Joseph "Henry" Persons (January 30, 1834 – June 17, 1910) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician, lawyer and soldier.

Early life

Persons was born near Smarrs,

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 ...

, in

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

; however, his family moved to

Talbot County, Georgia Talbot County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2020 census showed a population of 5,733. The county seat and largest city is Talbotton. History Talbot County was created from a portion of Musco ...

in 1836. He attended 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 ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1855.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Persons served as a cavalry captain in the Third Georgia regiment of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Postbellum

After the war, he was elected as a

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to the

46th United States Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 ...

as an

Independent Democrat In U.S. politics, an independent Democrat is an individual who loosely identifies with the ideals of the Democratic Party but chooses not to be a formal member of the party (chooses to be an independent) or is denied the Democratic nomination i ...

. Persons lost his bid for re-election in 1880 and returned to

Geneva, Georgia Geneva is a town in Talbot County, Georgia, United States. The population was 114 at the 2000 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Geneva in 1870. The community's name is a transfer from Geneva, in Switzerland. ...

. He studied law, gained admittance to the state bar in 1885 and began practicing law in

Talbotton, Georgia Talbotton is a city in Talbot County, Georgia, United States. The population was 970 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Talbot County. History Talbotton was founded in 1828 as the seat of the newly formed Talbot County. Both the ...

. After his political service, Persons served as a UGA trustee from 1894 until 1910. He died that year in Talbotton and was buried in that city's Rose Hill Cemetery.

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-16
''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p.588
1834 births 1910 deaths Confederate States Army officers Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War University of Georgia alumni People from Talbot County, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Georgia (U.S. state) Independents Independent Democrat members of the United States House of Representatives American slave owners 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub