Stephen Heard

Stephen Heard (born November 1, 1740 in Hanover County , Colony of Virginia , † November 15, 1815 in his home in Elbert County , Georgia ) was an American politician and governor of Georgia.

Early years

Stephen Heard was born in 1740 in Hanover County, Virginia, into a tobacco growing family. Stephen had a good primary education. When the Seven Years War (known in America as the French and Indian War) broke out in 1754, young Stephen and some of his brothers joined the Virginia militia under the command of George Washington . The experience he gained in the war years would be very helpful later in the War of Independence. Heard had also had a lifelong friendship with Washington since those days. Around 1759 he settled in the St. Pauls Ward, Georgia. Because of his services to England during the war, he received a donation of land. His new land was still threatened by the Creek and Cherokee Indians. For this reason, Heard built a fort to protect all settlers in this area from Indian attacks. The future capital of Wilkes County Washington emerged from the building, which was completed in 1774 .

The War of Independence

When the American Revolution broke out, Heard joined the American movement. This meant that he and his sympathizers had a difficult time in that part of Georgia. There were many citizens who remained loyal to the British. These went down in the history of the American Revolution as loyalists or Tories. Especially from 1778 to 1782 these forces received a boost from the British occupation of the most important areas of Georgia. The violence in Heard's homeland escalated. In his absence, the Tories raided his house. In the middle of winter, they left his wife and stepdaughter outdoors, and they literally froze to death. Despite this sad incident and several death threats against him, Heard remained committed to the colonists' cause. He participated in the 1779 Battle of Kettle Creeks, in which the Americans won a great victory and put the Loyalists to flight. The battle also marked a setback for the British in northeast Georgia. Despite these victories, the Tory incursions continued. Heard himself fell into British captivity a short time later and was supposed to be hanged in Augusta for high treason. The execution was never carried out. There is a legend that one of his slaves, Mammy Kate, freed him.

Georgia Governor

After his release or escape from captivity, he continued to take an active part in the politics of his state. At the time, the Georgia patriots were split into two hostile factions. The conservatives, for whom the constitution was too liberal, and the so-called radicals. When Governor Richard Howley was appointed to the Continental Congress in early 1780 , George Wells was to become the new governor. A few days later, however, he was killed in a duel by the later governor and member of Congress James Jackson . He too was a victim of the bloody feud between the two political camps. Thereupon Heard was elected the new governor of Georgia on May 24, 1780. His term of office lasted a little longer than a year until August 18, 1781 and was unfortunate because the British were still occupying parts of the country and there was anarchy in the free part of the country. Tories and patriots fought bitterly there. In the meantime, the governor had to flee from the British.

According to him, Heard County named in Georgia.

Old age and death

After the end of the war and his tenure as governor, the government gave him a large piece of land (6850 acres). In this area he built his country estate, which he named Heardmond, about 30 miles north of the city of Washington, Georgia, which he co-founded. Heard subsequently served as a judge in his home district. In 1795 he was a delegate to the Georgia constituent convention, where the constitution was revised. Heard died in November 1815 at his Heardmond manor.

He was married twice. As already mentioned, his first wife, Jane, was murdered by Tories in the turmoil of events around 1778. He had a total of nine children with his second wife, Elizabeth Darden.

literature

• James F. Cook: The Governors of Georgia. 1754-2004 . 3rd edition, revised and expanded. Mercer University Press, Macon GA 2005, ISBN 0-86554-954-0 .
• John Hawes McIntosh: The Official History of Elbert County. 1790-1935 . Stephen Heard Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Elberton GA 1940.
• William J. Northen: Men of Mark in Georgia. A complete and elaborate History of the State from its Settlement to the present Time, chiefly told in Biographies and Autobiographies of the most eminent Men of each Period of Georgia's progress and development . 6 volumes. AB Caldwell, Atlanta GA 1906-1912 (Reprint with a new index: 7 volumes. Reprint Co., Spartanburg, SC 1974, ISBN 0-87152-176-8 ).

Web links

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia (History of the State of Georgia in Biographies )
• Stephen Heard at the National Governors Association (English)
• Stephen Heard in the database of Find a Grave (English)