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{{Short description|American Founding Father and politician}}
{{otherpeople}}
{{other people}}
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{{Infobox Governor
{{redirect|Senator Walton}}
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|name =George Walton
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{{Infobox officeholder
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|image =George Walton (ca 1749-1804).jpg
|order =[[United States Senator]]<br />from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| name = George Walton
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| image = George Walton, by Charles Willson Peale (1781).png
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|term_start =November 16, 1795
| caption = Portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]], {{circa|1781}}
|term_end =February 20, 1796
|predecessor =[[James Jackson (Georgia politician)|James Jackson]]
| order = [[United States Senator]]<br />from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|successor =[[Josiah Tattnall (Senator)|Josiah Tattnall]]
| term_start = November 16, 1795
|birth_date ={{birth-date|1749}}
| term_end = February 20, 1796
|birth_place =[[Cumberland County, Virginia]]
| appointer = [[George Mathews (soldier)|George Mathews]]
| predecessor = [[James Jackson (Georgia politician)|James Jackson]]
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|death_date = February 2, {{Death year and age|1804|1749}}
|death_place =[[Augusta, Georgia]]
| successor = [[Josiah Tattnall (Senator)|Josiah Tattnall]]
|order2 =Acting Governor of Georgia
| birth_date = {{circa|1749}}
|term_start2 =January 7, 1789
| birth_place = [[Cumberland County, Virginia]]
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| death_date = February 2, {{Death year and age|1804|1749}}
|term_end2 =November 9, 1790
|predecessor2 =[[George Handley (politician)|George Handley]]
| death_place = [[Augusta, Georgia]]
|successor2 =[[Edward Telfair]]
| order2 = Acting Governor of Georgia
| term_start2 = January 7, 1789
|order3= Delegate from Georgia to the [[Continental Congress]]
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| term_end2 = November 9, 1790
|term_start3= 1776
| predecessor2 = [[George Handley (politician)|George Handley]]
|term_end3=1777, 1780–1781
|nationality =
| successor2 = [[Edward Telfair]]
|party =[[Federalist Party]]
| order3 = Delegate from Georgia to the [[Continental Congress]]
|spouse =
| term_start3 = 1776
|relations =The Walton family of Atlanta, Georgia; North Carolina.
| term_end3 = 1777, 1780–1781
|signature =George Walton Signature.svg
| nationality =
|footnotes =
| party = [[Federalist Party]]
| spouse =
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|allegiance={{flag|United States|1777}}
| relations = The Walton family of Atlanta, Georgia; North Carolina.
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|branch=[[Georgia Militia]]
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| signature = George Walton Signature.svg
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|battles=[[American Revolutionary War]]
| footnotes =
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| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1777}}
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| branch = [[Georgia Militia]]
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| battles = [[American Revolutionary War]]
* [[Capture of Savannah]]
* [[Capture of Savannah]]
|rank=Colonel
| rank = Colonel
}}
}}


'''George Walton''' (1749 – February 2, 1804) signed the United States [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] as a representative of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and also served as the [[List of Governors of Georgia|second Chief Executive]] of Georgia.
'''George Walton''' ({{circa|1749}} – February 2, 1804) was a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father of the United States]] who signed the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] while representing [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in the [[Continental Congress]].<ref name=Bernstein2009>{{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Richard B. |author-link=Richard B. Bernstein |title=The Founding Fathers Reconsidered |chapter=Appendix: The Founding Fathers, A Partial List |pages=176–180|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0199832576 |location=New York |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/foundingfathersr0000bern/page/176/mode/2up}}</ref> Walton also served briefly as the [[List of governors of Georgia|second chief executive]] of Georgia in 1779 and was again named governor in 1789–1790. In 1795, he was appointed to the [[List of United States Senators from Georgia|U.S. Senate]], to complete the unexpired term of a senator who had resigned.


==Life and work==
==Early life==
'''George Walton''' was born in [[Cumberland County, Virginia]].The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749. Some research has placed it as early as 1740, others as late as 1749 and 1750. The biographer of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Della Gray Bartholomew, uses the date of 1741.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barthelmas|first1=Della Gray|title=The signers of the Declaration of Independence : a biographical and genealogical reference|date=1997|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0786403187|page=272}}<!--|accessdate=17 May 2016--></ref> His parents died when he was an infant, resulting in his adoption by an uncle with whom he entered apprenticeship as a carpenter. Walton was a studious young man, but his uncle actively discouraged all study, believing a studious boy to be an idle one. Walton continued studying and once his apprenticeship ended, he moved to [[Savannah, Georgia]], in 1769 to study law under a Mr. Young, and was admitted to the bar in 1774. His brother was [[John Walton (1738-1783)|John Walton]].
Walton was born in [[Cumberland County, Virginia]]. The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749. Research has placed it as early as 1740, but others as late as 1749 and 1750. The biographer of the [[signing of the United States Declaration of Independence|signers of the Declaration of Independence]], Della Gray Bartholomew, uses 1741.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barthelmas|first1=Della Gray|title=The signers of the Declaration of Independence: a biographical and genealogical reference|url=https://archive.org/details/signersofdeclara00bart|url-access=registration|date=1997|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0786403187|page=[https://archive.org/details/signersofdeclara00bart/page/272 272]}}<!--|access-date=17 May 2016--></ref> His parents died when he was an infant, which resulted in his adoption by an uncle with whom he entered apprenticeship as a carpenter. Walton was a studious young man, but his uncle actively discouraged all study and believed a studious boy to be an idle one. Walton continued studying, and once his apprenticeship had ended, moved to [[Savannah, Georgia]], in 1769 to study law under a Mr. Young and was admitted to the bar in 1774. His brother was [[John Walton (1738–1783)|John Walton]]. By the end of the [[American Revolution]], he had become one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia.


==American Revolution==
By the eve of the American Revolution he was one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia. He became an advocate of the patriot cause and was elected Secretary of the [[Georgia Provincial Congress]] and became president of the [[Council of Safety]]. In 1776 he served as a delegate to the Second [[Continental Congress]] in Philadelphia, a position he held until the end of 1778. On July 2, 1776, he voted in favor of the [[Declaration of Independence]] for [[Signers of the Declaration of Independence|Georgia]] along with [[Button Gwinnett]] and [[Lyman Hall]].
He became an advocate of the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] cause, was elected secretary of the Georgia [[Provincial Congress]], and became president of the [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|Council of Safety]]. In 1776, he served as a delegate to the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], a position that he held until the end of 1778. On July 2, 1776, he voted in favor of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] for Georgia, along with [[Button Gwinnett]] and [[Lyman Hall]].


During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he was in the battalion of General [[Robert Howe (Continental Army officer)|Robert Howe]]. On January 9, 1778, Walton received a commission as colonel of the First Georgia Regiment of Militia. During the [[Capture of Savannah|Battle of Savannah]] in 1778 led by [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer, born 1739)|Archibald Campbell]], Walton was injured in the battle and taken prisoner. He was hit in the thigh by a ball that threw him from his horse. He was subsequently captured by the British, who allowed his wound to heal before sending him to Sunbury Prison, where other colonial prisoners were held. Walton was eventually exchanged in October 1779.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dubrulle|first1=Elizabeth|title=American National Biography|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=0195206355}}<!--|accessdate=17 May 2016--></ref>
During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he was in the battalion of General [[Robert Howe (Continental Army officer)|Robert Howe]]. On January 9, 1778, Walton received a commission as colonel of the First Georgia Regiment of Militia. During the [[Capture of Savannah|Battle of Savannah]] in 1778, Walton was injured in the battle and taken prisoner. He was hit in the thigh by a musket ball that threw him from his horse. He was subsequently captured by the British, who allowed his wound to heal before sending him to Sunbury Prison, where other colonial prisoners were held. Walton was released under a [[prisoner exchange]] in October 1779.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dubrulle|first1=Elizabeth|title=American National Biography|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=978-0195206357}}<!--|access-date=17 May 2016--></ref>


In October 1779, Walton was elected governor of Georgia for the first time, a position that he held for only two months.
Walton's brother, John, signed the [[Articles of Confederation]] for Georgia in 1778, along with [[Edward Telfair]] and [[Edward Langworthy]].


==Later life==
In October 1779, Walton was elected [[Governor of Georgia]] for the first time, a position he held for only two months. In November 1795, he was appointed to the [[United States Senate]] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[James Jackson (Georgia politician)|James Jackson]]. Walton only served in that position from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796, until a successor, [[Josiah Tattnall (Senator)|Josiah Tattnall]], was officially elected.
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In November 1795, he was appointed to the [[US Senate]] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[James Jackson (Georgia politician)|James Jackson]]. Walton served in that position from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796, when a successor, [[Josiah Tattnall (politician)|Josiah Tattnall]], was officially elected. He was a political ally of Scottish General [[Lachlan McIntosh]] and a foe of Button Gwinnett. He and Gwinnett had political battles that resulted in his expulsion from office and indictment for various criminal activities. He was later censured for his support of a [[duel]] that resulted in Gwinnett's death by McIntosh.


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Walton was for the [[Yazoo land scandal|Yazoo land sales]], the massive real estate fraud perpetrated in the mid-1790s by Georgia Governor [[George Mathews (soldier)|George Mathews]] and the [[Georgia General Assembly]]. The scandal brought Jackson home from the US Senate to lead a reform movement. Appointed to fill the vacant seat, a feud erupted between Jackson and Walton over the sale of land to speculators. Jackson won, and Walton left the office.
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He was a political ally of the Scottish General [[Lachlan McIntosh]] and a foe of [[Button Gwinnett]]. He and Gwinnett's political battles resulted in his expulsion from office and indictment for various criminal activities. He was later censured for his support of a [[duel]] that resulted in Button Gwinnett's death by [[Lachlan McIntosh]].


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In 1788, [[Alexander McGillivray]] and other [[Muscogee|Creek Indian]] leaders met with Georgia leaders at Rock Landing,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Forsyth|first1=Robert|title=Letter, 1789 Sept. 16, Rock Landing [Georgia to] Governor [George] Walton|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc018|website=Southeastern Native American Documents|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=17 May 2016}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> but the meeting failed to result in a peace treaty. That led Governor Walton to worry that "our prospects of peace have been obliged to yield to the impressions of war."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kokomoor |first1=Kevin |date=November 2015 |title=Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic |journal=The Journal of Southern History |volume=81 |issue=4 |page=808}}</ref> Walton wrote to Colonel [[Jared Irwin]] and expressed both his concern and his surprise at the recent Indian depredations near the [[Oconee River]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Walton|first1=George|title=[Letter] 1789 Oct. 13, Augusta, [Georgia to] Colonel [Jared] Irwin|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:cmt006|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=17 May 2016}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> A treaty was not signed at Rock Landing, but eventually, the [[Treaty of New York (1790)]] ceded Creek lands to the state of Georgia.
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Walton was in favor of the [[Yazoo land scandal|Yazoo land sales]], the massive real estate fraud perpetrated in the mid-1790s by Georgia governor [[George Mathews (Georgia)|George Mathews]] and the [[Georgia General Assembly]]. The scandal brought [[James Jackson (Georgia politician)|James Jackson]] home from the U.S. Senate to lead a reform movement. Appointed to fill the vacant seat, a feud erupted between Jackson and Walton over the sale of land to speculators. Jackson won, and Walton, who supported the sales, left the office.


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During the 1780s, Walton devoted himself almost exclusively to Georgia state politics. He served as chief justice, commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the [[Cherokee]] in 1783, member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners (1784 and 1785), and commissioner to settle the border dispute between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786. He was elected as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention in 1787]], but he declined since his commitments at the state level occupied his time to the exclusion of all else. In 1789, he was a [[US electoral college|presidential elector]] and served at the state convention to adopt a new constitution.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dubrulle|first1=Elizabeth|title=American National Biography|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=978-0195206357}}<!--|access-date=17 May 2016--></ref> Walton was elected to a second term as governor in 1789 and served for one year. During his term, Georgians adopted the new [[Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia Constitution]], moved the capital to [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], and concentrated on settling the western frontier. After completing his tenure as governor, Walton served as a judge of the superior court from 1790 to his death. He also filled the unexpired term of James Jackson in the US Senate in 1795 to 1796. He was a founder and trustee of the [[Academy of Richmond County]] in Augusta and of [[Franklin College of Arts and Sciences|Franklin College]] (now the [[University of Georgia]]) in [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]].
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In 1788, [[Alexander McGillivray]] and other [[Creek Indians|Creek Indian]] leaders met with Georgia leaders at Rock Landing,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Forsyth|first1=Robert|title=Letter, 1789 Sept. 16, Rock Landing [Georgia to] Governor [George] Walton|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc018|website=Southeastern Native American Documents|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=17 May 2016}}</ref> but the meeting failed to result in a peace treaty. This led Governor Walton to worry that "our prospects of peace have been obliged to yield to the impressions of war."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kokomoor |first1=Kevin |date=November 2015 |title=Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic |journal=The Journal of Southern History |volume=81 |issue=4 |page=808}}</ref> Walton wrote to Colonel Jared Irwin, expressing both his concern and his surprise at the recent Indian depredations near the [[Oconee River]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Walton|first1=George|title=[Letter] 1789 Oct. 13, Augusta, [Georgia to] Colonel [Jared] Irwin|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:cmt006|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=17 May 2016}}</ref> Although a treaty was not signed at Rock Landing, eventually the [[Treaty of New York (1790)]] ceded Creek lands to the state of Georgia.

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During the 1780s, Walton devoted himself almost exclusively to Georgia state politics. He served not only as chief justice but also as a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Indians (1783), a member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners (1784 and 1785), and a commissioner to settle the border dispute between South Carolina and Georgia (1786). He was elected as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention in 1787]] but declined, as his commitments at the state level occupied his time to the exclusion of all else. In 1789 he was a presidential elector and served at the state convention to adopt a new constitution.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dubrulle|first1=Elizabeth|title=American National Biography|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=0195206355}}<!--|accessdate=17 May 2016--></ref> Walton was elected to a second term as governor in 1789 and served for one year. During his term, Georgians adopted the new state constitution, moved the capital to [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] (where Walton himself had moved in the 1780s), and concentrated on settling the western frontier. After completing his tenure as governor, Walton served as a judge of the superior court from 1790 until his death. He also filled the unexpired term of James Jackson in the U.S. Senate in 1795–1796. He was a founder and trustee of the [[Academy of Richmond County]] in Augusta and of [[Franklin College of Arts and Sciences|Franklin College]] (now the [[University of Georgia]]) in [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]].


==Offices held==
==Offices held==
The offices he held were:
The offices he held were:
* Continental Congress (1776–78)
* Continental Congress (1776–1778)
* Colonel of the First Georgia Militia (1778)
* Colonel of the First Georgia Militia (1778)
* Governor of Georgia (1779–80)
* Governor of Georgia (1779–1780)
* U.S. Congress (1780–1781)
* U.S. Congress (1780–1781)
* Chief Justice of Georgia (1783–89)
* Chief Justice of Georgia (1783–1789)
* Governor of Georgia (1789–90)
* Acting Governor of Georgia (1789–1790)
* U.S. Senator (1795–96)
* U.S. Senator (1795–1796)

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==Death==
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During his second term as governor, he built [[Meadow Garden]], a cottage constructed on confiscated [[Tory]] land outside of Augusta, where he died. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, née Camber,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Knight|first1=Lucien Lamar|title=Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends|date=1913|publisher=Pelican Publishing|location=Gretna, Louisiana|isbn=1455604828|pages=1003-1005|edition=2006 reprint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=is7hRpodAawC&pg=PA1013&dq=%22atlanta,+birmingham+and+atlantic%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7oMbLh_bWAhXD4CYKHSGZDS4Q6AEIxAEwHA#v=onepage&q=dorothy%20camber&f=false|accessdate=16 October 2017}}</ref> whom he had married in 1775, and one of his two sons. He was initially buried at Rosney, home of his nephew Robert Watkins; however, he was re-interred in 1848 beneath the [[Signers Monument]] in front of the courthouse on Greene Street in Augusta.


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==Death and legacy==
==Legacy==
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During his second term as governor, he built [[Meadow Garden (Augusta, Georgia)|Meadow Garden]], a cottage constructed on confiscated [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tory]] land outside of Augusta, where he died. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, née Camber,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Knight|first1=Lucien Lamar|title=Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends|date=1913|publisher=Pelican Publishing|location=Gretna, Louisiana|isbn=1455604828|pages=1003–1005|edition=2006 reprint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=is7hRpodAawC&q=dorothy+camber&pg=PA1013|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> whom he had married in 1775, and one of his two sons. He was initially buried at Rosney, home of his nephew Robert Watkins; he was re-interred in 1848 beneath the [[Signers Monument]] in front of the courthouse on Greene Street in Augusta. Even though Walton was from Georgia and Virginia, he did not own slaves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist calls out 'Declaration of Independence' painting, notes most men in the piece owned slaves |website=[[Fox News]] |date=22 June 2020 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/declaration-of-independence-painting-artist-notes-most-men-owned-slaves |access-date=2020-07-11}}</ref>
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[[Walton County, Georgia|Walton County]], which is about 30 miles east of the city of [[Atlanta]], is named for him. There are also at least two schools that bear his name: [[George Walton Comprehensive High School]] in [[Marietta, Georgia]] and [[George Walton Academy]], a private school in [[Monroe, Georgia]].


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[[Walton County, Georgia]], is named for him.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/w.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=245 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref> There are also at least two schools that bear his name: [[George Walton Comprehensive High School]] in [[Marietta, Georgia]], and [[George Walton Academy]], a private school in [[Monroe, Georgia]].
His granddaughter, [[Octavia Le Vert]], was a noted socialite and author.<ref name="madame">{{cite book |title=Madame Le Vert: A Biography of Octavia Le Vert |last=Satterfield |first=Frances Gibson |year=1987 |publisher=Edisto Press |location=Edisto Island, S.C. |isbn=978-0-9618589-1-9 }}</ref>


His great nephew Thomas George Walton built [[Creekside (Morganton, North Carolina)|Creekside]] near [[Morganton, North Carolina]].<ref name = nrhpinv>{{Cite web | author =John B. Wells, III| title = Creekside| work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date =September 1971| url = http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/BK0004.pdf | format = pdf | publisher = North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office | accessdate = 2014-08-01}}</ref>
His son George Walton, Jr., was the first secretary of the [[Florida Territory|Territory of Florida]]. He was also the first civilian to serve in the role of governor of the territory, being named as acting governor until the arrival of [[William Pope Duval|William Duval]]. [[Walton County, Florida]], is named for him. His granddaughter, [[Octavia Walton Le Vert]], was a noted socialite and author.<ref name="madame">{{cite book |title=Madame Le Vert: A Biography of Octavia Le Vert |last=Satterfield |first=Frances Gibson |year=1987 |publisher=Edisto Press |location=Edisto Island, S.C. |isbn=978-0-9618589-1-9 }}</ref> His great nephew Thomas George Walton built [[Creekside (Morganton, North Carolina)|Creekside]] near [[Morganton, North Carolina]].<ref name="nrhpinv">{{Cite web | author =John B. Wells, III| title = Creekside| work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date =September 1971| url = https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/BK0004.pdf | publisher = North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office | access-date = 2014-08-01}}</ref>


==See also==
George Walton’s descendants eventually moved to Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. His descendants alive as of 2018 include Laurie Telfair and Viola West of Texas, John West of Tennessee, from Minnesota; Cole Walton, Jeff Walton, and Pieper Walton,and Jenny West of South Carolina.
{{Portal|Georgia (U.S. State)}}
* [[Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence]]


==References==
==References==
{{CongBio|W000114}}
{{CongBio|W000114}}
* [http://www.colonialhall.com/walton/walton.php Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856]
* [http://www.colonialhall.com/walton/walton.php Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811113631/http://colonialhall.com/walton/walton.php |date=2011-08-11 }}
* Deaton, Stan. [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/george-walton-ca-1749-1804 "George Walton (ca. 1749-1804)."] New Georgia Encyclopedia. 6 January 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.
* Deaton, Stan. [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/george-walton-ca-1749-1804 "George Walton (ca. 1749-1804)."] New Georgia Encyclopedia. 6 January 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, George}}
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[[Category:1804 deaths]]
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[[Category:18th-century American politicians]]
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[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:United States Senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) militiamen in the American Revolution]]
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[[Category:University of Georgia people]]
[[Category:People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Burials in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:People from Cumberland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Cumberland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Augusta, Georgia]]
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[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Federalists]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Federalists]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Independents]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) independents]]
[[Category:Federalist Party United States Senators]]
[[Category:Federalist Party United States senators]]
[[Category:Independent state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Independent state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
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[[Category:18th-century United States senators]]

Latest revision as of 02:11, 12 December 2024

For other people named George Walton, see George Walton (disambiguation).
"Senator Walton" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Walton (disambiguation).
George Walton
Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1781
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
November 16, 1795 – February 20, 1796
Appointed byGeorge Mathews
Preceded byJames Jackson
Succeeded byJosiah Tattnall
Acting Governor of Georgia
In office
January 7, 1789 – November 9, 1790
Preceded byGeorge Handley
Succeeded byEdward Telfair
Delegate from Georgia to the Continental Congress
In office
1776 – 1777, 1780–1781
Personal details
Bornc. 1749
Cumberland County, Virginia
DiedFebruary 2, 1804 (aged 54–55)
Augusta, Georgia
Political partyFederalist Party
RelationsThe Walton family of Atlanta, Georgia; North Carolina.
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceGeorgia Militia
RankColonel
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

George Walton (c. 1749 – February 2, 1804) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence while representing Georgia in the Continental Congress.[1] Walton also served briefly as the second chief executive of Georgia in 1779 and was again named governor in 1789–1790. In 1795, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate, to complete the unexpired term of a senator who had resigned.

Early life

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Walton was born in Cumberland County, Virginia. The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749. Research has placed it as early as 1740, but others as late as 1749 and 1750. The biographer of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Della Gray Bartholomew, uses 1741.[2] His parents died when he was an infant, which resulted in his adoption by an uncle with whom he entered apprenticeship as a carpenter. Walton was a studious young man, but his uncle actively discouraged all study and believed a studious boy to be an idle one. Walton continued studying, and once his apprenticeship had ended, moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 1769 to study law under a Mr. Young and was admitted to the bar in 1774. His brother was John Walton. By the end of the American Revolution, he had become one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia.

American Revolution

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He became an advocate of the Patriot cause, was elected secretary of the Georgia Provincial Congress, and became president of the Council of Safety. In 1776, he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, a position that he held until the end of 1778. On July 2, 1776, he voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence for Georgia, along with Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall.

During the American Revolutionary War, he was in the battalion of General Robert Howe. On January 9, 1778, Walton received a commission as colonel of the First Georgia Regiment of Militia. During the Battle of Savannah in 1778, Walton was injured in the battle and taken prisoner. He was hit in the thigh by a musket ball that threw him from his horse. He was subsequently captured by the British, who allowed his wound to heal before sending him to Sunbury Prison, where other colonial prisoners were held. Walton was released under a prisoner exchange in October 1779.[3]

In October 1779, Walton was elected governor of Georgia for the first time, a position that he held for only two months.

Later life

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In November 1795, he was appointed to the US Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Jackson. Walton served in that position from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796, when a successor, Josiah Tattnall, was officially elected. He was a political ally of Scottish General Lachlan McIntosh and a foe of Button Gwinnett. He and Gwinnett had political battles that resulted in his expulsion from office and indictment for various criminal activities. He was later censured for his support of a duel that resulted in Gwinnett's death by McIntosh.

Walton was for the Yazoo land sales, the massive real estate fraud perpetrated in the mid-1790s by Georgia Governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. The scandal brought Jackson home from the US Senate to lead a reform movement. Appointed to fill the vacant seat, a feud erupted between Jackson and Walton over the sale of land to speculators. Jackson won, and Walton left the office.

In 1788, Alexander McGillivray and other Creek Indian leaders met with Georgia leaders at Rock Landing,[4] but the meeting failed to result in a peace treaty. That led Governor Walton to worry that "our prospects of peace have been obliged to yield to the impressions of war."[5] Walton wrote to Colonel Jared Irwin and expressed both his concern and his surprise at the recent Indian depredations near the Oconee River.[6] A treaty was not signed at Rock Landing, but eventually, the Treaty of New York (1790) ceded Creek lands to the state of Georgia.

