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Tench Francis Sr.

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Name
  
Tench Sr.


Tench Francis, Sr. wwwarchivesupenneduimg20040423013x200jpg

Died
  
August 16, 1758, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Tench Francis (born probably in Ireland; died 16 August 1758) was a prominent lawyer and jurist in colonial Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Contents

Early life

Francis was the son of Rev. John Francis, Dean of Linsmore and Rector of St. Mary's Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Maryland

Sometime before 1720, after studying law in London, he moved to America as an attorney for Lord Baltimore. In Kent County, Maryland, he opened a law office. From 1726 to 1734 he was clerk of Talbot County Court before being elected for a three-year term as legislative representative for Talbot County.

Pennsylvania

He later settled in Philadelphia, where he was attorney-general of Pennsylvania, succeeding Andrew Hamilton, from 1741 till 1755, and recorder of Philadelphia from 1750 till 1755.

Tench Francis Sr. httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

He was a founding trustee of the College, Academy, and Charitable Schools of Philadelphia (which became the University of Pennsylvania), and he sent his sons Philip and Turbutt there to study.

Personal life

In 1724 he married Elizabeth Turbutt. Together, they had:

  • Rachel Francis, who married John Retfe
  • Turbutt Francis, who married Sarah Mifflin and later their descendants dropped the surname Francis and used the name Mifflin.
  • Philip Francis, who married Henrietta Maria Goldsborough, who were the grandparents of Philip Francis Thomas
  • Ann Francis, who married James Tilghman, who were the parents of Tench Tilghman, who became an aide to George Washington
  • Mary Francis, who married William Coxe, who were the parents of Tench Coxe, a delegate from Pennsylvania to the last Continental Congress.
  • Elizabeth Francis, who married John Lawrence
  • Margaret Francis, who married Chief Justice Edward Shippen, who's daughter married Benedict Arnold.
  • Tench Francis Jr., who became a prominent merchant and financier in Philadelphia.

    • Tench Francis died in Philadelphia in 1758.

    References

    Tench Francis Sr. Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA