Wilson Lumpkin

Wilson Lumpkin
United States Senator from Georgia
In office November 22, 1837 – March 3, 1841
Preceded by	John P. King
Succeeded by	John M. Berrien
35th Governor of Georgia
In office November 9, 1831 – November 4, 1835
Preceded by	George R. Gilmer
Succeeded by	William Schley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large district
In office March 4, 1829 – 1831
Preceded by	district created
Succeeded by	Augustin Smith Clayton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 4th district
In office March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829
Preceded by	district created
Succeeded by	Hugh A. Haralson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large district
In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded by	George Troup
Succeeded by	Thomas W. Cobb
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office 1804-1812
Personal details
Born	January 14, 1783 near Dan River, Virginia
Died	December 28, 1870 (aged 87) Athens, Georgia
Political party	Democratic

Wilson Lumpkin (January 14, 1783 – December 28, 1870) was a governor of Georgia, and a United States Representative and Senator.

Early life

Born near Dan River, Virginia, he moved in 1784 to Oglethorpe County, Georgia with his parents, who settled near Point Peter and subsequently at Lexington, Georgia. He attended the common schools, and taught school and farmed; he studied law, and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Athens, Georgia.

Political Life

Lumpkin was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1804 to 1812, and was elected as a Representative to the Fourteenth United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1815 to March 3, 1817. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection, and was the State Indian Commissioner.^[1] He was elected to the Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-second Congresses and served from March 4, 1827, until his resignation in 1831 before the convening of the Twenty-second Congress to run for the governorship; he was also commissioner on the Georgia–Florida boundary line commission. He was elected Governor of Georgia in November 1831. In that election he received 27,305 votes and the incumbent governor George R. Gilmer received 25,863 votes.^[2] He was reelected as governor in 1833 due in part to the nullification crisis and served until 1835.^[3] In 1835, he was appointed commissioner under the Cherokee treaty. He was elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John P. King and served from November 22, 1837, to March 3, 1841; while in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Twenty-sixth Congress). Lumpkin owned 20 slaves in Athens, Georgia.^[4] Lumpkin was a member of the State board of public works, and died in Athens in 1870; interment was in Oconee Hill Cemetery.

Legacy

Lumpkin's grandson, Middleton P. Barrow, also served in the U.S. Senate. Lumpkin's brother Joseph Henry Lumpkin was the first chief justice of the Georgia supreme court.^[5] Their nephew John Henry Lumpkin was a U.S. Representative from Georgia.^[6] The settlers of Terminus (current-day Atlanta) voted to rename their town "Lumpkin" after Wilson Lumpkin. He instead asked for his young daughter Martha W. Lumpkin (later Compton), to be the honoree of the city's first true name, "Marthasville."

The story that the later name "Atlanta" derives from a nickname "Atalanta" for Martha is not supported by the historical evidence.^[5]

Lumpkin County, Georgia, is named for him.^[7] The Lumpkin House on the campus of the University of Georgia was built by Lumpkin and is named in his memory.^[8]

References

1. Kimberly, David R. (2012). "Cherokees and Congregationalists vs. Georgia and Andrew Jackson: The Attempt to Prevent the Trail of Tears". International Congregational Journal. 11 (1): 98. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
2. "Governor's Election". Georgia Journal. Milledgeville, Georgia. 28 November 1831. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
3. Vipperman, Carl J. (Fall 1982). "The 'Particular Mission' of Wilson Lumpkin". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 66 (3): 308. JSTOR 40580931.
4. United States 1850 Slave Schedule
5. Paul DeForest Hicks (2002). Joseph Henry Lumpkin: Georgia's First Chief Justice. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
6. Dan Morris and Inez Morris (1974). Who was who in American Politics: A Biographical Dictionary of Over 4,000 Men and Women... Hawthorn Books.
7. State of Georgia (2012). "Lumpkin County". State of Georgia. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
8. "Governor Wilson Lumpkin House (Athens, Ga.)". Hubert B. Owens Collection, Box 28, Owens Library, School of Environment and Design, The University of Georgia. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 13 June 2016.

• United States Congress. "Wilson Lumpkin (id: L000512)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

• Find-A-Grave profile for Wilson Lumpkin
• The Removal of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia By Wilson Lumpkin, Including Speeches & Correspondence, 1827-41, New York, 1907