Nathan Brownson (May 14, 1742 – November 6, 1796) was an American physician and statesman. He served
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 ...
as a delegate to the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
in 1777 and as the
Governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...
in 1781. Nathan Brownson was a member of
the Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
of the State of Georgia.
Early life
Brownson was born in
Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,723 at the 2020 census. The town center, comprising the adjacent villages of Woodbury and North Woodbury, is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Woo ...
, the sixth of ten children born to Timothy (1701–1766) and Abgail Jenner (1707–1784). He graduated from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in 1761 and practiced medicine in his hometown. In 1769 he married Elizabeth Lewis. The couple moved to St. John Parish, Georgia, in 1774 and began working a 500-acre plantation near
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
. He settled in
Liberty County, Georgia
Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population is 65,256. The county seat is Hinesville.
Liberty County is part of the Hinesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included i ...
in 1764 and began his medical practice. Brownson’s wife died in 1775, and the following year he married Elizabeth McLean, with whom he had two children.
Revolutionary War
In 1774, St. John Parish was a hotbed of
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
activity; many of its people were New England
Congregationalists
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
by way of
Dorchester, South Carolina
Dorchester was a town in the Province of South Carolina. Situated on the Ashley River about from Charleston, it was founded in February 1696 by followers of Reverend Joseph Lord from Dorchester, Massachusetts.
They named it after their home ...
, a settlement on the Ashley River above
Charlestown that had been founded by Puritans from Massachusetts. Brownson and another transplanted Connecticut physician,
Lyman Hall
Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was an American Founding Father, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. He ...
, were among the eleven delegates chosen to represent the parish at the provincial congress, which met in Savannah in July 1775. Both men were elected to represent Georgia in the
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
; Brownson served from January to May 1777 and again from late August to early October of the same year.
The British invasion of Georgia in the final days of 1778 was part of the
southern theater of the revolution, but with the expulsion of the king’s troops from Augusta in June 1781, factional disputes threatened to spoil the victory. At this critical moment Brownson, then acting as deputy purveyor of hospitals in the South, was dispatched to Georgia with a brigadier’s commission from Congress. He initially served as
Speaker of the House of Representatives, before a compromise was worked out whereby Brownson became governor and
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 ...
was promoted to brigadier general. Brownson congratulated General
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
for his efforts to restore civil government in Georgia.
Brownson's term as governor during the last few months of 1781 was filled with dealing with hostile
Creek Indians
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands[Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...]
that roamed the countryside. Commandant of Spanish
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
,
Arturo O'Neill
Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone y O'Kelly (January 8, 1736 – December 9, 1814) was an Irish-born Spanish colonel who served the Spanish crown as governor of several places in New Spain. He came from a lineage that occupied prominent European posi ...
wrote to Gov. Brownson on Nov. 18, 1781, indicating his suspicions regarding attempts of British traders in the area to gain favor with the Indians by securing presents for them. Brownson talked to the upper and lower
Creek Nation
The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...
and accused them of making an unsuccessful attack against American soldiers and of holding American traders, commissaries, and property. He told them that the Americans desire friendship, and threatened them with reprisal if they did not submit.
During the decade following the war, Brownson served the public almost continuously as justice of the peace, as a commissioner for erecting a new capital in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, as a member of the convention that ratified the federal constitution, as a delegate to the convention that drafted the state constitution in 1788, and as the first 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 ...
. He was appointed by Congress as deputy purveyor of hospitals and later to the charge of the southern hospitals. He was one of the trustees for the establishment of
Franklin College, later called 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 ...
.
Death and legacy
Brownson died at his plantation in 1796 in
Riceboro, Georgia
Riceboro is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. The population was 809 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area.
History
The community was named for the early rice industry in the ...
and was buried in Midway Cemetery in
Midway, Georgia
Midway is a city in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,121 as of the 2010 census, up from 1,100 at the 2000 census.
Midway has several museums, ...
. Although his career was not as distinguished as some others of Georgia’s founding fathers, Brownson’s service at crucial periods helped the state transcend factional bickering and focus on the improvement of society.
Further reading
* Cook, James; ''The Governors Of Georgia: 1754–2004''; 1995, Mercer University Press; (2004 paperback edition, )
* Jackson, Harvey; ''Lachlan McIntosh and the Politics of Revolutionary Georgia''; 1979, Univ of Georgia Press, ; (2003 paperback edition, ).
See also
*
List of speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives List of speakers
See also
* List of minority leaders of the Georgia House of Representatives
* List of minority leaders of the Georgia State Senate
* List of presidents of the Georgia State Senate
This office existed until 1945, when the offi ...
References
External links
Brownson's Congressional biography*
*Schmidt, Jim
"Nathan Brownson (1742-1796)."New Georgia Encyclopedia. 16 September 2014. Web. 20 May 2016.
*
American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brownson, Nathan
1742 births
1796 deaths
18th-century American physicians
Continental Congressmen from Georgia (U.S. state)
18th-century American politicians
Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Georgia (U.S. state) Whigs
19th-century American politicians
Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
Members of the Georgia House of Representatives
People from Liberty County, Georgia
Yale University alumni
Independent state governors of the United States
Georgia (U.S. state) Independents
People from Woodbury, Connecticut
Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives