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George Walton
Born: Farmville, Virginia, about 1749
Walton was buried in Rosney Cemetery in Augusta. In 1848 he was disinterred and buried at Courthouse Grounds, also in Augusta.
Died: February_2, 1804, Augusta, Georgia
The economic boom that occurred after the Seven Years War attracted many people to the city of Savannah. Among these was a young, idealistic attorney named George Walton. At the age of 29 he relocated his law office from his home in Virginia to the bustling city. Events outside the state soon convinced him the law practice would have to wait. Her was one of the men calling for a meeting at Tondee's Tavern in 1774. In a colony that was slightly older than he was, Walton was elected secretary of the assembly and later in 1775 he was elected president of the Council of Safety.
His selection as a delegate to the Continental Congress was effective in January, 1776 but he did not arrive in Philadelphia until June of that year. After approval of his credentials he took his seat July 1, 1776, one day before the historic vote. Walton was one of the youngest men to sign the Declaration of Independence. With the release of the document two days later Walton was a man wanted by the British government. He did not leave Philadelphia until October, 1777, when he returned to Georgia and began the task of raising a force to resist the British. Wounded and taken prisoner during the British attack on Savannah, Walton was released within a year in spite of his signature on the Declaration. He returned to Congress in 1780 and served two years. Upon returning to Georgia he was chosen chief justice by the state assembly.
His brief term as governor was marred by his willingness to sign land grants above the legal limit for friends, government employees, acquaintances, and passersby. If his term had been more than a few months the state would have run out of land east of the Mississippi. In 1795 the Yazoo Land Fraud brought 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 political office.
Letter to Walton from Archibald Bulloch
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Declaration of Independence
Letter to Walton from Archibald Bulloch
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Yazoo Land Fraud
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