EARLY, Peter

1773–1817

Biography

EARLY, Peter, a Representative from Georgia; born near Madison, Madison County, Va., June 20, 1773; attended the Lexington Academy (later Washington College) in Rockbridge County; was graduated from Princeton College in 1792; studied law in Philadelphia, Pa.; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Wilkes County, Ga., in 1796; moved to Greene County in 1801 and continued the practice of law; elected as a Republican to the Seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Milledge; reelected to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses and served from January 10, 1803, to March 3, 1807; one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in January 1804 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against John Pickering, judge of the United States District Court for New Hampshire, and in December of the same year against Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; declined to be a candidate for reelection; first judge of the superior court of the Ocmulgee circuit 1807-1813; Governor of Georgia 1813-1815; elected to the State senate in 1815 and served until his death near Scull Shoals, Greene County, Ga., August 15, 1817; interment on the west bank of the Oconee River near his mansion; reinterment in City Cemetery, Greensboro, Ga.

View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

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External Research Collections

Georgia Department of Archives and History

Atlanta, GA
Papers: In File II Names. File is primarily incoming correspondence to the Governor of Georgia. Finding aid in repository.

University of Georgia Libraries
Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Athens, GA
Papers: 1814-1815, 2 items. The collection consists of a letter to Governor Peter Early from the Solicitor General of the Western District of Georgia Thomas W. Cobb, dated October 31, 1814, which discusses court business and a letter from Early to Seaborn Jones, dated January 8, 1815, regarding land sales and the settlement of debts between Early and Jones. A finding aid is available in the repository.

University of Virginia
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library

Charlottesville, VA
Papers: In the Letters of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, ca. 1813-1817, 4 items. In a letter, 1814 October 20, James Monroe informs Georgia governor Peter Early that the Georgia contractor must supply rations to both militia and regulars, asks him to make requisitions, and reports that Thomas Pinckney will need an officer from the Quartermaster Dept. for his militia.

Washington Memorial Library
Middle Georgia Archives

Macon, GA
Papers: 1815, 1 item. A letter from Governor Peter Early to Colonel Carter, U.S. Army Contractor, dated Milledgeville (Ga.) January 19, 1815. The letter discusses the landing of a large British force on Cumberland Island (Ga.) and the need for General David Blackshear to move his forces to the coast. The letter details Blackshear's route from Hartford (Ga.) and instructs Carter to issue provisions to Blackshear.
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Bibliography / Further Reading

Thomason, Hugh M. "Governor Peter Early and The Creek Indian Frontier, 1813-1815." Georgia Historical Quarterly 45 (September 1961): 223-37.

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