Pennsylvania Governor. Born August 7, 1788, in the village of Trappe, Montgomery County, he was the son of John Shunk and Elizabeth Rawn, both of Palatine German descent. Despite coming from a poor but close-knit agricultural family and laboring in the fields from the age of ten, Francis Rawn Shunk was teaching school by the age of sixteen. He continued to teach and farm until 1812. In 1812, he was appointed a clerk by the Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, and he served with the Pennsylvania Militia emergency force sent to defend Baltimore during the War of 1812. After the war, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and was appointed Principal Clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was also a clerk of the Pennsylvania Canal Commission (1829 to 1839) and was named Secretary of the Commonwealth by then-Governor David R. Porter, serving from 1839 to 1842. In 1845, he was elected as a Democrat to be the tenth Pennsylvania Governor, serving until 1848. As Governor, he mobilized Pennsylvania's volunteer quota for the Mexican War. He also opposed legislation granting special privileges to businesses and promoting the concentration of wealth. In his second term, he was stricken with tuberculosis, and he died less than two weeks after resigning as Governor.
Pennsylvania Governor. Born August 7, 1788, in the village of Trappe, Montgomery County, he was the son of John Shunk and Elizabeth Rawn, both of Palatine German descent. Despite coming from a poor but close-knit agricultural family and laboring in the fields from the age of ten, Francis Rawn Shunk was teaching school by the age of sixteen. He continued to teach and farm until 1812. In 1812, he was appointed a clerk by the Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, and he served with the Pennsylvania Militia emergency force sent to defend Baltimore during the War of 1812. After the war, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and was appointed Principal Clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was also a clerk of the Pennsylvania Canal Commission (1829 to 1839) and was named Secretary of the Commonwealth by then-Governor David R. Porter, serving from 1839 to 1842. In 1845, he was elected as a Democrat to be the tenth Pennsylvania Governor, serving until 1848. As Governor, he mobilized Pennsylvania's volunteer quota for the Mexican War. He also opposed legislation granting special privileges to businesses and promoting the concentration of wealth. In his second term, he was stricken with tuberculosis, and he died less than two weeks after resigning as Governor.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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