History of Georgia United States of America

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Local History Notes:

GEORGIA, one of the original states of the United States of North America, is bounded on the N. by Tennessee and North Carolina; E. by South Carolina, (from which it is separated by the Savannah river,) and by the Atlantic ocean; S. by Florida, and W. by Florida and Alabama, from which it is partly separated by the Chattahochee river. Georgia lies between 30° 21' 39" and 35° N. lat., and between 81° and 85° 53' 38" W. lon., being about 300 miles in length from N. to S., and 256 in its greatest breadth from E. to W., including 58,000 square miles, or 37,120,000 acres, of which only 6,378,479 are improved, showing that this already great and flourishing state is but in the commencement of developing leer resources and wealth.

Population: The original settlers of Georgia were English, Scotch, and Germans, with the usual admixture of other nations, (as shown by the figures below,) as the peopling of the state progressed. Up to 1838, the Cherokee Indians, one of the most civilized, intelligent, and numerous of the aboriginal tribes, formed a considerable part of the population of Georgia. In 1790 the number of inhabitants was 82,548; 162,101 in 1800; 252,433 in 1810; 340,987 in 1820; 516,823 in 1830; 691,392 in 1840, and 906,101 in 1850, being a ratio of increase greater than any of the original states since the first census in 1790. This population is divided into 91,471 families, occupying 91,011 dwellings. Of the population in 1850, 266,183 were white males, 255,395 females; 1379 free colored males, 1552 free colored females; 188,838 male slaves, and 192,844 female slaves. Of the free population, 402,582 were born in the state; 115,413 in other states of the Union; 679 in England; 3202 in Ireland; 380 in Scotland and Wales; 108 in British America; 974 in Germany; 177 in France; 514 in other countries, and 597 whose places of birth were unknown: In the year ending June 1, 1850, there died 9920 persons, or about 11 in every 1000 persons, showing a ratio of mortality less than that of any Southern state except Florida, and of the entire Union except 3. In the same period, 1036 paupers received aid, of whom 58 were foreigners, at an expense of about $30 to each person. There were 252 deaf and dumb, of whom 41 were slaves; 309 blind, of whom 5 were free colored, and 80, slaves; 306 insane, of whom 2 were free colored, and 23, slaves; 577 idiotic, of whom 3 were free colored, and 98, slaves. This state is divided into 97 counties, viz. Appling, Baker, Baldwin, Bibb, Bryan, Bullock, Burke, Butts, Camden, Campbell, Carroll, Case, Chatham, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clinch, Cobb, Columbia, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Decatur, De Kalb, Dooly, Early, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Glynn. Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Irwin, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Jefferson, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Lowndes, Lumpkin, McIntosh, Macon, Madison, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Scriven, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tatnall, Taylor, Telfair, Thomas, Troup, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Whitefield, Wilkes, Wilkinson. Milledgeville is the capital.

Savannah had nearly 19,000 by a local census in 1852

Cities and Towns: The towns of Georgia have received a new impetus since the completion of her railways; and places that were mere cross-roads a few years ago, with their tavern, store, and smithy, have become flourishing manufacturing villages. Savannah,1 the principal city, had 16,060 inhabitants in 1850; Augusta, 9559; Columbus, 5942; Athens, 3795; Atlanta, 2572; Griffin, 2320; Milledgeville, 2216.

