James Oglethorpe

“ From them we have, likewise, yearly, large quantities of goods. We ought not to raise one colony upon the destruction of another. Much less ought we to grant a favor to any particular set of people which may prove to be against the public good of the nation in general."
To these, and other matters of general moment, Oglethorpe devoted his time, his talents, and his influence while in Parliament. ”

“ James Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia in North America,—a distinguished philanthropist, general, and statesman,—was the son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, of Godalming, in the County of Surrey, Great Britain, by Eleanor, his wife, daughter of Richard Wall, Esq. ”

“ A night of peaceful slumber passed; and, about eight o'clock on Friday morning, they went ashore on a small uninhabited island, [1] where Oglethorpe led them to a rising ground, and they all knelt and returned thanks to God for their safe arrival. Leaving the people, as there was a fine spring, and a pond of pure water, to wash their clothes, and refresh themselves, he went himself, attended by his suite, in a boat to Savannah, where he was received, under the discharge of all their cannon, by the freeholders in arms, with the constables and tithing men at their head. ”

“ I do assure you, that upon the first news I had of this embarkation, I was not wanting in giving the necessary orders for their reception; and, being assisted at Port Royal, (although they were here almost as soon as we heard of their design of coming,) not knowing whether Mr. Oglethorpe designed directly there, or would touch here.
I am informed he is mighty well satisfied with his reception there, and likes the country; and that he says things succeed beyond his expectation; but I have not yet received a letter from him since his being at Port Royal. ”

“ On the morning of the 18th they arrived at St. Simons, an island near the north mouth of the Alatamaha river, fifteen miles in length, and from two to four in breadth. Here the working men and carpenters who came in the sloop and long boats, disembarked, and were immediately set to work.
Oglethorpe not only directed and superintended, but actually assisted in the labors. They soon got up a house and thatched it with palmetto leaves; dug a cellar, and throwing up the earth on each side, by way of bank, raised over it a store house; and then marked out a fort. ”

“ He was a hero, a statesman, an orator; the patron of letters, the chosen friend of men of genius, and the theme of praise for great poets." [1] The writer of this elegant encomium, adds this remark: "AN AUTHENTIC AND TOLERABLY MINUTE LIFE OF OGLETHORPE IS A DESIDERATUM." Such a desideratum I have endeavored to supply. This, however, has been a very difficult undertaking; the materials for composing it, excepting what relates to the settlement of Georgia, were to be sought after in the periodicals of the day, or discovered by references to him in the writings or memoirs of his contemporaries. ”

“ Augustine—Oglethorpe makes arrangements for defence—Treason in the Camp—Mutiny, and personal assault on the General.
"At a meeting of the Trustees of Georgia, Wednesday, January 19th, 1737, Mr. Oglethorpe, newly returned hither, had the unanimous thanks of the board. He informed them that Savannah had greatly increased in building, and that three other towns had been founded within a year; namely, Augusta, Darien, and Frederica; that a new town, called Ebenezer, had been laid out for the Saltzburgers; and that there were several villages settled by gentlemen at their own expense. ”

“ It is not much more than a hundred years since James Oglethorpe came to this country at the head of a little band of emigrants, and pitched his tent upon the high ground between the river Savannah and the sea, where now stands the city of Savannah. He was an Englishman, and had spent a richly diversified life at the University, in the army, and as a member of parliament. A man of heroic character, with a heart full of benevolence and energy, he was the first who sought to alleviate the sufferings of debtors, which at that time were extreme in England ”

“ Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, the father, had four sons and four daughters, James Edward being the youngest son, and another James (b. 1688) having died in infancy. Of the daughters, Anne Henrietta (b. 1680–1683) , Eleanor (b. 1684) and Frances Charlotte (Bolingbroke’s “Fanny Oglethorpe”) may be specified as having played rather curious parts in the Jacobitism of the time; their careers are described in the essay on “Queen Oglethorpe” by Miss A. Shield and A. Lang, in the latter’s Historical Mysteries (1904) . ”

“ Among the first emigrants who sailed with Oglethorpe from England in November 1732, was Mr. Amatis, from Piedmont, who was engaged by the Trustees to introduce the art of silk-winding into the colony, and who for that purpose brought with him several Italians and some adequate machinery. White mulberry trees were planted in a portion of land on the eastern border of the city, called the Trustees' garden; eggs were hatched, and silk spun "as fine as any from France or Italy." ”

“ Seldom have military and philanthropic achievements been combined in the career of one man. James Oglethorpe was already a distinguished soldier and a member of the English Parliament when in 1732 he sailed with one hundred twenty men and founded Savannah. His express object was the settlement of Georgia, not only as a home for insolvent debtors, who suffered in English jails, but also for persecuted Protestants of the Continent. ”

“ In both these visits to Savannah, Oglethorpe discovered among the inhabitants indications of the prevalence of not only a dissatisfied, but of a factious spirit; more to be lamented than a failing harvest, or a stinted market. ”

“ A libation of the foskey, [1] or black-drink, followed; of which Oglethorpe was invited to partake with "the beloved men," and of which the chiefs and warriors quaffed more copious draughts. Speeches and discussions followed; terms of intercourse and stipulations of trade were agreed upon; and, after smoking the calumet, they unitedly declared that they remained firm in their pledged fealty to the King of Great Britain, and would adhere to all the engagements of amity and commerce heretofore entered into with Oglethorpe as the representative of the Trustees. ”

“ They, therefore, went back to Abercorn, and thence to the designed settlement of the Saltzburgers, where Oglethorpe, parting with his honorable friend, crossed the river with the Indians, and renewed his excursion to Palachocolas. There he found a fort erected at the lowest passage of the river, and forty-five miles from Savannah. Returning from this visit, as he entered Ebenezer he found eight of the most able-bodied men at work, with their minister Gronau, in constructing booths and tents against the arrival of the families. ”

“ See also "Account showing the progress of the Colony of
Georgia from its first Establishment." Lond. 1741. The Appendix,
No. 2 contains the Letter, with this notice—"Written by a Gentleman
of Charlestown, who, with some others, went thither, [i.e. to
Savannah] out of curiosity."]
"Mr. Oglethorpe is indefatigable, and takes a great deal of pains. His fare is but indifferent, having little else at present but salt provisions. He is extremely well beloved by all the people. The general title they give him is Father. ”

“ In reference to the first, General Oglethorpe thus wrote in a letter to the trustees, dated, "on board the Blandford at Plymouth, July 3d, 1738."
"We have discovered that one of our soldiers has been in the Spanish service, and that he hath stroved to seduce several men to desert with him to them, on their arrival in Georgia. He designed also to murder the officers, or such persons as could have money, and carry off the plunder. Two of the gang have confessed, and accused him; but we cannot discover the rest. ”

“ Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, in a letter to Lord Egmont, observes, "I have read Mr. Oglethorpe's state of the new colony of Georgia once and again; and by its harbors, rivers, soil and productions, do not doubt that it must in time make a fine addition to the British Empire in America; and I still insist upon it that the prohibitory regulations of the Trustees are essential to its healthy and prosperous condition; and the alteration of the Constitution to the advantage of females must give great encouragement to first undertakers or settlers, as your Lordship observes." ”

“ On Wednesday morning, October 25th, Oglethorpe set out for the south, leaving, as Col. Stephens remarks, "a gloomy prospect of what might ensue; and many sorrowful countenances were visible under the apprehensions of future want; which deplorable state the Colony has fallen into, through such means as few or none of the settlers had any imagination of, till the Trustees, in their late letters, awakened them out of their dream ”

“ This was contained in a letter addressed to him a few days before embarking for Georgia. Among other things, this excellent friend suggested to him that, under the influence of Mr. Oglethorpe, giving weight to his endeavors, much may be effected in the present undertaking; and goes on to remark; "With regard to your behavior and manner of address, these must be determined according to the different circumstances of persons, &c.; but you will always, in the use of means, consider the great end ”

“ In furtherance of their labors, he laid out the town, and directed the carpenters, who had arrived also in obedience to his orders, to assist in building six houses.
These attentions to the accommodation of the poor Protestants were gratefully acknowledged, and are recorded in the journal of the Reverend Mr. Bolzius, with a respectful tribute to the religious character of Oglethorpe, of which the following is a translation; [1] "So far as we can conclude from a short acquaintance with him, he is a man who has a great reverence for God, and his holy word and ordinances ”

“ Oglethorpe should be furnished at the public expense, with one hundred and four breeding cattle, twenty-five hogs, and twenty barrels of good rice; that boats should also be provided at the public charge to transport the people, provisions and goods, from Port Royal to the place where he designed to settle; that the scout-boats, and fifteen of our rangers, (who are horsemen, and always kept in pay to discover the motions of the Indians,) should attend to Mr. Oglethorpe, and obey his commands, in order to protect the new settlers from any insults, which I think there is no danger of ”

“ An English vessel was sent to convey them from Rotterdam to Dover; and thence they embarked on the 8th of January, 1734, on board the ship Purrysburgh, Captain Frey, under the more immediate care and conduct of the Baron Philip George Frederick Von Reck, together with their Reverend Pastors, John Martin Bolzius and Israel Christian Gronau. After many difficulties and dangers, they arrived at Charlestown, South Carolina, on the 7th of March [2] . Oglethorpe, who happened to be there, as they piously considered, "providentially," bid them a cheering welcome. ”

“ Oglethorpe and the Mico went down with their men, and came to the fire, which they thought had been made by enemies, which was less than a mile from where the Mico had passed the night. They saw a boat there, with a white flag flying, and the men proved to be Major Richard, and his attendants, returned from Augustine.
"The Indians then seemed ashamed of their rage, which inspired them to kill men before they knew who they were." ”

“ During his temporary absence on this pressing emergency, Captain Antonio Barba, and two other Captains with one hundred grenadiers, and two hundred foot, besides Indians and negroes, advanced from the Spanish camp into the savannah with drums and huzzas, and halted within an hundred paces of the position where the troops left by Oglethorpe lay in ambuscade. They immediately stacked their arms, made fires, and were preparing their kettles for cooking, when a horse observed some of the concealed party, and, frightened at the uniform of the regulars, began to snort. ”

“ WESLEY, in his Journal, writes July 1st, 1736: "The Indians had an audience, and another on Saturday, when Chicali, their head man, dined with Mr. Oglethorpe. After dinner I asked the grey-headed old man, 'What he thought he was made for?' He said, 'He that is above knows what he made us for. We know nothing. We are in the dark. But white men know much. And yet white men build great houses, as if they were to live forever. In a little time white men will be dust as well as I.' I told him, 'if red men will learn the good book, they may know as much as white men. ”

“ CHAPTER II. Oglethorpe appointed first a Director, and then Deputy Governor of the Royal African Company—Takes a compassionate interest in the situation of an African kidnapped, sold as a slave, and carried to Annapolis, in Maryland, a Province in North America—But proves to have been an Iman, or assistant Priest, of Futa, and was named Job Solomon—Causes him to be redeemed, and sent to England, where he becomes serviceable to Sir Hans Sloane for his knowledge of Arabic; attracts also the notice of persons of rank and distinction, and is sent back to Africa. ”

“ Augustine to wait on the Governor with the despatches. The purport of these was to acquaint him, that, "being greatly desirous to remove all occasions of uneasiness upon the frequent complaints by his Excellency of hostile incursions upon the Spanish dominions, armed boats had been sent to patrol the opposite borders of the river, and prevent all passing over by Indians or marauders. The gentlemen were also directed to render him the thanks of General Oglethorpe for his civilities, and to express his inclination for maintaining a good harmony between the subjects of both crowns." ”