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History and Government—Congressional Biographies—GeorgiaButton GWINNETT
(1735-1777)
GWINNETT, Button, a
Delegate from Georgia; born in Down Hatherly, Gloucestershire,
England, and baptized in 1735; pursued an academic course; engaged
in mercantile pursuits in Bristol, England; immigrated to the
United States and settled in Charleston, S.C.; engaged in
commercial pursuits; moved to Savannah, Ga., in 1765 and entered
business as a general trader; elected to the Commons House of
Assembly, 1769; moved to St. Catherines Island, Ga., in 1770 and
engaged in planting; delegate to the Provincial Congress at
Savannah in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1776; a
signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the State
constitutional convention in February 1777; Acting President and
commander in chief of Georgia from February to March 1777;
unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Georgia; engaged in a duel
May 16, 1777, with Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, which resulted in his
death, near Savannah, Ga., May 19, 1777; interment probably in the
Old Colonial Cemetery (later called Colonial Park), Savannah,
Ga.
Bibliography
Jenkins, Charles Francis. Button Gwinnett, Signer of the
Declaration of Independence. 1926. Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint
Co., 1974.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
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