Face of the Country: Georgia has every variety of surface, from the mountains of the north, through all gradations of rough, hilly, and undulating country, to the alluvial fiats which begin about 100 miles from the sea, to which they extend. We learn from White's "Statistics of Georgia," from which we are obliged to condense, that "commencing at the Atlantic ocean, and spreading out from 100 to 150 miles westward, we have an extensive plain of a tertiary formation, gradually swelling up to a height of 500 feet, at a line passing near the head of navigation of the Savannah, Ogeechee, Oconee, and Ocmulgee rivers, where it meets a primary formation." An angle of cretaceous formation, underlying the tertiary, enters Georgia from Alabama, between Fort Gaines and Columbus, and extends, with its apex, to a point between Macon and Knoxville. The N. side of this triangle is about 50, and the S.E. about 100 miles in length. The primary formation crosses the state in a S. W. direction, above the falls of the rivers named, with a breadth of 160 miles at the northern, and 100 miles at the southern limit. A second plain above the falls succeeds, of about 60 or 70 miles in width, beyond which, on the N. W. side of the primary belt, and running nearly parallel with it, we come upon the Blue Ridge mountains, which reach an elevation varying from 1200 to 4000 feet. The N. W. of Georgia consists of transition rocks, except in the extreme N.W. counties, which are carboniferous in their formation. In the S. E. is Okefonokee swamp, or rather series of swamps, which have a circuit of about 180 miles, filled with pools and islands, and covered with vines, bay-trees, and underwood. Alligators, frogs, lizards, cranes, &c. find a congenial home in this region.

Minerals: Previous to the discovery of the gold mines of California, Georgia was one of the Eldorados of America; but though her mines are almost swept out of mind by the richer yields of the new state on the Pacific, a soberer time may come again, when slow and patient industry may be content to develop the golden treasures of this region. The tract containing the gold mines has its centre in Lumpkin county, in the northern part of the state; and at Dahlonega, in this county, a branch mint has been established, which coined in 1851, $351,592 in gold. Besides this precious metal, Georgia contains some silver copper, iron, lead, manganese, titanium, graphite, antimony, and zinc; also granite, marble, gypsum, limestone, coal, sienite, marl, burrstone, soapstone, asbestos, slate, shale, tripoli, fluorspar, barytes, tourmaline, arragonite, kaolin, epidote, porcelain clay, ruby, opal, augite, cyanite, emerald, prase, cornelians, chalcedony, agate, jasper, amethyst, precious garnets, schorl, zircon, rose quartz, beryl, and even diamonds. Fossils are found in abundance in the S. E. counties near the sea.

Rivers, Bays, &c: Georgia is abundantly supplied with rivers, both for the purposes of navigation and for propelling power. To the central plateau which forms the falls or rapids, the rivers are mostly navigable for steamers, and among and above them they furnish advantageous sites for mills. Of the 36 cotton factories in Georgia in 1851, 34 were driven by water. The Oconee and Ocmulgee rise in the N. of the state, pass through its centre to within 100 miles of the ocean, where they unite to form the Altamaha, which flows eastward into the Atlantic ocean. The Altamaha is navigable to Darien for vessels drawing from 11 to 14 feet water, and its confluents to Macon and Milledgeville for steamboats. The Savannah, which forms the greater part of the eastern boundary, dividing Georgia from South Carolina, is formed by the Tugaloo and Seneca rivers. It is about 500 miles in length, is navigable for ships to Savannah, and for large steamboats to Augusta. The Ogeechee, a river flowing S. E. about 200 miles, drains the country between the rivers named above. It is navigable for sloops 30 or 40 miles, and for keelboats to Louisville. Cannouchee, a western branch, is navigable 50 miles. The Santilla and St. Mary's drain the south-eastern counties, and the Flint, Oclockonee, and Suwanee, with their branches, the south-western. The Santilla and St. Mary's are navigable for sloops about 30 or 40 miles, and for keel-boats perhaps as much more. The Flint, a branch of the Chattahoochee, is about 300 miles long, and is navigable to Albany for steamboats. The Chattahoochee rises in the N. E. of Georgia, crosses the state in a S. W. direction till it strikes the W. boundary, which it follows for about 150 miles to its union with the Flint, at the S. W. extremity of Georgia, where their united floods form the Appalachicola. The Chattahoochee is navigable to Columbus for steamboats. The Tallapoosa and Coosa, head waters of the Alabama, and the Hiawassee, one of the sources of the Tennessee river, take their rise in the N. of this State. The Suwanee and the Oclockonee pass S. into Florida. Alias run through the middle of the state from S. to N. would nearly divide the waters flowing into the Atlantic from those flowing into the Gulf of Mexico; but this line would trend to the E., both in the N. and S., and to the W. in the centre. The waters of the Hiawassee, however, reach the gulf through the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Georgia has about 80 miles of seacoast, which is lined by small islands, on which grows the celebrated sea-island cotton. These islands are cut off from the mainland by narrow sounds, inlets, or lagoons.

