William Crosby Dawson

William Crosby Dawson, a Representative and a Senator from Georgia; was born in Greensboro, Greene County,Ga., January 4, 1798. His parents were George Dawson, Sr. and Katie Ruth Marsden (Marston) Skidmore.
He attended the common schools, as they were called then. Dawson took an academic course from the Rev. Dr. Cumming, attended the county academy in Greensboro, and then was graduated from Franklin College, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, in 1816 at the age of eighteen. He continued to study law for a year in the office of the Hon. Thomas W. Cobb, at Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and then in the Litchfield Law School of Judges Tapping Reeve and James Gould at Litchfield, Connecticut. In 1818 he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Greensboro where he was a successful jury lawyer. He was known for his ability to settle cases out of court.

He was a member, State house of representatives; elected as a State Rights candidate to the Twenty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Coffee; reelected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-seventh Congresses and served from November 7, 1836, to November 13, 1841, when he resigned. He was chairman, Committee on Mileage (Twenty-fifth Congress), Committee on Claims (Twenty-sixth Congress), Committee on Military Affairs (Twenty-seventh Congress); unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Georgia in 1841; judge of the Ocmulgee circuit court 1845; elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1855; chairman, Committee on Private Land Claims (Thirty-second Congress); presided over the Southern convention at Memphis in 1853.
William C. Dawson died in Greensboro, Ga., on May 5, 1856, and his interment was in Greensboro Cemetery.

<<<<<<*>>>>>>

He was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Georgia from 1843 - 1856. The Dawson Lodge in Washington, D.C. and the Dawson Lodge in Social Circle, Georgia were named for him.
Dawson County, Georgia, and the county seat, Dawsonville, were named for William Crosby Dawson. The county was created by a legislative act on December 3, 1857, primarily out of Lumpkin County and small parts of Gilmer, Pickens and Forsyth counties.
Dawson, the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia was incorporated on December 22, 1857 and named for William Crosby Dawson.

Featured Stores

Incredible SAVINGS $$ Netgear Networking Products - Tech Depot
<<<<<<*>>>>>>
Outdoor Gear on Sale at REI.com!
<<<<<<*>>>>>>
Save Up To 80% On All Garden Tools On Overstock.com!

Scenic Driving:
Georgia