Peter Early (June 20, 1773 – August 15, 1817) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician.
Early life
He was born near
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
in the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
, in 1773, the son of Joel Early and Lucy Smith. He had a sister Lucy, who later married
Charles Lewis Mathews.
[Patrick, Rembert W. (2010). ''Florida Fiasco: Rampant Rebels on the Georgia-Florida Border, 1810-1815''. University of Georgia Press, 2010. , 9780820335490] His cousin, Jubal Early, became the grandfather of
Jubal Anderson Early
Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissio ...
(1816–1894), later a prominent Confederate general.
Peter Early graduated from the Lexington Academy (current-day
Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexingto ...
). He later graduated from
Princeton College
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
, in 1792. His family moved to
Wilkes County, Georgia
Wilkes County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,593. The county seat is the city of Washington.
Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and co ...
, on the central eastern border, that same year. Early was
studying law with
Jared Ingersoll
Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He serv ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. After finishing his legal studies, Peter Early joined his family in Wilkes County.
There he married Ann Adams Smith in 1793. In 1796 he began his
law practice
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...
in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, the county seat of Wilkes County.
Political life
Early was elected as a
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
from Georgia to the
8th United States Congress
The 8th 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, 1803, ...
to serve the remainder of the term left vacant by the resignation of
John Milledge
John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the American Revolution and later served as United States Representative, 26th Governor of Georgia, and United States Senator. Milledge was a founder of Athens, Georgi ...
, who had been elected as Governor of Georgia. Early was re-elected to the
9th Congress. During his congressional service, Early was one of the
House managers
An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...
(prosecutors) in the
impeachment trials
An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
of
John Pickering John Pickering may refer to:
* John Pickering (dramatist), author of the play ''Horestes'' first published in 1567
* John Pickering (MP) (1585–1628), MP for Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency), Northamptonshire, 1626
* John Pickering (s ...
,
New Hampshire United States District Court judge, in January 1804, and
Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...
,
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...
,
in December of that year. Early did not seek reelection in 1806.
After his congressional service, Early was elected by 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 ...
as judge of the Superior Court, Ocmulgee Circuit, serving in that court from 1807 until 1813. The respect and popularity he gained from his service on the bench propelled him to be elected the
28th Governor of Georgia in 1813. He served one term, through 1815, during which he was instrumental in committing funds on several occasions from the state treasury to help raise and supply additional troops from Georgia to the
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 ...
military forces during the latter half of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
Early moved to
Greene County after his gubernatorial term, where he was elected to 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 ...
.
Death
During his term in the Georgia Senate, Peter Early died on August 15, 1817, at his summer home near Scull Shoals in Greene County. He was buried on the west bank of the
Oconee River
The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins ...
near his Fontenoy Plantation home, with a simple monument to mark his grave.
In 1914, his family had his remains reinterred in the
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
City Cemetery.
Legacy and honors
Early County, Georgia
Early County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,008. The county seat is Blakely, where the Early County Courthouse is located. Created on December 15, 1818, i ...
, and Fort Early
were named in his honor.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors''Georgia Governor's Gravesites Field Guide (1776-2003)''Governor Peter Earlyhistorical marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Early, Peter
1773 births
1817 deaths
Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
Washington and Lee University alumni
Princeton University alumni
People from Madison, Virginia
Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
American slave owners
American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law