John Wereat (January 25, 1799) was an American politician and the
Governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
.
Personal life
Wereat was born in Road (now
Rode, Somerset) in England, around 1733 and migrated to the colonies in 1759. He married the former Hannah Wilkinson. They arrived in Savannah in 1759, where John partnered with William Handley, who was related to Hannah.
Political life
John Wereat was appointed to the Council of Georgia on April 14, 1766. In the early years of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, Wereat was a member of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety. From 1776 through the end of the war, he served as Georgia's Continental agent, representing the state in dealings with Congress. Wereat was a delegate for
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 the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
and
Governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
in 1779. During his term as governor, he fought against the
Yazoo land fraud, organizing the Georgia Union Company in an attempt to buy western lands and prevent them from inclusion in the Yazoo sales. The Yazoo land fraud left a stain on Georgia politics for years, finally being resolved under the governorship of
James Jackson.
Wereat spent a year as a prisoner of the British in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
after initially being taken captive in Augusta in 1780.
After his gubernatorial term, Wereat served as state auditor from 1782 until 1793.
In December 1787 he presided over the state convention that unanimously ratified the new Federal Constitution.
John Wereat was in the
Whig party along with
John Martin and
Lyman Hall.
Death and legacy
John Wereat died at his
Bryan County, Georgia
Bryan 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 44,738. The county seat is Pembroke, Georgia, Pembroke.
Bryan Cou ...
plantation on January 25, 1799.
His daughter Ann, married Continental Army Major
Benjamin Fishbourn, the
Aide-de-camp to General
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...
. Fishbourn was the first-ever politician rejected by the Senate under the first ever instance of
senatorial courtesy
Senatorial courtesy is a long-standing, unwritten, unofficial, and nonbinding constitutional convention in the U.S. describing the tendency of U.S. senators to support a Senate colleague opposing the appointment to federal office of a nominee f ...
.
See also
*
List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States
In total, 72 Governor (United States), governors of U.S. states have been born outside the current territory of the United States. Joe Lombardo of Nevada, born in Japan, is the only List of current United States governors, current governor ...
References
New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for John Wereat
1799 deaths
Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Mendip District
18th-century American Episcopalians
British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
Independent state governors of the United States
Year of birth unknown
Georgia (U.S. state) Whigs
Georgia (U.S. state) independents
American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain
1730s births
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