Gunning Bedford Sr.
2ndGovernor of Delaware
In office January 19, 1796 – September 30, 1797
Preceded by	Joshua Clayton
Succeeded by	Daniel Rogers
Personal details
Born	(1742-04-07)April 7, 1742 New Castle County,Delaware Colony
Died	September 30, 1797(1797-09-30) (aged 55) New Castle, Delaware
Party	Federalist
Spouse	Mary Read
Residence	New Castle, Delaware
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	New Castle County Militia Continental Army
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	French and Indian War American Revolutionary War

Gunning Bedford Sr. (April 7, 1742 – September 30, 1797) was an American lawyer and politician fromNew Castle, inNew Castle County, Delaware. He was an officer in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolution, and a member of theFederalist Party, who served in theDelaware General Assembly and asGovernor of Delaware. He is often confused with his cousin,Gunning Bedford Jr., who was a delegate to theU.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Bedford was born on a farm inNew Castle Hundred, near the town ofNew 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 toJamestown, Virginia, in 1621. Gunning Bedford was educated at theAcademy of Pennsylvania and married Mary Read, the sister ofGeorge Read in 1769. They had no children. They lived at 6 The Strand in New Castle and were members ofImmanuel Episcopal Church. He began his career as a merchant at New Castle, but later studied law, and was admitted to theDelaware Bar in 1779.

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 theU.S. Congress under theArticles of Confederation 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 theFederalist candidate for governor, defeating Dr.Archibald Alexander, a retired army surgeon. He served as governor from January 19, 1796, until his death on September 30, 1797.

Bedford died at New Castle and is buried there in theImmanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery. He was the secondGovernor of Delaware to die in office.

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.

• Conrad, Henry C. (1908).History of the State of Delaware. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984).History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press.
• Martin, Roger A. (1995).Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, Delaware: Roger A. Martin.
• Munroe, John A. (1954).Federalist Delaware 1775-1815. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University.
• Scharf, John Thomas (1888).History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co.
• Ward, Christopher L. (1941).Delaware Continentals, 1776-1783. Wilmington, DE: Historical Society of Delaware.ISBN 0-924117-21-4.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Wilson, Emerson. (1969).Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Deltos Publishing Company.

• Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography by Russell Pickett
• Delaware's Governors
• Gunning Bedford Sr. atFind a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

• Delaware Historical Society;website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161.
• University of Delaware;Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965.

• 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 from colonial Delaware
• 18th-century Delaware politicians

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2024
• CS1 errors: ISBN date