James Habersham (26 January 1712 – 28 August 1775) was an English-born American merchant, planter, missionary, teacher and politician who lived the majority of his life in the

Province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

. Habersham is credited with opening the first direct trade between

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was an influential advocate for slavery in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

and served as Secretary of Georgia and as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Georgia General Assembly 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 ...

Upper House An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

. In opposition to his adult sons, Habersham remained loyal to the Crown 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 ...

. All three of Habersham's sons became actively involved in the Patriot cause.

Joseph Habersham Joseph Habersham (July 28, 1751 – November 17, 1815) was an American businessman, Georgia politician, soldier in the Continental Army, and Postmaster General of the United States. Early years Born in Savannah, Georgia, to James Habers ...

became a zealous revolutionary in 1774. After July 1776, both he and brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

enlisted in the

Georgia Line The Georgia Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Georgia Line" referred to the quota of one infantry regiment which was assigned to Georgia at various times by the Continental Congress. The term also included the three infan ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, while James Jr. contributed to the revolution through political and financial service. The senior Habersham's death in 1775 prevented the painful family division from extending into the war years.

Early years

Habersham was born in

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the son of a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

and

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

, on 26 January 1712. He was baptised in the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church of St Mary's. In 1722, he moved to

, where he worked as a merchant apprentice. In the 1730's, Habersham began following the teachings of

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...

and converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

. At Whitefield's behest, Habersham traveled to the

as a missionary and schoolteacher in 1738. The decision changed the trajectory of Habersham's life. In addition to Whitefield, Habersham was associated with William Piercy, an English curate whom the Countess of Huntington had appointed to serve as president of Bethesda Orphanage near

. It is the oldest extant charity in North America. Habersham taught at Bethesda, and it was there, in Savannah, that he met and married a woman named Mary Bolton.

Business career

In 1744, he became a merchant and set up a partnership with Francis Harris to participate in the burgeoning trade between Georgia and Europe. He and Harris's business was considered the first successful commercial endeavour in Georgia. With resources from this business, Habersham acquired land along rivers for

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

planting. After the ban on slavery in Georgia was lifted, his rice fields developed into a massive 15,000-acre

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

worked by 200 slaves.

Politics

By the 1750's, Habersham had become politically influential. His advocacy for the economic benefits of slavery influenced a repeal on the ban of slavery. He was a senior counselor to the royal government of the colony and in 1754 was appointed Secretary of Georgia by King George II. Beginning in 1767, Habersham served as

of the

. As president of the upper house, he also assumed the position of

Lieutenant Governor of Georgia The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Governor of ...

during the 19-month absence of Governor James Wright from 1771 to 1772, who was in England. All three of his sons became supporters of the

, but Habersham pledged his loyalty to the Crown.

Death and legacy

Habersham died on 28 August 1775, at the age of 63. He is buried in Savannah's

Colonial Park Cemetery Colonial Park Cemetery (locally and informally, Colonial Cemetery) is a historic cemetery located in downtown Savannah, Georgia. It became a city park in 1896,Habersham Street Habersham Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Lincoln Street to the west and Price Street to the east, it runs for about from East Bay Street in the north to Stephenson Avenue in the south. The ...

is named for him.

References

Sources

External links

James Habersham
historical marker
James Habersham
at FindAGrave.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Habersham, James 1712 births 1775 deaths American proslavery activists American slave owners Anglican missionaries in the United States British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Colonial American merchants English Anglican missionaries Loyalists in the American Revolution from Georgia (U.S. state) People of Georgia (British colony) People from Beverley Year of birth uncertain