedford Sr. (April 7, 1742 – September 30, 1797) was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

. He was an officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and a member of the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

, who served in the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

and as

Governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. He is often confused with his cousin,

Gunning Bedford Jr. Gunning Bedford Jr. (1747 – March 30, 1812) was an American Founding Father, delegate to the Congress of the Confederation ( Continental Congress), Attorney General of Delaware, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 which draf ...

, who was a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Early life and family

Bedford was born on a farm in New Castle Hundred, near the town of New Castle, son of William and Catherine Jacquett Bedford. William Bedford was the grandson of another William Bedford who came to Delaware from Virginia around 1680, and who himself was the grandson of an English immigrant to

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

in 1621. Gunning Bedford was educated at the Academy of Pennsylvania and married Mary Read, the sister of

George Read George Read may refer to: * George Reade (colonial governor) (1608–1671), politician, judge, and Acting Governor of Virginia Colony * George Read (American politician, born 1733) (1733–1798), lawyer, signer of Declaration of Independence and U ...

in 1769. They had no children. They lived at 6 The Strand in New Castle and were members of Immanuel Episcopal Church. He began his career as a merchant at New Castle, but later studied law, and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1779.

Political career

Bedford was elected to four terms in the House of Assembly beginning with the 1783/84 session and serving through the 1786/87 session. He was elected a delegate to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

under the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

in 1786/87, but resigned shortly afterwards on January 15, 1787. He then was elected to a term on the Legislative Council beginning with the 1788/89 session. In October 1795 he was the

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

candidate for governor, defeating Dr.

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 year ...

, a retired army surgeon. He served as governor from January 19, 1796 until his death on September 30, 1797.

Death and legacy

Bedford died at New Castle and is buried there in the Immanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery. He was the second

to die in office.

Almanac

Elections were held October 1, and members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or the following weekday. State legislative councilors had a three-year term, and state assemblymen had a one-year term. Beginning in 1792 elections were held on the first Tuesday of October, and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. Also in 1792 the State Legislative Council was renamed the State Senate, and the State House of Assembly became the State House of Representatives. The State President became the governor and was popularly elected. He takes office the third Tuesday in January and had a three-year term.

References

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External links

Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United StatesBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
*

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Gunning Sr. 1742 births 1797 deaths People from New Castle, Delaware 18th-century American Episcopalians American people of English descent Delaware Federalists Continental Army officers from Delaware Delaware lawyers Members of the Delaware House of Representatives Delaware state senators Governors of Delaware Federalist Party state governors of the United States People of colonial Delaware Burials in New Castle County, Delaware 18th-century American politicians