Objects of Interest to Tourists: The geologist will find in the alluvions of the southeastern counties of Georgia extensive fossil remains, while her minerals and mountains will offer much for his examination; and the antiquarian too may find objects, even in this new country, to baffle his most ingenious theories. In Hancock county is an Indian mound, of a semioval form, 2000 feet long and 37 high, and surrounded by a ditch. Human bones have been found here. About 9 miles E. of Macon is a mound, covering about 300 acres at its base and 50 at its top, which seems to be a natural elevation, but is covered on the summit with the ruins of a limestone fortification. There are several artificial mounds in the same neighborhood, and in other parts of the state. One in Case county is 1114 feet in circuit and 75 feet high, in which has been found large quantities of pottery. To the lover of the picturesque, Georgia offers many grand scenes, and among them the Stone mountain, in De Kalb county, 7 miles in circuit, and 2226 feet in height; the falls of Tallulah, a branch of the Tugaloo, in Habersham county, where it passes through a ridge of mountains, forming cliffs from 200 to 500 feet, and descending in a succession of four falls through the space of a mile; Toccaco falls, in the same stream, 185 feet high; Amicolah fails, in Lumpkin county, with a descent of 400 feet in as many yards; the Towaligo falls, in Monroe county; the Eastatoah and Stockoa falls, in Rabun county, (thought by many to surpass the Toccaco;) a series of falls in the Hiawassee, sometimes with a descent of about 100 feet; Nicojack cave, opening into the Racoon mountains, near the N. W. extremity of the state, extending for miles into the mountain, which it enters by a portal 150 feet wide, and 60 high: through this passes a stream, up which the visitor must be boated for three miles, when further progress is stopped by a cataract; (Wilson's cave is described in the same neighborhood, by Scars; whether or not it is the same cave under a different name we have no means of determining ;) Nix's cave, in Floyd county; Track Rock and Pilot Mountain, (1200 feet high,) both in Union county?are all worthy of a separate description in a work of a different character.

Climate, Soil, and Productions: "While the inhabitants (we quote De Bow's Resources of the South and West) of Southern and Middle Georgia are being parched with heat, frequently so intense as to prevent comfortable rest, even at night, the more northern climate, among the mountains, is such as to render necessary a blanket in order to comfortable repose. A more lovely heaven does not simile upon the classic land of Italy than upon the favored inhabitants of Georgia." According to meteorological observations made at Savannah by Dr. Posey, during the year ending May, 1852, the maximum in June, at 2 P.M., was 97°.4; minimum, 70; mean for the day, 77°.10: maximum for July, 99°.3; minimum, 90°.5; mean, 81°.7: maximum for August, 93°; minimum, 82°.5: mean, 79°.70: maximum for September, 88°.1; minimum, 66°.2; mean, 67°.7: maximum for October, 85°.6 minimum, 56°.9; mean, 66°.25: maximum for November, 77°.1; minimum, 50°.1; mean, 56°.12: maximum for December, 58°.5; minimum, 43°.3; mean, 47°.27: maximum for January, 75°; minimum, 29°.5; mean, 41°.75: maximum for February, 81°.7; minimum, 60°; mean, 55°.45: maximum for March, 84°; minimum, 43°.9; mean, 61°.30: maximum for April, 86°.7; minimum, 67°.9; mean, 63°.27; and maximum for May, 94°.9; minimum, 69°.9; and mean, 75°.52. There were 85 rainy days in the year, viz. 13 in June, 12 in July, 10 in August, 4 in September, 5 in October, 5 in November, 7 in December 4 in January, 5 in February, 7 in March, 8 in April, and 5 in May. The thermometer was highest, July 30th, 2 P.M., 99°.3, and lowest, January 20th, 7 A.M., 13°.8. The peach blossomed February 20th, and the plum on the 23d. Snow falls sometimes, but does not lie long.

