George Gray (1725–1800) served as a member of the

Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

and as its Speaker in 1783. His father, also named George Gray, had purchased 199 acres of land on both sides of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

in what was then

Blockley Township Blockley Township is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Incorporated in 1704, the township was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia under the 1854 Act of Consolidation. History An irregularly shape ...

(present-day

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

) and

Moyamensing Moyamensing is an area of Philadelphia established as a Moyamensing Township during British colonial rule on the fast land of the Neck, lying between Passyunk Square, Philadelphia, Passyunk and Wicaco. It was Act of Consolidation, 1854, incorpor ...

(present-day

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Gray's Ferry Tavern and Inn on the western bank of the river and took over operation of Gray's Ferry. In 1740, the father retired, leaving the businesses to his sons, Robert and 15-year-old George. In 1748, the younger George Gray became a lieutenant in Company Nine of the

Associators Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and Ameri ...

, a volunteer militia. In 1772, Gray was elected to the

Colonial Assembly The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...

, and served through its transition to becoming the State Assembly in 1776. He was elected 34th Speaker of the Assembly on October 30, 1783. His term saw the establishment of

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

, now the state capital. While Speaker of the Assembly, Gray served, ex officio, as a trustee of the

University of the State of Pennsylvania The institution now known as the University of Pennsylvania was founded as a secondary school in 1740 and by the time of the American Revolution had grown to include a college and medical school called the College of Philadelphia. While it operat ...

(now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

). He was the author of "Treason Resolution", ordering paper currency, for which he was turned out of the Quaker Meeting. He was on the Committee of Safety when appointed chairman of the Board of War. In 1784, Gray was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Gray was a signatory to ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1787. Gray had a summer residence in Thornton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, known as "Yellow House". It is part of the

Thornton Village Historic District The Thornton Village Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Situated in the crossroads at the intersection of Glen Mills and Thornton Roads in the village of Thor ...

which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2006.

Personal life

Gray married Martha Ibbetson (or Ibison) on November 25, 1752.

References

External links

University of Pennsylvania historical siteLand holdings in 1777
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, George 1725 births 1800 deaths Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly University of Pennsylvania people People of colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians