George Walton (c. 1749 – February 2, 1804), a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

, signed the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

as a representative of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and also served as the second chief executive of Georgia.

Early life

Walton was born in

Cumberland County, Virginia Cumberland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,675. Its county seat is Cumberland. History Cumberland County was established in 1749 from Goochland County ...

. The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749. Research has placed it as early as 1740, but others as late as 1749 and 1750. The biographer of the

signers of the Declaration of Independence The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later to become known as Independence Hall. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress rep ...

, Della Gray Bartholomew, uses 1741. His parents died when he was an infant, which resulted in his adoption by an uncle with whom he entered apprenticeship as a carpenter. Walton was a studious young man, but his uncle actively discouraged all study and believed a studious boy to be an idle one. Walton continued studying, and once his apprenticeship had ended, moved to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, in 1769 to study law under a Mr. Young and was admitted to the bar in 1774. His brother was John Walton. By the eve of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, he had become one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia.

American Revolution

He became an advocate of the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

cause, was elected secretary of the Georgia

Provincial Congress The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...

, and became president of the

Council of Safety In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection (also known as committees of observation), and committees of safety were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control ...

. In 1776, he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, a position that he held until the end of 1778. On July 2, 1776, he voted in favor of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

for Georgia, along with

Button Gwinnett Button Gwinnett (March 3, 1735 – May 19, 1777) was a British-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signers (first signature on the left) of the United States Declaration o ...

and

Lyman Hall Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was an American Founding Father, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. He ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he was in the battalion of General Robert Howe. On January 9, 1778, Walton received a commission as colonel of the First Georgia Regiment of Militia. During the Battle of Savannah in 1778, Walton was injured in the battle and taken prisoner. He was hit in the thigh by a musket ball that threw him from his horse. He was subsequently captured by the British, who allowed his wound to heal before sending him to Sunbury Prison, where other colonial prisoners were held. Walton was released under a

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conventions Under the Geneva Conven ...

in October 1779. In October 1779, Walton was elected governor of Georgia for the first time, a position that he held for only two months.

Later life

In November 1795, he was appointed to the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Jackson. Walton served in that position from November 16, 1795 to February 20, 1796, when a successor, Josiah Tattnall, was officially elected. He was a political ally of Scottish General

Lachlan McIntosh Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaratio ...

and a foe of Button Gwinnett. He and Gwinnett had political battles that resulted in his expulsion from office and indictment for various criminal activities. He was later censured for his support of a duel that resulted in Gwinnett's death by McIntosh. Walton was for the Yazoo land sales, the massive real estate fraud perpetrated in the mid-1790s by Georgia Governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. The scandal brought Jackson home from the US Senate to lead a reform movement. Appointed to fill the vacant seat, a feud erupted between Jackson and Walton over the sale of land to speculators. Jackson won, and Walton left the office. In 1788,

Alexander McGillivray Alexander McGillivray, also known as ''Hoboi-Hili-Miko'' (December 15, 1750February 17, 1793), was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father, he had skills no other Creek of his day had: he was not only liter ...

and other

Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsJared Irwin Jared Irwin (1750 – March 1, 1818) served twice as elected Governor of Georgia (1796–1798) and (1806–1809). He first was elected to office as a reformer based on public outrage about the Yazoo land scandal. He signed a bill that nullifi ...

and expressed both his concern and his surprise at the recent Indian depredations near the

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins ...

. A treaty was not signed at Rock Landing, but eventually, the

Treaty of New York (1790) The Treaty of New York was a treaty signed in 1790 between leaders of the Muscogee and U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox, who served in the presidential administration of George Washington. A failed 1789 attempt at a treaty between the United S ...

ceded Creek lands to the state of Georgia. During the 1780s, Walton devoted himself almost exclusively to Georgia state politics. He served as chief justice, commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

in 1783, member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners (1784 and 1785), and commissioner to settle the border dispute between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786. He was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but he declined since his commitments at the state level occupied his time to the exclusion of all else. In 1789, he was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

and served at the state convention to adopt a new constitution. Walton was elected to a second term as governor in 1789 and served for one year. During his term, Georgians adopted the new Georgia Constitution, moved the capital to Augusta, and concentrated on settling the western frontier. After completing his tenure as governor, Walton served as a judge of the superior court from 1790 to his death. He also filled the unexpired term of James Jackson in the US Senate in 1795 to 1796. He was a founder and trustee of the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta and of Franklin College (now the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Offices held

The offices he held were: * Continental Congress (1776–1778) * Colonel of the First Georgia Militia (1778) * Governor of Georgia (1779–1780) * U.S. Congress (1780–1781) * Chief Justice of Georgia (1783–1789) * Governor of Georgia (1789–1790) * U.S. Senator (1795–1796)

Death and legacy

During his second term as governor, he built Meadow Garden, a cottage constructed on confiscated

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

land outside of Augusta, where he died. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, née Camber, whom he had married in 1775, and one of his two sons. He was initially buried at Rosney, home of his nephew Robert Watkins; he was re-interred in 1848 beneath the

Signers Monument Signers Monument is a granite obelisk located on Greene Street in Augusta, Georgia recognizing the state's three signatories of the Declaration of Independence: George Walton, Lyman Hall, and Button Gwinnett, all of whom are considered Founding ...

in front of the courthouse on Greene Street in Augusta. Even though Walton was from Georgia and Virginia, he did not own slaves.

Walton County, Georgia Walton County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,768. It is located about 30 miles east of the state capital, the city of Atlanta. Monroe is the county ...

, is named for him. There are also at least two schools that bear his name:

George Walton Comprehensive High School George Walton Comprehensive High School, also known as Walton High School, is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in Marietta, Georgia, Marietta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is in East Cobb, east ...

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...

, and George Walton Academy, a private school in

Monroe, Georgia Monroe is a city in Walton County, Georgia, United States, serving as the county seat. It is located both one hour east of Atlanta via US 78 and GA 138 to I-20 and east of Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport and is one of the exurban c ...

. His son George Walton, Jr., was the first secretary of the

Territory of Florida The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish t ...

. He was also the first civilian to serve in the role of governor of the territory, being named as acting governor until the arrival of William Duval.

Walton County, Florida Walton County is located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,305. Its county seat is DeFuniak Springs. The c ...

, is named for him. His granddaughter, Octavia Walton Le Vert, was a noted socialite and author. His great nephew Thomas George Walton built Creekside near Morganton, North Carolina.

References

Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
* Deaton, Stan
"George Walton (ca. 1749-1804)."
New Georgia Encyclopedia. 6 January 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.

Notes