Edgar Gilmer Dawson (March 6, 1830 – April 24, 1883) was a planter and lawyer. He was born in

Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,648 as of the 2020 census. The city is located approximately halfway between Atlanta and Augusta on Interstate 20. History Greensboro was ...

, and was one of the Greene County Dawsons, the fifth child of Senator

William Crosby Dawson William Crosby Dawson (January 4, 1798May 5, 1856) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier from Georgia. Early life, education and legal career Dawson was born in Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia, January 4, 1798. His parents were Geo ...

. In 1849 he received an A.B. from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and he married Lucy F. Terrell, daughter of Dr.

William Terrell William Terrell (1778 – July 4, 1855) was as a United States representative from Georgia. Family He was one of two children born to Joel and Lucy (Ragland) Terrell.Based on ''A History of the Terrell and Dabney Families'', by John Dabney Ter ...

Sparta, Georgia Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Milledgeville Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 1,400 at the 2010 census. History Sparta was founded in 1795 in the new ...

, in 1856. Dawson served as Captain and later Major of the Terrell Light Artillery from 1861 to 1864 during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. After 1867, he became a resident of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The Edgar Gilmer Dawson Fund supports agricultural education at the

. Dawson Hall, which houses the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was named for him.

References

UGA Centennial CatalogA collection of family records, with biographical sketches and other memoranda of various families and individuals bearing the name Dawson, or allied to families of that name. Comp. by Charles C. Dawson, pp 371-372. Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell, 1874.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Edgar Gilmer 1830 births 1883 deaths University of Georgia alumni Confederate States Army officers People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers People from Greensboro, Georgia American planters 19th-century American lawyers