George Rockingham GILMER, Congress, GA (1790-1859)
GILMER, George Rockingham, a Representative from Georgia; born near Lexington, Wilkes (now Oglethorpe) County, Ga., April 11, 1790; attended a classical school and an academy at Abbeville, S.C.; taught a private school while studying law; served as first lieutenant in the Forty-third Regiment, United States Infantry, from 1813 to 1815 in the campaign against the Creek Indians and built a fort on the Chattahoochie River near the present city of Atlanta; resumed the study of law and began practice in Lexington in 1818; member of the State house of representatives in 1818, 1819, and 1824; elected to as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1823); resumed the practice of law; trustee of the University of Georgia at Athens 1826-1857; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward F. Tatnall and served from October 1, 1827, to March 3, 1829; reelected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress, but failing to signify his acceptance, the Governor announced a vacancy and ordered a new election; Governor of Georgia 1829-1831; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress (March 4, 1833-March 3, 1835); chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-third Congress); presidential elector in 1836 and voted for White and Tyler; again Governor of Georgia 1837-1839; presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1840; author and historian; died in Lexington, Ga., November 16, 1859; interment in Presbyterian Cemetery.
Bibliography
Coulter, E. Merton. âThe Dispute over George R. Gilmerâs Election to Congress in 1828.â Georgia Historical Quarterly 52 (June 1968): 159-86.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
