Featuring Historical Figures

Lyman Hall is a Founding Father of the United States Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was a Founding Father of the United States, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. He was one of four physicians to sign the Declaration of Independence, along with Benjamin Rush, Josiah Bartlett, and Matthew Thornton. Link

William McWhir - Educator - Clergyman - Slaveholder - born in County Down, Ireland in 1759 and ordained as a Presbyterian clergyman there – was a well-known educator and clergyman of his time in the United States. He knew George Washington well and corresponded with him. After McWhir’s death in Georgia in 1859, he was acknowledged as one of the two most famous educators in Georgia. He was a founding member of the Georgia Historical Society, married the widow of an American Revolutionary War hero, and was an active member of the clergy during the whole of his long life. Link to Website [...]

George Walton (c. 1749 – February 2, 1804), a Founding Father of the United States George Walton was born in Cumberland County, Virginia. The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749. Research has placed it as early as 1740, others as late as 1749 and 1750. The biographer of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Della Gray Bartholomew, uses the date of 1741. His parents died when he was an infant, resulting in his adoption by an uncle with whom he entered an apprenticeship as a carpenter. Walton was a studious young [...]

Button Gwinnett (March 3, 1735 – May 19, 1777) was an English-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signatories (first signature on the left) on the United States Declaration of Independence. He was also, briefly, the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, and Gwinnett County (now a major suburb of metropolitan Atlanta) was named for him. Gwinnett was killed in a duel by rival Lachlan McIntosh following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida. Link to Web Page