Francis R. Shunk

Who was Francis R. Shunk?

Francis Rawn Shunk was the tenth Governor of Pennsylvania from 1845 to 1848. Born into a poor family, Shunk served in the Pennsylvania militia during the War of 1812. Both before and after the war, he served as a clerk and secretary in both the executive and legislative branches of Pennsylvania government, where he played an active role in moderating partisan tensions. When Democratic gubernatorial candidate Henry A. P. Muhlenberg unexpectedly died in August 1844, Shunk was tapped to run by the Democratic Party and narrowly defeated Whig candidate Joseph Markle. He was re-elected in 1847 but, suffering from tuberculosis, was forced to resign his position on July 9, 1848; he died eleven days later. Born near Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, son of John Shunk and Elisabeth Rawn. He married Jane Findlay, daughter of former Pennsylvania Governor William Findlay, on December 11, 1820. Governor Shunk's ancestors were pioneers in Upper Montgomery County, arriving there in 1715 from Mutterstadt, Pfalz, Germany were his great grandparents Caspar and Anna Barbara Schunck. Their son Francis and his wife Elisabetha Reimer, daughter of Dionysius Friederich Reimer and his wife Elisabetha Weinacht, were also from Mutterstadt, and were Francis R. Shunk's grandparents. Shunk Hall on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University is named in his honor. Shunk Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is also named in Francis R. Shunk's honor as is Gov. F.R. Shunk Avenue in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.