Hon. Frank Charles Bunnell

Frank Charles Bunnell (March 19, 1842 – September 11, 1911) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Formative years

Born in Washington Township in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania[3] on March 14, 1842[4] (alternate birth date: March 19), Frank C. Bunnell was a son of Pennsylvania natives James Bunnell (1814–1899) and Mary (Harding) Bunnell (1817–1898). Reared and educated initially with his sister, Savannah (1840–1864), in the common school of Dauphin County, he later attended the Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania.[5][6]

Civil War

Frank Bunnell became one of the early responders to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to help preserve America's union. After enrolling on September 20, 1861 at the age of 19 at Mehoopany, Pennsylvania, he then officially mustered in on October 11, 1861 at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg as a private with Company B, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry. Promoted to the rank of quartermaster sergeant of his regiment on March 1, 1862[7] during the Peninsula Campaign under General McClellan, he fought with his regiment in multiple engagements, including the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862) and Battle of Seven Pines (May 31-June 2, 1862). He was subsequently discharged from the military on April 2, 1863, on a surgeon’s certificate of disability.[8][9]

Post-war life

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Bunnell returned home to Luzerne County where, from 1864 to 1869, he worked as a merchant. He then relocated to Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, where he worked in the agricultural and banking industries, and began a 20-plus-year tenure as president of the Wyoming County Agricultural Society.[10]

On October 1, 1898, he wed Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania resident Martha A. Smith in Tunkhannock.[11]

An unsuccessful candidate for federal office in 1872, he was elected to the Forty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ulysses Mercur.[12][13]

In 1884, he was elected burgess and borough treasurer of Tunkhannock.[14]

A Republican, he was then elected again to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses,[15] but did not seek renomination in 1888.[16][17] Still residing in Tunkhannock two years later, he was documented as suffering from rheumatism and deafness, according to the special census of Union veterans and widows of the Civil War which was conducted that year.[18]

Residing alone in Tunhannock at the turn of the century,[19] he relocated to Philadelphia sometime during or before 1911.[20]

Death and interment

Suffering from Bright's Disease and aortic regurgitation,[21] Bunnell died at his home at 2320 North 19th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1911. Following funeral services at the M.E. Church in Tunkhannock on September 15, he was laid to rest at that community's Gravel Hill Cemetery later that same day.[22][23][24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Charles_Bunnell

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US Congressman. During the Civil War he enlisted in the 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered in as a Sergeant in Company B on September 20, 1861. On March 1, 1862 he was promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant of the regiment, a duty he performed until he was discharged due to disability on April 2, 1863. He became a successful banker, and made an unsuccessful Congressional run in 1872. However, late that year Congressman Ulysses Mercer resigned his seat to become a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, and Frank Bunnell was appointed to fill the vacancy. He represented Pennsylvania's 13th District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from December 14, 1872 to March 3, 1872, when the duly-elected Congressman James Dale Strawbridge was sworn in. Returning home, he served in local political offices until 1884, when he was elected was a Republican to represent Pennsylvania's 15th District in the United States House of Representatives. He served from March 4, 1844 to March 3, 1888, and did not run again for election after serving two terms (his seat was subsequently filled by Congressman Myron Benjamin Wright). He passes away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1911 at the age of 69.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 4 2019, 23:36:58 UTC

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 4 2019, 23:37:30 UTC