John Milledge

John Milledge (* 1757 in Savannah, Georgia, † February 9, 1818 in Augusta, Georgia ) was an American politician.

Early years

John Milledge was the grandson of one of the first settlers in the British colony of Georgia. He enjoyed an excellent education in colonial Georgia for that time. Milledge studied law and settled in Savannah as a lawyer down. In 1775 he joined the American independence movement. He belonged to the group that captured James Wright, the British Governor of Georgia. He was also involved in a raid on a British ammunition depot. The British were even a reward for his arrest, but his were not getting hold of.

Political career

In 1780 he became Minister of Justice ( Attorney General ) of Georgia. From 1789 to 1790, he was a member of the House of Representatives of Georgia; 1792 to 1802 he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1801 he bought land on the Oconee River, on which he then founded the city of Athens and the University of Georgia.

In November 1802 Milledge was elected Governor of Georgia. He put great emphasis on securing the western border and reorganized the militia, to make them more effective. He also had a road built through the Indian territory to Tennessee to facilitate trade and transport with the West. To reduce the national debt, he sold land owned by the government, especially in the west of the state to settlers. In order to stop to corruption, the plots were raffled. 1804 approved the Parliament the funds to build a new capital, which was named Milledgeville in honor of the governor. The move from Louisville to the new capital was then but only under his successor in office, Jared Irwin. Milledgeville remained until 1868 capital of Georgia, before she was replaced in this role by the distinguished Atlanta. 1806 joined Milledge down as governor to become U.S. Senator.

Evening of life and death

Due to an illness of his wife, he joined in 1809 from his post as a senator and returned to Georgia. He spent the last years of his life on his plantation Sandhills at Augusta. He died there in 1818. Milledge was married to Martha Galphin Milledge, whose fatal illness was the reason for his return to Georgia.