Merchant of New York.

Traded at Curaçao and St. Eustatius in partnership with Samuel Curson. Authorized to receive and forward supplies for American troops (1776). Taken prisoner after the capture of St. Eustatius and sent to England (1781). Franklin asked London merchant William Hodgson to supply Gouverneur and Curson with money and advised them on the recovery of their property. Later traded at New York in partnership with his brother Nicholas and brother-in-law Peter Kemble.

Scion of a prominent New York mercantile family. Married Elizabeth, whom he later divorced for adultery (1787).