William Crosby Dawson (January 4, 1798May 5, 1856) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier from

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 ...

Early life, education and legal career

Dawson was born in

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 ...

, Greene County, Georgia, January 4, 1798. His parents were George Dawson, Sr. and Katie Ruth Marston Skidmore. After taking an academic course from the Rev. Dr. Cumming, Dawson attended the county academy in Greensboro, and then was graduated from Franklin College,

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 ...

, Clarke County, Georgia, in 1816 at the age of eighteen. He studied law for a year in the office of the Hon.

Thomas W. Cobb Thomas Willis Cobb (1784February 1, 1830) was an American politician who served as a United States representative and Senator from Georgia. Biography Born in Columbia County, Georgia, he pursued preparatory studies, and studied law. He was admi ...

, at Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and then in the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

of judges

Tapping Reeve Tapping Reeve (October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was also the brother-in ...

and James Gould at

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...

. In 1818, he was admitted to the bar. Dawson set up a practice in Greensboro, where he was a successful jury lawyer. He was known for his ability to settle cases out of court. In 1819, he married Henrietta M. Wingfield. They had eight children. His wife died in 1850. Dawson remarried in 1854 to Eliza M. Williams of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Dawson was elected as one of the vice presidents of the Alumni Society of the University of Georgia at its first meeting, on August 4, 1834.

Political and military career

He was elected Clerk 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 ...

in 1821 and served twelve years in that post. From 1828, he compiled ''Dawson's Digest of Laws of Georgia'', published in 1831. From 1834 to 1835, he served as a state senator. In 1836, he was Captain of Volunteers under General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

in the Creek and Seminole Indian War in Florida. Dawson was elected as a States' Rights candidate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

for the

24th United States Congress The 24th 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, 183 ...

in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of General

John E. Coffee John E. Coffee (December 3, 1782 – September 25, 1836) was a military leader and a Member of Congress, Congressman for the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Early life John E. Coffee was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1782. ...

, taking office on December 26, 1836. He was re-elected as a Whig to the 25th,

26th 26 (twenty-six) is the natural number following 25 and preceding 27. In mathematics *26 is the seventh discrete semiprime (2 \times 13) and the fifth with 2 as the lowest non-unitary factor thus of the form (2.q), where q is a higher prime. ...

, and 27th Congresses. He served from November 7, 1836, to November 13, 1841. He was the Whig candidate for Governor of Georgia in 1841 but was defeated by

Charles James McDonald Charles James McDonald (July 9, 1793December 16, 1860) was an American attorney, jurist and politician. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina and moved with his family to Hancock County, Georgia in 1794. He served as a brigadier general ...

. He thought his defeat as gubernatorial candidate meant that voters disapproved of his congressional service, particularly his vote earlier in the year to tax coffee and tea. He resigned from Congress. During his service in the United States House, Dawson chaired the Committee on Mileage (25th Congress), the Committee on Claims (26th Congress), and the Committee on Military Affairs (27th Congress). He was appointed by Governor George W. Crawford to fill a vacancy as Judge of the Ocmulgee Circuit Court in 1845, but he declined to run as a candidate for the bench at the completion of his term. Dawson was elected by the state legislature in November 1847 as the Whig candidate for Georgia's Class 3 seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

for the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Congresses, serving from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1855. Dawson supported the compromises that preserved the union in 1850. He chaired the Committee on Private Land Claims (32nd Congress) and presided over the Southern convention at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

in 1853. He was twice a delegate to the convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Freemason

Dawson was initiated to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry at the "

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

" Lodge No. 34, Greensboro, GA. He was elected Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

of Free and Accepted Masons in Georgia on November 8, 1843 and served in that capacity until his death in 1856. While in Congress, he was active in local Freemasonry. The Dawson Lodge in Washington, D.C. and the Dawson Lodge in Social Circle, Georgia were named for him.

Death and legacy

Dawson died in Greensboro on May 5, 1856, and was buried in Greensboro Cemetery with Masonic rites following a service in the

Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. A historical sign was placed in his honor in Greensboro. Because of his elegant manners, he was called "the first gentleman of Georgia" by

Joseph Henry Lumpkin Joseph Henry Lumpkin (December 23, 1799 – June 4, 1867) was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Georgia. While ambivalent on the topic of slavery early in his life, he was a slaveholder and eventually became a de ...

Joshua Reed Giddings Joshua Reed Giddings (October 6, 1795 – May 27, 1864) was an American attorney, politician and abolitionist. He represented Northeast Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1838 to 1859. He was at first a member of the Whig Party and ...

described him: "He was a man of much suavity of manner; one of that class of Southern statesmen who felt it necessary to carry every measure by the influence of personal kindness, and an expression of horror at all agitation of the slave question, under the apprehension that it might dissolve the Union." Dawson County, Georgia, and the county seat, Dawsonville, were named for William Crosby Dawson. The county was created by a legislative act on December 3, 1857, primarily out of Lumpkin County and small parts of Gilmer, Pickens and Forsyth counties. Dawson, the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia was incorporated on December 22, 1857, and named for William Crosby Dawson. Company C, 3d Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry,

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

, C.S.A., from Greene County, was called the "Dawson Grays" in his honor.

Bibliography

* NB: ''has error in date admitted to bar.''
A collection of family records, with biographical sketches and other memoranda of various families and individuals bearing the name Dawson, or allied to families of that name. Comp. by Charles C. Dawson, pp 368–385. Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell, 1874.

Will of George Dawson, Sr.

Early life, education and legal career

Political and military career

Freemason

Death and legacy

Bibliography

See also

Notes

Further reading