# Peter Early
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{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Peter Early
|image = GovernorPeterEarly (1).jpg
|resting_place = West bank of the [Oconee River](/source/Oconee_River)
|order = [28th Governor of Georgia](/source/List_of_Governors_of_Georgia)
|lieutenant =
|term_start = November 5, 1813
|term_end = November 20, 1815
|predecessor = [David Brydie Mitchell](/source/David_Brydie_Mitchell)
|successor = David Brydie Mitchell
| state1 = [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state))
| district1 = [at-large](/source/Georgia's_at-large_congressional_district)
| term_start1 = January 10, 1803
| term_end1 = March 3, 1807
| preceded1 = [John Milledge](/source/John_Milledge)
| succeeded1 = [Howell Cobb](/source/Howell_Cobb_(born_1772))
|birth_name = Peter Early
|birth_date = {{birth date|1773|6|20}}
|birth_place = [Madison](/source/Madison%2C_Virginia), [Colony of Virginia](/source/Colony_of_Virginia), [British America](/source/British_America)
|death_date = {{death date and age|1817|8|15|1773|6|20}}
|death_place = [Scull Shoals](/source/Scull_Shoals%2C_Georgia), Georgia, US
|party = [Democratic-Republican Party](/source/Democratic-Republican_Party)
|spouse =
|children =
|alma_mater = [Washington and Lee University](/source/Washington_and_Lee_University)
[Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University)
|signature = Signature of Peter Early (1773–1817).png
}}
'''Peter Early''' (June 20, 1773 – August 15, 1817) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician who served as governor of Georgia and as a two-term [U.S. congressman](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) during the early 19th century.
[[File:19-13-156-museum.jpg|thumb|Bust of Early at the [Washington-Wilkes Historical Museum](/source/Washington-Wilkes_Historical_Museum)]]
==Early life==
He was born near [Madison](/source/Madison%2C_Virginia) in the [Colony of Virginia](/source/Colony_of_Virginia), in 1773, the son of Joel Early and Lucy Smith. He had a sister, Lucy, who later married [Charles Lewis Mathews](/source/Mathews_family), and a brother, [Eleazer](/source/Eleazer_Early), who built the first hotel in [Savannah, Georgia](/source/Savannah%2C_Georgia). His cousin, Jubal Early, became the grandfather of [Jubal Anderson Early](/source/Jubal_Early) (1816–1894), later a prominent Confederate general.
Peter Early graduated from the Lexington Academy (current-day [Washington and Lee University](/source/Washington_and_Lee_University)). He later graduated from [Princeton College](/source/Princeton_College), in 1792. His family moved to [Wilkes County, Georgia](/source/Wilkes_County%2C_Georgia), on the central eastern border, that same year. Early was [studying law](/source/reading_law) with [Jared Ingersoll](/source/Jared_Ingersoll) in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia). After finishing his legal studies, Peter Early joined his family in Wilkes County.
There he married Ann Adams Smith in 1793. In 1796 he began his [law practice](/source/practice_of_law) in [Washington](/source/Washington%2C_Georgia), the county seat of Wilkes County.
==Political life==
Early was elected as a [Representative](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from Georgia to the [8th United States Congress](/source/8th_United_States_Congress) to serve the remainder of the term left vacant by the resignation of [John Milledge](/source/John_Milledge), who had been elected as Governor of Georgia. Early was re-elected to the [9th Congress](/source/9th_United_States_Congress). During his congressional service, Early was one of the [House managers](/source/House_managers) (prosecutors) in the [impeachment trials](/source/Federal_impeachment_trial_in_the_United_States) of [John Pickering](/source/John_Pickering_(judge)), [New Hampshire United States District Court judge](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_New_Hampshire), in January 1804, and [Samuel Chase](/source/Samuel_Chase), [Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court](/source/Associate_Justice_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court), [in December of that year](/source/Impeachment_of_Samuel_Chase). Early did not seek reelection in 1806.
