Nelson Tift (July 23, 1810 – November 21, 1891) was an American jurist, businessman, sailor, and politician who is best known for founding the city of

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

Biography

Tift was born in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

. Early in his life he became a devout

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. He moved with his family to

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

in the 1820s, where he assisted his father in a mercantile business, and then to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

in 1830, where he was also in business. During his travels, he opened many side businesses and ventures. He arrived in what would later be called Albany and set up a small trading post along with a sawmill. On July 5, 1840, he was elected to the

Baker County, Georgia Baker County is a county in Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,876, making it the fifth-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat and only city is Newton. The county was created December 12, 1825, from the eastern po ...

Inferior Court and was re-elected to that post in January 1841. In 1840, he owned 11 slaves. Tift was married and had at least one daughter, Fannie, who was married to Confederate War Captain Thomas N. Nelson; he fought in the war and died at

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...

in 1864. In 1840, Tift was elected as a colonel of the local unit of the

Georgia Militia The Georgia Militia existed from 1733 to 1879. It was originally planned by General James Oglethorpe before the founding of the Province of Georgia, the Crown colony that would become the U.S. state of Georgia. One reason for the founding of the c ...

. In 1841, he was elected to 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 was re-elected to that one-year position in 1847, 1851, and 1852. While a state legislator, he supported the reopening of the international slave trade as a means to extend slave ownership to all white Georgians, and chastised white artisans for opposing the use of slave craftsmen. Although not an advocate of immediate secession, he accepted the final decision and lent his services to the new nation.Georgia Encyclopedia
/ref> Tift founded, edited and published the '' Albany Patriot'' newspaper from 1845 until 1858. In 1850, he owned eight slaves. In 1860, he owned nine slaves in Albany, and an additional 19 slaves spread out over two locations in surrounding Dougherty County.

Civil War years and later life

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 ...

, Tift was a captain in the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

supply department. He built gunboats for the Confederate navy and supplied the Rebel army with beef and hardtack produced by his factories at Albany and at nearby Palmyra in Lee County. After the war ended, he was elected to the

40th United States Congress The 40th 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, 1867, ...

as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

with the Democratic Party and served from July 25, 1868, until March 3, 1869. He was not permitted to qualify for re-election in 1868 and unsuccessfully contested the election of his replacement, Richard H. Whiteley. After his congressional service, Tift worked in various businesses. He served as a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1877. He was extremely popular with the people of Albany, and built a large home in the center of the city that still stands today. He died in Albany on November 21, 1891, and was buried in that city's Oakview Cemetery.

Tift County, Georgia Tift County is a County (United States), county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 41,344. The county seat is Tifton, Geo ...

, was named in his honor, but in March 2013 the Georgia Legislature voted to adopt a resolution written by Edd Dorminey of Tifton, naming Tift County after its founder (and Nelson Tift's nephew), Henry Harding (H.H.) Tift. Because H.H. Tift was living in 1905 when Tift County was founded, the county could not be named after him. Wanting the county to honor the Tifts, the delegates chose Nelson Tift, as he was deceased.

Role in Georgia

On September 24, 1836, Tift, with a group of men headed by John Rawls, president of the bank of Hawkinsville, entered into an agreement to found a city on the west bank of the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

. This city would eventually acquire the name of Albany; it was named for

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

as both cities are at the head of navigable rivers. A booster, he promoted education, business, and railroad construction. He opposed Radical Reconstruction in the state and in Congress, and was scornful of the Yankee carpetbaggers who came into Georgia after the war. Fair concludes that Tift became "more Southern than many natives." His pro-slavery attitudes before the war and his support for segregation afterward made him compatible with Georgia's white elite.Fair, John D. "Nelson Tift: A Connecticut Yankee in King Cotton's Court," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' (2004) 88#3 pp 338–374

References

Retrieved on 2009-05-01 * Glancing Backward Albany, Georgia 1836–1986

External links

* * Nelson Tift entry a
''The New Georgia Encyclopedia''

Colonel Nelson Tift
historical marker
The Bridge House
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Tift, Nelson 1810 births People from Groton, Connecticut Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Confederate States Navy captains 1891 deaths Politicians from Albany, Georgia American city founders People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Northern-born Confederates Tift County, Georgia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Hawkinsville, Georgia People from Baker County, Georgia 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly