David Emanuel (1744 – February 19, 1808) became 24th Governor of Georgia on March 3, 1801 upon the resignation of James Jackson to become

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Emanuel served until November 7, 1801, the remainder of Jackson's term, but did not seek re-election. Emanuel was a member of the Democratic Republican Party. Prior to serving as governor, he served as President of the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

Heritage

Some historians believe Emanuel to be the first governor of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

heritage of any U.S. state, while others believe that he was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. One early claim that he was Jewish seems to have been based mainly on hearsay in Savannah, Georgia, and a letter from a descendant of David Emanuel's sister Ruth Emanuel Twiggs, Judge H.D.D. Twiggs of Savannah, who stated, "I do not know where Governor David Emanuel came from, I only know that, beyond doubt, he was a Jew." Judge Twiggs was born some years after David Emanuel had died, and so would not have had first hand knowledge of his heritage. At least one person of Jewish heritage married into the Twiggs family, that being

Abraham Myers Abraham Myers (also Abram Myers; 14 May 181120 June 1889) was a military officer in the United States and Confederate States Armies. Personal life Abraham Charles Myers (also Abram) was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, on 14 May 1811. Mye ...

who married David Emanuel Twiggs's daughter, Marion. Another rationale given for Emanuel having Jewish ancestry is the preponderance of Old Testament names in the Emanuel family tree. Other researchers believe that David Emanuel was Presbyterian and of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

heritage. His family was closely associated with the Welsh community that originally settled in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

around 1700. One Emanuel family researcher has found evidence that David Emanuel was a grandson of Emanuel Jones, of Wales, and believes that the name "Emanuel" became the family surname because of the idiosyncrasies of the Welsh patronymic naming system. The use of Old Testament names was actually common among Protestant Christians in some parts of Wales. Emanuel Jones was at one time a trustee of the Charlestown, Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Church.

Life and career

Few details of Emanuel's early life are known, but according to the Georgia State Archives he was born in 1744 in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He served as a captain and colonel in the Georgia Militia during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

under the command of his brother-in-law

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

John Twiggs General John Twiggs (June 5, 1750 – March 29, 1816) served as a leader in the Georgia Militia during the American Revolutionary War. Twiggs County, Georgia was named after him. Biography Twiggs was born in Maryland in 1750, and his family m ...

. During the war, he is reported to have been captured by loyalists and barely escaped execution. He represented his home county of Burke County in the

Georgia legislature The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly e ...

. Emanuel also served on the commission that investigated the

Yazoo land scandal The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive real-estate fraud perpetrated, in the mid-1790s, by Georgia governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia politicians sold large ...

Emanuel County, Georgia Emanuel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,768. The county seat is Swainsboro. History The county was created on December 10, 1812, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly f ...

is named in his honor. After Governor James Jackson resigned in 1801 to take a seat in the U.S. Senate, Emanuel, as president of the state senate, became acting governor. Overall he served three times as President of the Georgia Senate

References

External links

David Emanuel entry
at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

David Emanuel entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

*
David Emanuel entry
at the

New Georgia Encyclopedia The ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' (NGE) is a web-based encyclopedia containing over 2,000 articles about the state of Georgia. It is a program of Georgia Humanities (GH), in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, the University System o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, David 1744 births 1808 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republicans Georgia (U.S. state) militiamen in the American Revolution Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution Military personnel from Pennsylvania Presidents pro tempore of the Georgia State Senate Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Emanuel County, Georgia People from Burke County, Georgia Jewish American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Jewish American state governors of the United States