Sir Francis Gerard, 2nd Baronet (12 October 1617 – December 1680) was an English 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. ...

variously between 1641 and 1660. Gerard was the son of

Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill (23 October 1587 – 6 January 1670), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1660. He was a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during t ...

and his wife Mary Barrington, a daughter of Sir

Francis Barrington Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet of Barrington Hall, Essex (ca. 15603 July 1628) was a Puritan activist and politician, who was MP for Essex from 1601 to 1604, then 1620 to 1628. One of the wealthiest members of the Essex gentry, Barr ...

and Joan Cromwell, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell.John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
/ref> In 1641, Gerard was elected

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 of ...

for Seaford the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

and sat until 1648. In 1659 he was elected MP for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

in the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

. In 1660, Gerard was elected

for Bossiney in the Convention Parliament. He inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father in 1670. Gerard died at the age of 63. Gerard married Isabel Cheek, daughter of Sir Thomas Cheek. Their three sons Charles, Francis and Cheek successively inherited the baronetcy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Francis 1617 births 1680 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Bossiney People from Seaford, East Sussex People from Harrow on the Hill English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 Baronets in the Baronetage of England