During the 1780s, Walton devoted himself almost exclusively to Georgia state politics. He served as chief justice, commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee in 1783, member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners (1784 and 1785), and commissioner to settle the border dispute between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786. He was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but he declined since his commitments at the state level occupied his time to the exclusion of all else. In 1789, he was a presidential elector and served at the state convention to adopt a new constitution.[7] Walton was elected to a second term as governor in 1789 and served for one year. During his term, Georgians adopted the new Georgia Constitution, moved the capital to Augusta, and concentrated on settling the western frontier. After completing his tenure as governor, Walton served as a judge of the superior court from 1790 to his death. He also filled the unexpired term of James Jackson in the US Senate in 1795 to 1796. He was a founder and trustee of the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta and of Franklin College (now the University of Georgia) in Athens.

Offices held

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The offices he held were:

  • Continental Congress (1776–1778)
  • Colonel of the First Georgia Militia (1778)
  • Governor of Georgia (1779–1780)
  • U.S. Congress (1780–1781)
  • Chief Justice of Georgia (1783–1789)
  • Acting Governor of Georgia (1789–1790)
  • U.S. Senator (1795–1796)

Death and legacy

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During his second term as governor, he built Meadow Garden, a cottage constructed on confiscated Tory land outside of Augusta, where he died. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, née Camber,[8] whom he had married in 1775, and one of his two sons. He was initially buried at Rosney, home of his nephew Robert Watkins; he was re-interred in 1848 beneath the Signers Monument in front of the courthouse on Greene Street in Augusta. Even though Walton was from Georgia and Virginia, he did not own slaves.[9]

Walton County, Georgia, is named for him.[10] There are also at least two schools that bear his name: George Walton Comprehensive High School in Marietta, Georgia, and George Walton Academy, a private school in Monroe, Georgia.

His son George Walton, Jr., was the first secretary of the Territory of Florida. He was also the first civilian to serve in the role of governor of the territory, being named as acting governor until the arrival of William Duval. Walton County, Florida, is named for him. His granddaughter, Octavia Walton Le Vert, was a noted socialite and author.[11] His great nephew Thomas George Walton built Creekside near Morganton, North Carolina.[12]

See also

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References

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  • United States Congress. "George Walton (id: W000114)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856 Archived 2011-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
  • Deaton, Stan. "George Walton (ca. 1749-1804)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 6 January 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.

Notes

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  1. ^ Bernstein, Richard B. (2009). "Appendix: The Founding Fathers, A Partial List". The Founding Fathers Reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 176–180. ISBN 978-0199832576.
  2. ^ Barthelmas, Della Gray (1997). The signers of the Declaration of Independence: a biographical and genealogical reference. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 272. ISBN 0786403187.
  3. ^ Dubrulle, Elizabeth (2010). American National Biography. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195206357.
  4. ^ Forsyth, Robert. "Letter, 1789 Sept. 16, Rock Landing [Georgia to] Governor [George] Walton". Southeastern Native American Documents. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 17 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Kokomoor, Kevin (November 2015). "Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic". The Journal of Southern History. 81 (4): 808.
  6. ^ Walton, George. "[Letter] 1789 Oct. 13, Augusta, [Georgia to] Colonel [Jared] Irwin". Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 17 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Dubrulle, Elizabeth (2010). American National Biography. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195206357.
  8. ^ Knight, Lucien Lamar (1913). Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends (2006 reprint ed.). Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing. pp. 1003–1005. ISBN 1455604828. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Artist calls out 'Declaration of Independence' painting, notes most men in the piece owned slaves". Fox News. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  10. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 245. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  11. ^ Satterfield, Frances Gibson (1987). Madame Le Vert: A Biography of Octavia Le Vert. Edisto Island, S.C.: Edisto Press. ISBN 978-0-9618589-1-9.
  12. ^ John B. Wells, III (September 1971). "Creekside" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
Political offices
Preceded by President of the Georgia Council of Safety
1775–1776 		Succeeded by
William Ewen
Preceded by Governor of Georgia
1779–1780 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Georgia
1789–1790 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia
November 16, 1795 – February 20, 1796
Served alongside: James Gunn 		Succeeded by
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