The diversity of soil is not less than that of climate, from the rich alluvions near the seacoast and rivers, to the thinner soil of the pine barrens (not so sterile by far as their name implies) and the rougher mountain regions. The good and bad lands of Georgia are so intermingled, that it is difficult to describe them by districts. In the south, we have on the coast the islands with their light sandy soil, but fertile in sea-island cotton; and on the mainland are the rich alluvions, but interspersed with swamps, which, however, yield rice in abundance. The bottom lands of the Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaba, and the smaller rivers, are exceedingly fertile, and produce rice, cotton, Indian corn, and sugar. Farther west, about 60 miles from the coast, commence the pine barrens, at present mostly valuable for their timber and naval stores, but easily cultivable and productive, should occasion require. In the south-west the soil is light and sandy, but fertile, and productive in cotton. The sugar-cane is also sometimes cultivated successfully. The soil, though fertile, is easily exhausted, and requires manuring to restore it. The middle region consists of a red loamy soil, once productive, but, owing to a bad system of culture, much impoverished. Its products are cotton, tobacco, and the various kinds of grain. We now come to the Cherokee country in the north, once in possession of the Indians of that name, and containing lands among the most fertile in the state, particularly in its valleys, which, though worked by the Indians for ages past, are still capable of producing from 50 to 75 bushels of grain to the acre. This region is not so well adapted to the culture of cotton, though it can be raised successfully, but yields wheat, corn, Irish potatoes, peas, beans, &c. abundantly. Here, too, are to be found gold, iron, coal, marble, granite, limestone, and other minerals, valuable in building and the industrial arts. The iron is represented as being of very superior quality. Our summary of the natural resources and the physical characteristics of this flourishing state, bring us to the conclusion that it is surpassed by no Atlantic or Gulf state, to say the least, in the elements of a rapid growth in agriculture, manufactures, and commerce. With a soil capable of yielding most of the great staples of the country, and some tropical fruits, with a mild climate, yet cold enough in the north for the restoration of health to the enervated inhabitant of the south, and for the production of the winter rains; with rivers that can be navigated by steamboats to her centre, and whose branches furnish water-power in abundance, what element of prosperity does she lack, if she be true to herself? The prime articles of cultivation in Georgia are cotton, rice, sweet potatoes, and Indian corn, besides which large quantities of live stock, wheat, oats, tobacco, wool, peas, beans, Irish potatoes, fruits, market products, butter, cheese, hay, sugar, molasses, beeswax and honey, and some rye, barley, buckwheat, wine, grass seeds, hops, flax, and silk are produced. Georgia is first of the states of the Union in the amount of sweet potatoes raised, and second in that of rice and cotton. In 1850 there were in this state 51,759 farms, containing 6,378,475 acres of improved land, averaging about 120 acres to a farm, and producing 1,088,534 bushels of wheat; 53,750 of rye; 30,080,099 of Indian corn; 3,820,044 of oats; 1,142,011 of peas and beans; 227,379 of Irish potatoes; 6,986,428 of sweet potatoes; 11,501 of barley; 38,950,691 pounds of rice; 432,924 of tobacco; 199,636,400 of cotton; 990,019 of wool; 4,640,559 of butter; 46,976 of cheese; 23,449 tons of hay; 1,644,000 pounds of cane sugar; 732,514 of honey and beeswax; 216,150 gallons of molasses; live stock valued at $25,728,416; orchard products, at $92,776; market goods, at $75,500; and slaughtered animals, at $6,339,762.

Forest Tree: There are extensive forests of pine and live oak in the South; the swamps afford cedar and cypress, and the middle country oak and hickory. The other forest-trees are walnut, chestnut, poplar, sycamore, beech, maple, ash, gum, elm, fir, spruce, magnolia, laurel, and palmetto.

Animals: Bears, deers, wolves, panthers, foxes, gophers, rabbits, among quadrupeds; alligators, terrapins, lizards, scorpions, rattlesnakes, among reptiles; and turtle, rock, black, and flying-fish, trout, bass, drum, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, porgey, and mullet, among fish, are the leading objects of animated nature in Georgia.

Manufactures: Georgia has recently made great advances in the establishment of manufactures, for which she enjoys great facilities, in the abundance of her water-power and fuel, in the nearness of the raw material to the manufacturer, and in the number of her navigable rivers and iron roads ready to carry her fabrics to market. In 1850 there were in Georgia 1407 manufacturing establishments, each producing $500 or upwards annually; 35 of these were cotton factories, employing $1,736,156 capital, and 873 male and 1399 female hands, consuming raw material worth $900,419, and producing 7,209,292 yards of stuffs, 4,198,351 pounds of yarn, valued at $2,135,044; three woollen factories, employing $68,000 capital, and 40 male and 38 female hands, consuming raw material worth $153,816, and producing 340,600 yards of stuffs, valued at $88,750; 10 forges, furnaces, &c., employing a capital of $70,200, consuming raw material worth $43,776, and producing 1405 tons of pig, wrought, and east iron, valued at $118,884; 140 tanneries, employing $262,855 capital, consuming $185,604 worth of raw material, and producing leather valued at $861,586, and homemade manufactures of the value of $1,838,988.

In Hunt's Magazine of May, 1852, it is stated that there were 36 cotton mills in Georgia, employing a capital of $1,611,100, and 1266 male and 771 female hands, and consuming raw material worth $805,648, and producing stuffs valued at $1,626,485.

Internal Improvements: Georgia takes the lead of the Southern States in the number and extent of her railways, which cross the middle and north of the state in all directions, connecting her commercial centre with all the important towns other own interior, with Alabama on the W., and with Tennessee and the great Ohio and Mississippi valleys to the N. and N.W. In January, 1853, there were in Georgia 857 miles of railway in operation, and 311 in course of construction: 1053 miles of railway, either already made or in course of construction, centre in Savannah, which is connected with Macon, Columbus, and Montgomery, in Alabama; with Augusta, Oglethorpe, and Atlanta; and with Chattanooga and Charleston, in Tennessee. Augusta is also connected indirectly with the same places. A continuous line of railway through Georgia is now completed from. Charleston, South Carolina, to Nashville, Tennessee. This forms an important artery in the trade between the North and the South-western States, and has entirely diverted a large portion of it from its ancient channels. Branch roads diverge to Athens, Rome, West Point, Milledgeville, Muscogee, Florida, Eatonton, Rome, and other places, which are either wholly or partly completed. There are only a few short canals in Georgia, one connecting the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers, another from Brunswick to the Altamaha, and a canal round the falls in the Savannah, at Augusta, making a total of about 50 miles: See TABLE OF RAILWAYS AND CANALS, Appendix.

Commerce: Georgia is favorably situated for internal trade, having a number of navigable rivers which may be ascended by steamboats from 200 to 300 miles from the sea, and still farther for keel-boats. She has an active coasting trade with her sister states, and beside sailing-vessels, has lines of ocean steamers running regularly between Savannah and New York, and the same port and Philadelphia. The principal exports of Georgia consist of her great staple cotton, and of rice, lumber, and naval stores. Her exports to foreign countries amounted, in 1852, to $4,999,090, and her imports to $474,924: tonnage entered, 49,994; cleared, 62,875. Georgia exports also largely of her rice, lumber, and cotton to other states of the Union. According to De Bow there were received at the different ports of Georgia, in 1851-2, 325,714 bales of cotton, most, if not all of which, was doubtless exported. The tonnage of the state, in 1852, was 25,785 25/95, of which 8295 40/95 was steam tonnage; the number of vessels built was only 2, whose tonnage was 3229 92/95.

