Jett Thomas (May 13, 1776 – January 6, 1817) was an American military officer, politician, and builder who served as a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

and participated in the early construction of 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 ...

Early life

Jett Thomas was born in Culpeper, Virginia and moved with his family to Oglethorpe County, Georgia in 1784.

Career

Thomas represented Clarke County, Georgia in the

from 1805 to 1807. He fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

under Brigadier General John Floyd in the First Brigade of Georgia Militia. In March 1814, Thomas led the construction of Fort Bainbridge and Fort Hull on the Federal Road. Thomas led the Baldwin Volunteer Artillery company from

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville () is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Georgia, Baldwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Founded in 1803 along the Oconee River, it served as the List of current and former capital cities in the ...

and was commissioned in November 1816 as a Major General in the Georgia Militia, 3rd Division, for his service in the war. Thomas built the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the first permanent building and school at the

campus in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

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 ...

. The college building was designed from the same plans as Connecticut Hall at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

of UGA's first president,

Josiah Meigs Josiah Meigs (August 21, 1757 – September 4, 1822) was an American academic, journalist, and government official. He was the first acting president of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, Athens, where he implemented the university's f ...

. The UGA building is now known as Old College. In 1807, Jett and John B. Scott built the Old State Capitol in

, which was the capital of Georgia from 1807 to 1868, and that building later housed the

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

Death

Jett Thomas died at the age of 40 from cancer of the mouth in Washington, Georgia. He was buried in Milledgeville.

Legacy

In 1825, the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

named

Thomas County, Georgia Thomas County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 45,798. The county seat is Thomasville, Georgia, Thomasville. Thom ...

in his honor. The county seat of that county, Thomasville, was also named after General Thomas the following year, and in 1825 the city of Thomaston, Georgia was named after General Thomas.

Notes

References

Georgia Journal, January 14, 1817''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p.75The New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Thomasville, GeorgiaOld State Capitol, Milledgeville, Ga., Digital Library of Georgia
* William J. Northen,
Men of Mark in Georgia
', A. B. Caldwell, 1912, pp. 378–380. *Smith, Gordon Burns, ''History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume One, Campaigns and Generals'', Milledgeville: Boyd Publishing, 2000. ASIN:B003L1PRKI. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Jett American militiamen in the War of 1812 Thomas County, Georgia University of Georgia campus Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) 1776 births 1817 deaths Politicians from Culpeper County, Virginia Members of the Georgia House of Representatives American militia generals People of the Creek War 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly