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James Oglethorpe
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James Oglethorpe (December 22, 1696 – June 30, 1785) was a British general, a philanthropist, and was the founder of the colony of Georgia. He was born in London, the son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe (1650-1702) of Westbrook Place, Godalming in the county of Surrey. As social reformer in Britain, he hoped to resettle Britain's poor, especially those in debtor's prison, in the New World.
ntered Corpus Christi College, in 1714, but in the same year joined the army of Prince Eugene of Savoy.
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James Oglethorpe (December 22, 1696 – June 30, 1785) was a British general, a philanthropist, and was the founder of the colony of Georgia. He was born in London, the son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe (1650-1702) of Westbrook Place, Godalming in the county of Surrey. As social reformer in Britain, he hoped to resettle Britain's poor, especially those in debtor's prison, in the New World.
History
He entered Corpus Christi College, in 1714, but in the same year joined the army of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Through the recommendation of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, he became aide-de-camp to the prince, and he served with distinction in the campaign against the Turks, 1716-17, more especially at the siege and capture of Belgrade. After his return to England, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Haslemere in 1722. He campaigned for the improvement of the circumstances of poor debtors in London prisons. For the purpose of providing a refuge for persons who had become insolvent and for oppressed Protestants on the continent, he proposed the settlement of a colony in America between Carolina and Florida.
Oglethorpe sailed for 88 days, arriving in Charleston, South Carolina on the ship Anne, in late 1732, and settled near the present site of Savannah, Georgia on February 12, 1733. He negotiated with the Creek tribe for land and established a series of defensive forts, most notably Fort Frederica, of which substantial remains can still be visited. He then returned to England and arranged to have slavery banned in Georgia. Oglethorpe and his fellow trustees were granted a Royal Charter for the Province of Georgia between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers on June 9, 1732.
Georgia was a key contested area, lying in between the two colonies. It was Oglethorpe's idea that British debtors should be released from prison and sent to Georgia. Although it is often repeated that this would theoretically rid England of its so-called undesirable elements, in fact it was England's "worthy poor" whom Oglethorpe wanted in Georgia. Ultimately, few debtors ended up in Georgia, the colonists included many Scots whose pioneering skills greatly assisted the colony, and many of Georgia's new settlers consisted of poor English tradesmen and artisans and religious refugees from Switzerland and Germany.
On February 21, 1734 Oglethorpe established the first Masonic Lodge within the British Colony of Georgia. Now known as Solomon's Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M. it is the "Oldest Continuously Operating English Constituted Lodge of Freemasons in the Western Hemisphere." For a period in 1736 Oglethorpe's secretary was John Wesley, later famous as a founder of Methodism.
Owing to the colony's primary role as a military buffer between English and Spanish-held territories, the original model for the colonisation of Georgia excluded the use of slave labour, fearing that runaway slaves could internally weaken the colony and assist the enemy at St. Augustine. But, instead of slaves defecting southwards to the Spanish, runaways from the Carolinas found refuge in Georgia, thus irritating its northern neighbour. The banning of slavery also reduced the work force, and this was felt to be a constraint on Georgia's early economic growth. Many settlers thus began to oppose Oglethorpe, regarding him as a misguided and "perpetual dictator." Many new settlers soon set their eyes on South Carolina as a less restrictive and, they hoped, a more profitable place to settle. In 1750, after Oglethorpe had left the colony, the ban was lifted.
In 1739, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, fought between British Georgia and Spanish Florida as part of a larger conflict, the War of Austrian Succession, Oglethorpe was responsible for a number of successful raids on Spanish forts, as well as the unsuccessful siege of St. Augustine. Among his most valuable Indian allies in this siege was Mary Musgrove. Her Indian name was Coosaponakeesa (lovely fawn) and she was married to John Musgrove, a trader.
After his Georgian adventures, Oglethorpe returned to London, and rose steadily through the ranks of the British Army. There is some evidence that he returned to Europe under a pseudonym, and with the assistance of Field Marshall Keith (a distant relative who is said to have died in battle in Oglethorpe's arms). His private means at this time included an estate at Putney, and emoluments gained through his marriage to Elizabeth Wright, Lady of the manor of Cranham Hall (Cranham, Essex, England), although not before a pre-nuptial agreement protecting her property rights. These were the days of the "Old Pretender" and incursions in the north from Scotland, in response to one of which Oglethorpe was court-martialled on the accusation of not pursuing the invaders more agressively; he was acquittted, attained the rank of General, but never again given a command. His age was now against him, in any case.
Oglethorpe visited John Adams (the first US minister plenipotentiary to the Court of St.James, i.e., the first US ambassador to the UK) shortly after the latter arrived in London. The meeting included an expression by Oglethorpe of his sadness of the ill-will that had existed between the countries, and it is suspected that his time in Georgia dealing with a recalcitrant British Government could have led to Oglethorpe's empathy with the revolutionaries. Although notes were compiled, Johnson failed to complete a biography of the General.
Oglethorpe died at Cranham in 1785, and was buried at the centre of All Saints' parish church which immediately adjoins Cranham Hall (rebuilt c. 1790, but sketched prior by John Pridden in 1789). Elizabeth survived him a few years and was subsequently buried at his side. In the 1930s an exploration of their vault was made by the then President of Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, although permission to remove relics to the University's chapel in Oglethorpe's colony was denied by the Archdeacon. While All Saints' was also rebuilt c.1871, the new building reused the foundations of the old one, and it was specifically noted that, amongst others, Oglethorpe's memorial was replaced in its former location, on the south wall of the chancel, where it may be seen today. Oglethorpian anniversaries have since led to the donation of the altar rail in All Saints' by a ladies charity in Georgia, and a visit to All Saints' by the then Georgia Governor "Zell" Miller.
Other
Oglethorpe University, in Atlanta, Georgia, is named after James Edward Oglethorpe.
A character based on James Oglethorpe plays an important role in The Age of Unreason, a series of four alternate history novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gregory Keyes.
There are primary schools named after James Oglethorpe both in Savannah, Georgia, and Cranham, Essex, England, his burial place.
See also
External links
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