George Handley

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Handley (born February 29, 1752 in Sheffield , England , † September 17, 1793 in Savannah , Georgia ) was an American politician and governor of Georgia.

Early years

Born in England, Handley settled in Savannah, Georgia in 1775. When the War of Independence broke out shortly afterwards , he joined the American freedom movement. In January 1776 he became a lieutenant in a regiment of the Continental Army stationed in Georgia . There he made it to the lieutenant colonel. He spent the last two years of the war in British captivity in Charleston , South Carolina .

Political rise

After the war he bought an estate near Augusta in 1783 and became a justice of the peace. In 1784 he was a judge in three counties and in 1787 he was promoted to General Inspector of the Georgia Militia. In the same year he was a delegate at the state convention at which the US Constitution was ratified. In January 1788, Handley was appointed governor of the state for one year by the Parliament of Georgia. This made him the first governor of Georgia after the country had received official US state status.

Georgia Governor

A major problem during his tenure was the immigration of settlers from North Carolina and Virginia and the fair distribution of land for these newcomers. At the same time, there were repeated armed conflicts between the settlers and the Creek Indians. The previous constitution did not leave the governor much room for maneuver to intervene effectively. Therefore, Georgia's constitution was revised again during this period to give the state government more powers. Domestic tensions between two warring factions were another problem that had preoccupied the country for several years. There were still violent riots. Handley couldn't solve the problem either. It would continue to exist for the following years and decades until the 1820s.

Old age and death

After his one-year tenure in 1789, he still accompanied some public offices, such as tax collector in the port of Brunswick (on behalf of George Washington ) or as sheriff in Richmond County . Handley died in September 1793 at the age of 41. He was married to Sarah Howe since 1780. The couple had a son.

literature

  • William W. Abbot: The Structure of Politics in Georgia: 1782–1789. In: The William and Mary Quarterly . Third Series , Volume 14, Issue 1, January 1957, pp. 47-65.
  • Margaret Davis Cate: Our Todays and Yesterdays: A Story of Brunswick and the Coastal Islands. Revised edition,. Reprint Co., Spartanburg, SC 1972.
  • James F. Cook: The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004. 3. Edition. Mercer University Press, Macon (Georgia) 2005.
  • Randolph C. Downes: Creek-American Relations, 1782-1790. In: Georgia Historical Quarterly . Volume 21, Issue 3, June 1937, pp. 142-184.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Handley, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Georgia Governor
DATE OF BIRTH February 29, 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Sheffield , England
DATE OF DEATH September 17, 1793
Place of death Savannah , Georgia