Education: Georgia is celebrated for her female institutes, which are said to be conspicuous objects as the traveller passes through her territories; but her public schools are less patronized; they had, however, in 1850, 29,675 pupils in attendance: there were 13,493 pupils attending other schools. Among the numerous high schools and academies, we may mention the Georgia Female College, at Macon, which (White says) is generally attended by 140 pupils, who go through an extensive course of study. The number of volumes in school libraries in 1850 was 1800. There are 5 colleges in Georgia, with an aggregate attendance, in 1852, of 596 students, and 23,800 volumes in their libraries; and one theological school with 6, and one medical college with 115 students. The school fund amounted in the same year to $263,310. As an evidence of increasing interest in the subject of education, a common-school journal has been established at Columbus, in this state.

Religious Denominations: of the 1723 churches in Georgia, in 1850, 821 belonged to the different sects of Baptists, 19 to the Episcopalians, 735 to the Methodists, 92 to Presbyterians, 8 to the Roman Catholics, and 16 to the Union Church. The rest were owned by the Bible Christians, the Christians, the Congregationalists, the Free Church, Friends, Independents, Lutherans, Moravians, and Universalists, making one church to every 525 persons. Value of church property, $1,269,159.

Public Institutions: There is a state lunatic asylum near Milledgeville, which went into operation in 1842, and up to 1849 had received 204 patients, of whom 95 were in the institution at the date named. Up to the same period the whole amount expended by the state on the institution was $94,201. There is also an asylum for the deaf and dumb at Cave Springs, in Floyd county, which received, in 1852, $17,000 from the state. The state penitentiary at Milledgeville is a three-story granite building, 200 feet by 30. The convicts are employed in manufacturing leather, wagons, shoes, pails, and many other articles, the sale of which leaves a small balance over the expenses of the penitentiary. There were, in 1850, in Georgia, 24 public libraries, with an aggregate of 35,632 volumes.

Government: This state is similar in its governmental divisions to the other members of the confederacy. The legislature meets biennially. The governor is elected by the people for two years, and receives a salary of $3000 per annum. The senate consists of 47 members, and the house of representatives of 130, both elected for each session of the legislature, and receiving $5 per diem. Every white male, who has paid a tax the previous year, and resided in the county where the election takes place 6 months before the election, is a legalized elector. The state of Georgia is entitled to 8 members in the national house of representatives, and to 10 electoral votes for president of the United States.

The judiciary is composed: 1. Of a court of errors and appeals, presided over by three judges, elected for 6 years by the legislature; 2. Of a superior court, held in every county in the state twice a year, and presided over by judges elected for 4 years by the legislature; 3. Of an inferior court, consisting of 5 justices in each county, elected by the people for 4 years, and holding 2 sessions a year; and 4. Of justices' courts, consisting of 2 justices for each militia district, elected by the people of their respective districts. The state is divided into eleven judicial districts. The judges of the superior court are elected by the legislature for 4 years. The judges of the supreme court receive $2500 per annum.

The public debt of Georgia in 1852, was $1,995,724.22. Sources of revenue (which averages about $300,000 a year) are a general tax, and a special tax on bank stocks. The expenditures, for the pay of legislators, civil establishments, judiciary, public charities, &c. are about $130,000 a year. Time public debt consists of bonds issued for the construction of railways. In 1852 there were 18 banking institutions in the state, with an aggregate capital of $5,629,315, a circulation of $4,300,000, and $1,700,000 in coin.