After his congressional service,[{{cite web|last1=Early|first1=Peter|title=Letter, 1806 Apr. 19, Washington City, [to] Governor [John] Milledge / Peter Early|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc380|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730–1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 11, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}] Early was elected by the [Georgia General Assembly](/source/Georgia_General_Assembly) as judge of the Superior Court, Ocmulgee Circuit, serving in that court from 1807 until 1813. The respect and popularity he gained from his service on the bench propelled him to be elected the [28th Governor of Georgia](/source/List_of_Governors_of_Georgia) in 1813. He served one term, through 1815, during which he was instrumental in committing funds on several occasions from the state treasury to help raise and supply additional troops from Georgia to the American military forces during the latter half of the [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812).[{{cite web|last1=Early|first1=Peter|title=[Letter], 1813 Nov. [to] Gen[era]l [David B.?] Mitchell / Peter Early|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/zlna/id:tcc414|website=Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730–1842|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 11, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}]
Early moved to [Greene County](/source/Greene_County%2C_Georgia) after his gubernatorial term, where he was elected to the [Georgia Senate](/source/Georgia_Senate).
==Death==
During his term in the Georgia Senate, Peter Early died on August 15, 1817, at his summer home near Scull Shoals in Greene County. He was buried on the west bank of the [Oconee River](/source/Oconee_River) near his Fontenoy Plantation home,[{{cite web|title=Governor Peter Early historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/greene/governor-peter-early|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 11, 2016}}] with a simple monument to mark his grave.
In 1914, his family had his remains reinterred in the [Greensboro](/source/Greensboro%2C_Georgia) City Cemetery.
==Legacy and honors==
[Early County, Georgia](/source/Early_County%2C_Georgia),[{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n111 112]}}] and Fort Early[{{cite web|title=Fort Early historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/crisp/fort-early|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=June 11, 2016}}] were named in his honor.
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite book|title=Communication of His Excellency the Governor to the Legislature of Georgia: with a part of the accompanying documents|date=1815|publisher=S. & F. Grantland|location=Milledgeville, Ga.|url=http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/printed/id/1964|access-date=June 11, 2016}}
*{{cite book
|editor=William J. Northen
|editor-link=William J. Northen
|title=Men of Mark in Georgia
|url=https://archive.org/details/menmarkingeorgi00nortgoog
|quote=Georgia Scenes.
|format=PDF
|access-date=December 28, 2006
|edition=Volume II
|year=1910
|publisher=A. B. Caldwell
|location=Atlanta, Georgia
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/menmarkingeorgi00nortgoog/page/n433 353]–356
}}
* {{cite book |last=Patrick |first=Rembert W. |year=2010 |title=Florida Fiasco: Rampant Rebels on the Georgia-Florida Border, 1810–1815 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-82-033549-0}}
{{CongBio|E000014}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061123175249/http://www.georgiaarchives.org/what_do_we_have/govhisroster.htm Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060118235505/http://www.gashpo.org/assets/documents/ga_govs_graves_field_guide.pdf ''Georgia Governor's Gravesites Field Guide (1776–2003)'']}}
*[http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/greene/governor-peter-early Governor Peter Early] historical marker
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
|state = Georgia
|district = AL
|before= [John Milledge](/source/John_Milledge)
|after= [Howell Cobb](/source/Howell_Cobb_(Elder))
|years=January 10, 1803 – March 3, 1807
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|before=[David Brydie Mitchell](/source/David_Brydie_Mitchell)
|title=[Governor of Georgia](/source/List_of_governors_of_Georgia)
|years=November 5, 1813 – November 20, 1815
|after=[David Brydie Mitchell](/source/David_Brydie_Mitchell)
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Governors of Georgia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Early, Peter}}
Category:1773 births
Category:1817 deaths
Category:Governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Category:Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
Category:Washington and Lee University alumni
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:People from Madison, Virginia
Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:United States representatives who owned slaves
Category:American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Category:19th-century United States representatives
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Early](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Early) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Early?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.