Peter Early (June 20, 1773 – August 15, 1817) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician who served as governor of Georgia and as a two-term U.S. congressman during the early 19th century. 19-13-156-museum

Early life

He was born near Madison in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

, in 1773, the son of Joel Early and Lucy Smith. He had a sister, Lucy, who later married Charles Lewis Mathews,Patrick, Rembert W. (2010). ''Florida Fiasco: Rampant Rebels on the Georgia-Florida Border, 1810–1815''. University of Georgia Press, 2010. , 9780820335490 and a brother,

Eleazer Eleazar (; ) or Elazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from cre ...

, who built the first hotel in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. His cousin, Jubal Early, became the grandfather of Jubal Anderson Early (1816–1894), later a prominent Confederate general. Peter Early graduated from the Lexington Academy (current-day

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

). He later graduated from Princeton College, in 1792. His family moved to

Wilkes County, Georgia Wilkes County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,565. The county seat is the city of Washington. Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and ...

, on the central eastern border, that same year. Early was studying law with

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll Jr. (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. After finishing his legal studies, Peter Early joined his family in Wilkes County. There he married Ann Adams Smith in 1793. In 1796 he began his law practice in Washington, the county seat of Wilkes County.

Political life

Early was elected as a Representative from Georgia to the

8th United States Congress The 8th 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, 1803, ...

to serve the remainder of the term left vacant by the resignation of

John Milledge John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the American Revolution and later served as United States Representative, 26th Governor of Georgia, and United States Senator. Milledge was a founder of Athens, Georgi ...

, who had been elected as Governor of Georgia. Early was re-elected to the 9th Congress. During his congressional service, Early was one of the

House managers An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...

(prosecutors) in the impeachment trials of John Pickering, New Hampshire United States District Court judge, in January 1804, and

Samuel Chase Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryla ...

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

, in December of that year. Early did not seek reelection in 1806. After his congressional service, Early was elected by 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 ...

as judge of the Superior Court, Ocmulgee Circuit, serving in that court from 1807 until 1813. The respect and popularity he gained from his service on the bench propelled him to be elected the 28th Governor of Georgia in 1813. He served one term, through 1815, during which he was instrumental in committing funds on several occasions from the state treasury to help raise and supply additional troops from Georgia to the American military forces during the latter half of 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 ...

. Early moved to Greene County after his gubernatorial term, where he was elected to the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

Death

During his term in the Georgia Senate, Peter Early died on August 15, 1817, at his summer home near Scull Shoals in Greene County. He was buried on the west bank of 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 join ...

near his Fontenoy Plantation home, with a simple monument to mark his grave. In 1914, his family had his remains reinterred in the

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

City Cemetery.

Legacy and honors

Early County, Georgia Early County is a County (United States), county located on the southwest border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,854. The county seat is Blakely, Georgi ...

, and Fort Early were named in his honor.

Notes

References

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External links

Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors
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Governor Peter Early
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Early, Peter 1773 births 1817 deaths Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Washington and Lee University alumni Princeton University alumni People from Madison, Virginia Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives