Joseph "Henry" Persons (January 30, 1834 – June 17, 1910) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician, lawyer and soldier.

Early life

Persons was born near Smarrs,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in Monroe County; however, his family moved to

Talbot County, Georgia Talbot County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2020 census showed a population of 5,733. The county seat and largest city is Talbotton. History Talbot County was created from a portion of Mus ...

in 1836. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA) in

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and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1855.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Persons served as a cavalry captain in the Third Georgia regiment of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

Postbellum

After the war, he was elected as a Representative to the

46th United States Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 ...

as an

Independent Democrat In U.S. politics, an independent Democrat is an individual who loosely identifies with the ideals of the Democratic Party but chooses not to be a formal member of the party (chooses to be an independent) or is denied the Democratic nomination in ...

. Persons lost his bid for re-election in 1880 and returned to

Geneva, Georgia Geneva is a town in Talbot County, Georgia, United States. The population was 75 at the 2020 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Geneva in 1870. The community's name is a transfer from Geneva, in Switzerland ...

. He studied law, gained admittance to the state bar in 1885 and began practicing law in Talbotton, Georgia. After his political service, Persons served as a UGA trustee from 1894 until 1910. He died that year in Talbotton and was buried in that city's Rose Hill Cemetery.

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-16
''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p.588
1834 births 1910 deaths Confederate States Army officers Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War University of Georgia alumni People from Talbot County, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Georgia (U.S. state) independents Independent Democrat members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub