![]() ![]() Colonial Leaders
![]() ( All web links on this page are in "Blue" ) Gunning Bedford, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1747 and raised there. He was the fifth of seven children and was descended from a distinguished family that originally settled in Jamestown, Va. He normally referred to himself as Gunning Bedford, Jr. to avoid confusion with his cousin Gunning Bedford, Sr., Delaware's 12th Governor, statesman, and soldier. In 1771 Gunning Bedford graduated with honor from the college of New Jersey (later Princeton), where he was a classmate of James Madison. Apparently while still in school, Bedford wed Jane B. Parker and together they are known to have had at least one daughter. After reading law with Joseph Read in Philadelphia, Bedford won admittance to the Delaware bar in 1779 and set up a law practice in Dover, De. He later moved to Wilmington, De.
Following the Revolutionary War, Bedford figured prominently in the politics of his state and nation. He was appointed to the Continental Congress in 1783 and served at that post through 1785. He sat in the legislature, on the state council and in the Continental Congress (1783-85). In the latter years, he was chosen as a delegate to the Annapolis Convention but for some reason did not attend. From 1784 to 1789 he was the Attorney General of Delaware.
![]() " Gunning Bedford, Jr.'s Monument "
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