Francis Gardner (December 27, 1771 – June 25, 1835) was an American politician and a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Early life

Gardner was born in

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,222 at the 2023 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Bo ...

, Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1793. He then studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1796 and commenced practice at

Walpole, New Hampshire Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. The town's central village, where 573 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place (CDP) a ...

before moving to Keene in 1806.

Career

Elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the Tenth Congress, Gardner served as

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for the state of New Hampshire from (March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1809). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1808 and resumed his practice as well as serving as solicitor of Cheshire County. Gardner was appointed solicitor of Cheshire County, New Hampshire on June 30, 1806, and served from 1807 to 1820.

Death

Gardner died in Roxbury (now part of Boston), Suffolk County, Massachusetts on June 25, 1835 (age 63 years, 180 days). His burial location is unknown.

Family life

Gardner was the son of the Rev. Francis Gardner (1736–1814), he married Margaret Leonard on Nov 1, 1804, and they had five children, Susan, Francis, Margaret Helen, Delia Leonard, and Sarah Gibson. His sister Hannah was the wife of Congressman

Abijah Bigelow Abijah Bigelow (December 5, 1775 – April 5, 1860) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Born in Westminster in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Elisha and Sarah (Goodridge) Bigelow, Abijah Bigelow studied at Leicester (M ...

, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1810 to 1815.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Francis 1771 births 1835 deaths People from Leominster, Massachusetts Politicians from Worcester County, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives