WILLIAM FEW
Signatory of Our Basic Freedoms
Two hundred and thirty three years ago today history was being made. It was an event, unprecedented in the history of the world. On September 17, 1787, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention gathered to sign our country’s most enduring symbol of freedom. Taking his place as one of Georgia’s two Senators was William Few, who for a brief time sat on the bench of the Middle Circuit of the Superior Court of Georgia. During his brief and unheralded term as Judge, William Few presided over cases in the Superior Courts of the counties of Washington and Montgomery, which encompassed all of present day Laurens County, Georgia which lies east of the Oconee River. Few served his state will honor and dignity. Spurned by his fellow party members, Few removed to New York, where he also became a leading citizen of the Empire State of the North. Nearly a century and a half after his death, Few returned to the Empire State of the South for the rest of eternity.
William Few, Jr. was born in Baltimore County, Maryland on June 8, 1748. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Orange County, North Carolina. Educational opportunities were scant in the mid 18th Century at best. William taught himself most of what he knew, aided to a minor degree by an itinerant community school teacher. Few began to read law during the times while he was not plowing and cultivating the fields of the family farm. Few and his family became heavily involved in a group of frontier farmers known as the “Regulators.” The Regulators objected to the restrictions placed upon them by the wealthy merchants and planters living along the coast of North Carolina. The Regulators clashed with the North Carolina Militia in 1771 in Alamance. Few’s brother was hung for his role in the uprising. The Few family hastily retreated to Georgia, leaving William behind to liquidate the family’s holdings
Few served in the North Carolina militia during the first year of the American Revolution in 1775. After selling the last of the family lands, Few rejoined his family in Georgia. Few set up his law practice in Augusta. While he was not serving in the state legislature and on the executive council from 1777 to 1779, Few involved himself in the military affairs of the county. In 1778, Few began his career as a jurist, serving as Judge of Richmond County Court. He enlisted in a Richmond County company under the command of his older brother. Few’s first taste of combat resulted in a defeat in the attempt to repulse a British attack on the inland port of Sunbury, which led to the fall of Savannah by the end of 1778. Few, acting as second in command, participated in a concentrated and successful effort to drive the British out of the temporary capital of Augusta.
Few’s political stock was on the rise in 1780. The legislature appointed Few to represent Georgia in the Congress during the dark days of the Revolution, the success of which was still highly doubtful. Few returned to Georgia to stabilize the disintegrating government. Few again returned to the Congress following the American victory against the British. Few continued to serve in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation when he was dispatched to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787. Because of his conflicting duties in Congress, Few was unable to attend all of the meetings of the convention, but was able to be present when the Constitution was adopted. Joining Abraham Baldwin, Few signed the document which has guided our nation ever since. An ardent supporter of a strong national government, Few convinced the legislature of Georgia to adopt the Constitution in 1788.
In recognition of Few’s distinguished service to Georgia, the legislature appointed Few to a seat in the Senate of the United States along with James Gunn. The Congress assembled in New York on March 4, 1789, but did not began their sessions until the first day of April. Few was elected to a four-year term which ended in 1793, but that did not end Few’s legislative service. Despite his announced intentions to retire, Few at the urging of his friends, decided to return to Georgia to serve in the state legislature.
In 1796, the Georgia legislature appointed Few as Judge of the Middle Circuit of the Superior Court. Few presided over bi-annual sessions of Montgomery County Superior Court which was then held in the county seat located near present day Norristown, Georgia and in Washington County Superior Court in Sandersville. Unfortunately nearly all of the minutes of the court proceedings have been lost along with the details of Judge Few’s activities. Judge Few, whose term ended in 1799, was succeeded in office by Judge George Walton, who had been one of the three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. During his time on the bench, Few, one of the original trustees of the University of Georgia in 1785, became an ardent and vocal supporter of public education in the state, but grew increasing troubled by the practice of slavery, which he considered unsafe, unjust, and inhumane. When a seat in the United State Senate became available, Few was shunned by the legislature, which refused to return him to New York to represent Georgia. Few took the repudiation in stride stating, “I now believe it to be one of the most fortunate events of my life, for if I had obtained that appointment, I should have most probably spent the remainder of my days in the scorching climate of Georgia, under all the accumulating evils of fevers of Negro slavery, those enemies of humane felicity.”
Nevertheless, Few did leave Georgia for New York, where he instantly became involved in politics and business. Few served in the State Assembly of New York from 1802 to 1805. In addition to his duties as an assemblyman, William Few served as Inspector of Prisons from 1802 to 1810. In 1804, he took on additional duties as the United States Commissioner of Loans. Few’s interest turned to banking that same year, when he was appointed as a director of the Manhattan Bank. Few served as a director for a decade until he was elected President of the bank in 1814. That same year, Few was elected to a two-year term as an alderman for the City of New York.
Senator William Few died on July 16, 1828 at the home of his son-in-law, Major Albert Chrystie, in Fishkill, New York. His body was buried in the Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery in Beacon, New York. For a gross of years, his mortal remains laid in peace, a rapidly deteriorating peace disturbed by vandals, trash, and unchecked weeds and vines. The State of Georgia, led by Governor Jimmy Carter, initiated an effort to return one of Georgia’s founding fathers to spend eternity in a place more befitting such an eminent man, despite the fact that no public city, waterway, or infrastructure has ever been named for the illustrious Senator. In October of 1973, Few’s remains were interred for the final time in the sacred and historical grounds of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Augusta.
Treasure your freedoms granted to you by our constitution and remember that it was a document signed by the people, one of them being our own judge, Judge William Few.
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