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Gicarga
12.8.14.
Library of the Theological
Seminary,
PRINCETON, N. J.
Presented by The author.
SCC Division 6619 Section .
v. 2
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library
http://www.archive.org/details/georgiaslandmark02knig
LIBERTY HALL:
The Former Home of Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, Crawfordville, Ga,
Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends
COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME II (ILLUSTRATED)
LIBRARY OF PRINCETON
DEC 8 1914
THEOLOGICAL
SEM RY
BY LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT (A. B., Georgia; M. A., Princeton) COMPILER OF THE STATE RECORDS OF GEORGIA
Author of "Reminiscences of Famous Georgians," in two volumes; "A Biographical Dictionary of Southern Authors"; "Historical Side-Lights"; Etc.
SNO.
EDITION DE LUXE FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION
1
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE BYRD PRINTING COMPANY STATE PRINTERS ATLANTA, GEORGIA 1914
THE
RYRD DPRINT ING SO ATLANTA
Copyright, 1914 BY LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT
DEDICATED
TO
FRANCES AND MARY
WHOM I HAVE LOVED SINCE THE EARLIEST DAYS OF CRADLEDOM; .
AND TO
CLARA CORINNE KNIGHT,
AN EDUCATOR OF GEORGIA'S BOYS AND GIRLS; FOR TWENTY-FOUR YEARS A TEACHER IN ATLANTA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS; A DAUGHTER OF THE AMERICAN REVO- LUTION AND A DAUGHTER OF THE CONFEDERACY; BUT-FIRST OF ALL AND BEST OF ALL-A MOTHER, WHOSE BEAUTIFUL CHARACTER, THE SUM OF ALL EXCELL- ENCE IN WOMANHOOD, HAS KEPT ME TRUE TO ALL TRUTH AND TENDER TO ALL WOMANKIND, WHOSE SHELTERING ARMS WERE MY FIRST HAVEN OF REFUGE AND WHOSE WATCHFUL EYES WERE MY CHILDHOOD'S MORNING STARS.
PREFACE
To a generous public, whose favor has been most indulgent, this concluding volume of GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS, AND LEGENDS is presented in the hope that its gathered lore will be graciously and kindly received. This expectation is naturally excited by the somewhat wide patronage accorded to the first volume. There is not a public library of any magnitude in any State of the Union upon whose shelves this work has not been placed, a fact partially explained by the unique prestige which belongs to Georgia as one of the original thirteen States of the Union and as the youngest of the English Colonies in North America.
Only a few words of explanation in presenting this volume. The apparent inequalities between the different sections of the State, with respect to materials possessing historie value, are due largely to the fact that some localities are much older than others and have been much more actively and vitally concerned in the making of history. There has also been a difference in the degree of co-operative encouragement extended to the author. Some to whom the writer has looked for help have eagerly embraced an opportunity for assisting in the preserva- tion of Georgia's records; but others, for what have doubtless seemed to them good reasons, have been strangely indifferent. Such has ever been the way of the world; and many who are slow to help are prompt to criticize. But we need not find fault. It is only natural that we should take a delight in doing what we can do best. To the patriotic women of our State, the author wishes to renew his expressions of gratitude for assistance most graciously and freely given. Their kindness has been a cruse of oil, which through seasons of drought, has never failed. Else- where in this work specific acknowledgments are made to these gentle contributors.
The reader's attention is specially directed to the elaborate index which this volume contains, an index which embraces both volumes of the set, traversing the whole history of the State, since the time of Oglethorpe, and aggregating nearly 20,000 names. Historical research has heretofore been greatly handi- capped by a lack of good indexes. In fact, most of our earlier histories are wholly without this important aid to investigation. Much time and labor have been spent in the preparation of this feature. To ascertain whether an ancestor is represented in
VI
PREFACE
this work the reader needs only to consult the index, in which a thorough analysis of the work is presented in an alphabetical scheme of arrangement. Special attention is also called to the numerous inscriptions grouped together in the section on "'Historic Churchyards and Burial-Grounds"; to the somewhat extended list of early settlers who served either as town commis- sioners or as academy trustees; and to the monograph entitled "Under the ('ode Duello." Most of the information herein set forth has been derived at first hand from personal visits to various parts of the State and from direct and immediate access to official records. Quite a number of rare Indian Legends have been dug out of old reports in the Library of Congress; and some of these, beeause of the novelty which attaches to them, will be read with much.interest.
Intervals of leisure, extending over a period of five years, have been occupied in gathering the materials for this work and in putting them into permanent literary form. Professional engagements have not been seriously disturbed, nor the routine of official labors interrupted. The writer has accomplished his task by making the field of Georgia history his playground. He has given to it his early morning hours, frequently beginning his day's work at dawn and outlining a full chapter before breakfast. The other end of the day has always found him taxed to exhaustion and ready for sleep. He has burned no midnight oil.
Infallibility is not vouehsafed to mortals. Exact Truth, if the hope, is also the despair of historians. To no one are the shorteomings of this work more painfully apparent than to the author himself. Mindful of his human frailties and limitations, he has sought only to render conscientious and faithful service to his State. This has ever been his endeavor. He will be satis- fied if Georgia's benediction rests upon his labors; happier still if, when his day's work is done, he ean fall asleep in the elasp of her violets-around him the ashes of his loved ones and over him an epitaph like this: "Here lies one who gave his pen to Georgia's memories, whose ambition was to brighten the names on her fading records and to deepen the epitaphs on her mouldering monuments, whose richest recompense of reward was found in the all-sufficient joy of service, and who coveted naught within the gift of the old mother State, save the privilege of loving every foot of her soil and every page of her history.
LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION I.
UNDER THE CODE DUELLO 1-48
SECTION II.
LANDMARKS AND MEMORIALS 51-271
CHAPTER I Hernando DeSoto: Memorials of his March Through Georgia in 1540 51-52
CHAPTER II "Home, Sweet Home:" John Howard Payne's Georgia Sweetheart and Imprisonment_ 62-71
CHAPTER III Lost for 114 Years: the Mystery of General Greene's Place of Entombment 71-89
CHAPTER IV Georgia's Great Seals.
89-99
CHAPTER V Georgia Issues the First Patent for a Steam- boat 99-102
CHAPTER VI President Washington's Georgia Visit: the Diary of his Trip 102-106
CHAPTER VII General Elijah Clarke's Trans-Oconee Re- public 106-115
CHAPTER VIII Fannin at Goliad: Story of the Brutal Mass- acre of 1836 115-121
CHAPTER IX William H. Seward: a Georgia School Mas- ter 121-131
CHAPTER X Crawford W. Long: The Discoverer of Anes- thesia. 131-138
CHAPTER XI John Clark: His Grave Overlooking St. Andrew's Bay_ 138-142
CHAPTER XII Liberty Hall: The Historic Home of Mr. Stephens 142-154
CHAPTER XIII The Last Order of the Confederate Govern- ment 154-156
CHAPTER XIV Memorial Day: its True History 156-167
CHAPTER Thomas Holley Chivers: an Eratic Genius 167-170
CHAPTER XVI Georgia's First Governor: His Mysterious Death 170-172
CHAPTER XVII Two Pioneer Baptists: the Story of the Mer- cers 172-179
CHAPTER XVIII
Ebenezer: the Story of the Salzburgers 179-193
CHAPTER XIX Sunbury : an Extinct Metropolis 193-198
CHAPTER Fort Morris: The Last to Lower the Colonial Flag. 198-202
CHAPTER
New Inverness: The Story of the Scotch
Highlanders
202-207
VIII
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXII
The Acadians in Georgia
207-211
CHAPTER XXIII
The Moravians in Georgia
211-215
CIIAPTER
XXXIV
Roswell: The Home of Mr. Roosevelt's
Mother
215-222
CHAPTER
XXV
Dr. Francis R. Goulding: The Author of "The
Young Marooners"
222-225
CHAPTER
XXVI
Who Invented the Sewing-Machine?
225-228
CHAPTER
XXVII
"The Savannah": Her Maiden Trip Across
the Atlantic in 1819
228-231
CHAPTER
XXVIII
How the "General" was Captured: The
Story of the Famous Andrews' Raid.
231-235
CHAPTER
XXXIX
How Mr. Bryan Secured his Nomination in
1896
235-239
CHAPTER
The Wren's Nest : its Memories of Joel Chan-
dler Harris
239-245
CHAPTER
XXXI
Stone Mountain: a Monolith of Prehistoric
Times
245-252
252-263
CHAPTER
XXXII
The Old Field School
CHAPTER XXXIII Georgia's Early Masonic History: an Im- portant Volume Discovered
263-269
CHAPTER
XXXIV
Mrs. Wilson Comes Home
269-271
SECTION III.
HISTORIC CHURCH-YARDS AND BURIAL-GROUNDS
275-438
Colonial Park, Savannah 275-286 1 1
Bonaventure, Savannah. 286-299 L 1 1 t 1
1 Laurel Grove, Savannah 299-311 1 1 1 1 t 1 1
Catholic Cemetery, Savannah. 311-311 I 1 1 1 t
Old Jewish Burial Ground, Savannah 311-312 1 Į 1 1 1
St. Paul's, Augusta
312-317
Summerville, Augusta
317-323
Arsenal, Augusta
323-325
City Cemetery, Augusta
325-338
Old Midway, Liberty County 1
338-344
Old Cemetery, Louisville
344-346
New Cemetery, Louisville.
346-348
1 t 4 t Town Cemetery, Milledgeville 347-352 I 1
1 Rest Haven, Washington 352-354
Smyrna Church-Yard, near Washington
354-356
1 Presbyterian Cemetery, Lexington 356-357 1 1
I 1 Town Cemetery, Greensboro 357-362 1
Oconee Cemetery, Athens 362-372 t
Town Cemetery, Sparta 372-375 I 1
Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville 1
1
1
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1 I Town Cemetery, Forsyth 378-381 1 1 1
4 1 Rose Hill, Macon. 381-391 1 1 1
1 Oak Hill, Griffin. 391-394
Oak Grove, Americus
394-395
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375-378
IX
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Town Cemetery, Oxford
395-397
Linnwood, Columbus
397-404
Town Cemetery, Decatur
404-407
Confederate Cemetery, Marietta
407-410
Town Cemetery, Cartersville
410-414
Myrtle Hill, Rome. 414-417 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1
417-428
Westview, Atlanta
428-432
Town Cemetery, Greenville
432-435
Oak Hill, Newnan
435-438
SECTION IV.
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE INDIANS.
441-480
I The Legend of Nacoochee
1 441-442 1 II The Legend of Hiawassee 442-445 I 1 1
III The Legend of the Cherokee Rose
1 445-446
IV The Legend of Lover's Leap
446-449
V The Legend of Sweetwater Branch
449-450
VII Yahula.
450-452
VIII
The Ustutli.
452-454
IX Agan-Unitsi's Search for the Uktena
454-457
Y
The Enchanted Mountain
457-460
XI The Burnt Village: a Tale of Indian Wars
460-464
XII The Enchanted Island.
464-467
XIII
Tamar Escapes from the Indians 467-468
XII DeSoto and the Indian Widow 468-471
XIV The Man who Married the Thunderer's Sister
471-474
XV A Tragedy of the Swamp
474-478
XVI Queen Elancydyne.
478-480
SECTION V.
TALES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY CAMP-FIRES 484-521
I Gunpowder for Bunker Hill
484-485 II Georgia Commissions the First Warship 484-486 III The Arrest of Governor Wright
486-488 IV. The Adventures of Robert Sallatte
484-491
V The Tories: Georgia's Reign of Terror.
491-500
VI McIntosh at Fort Morris:"Come and Take it"
500-503
VII How Savannah was Captured
503-504
VIII
Elijah Clarke: The Bedford Forrest of the Revolution 504-509
IX The Story of Austin Dabney
509-512
x The Siege of Augusta 512-516
XI St. John's Parish 616-518
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Oakland, Atlanta
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- X
TABLE OF CONTENTS
XII Col. John White: Hero of the Great Ogeechee. 518-520 A Revolutionary Puzzle 520-521 Sergeant Jasper and Count Pulaski see Savannah's Revolutionary Monuments, Vol. I.
SECTION VI.
GEORGIA MISCELLANIES 525-551
SECTION VII.
HISTORIC COUNTY SEATS, CHIEF TOWNS, AND NOTED LOCALITIES_ 556-1054
1
ERRATA:
Page 558-Read Major Stephen F. Miller instead of Major Stephen H. Miller.
Page 614-Read Jacob Weed instead of Jacob Webb.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Liberty Hall. Frontispiece.
James Jackson: Famous for his Exposure of the Yazoo Fraud and for his Frequent Meetings on the Field of Honor Facing Page 8
The Vann House, at Spring Place, Ga., Where John How- ard Payne was Imprisoned in 1836 Facing Page 62
John Ross: Chief of the Cherokee Nation Facing Page 68
The Greene Monument, Savannah, Ga
Facing Page 72
Bronze Tablet on the Greene Monument Facing Page 86
Bulloch Hall: The Old Home of Ex-President Roosevelt's Mother, at Roswell, Ga Facing Page 218
The Wren's Nest: Where the Famous "Uncle Remus Stories" were Written by Joel Chandler Harris, in West End, Atlanta, Ga_ Facing Page 240
Stone Mountain: The Greatest Solid Mass of Exposed Rock in the World Facing Page 246
Myrtle Hill: The Last Resting Place of Mrs. Woodrow Wilson
Facing Page 270
Bonaventure Cemetery: A Scene in Savannah's Historic Burial Ground, Showing the Long Pendant Mosses _. Facing Page 286
Horizontal Slab Over the Tomb of Commodore Oliver Bowen, St. Paul's Church Yard, Augusta, Ga. Facing Page 314
Old Midway Church and Burial-Ground, Liberty County Ga
Facing Page 338
Historic Tombs in the Old Church-Yard at Midway
Facing Page 342
Historic Tombs at Westview, Atlanta, Ga.
Facing Page 430
The Varner House: Where Gen McIntosh Signed his Death Warrant in the Famous Treaty at Indian Springs
Facing Pace 612
Dr. Crawford W. Long's Old Home, at Athens. Ga
Facing Page
658
Boyhood's Home of Henry W. Grady, at Athens, Ga
Facing Page 662
Joseph Rucker: Planter and Financier who Stamped his Impress upon Ante-Bellum Georgia. Facing Page
714
Home of Joseph Rucker, at Old Ruckersville, Ga
Facing Page
718
The Burns Memorial Cottage, Atlanta, Ga Facing Page
762
Burning the Yazoo Act
Facing Page 800
Gov. Troup's Old Home: Remains of the Valdosta Man- sion, in Laurens County, Showing the Sand Stone Chimney, in the Midst of a Deserted Ruin Facing Page 830
Tomb of Gov. George M. Troup, on the Rosemont Plant- ation, in Montgomery County, Ga
Facing Page 890
Two Interesting Views of Rosemont
Facing Page
892
Sequoya: Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet
Facing Page 900
The Cradle of Emory College: Home of the Late Col W. W. Clark, Covington, Ga., Including Part of the old Manual School Established by Dr. Olin Facing Page 912
Overseer's Cabin, on the Mitchell Place, in Wheeler Co. Where Gov. George M. Troup Breathed his Last Facing Page 1030
Mount Pleasant: The Old Home of the Talbots, near Washington, Ga Facing Page 1050
SECTION I
Under the code Duello.
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
SECTION 1
Under the Code Duello
What is known as the Code Duello is supposed to have originated in the judicial combats of the Celtic nations. Trial by battle-or wager of battle-represented a crude form of justice to which the Lombards began to resort as early as the year 659 of the Christian era and which, subsequent to the battle of Hastings, in 1066, was intro- duced into England by William the Conqueror. But the general practice of duelling to settle affairs of honor be- tween gentlemen may be said to have commenced in 1527, when Francis I, of France, issued a challenge to Charles .V, of Germany, directing him to name his own time and place and to make his own choice of weapons with which to fight.
The affair seems to have grown out of an abrogated treaty, in consequence of which the German Emperor sent a curt message to King Francis, through the latter's her- ald, declaring him to be not only a base violator of public faith but a stranger to the honor becoming a gentleman .* Incensed at this message, which he considered a wanton insult, the impetuous French sovereign instantly sent
*Truman: The Field of Honor, Introduction, pp. 9-17.
2
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
back the bearer with a cartel of defiance, in which he gave the lie to Emperor Charles and incidentally, by way of royal precedent, laid the foundations for the mod- ern duel. Equally high-spirited, Charles V promptly accepted the challenge of the French King; but, during the correspondence which ensued, there arose complica- tions of an international character, and after exchanging several messages in which German expletives were well matched with French epithets, the idea of meeting each other in mortal encounter was finally abandoned.
Nevertheless, the spectacle of a quarrel between two of the most illustrious potentates of Christendom, on a mooted question of honor, attracted too much attention and carried too great a weight of authority to be without its effect upon the chivalry of Europe; and, from this time on, the practice of duelling, especially at the royal courts, in the university towns, and among officers of the army, became prevalent. During a period of eighteen years, under the reign of Henry IV, it is said that 4,000 lives were sacrificed on the Field of Honor.
France became the chief patron of the Code; but the mania for duelling swept the civilized world like a besom of fire, involving, on both sides of the water, men of the highest political and social distinction. Its effect was most tellingly felt upon Democratic America, where it struck deep root and began to spread like the deadly. Upas. Formerly, duels were fought under judicial ap- pointment; but the precedent set by Francis I, of France, caused impetuous Hotspurs instantly to adopt this method of redress for private wrongs, without the intervention of the courts; and thus, until public sentiment began to insist upon a return to saner measures, the duel be- came one of the established institutions of society, among men of Caucasian blood.
Georgia was one of the first States of the Union to find the duel an effective instrument for the adjustment of differences between gentlemen; and likewise one of
3
UNDER THE CODE DUELLO
the last States to abandon a custom, perhaps, more hon- ored in the breech than in the observance. At a time when party strife was most intense and bitter, it was an almost daily occurrence for men to cross swords or to exchange shots in personal encounters, but everything was done according to prescribed form and with punc- tilious regard for the Code of Honor. There was scarcely a public man in Georgia who was not credited with at least one duel, fought usually in the earlier stages of his career. If one refused to fight when challenged by a gentleman he was at once posted; and such an open dis- grace meant social ostracism. Political honors were not awarded to cowards nor to those who, weighed in the balances of an imperious custom, were found wanting in courage; and, for upwards of a hundred years, the public life of this State was ruled with a rod of iron by that grim arbiter of destinies : the Code Duello.
For the paramount sway of the duelling-pistol in a State like Georgia there were sound reasons. To begin with, the partisanship of the Revolution entailed upon us a host of feudal animosities. It also engendered the military spirit, to which life on the frontier gave con- stant exercise, through the ever present dread of an Indian outbreak. Children at play revelled in the use of toy weapons, with which they stormed imaginary forts and citadels. The long protracted warfare between Clark and Crawford, at a later period, divided the State into two hostile camps, in consequence of which there were personal wrangles and disputes without number.
Scores of the best families of our State traced de- scent from the nobility of England; and there was in- grained in the very nature of the average Georgian an inherent love of personal encounter, as old as the tilt-yards of the Norman Conqueror. While the main body of our population was of English origin, there was an intermingling of two other strains in which the duel found a congenial soil : the Scotch-Irish, grim and silent, tenacious of personal opinion, untaught to yield an inch
4
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
of ground; and the French Huguenot, fiery and impulsive, full of the military spirit, and prone, without thought of consequences, to seek the bubble, Reputation, at the can- non's mouth. Nor is it strange that in a State which knew nothing of the austere Puritan there should have flourished an institution reflecting the love of swords- manship, the relish for adventure, and the contempt of personal danger, which, from time immemorial, have been peculiar to the English Cavalier.
Gwinnett and The earliest duel of which there is any McIntosh. mention in the records of Georgia was the fatal encounter which occurred, ón May 15, 1777, between Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIn- tosh .* It was just after the adoption of our first State Constitution and when the State was in the midst of preparations for an expected invasion by the British. Both combatants were zealous Whigs and men of the highest distinction in public affairs. Button Gwinnett had been one of the revered trio of patriots to sign the immortal scroll of independence on behalf of Georgia and had subsequently administered the affairs of the Province as President of the Executive Council. Lachlan McIntosh was at this time the commanding officer of Georgia's first battalion of State troops and was destined to attain high rank as a soldier under Washington. The misunder- standing between the two men grew out of a heated con- troversy in which they were both rivals for the same office : that of commandant of the new battalion lately or- ganized in Georgia for service in the Continental Army.
McIntosh was the successful candidate. Later, on the death of Archibald Bulloch, who was then President of the Executive Council, Gwinnett succeeded to the helm of civil affairs in Georgia; and, while acting in this capacity, he planned an expedition against St. Au-
*Jones: History of Georgia, Vol. 2, p. 270; McCall: History of Georgia, Vol. 2, pp. 331-335, reprint.
5
UNDER THE CODE DUELLO
gustine, which he expected to command in person, ignor- ing General McIntosh. At the same time, in various other ways, he evinced his hostility toward his former rival and sought to magnify the civil at the expense of the military department of the State government.
But the projected advance on St. Augustine failed to materialize. Moreover, in the first election for Governor by the State Legislature, held on May 8, 1777, Gwinnett, an avowed candidate for the office, was defeated by John Adam Treutlen, who, by virtue of his election at this time, became the first Governor of Georgia under the Constitution.
Gwinnett was naturally chagrined at his defeat. On the other hand, McIntosh was elated; and, with the blunt- ness of the Scotch Highlander he not only expressed his gratification at the result but went so far as to denounce Gwinnett as a scoundrel, in the presence of the Execu- tive Council. This open insult was more than the im- perious nature of Gwinnett could endure and, chafing already under his disappointment, he at once challenged McIntosh to mortal combat.
Preliminaries were arranged and at day-break next morning they met on the outskirts of Savannah. At a distance of only twelve feet apart, they exchanged pistol shots and both fell to the ground. It was discovered on examination that each was wounded in the thigh. Mc- Intosh recovered. But Gwinnett's wound proved fatal; and, after lingering in great pain for twelve days, he ex- pired: the first known victim in Georgia to the Code of Honor.
Excitement in Georgia ran high. As a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett was much revered by the people, notwithstanding his impetuosity of tem- per. Dr. Lyman Hall, a former colleague in Congress, who signed the scroll of independence with Gwinnett, brought the matter before the Legislature and accused
6
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
the judicial officers of criminal neglect in not ordering MeIntosh's arrest. At this critical moment, McIntosh, of his own accord, surrendered himself to the civil au- thorities.
But the Gwinnett faction was not appeased. In the face of a common enemy, Georgia was threatened with a serious division in her ranks. To avoid a rupture of the State, at a time when the cause of liberty called for a solid phalanx, Colonel George Walton, of Georgia, and Colonel Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, both members of Congress, acting as friends of McIntosh, obtained for him a command in the Northern Department; and thus an embarrassing situation was relieved. With his trans- fer to the Northern Department, McIntosh gradually rose to high rank and won by his gallantry the personal friendship and esteem of Washington.
Later he returned to Georgia in time to participate in the defence of Savannah. There was no longer any feeling of animosity toward him and at the close of the Revolution he re-established his home in Savannah, where he was made President of the Georgia Society of the Cincinnati. Gwinnett was an Englishman who came to Georgia only four years prior to the Revolution. He purchased St. Catharine's Island and became an exten- sive planter of rice and indigo. His home was just oppo- site the old town of Sunbury, in the Parish of St. John.
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