History: Georgia was the last settled of the original thirteen states of the American confederacy, the first colony having been planted by Oglethorpe at Yamacraw Bluff, now called Savannah, in 1733, more than 100 years after the settlement of most of the original colonies, and 63 years after that of South Carolina, her nearest neighbor. Three years afterwards, some Germans rounded Ebenezer on the River, about 25 miles above Savannah. The settlement of Darien was commenced about the same time by some Scotch Highlanders. The infant colony was involved in some severe contests with the Spaniards of Florida, who claimed the Country as far the 33d degree of north latitude. In 1789, Oglethorpe invaded Florida, took Fort Diego, and besieged St. Augustine, but was obliged to raise the siege and return. The Spanish in turn invaded Georgia in 1742, but being alarmed by a stratagem of Oglethorpe's, they retreated without coming to blows. Slaves were first admitted into the colony in 1749. The proprietors, harassed by the difficulties that surrounded them, gave up the province to the crown in 1752, when Dr. Franklin was appointed its agent near the British government. In 1761 the Cherokee Indians were attacked by Colonel Montgomery, on which occasion the savages so bravely resisted, that, though Montgomery claimed the victory, he thought it advisable to retreat. The following year Colonel Grant burned their towns, laid waste their country, and reduced them to sue for peace. Georgia entered warmly into the Revolution, and during parts of 1778, 1779, and 1780, was in the hands of the British troops. Savannah was captured by them December 29th, 1778, and the combined American and French armies were repulsed in an attempt to retake it in October, 1779, with a loss to the allies of 1100 men. In 1838 the Cherokee Indians were removed from the state to the Indian territory, beyond the Mississippi, and Georgia came into possession of the long-coveted Indian reservation.

Biographies:

George Washington Crawford, governor of Georgia, was born in Columbia county, Ga., Dec. 22, 1798: son of Peter Crawford, who came from Virginia to Edgefield county, S.C., in 1779 and settled in Columbia county, Ga., in 1783. He was graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1820, studied law in the office of Richard Henry Wilde in Augusta, Ga., and in 1822 was admitted to the Richmond county bar. He was attorney-general of Georgia, 1827-31, and a representative in the state legislature from Richmond county, 1837-42, with the exception of an interim of one year. He was a representative from Georgia in the 27th congress, filling a vacancy caused by the death of Richard W. Habersham and serving from Feb. 7 to March 4, 1843. He was governor of Georgia, 1843-46, and by pledging his personal credit restored financial credit to the state and placed it on a sound basis, On the accession of Zachary Taylor to the presidency in 1849, he was given the portfolio of war in the new cabinet. On the death of the President, July 9, 1850, he resigned from the cabinet and his resignation was accepted Aug. 15, 1850. He then made a tour of Europe, spending several years abroad and on his return retired from public life. In 1858 he joined, with several other former governors of Georgia, in a southern commercial convention held at Montgomery, Ala., and in 1861 he presided over the state convention that carried Georgia for secession. He died at his home near Augusta, Ga., July 22, 1872.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William Few, senator, was born in Baltimore county, Md., June 8, 1748; a direct descendant from William Few, who came to America with William Penn and settled in Pennsylvania. He removed with his parents to North Carolina in 1758 and there acquired his education chiefly through his own efforts. In 1776 he removed to Georgia and at once identified himself with public affairs. He was a representative in the Georgia legislature in 1777, 1779, 1783 and 1793; a member of the executive council, 1777; and in 1778 engaged in the expedition conducted by General Howe and Governor Houstoun for the subjugation of East Florida. He was elected surveyor-general of Georgia in 1778, and in the same year was appointed commissioner of confiscated estates and senior justice of Richmond county. In 1779 he became lieutenant-colonel of the county militia and was actively engaged in resisting the advance of Colonel Campbell upon Augusta, in guarding the frontiers of Georgia and in resisting the predatory attacks of the British, Tories and Indians He was a delegate to the Continental congress, 1780-82 and 1785-88. He assisted in reconstructing the state government of Georgia in 1781; was admitted to the bar in Savannah in 1784; was a delegate to the Philadelphia convention for revising the constitution of the United States in 1787; and in 1788 was a member of the Georgia convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. In 1788 he was elected a United States senator, and drew the Short term, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 2, 1793. In 1796 he was appointed a judge of the second judicial circuit of Georgia. He removed to New York city in 1799, and in 1801-04 was a member of the general assembly of New York. In 1804 he was appointed commissioner of loans. He was an alderman, 1813-14; director of the Manhattan bank, 1804-14, and president of the city bank, 1814. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Albert Chrystie, at Fishkill-on-Hudson, N.Y., July 16, 1828.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Houstoun, governor of Georgia, was born in the parish of St. George, Ga., Aug. 31, 1744; son of Sir Patrick Houstoun, baronet, who came to America with Oglethorpe and was register of grants and receiver of quit rents. John received a liberal education and early identified himself as an advocate of independence, contrary to the sentiments of his father. In a great measure he moulded the Revolutionary spirit of the state. In 1774-he was one of four patriots who met in Savanah and organized the Sons of Liberty. He was a delegate to the Continental congress, 1775 and 1776, and was absent from Philadelphia in July, 1776, having been called to Georgia to neutralize the efforts being made by the Rev. Dr. John J. Zubly, another delegate from Georgia who had left his seat in congress to work among his constituents in Georgia against the Declaration of Independence then before the congress for adoption. This enforced absence alone prevented Houstoun signing the document. He was made a member of the executive council of the state May 8, 1777, and elected governor, Jan. 8, 1778. As commander-in-chief of the Georgia militia he led the troops for the invasion of eastern Florida in co-operation with Maj.-Gen. Robert Howe, commander of the southern department. They reached St. Mary's river, when a dispute arose between Howe and Hous-toun as to the command of the Georgia troops, and Governor Houstoun, unwilling to yield the direction of the expedition, held a council of war, which decided upon a retreat, resulting in the ultimate failure of the expedition. This disaster was followed by the fall of Savannah and the invasion of southern Georgia, and during these desperate times Governor Houstoun was invested by the council with almost dictatorial power. He was again elected governor in 1784. In 1787 he was appointed by the general assembly, with John Habersham and Lachlan McIntosh, to settle the boundary disputes with South Carolina. He protested against the decision of his fellow commissioners and his protest is published on page 666 of Marbury and Crawford's Digest. In 1789 he was defeated in the contest for governor by Edward Telfair and the same year was elected a justice of Chatham county. In 1790 he was elected mayor of Savannah. He was one of the original trustees of the proposed Franklin college, afterward known as the University of Georgia, and of the original tract of 40,000 acres of wild land conveyed in 1784 by the legislature to the governor and to certain trustees for the foundation and support of a college or seminary of learning, and he served as trustee of the same up to the time of his death. On Jan. 17, 1792, he was commissioned judge of the superior court for the eastern circuit of Georgia. He died at White Bluff, near Savannah, Ga., July 20, 1796.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Charles Jones Jenkins, governor of Georgia, was born at Grimball Hill Place, Beaufort district, S.C., Jan. 6, 1805; the only child of Charles Jones Jenkins, clerk and ordinary of Beaufort district. He removed with his parents to a farm in Jefferson county, Ga., in 1816; attended Frankin college, Athens, 1821-22; and was graduated from Union college, Schenectady, N.Y., in 1824. He studied law in Savannah, Ga., under Judge Berrien, was admitted to the Scriven county bar in 1822 and practised in Sandersville until 1829, when he removed to Augusta. He was a state representative in 1830; attorney-general of the state and solicitor-general of the middle circuit, 1831; and was again a representative in the state legislature, serving from 1836 to 1841, again from 1843 to 1849; and was speaker of the house 1840-45. He was a chairman of the state convention of 1850, and was the author of the resolutions known as "The Platform of 1850," which set forth the resolution that "The State of Georgia, even to the disruption of every tie which binds her to the Union, resist any act of congress abolishing slavery." He was offered the secretaryship of the interior by President Fillmore in 1851, but declined, and in 1852 he was named as candidate for Vice-President on the whig ticket with Daniel Webster as President, the ticket receiving 1670 popular votes in Massachusetts. He was defeated for governor of Georgia by H. V. Johnson in 1853, was elected state senator in 1856 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Andrew J. Miller; and in 1860 he was appointed justice of the supreme court of Georgia to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Linton Stephens. He was a member of the state constitutional reconstruction convention that was called by President Johnson in 1865; was governor of Georgia, 1865-68, and was president of the state constitutional convention in 1877. He was a trustee of the University of Georgia, 1834-84, and president of the board for many years. He also served as president of the Merchants and Planters bank and of the Augusta Cotton factory. Union college conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. in 1870. He died at Summerville, near Augusta, Ga., June 13, 1883.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

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