William C. Dawson

{{short description|American politician}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Crosby Dawson | image = William_Crosby_Dawson.jpg | office3 = Clerk of the Georgia House of Representatives | term_start3 = 1821 | term_end3 = {{circa}} 1833 | preceded3 = William Turner | succeeded3 = Robert W. Carnes | office4 = Member of the [[Georgia Senate]]<br />from [[Greene County, Georgia|Greene County]] | term_start4 = 1834 | term_end4 = 1835 | preceded4 = Nicholas Lewis | succeeded4 = Thomas G. Janes | state5 = Georgia | district5 = [[Georgia's at-large congressional district|at-large]] | term_start5 = November 7, 1836 | term_end5 = November 13, 1841 | preceded5 = [[John E. Coffee]] | succeeded5 = [[Mark A. Cooper]] | office6 = Judge, Ocmulgee Circuit Court, Georgia | term_start6 = 1845 | term_end6 = ? | nominator6 =  | appointer6 =  | predecessor6 =  | successor6 =  | jr/sr7 = [[United States Senator]] | state7 = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] | term_start7 = March 4, 1849 | term_end7 = March 3, 1855 | preceded7 = [[Herschel V. Johnson]] | succeeded7 = [[Alfred Iverson, Sr.]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1798|01|04}} | birth_place = [[Greensboro, Georgia]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1856|05|05|1798|01|04}} | death_place = Greensboro, Georgia | party = States' Rights Party, [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] | spouse = Henrietta M. Wingfield ( – 4/7/1850) | relations = | children = | alma_mater = [[University of Georgia|Franklin College]] (1816) | occupation = | profession = Lawyer | signature = Signature of William Crosby Dawson.png | branch = [[United States Army]] | rank = [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] | battles = [[American Indian Wars|Creek and Seminole Indian War]] | footnotes = }}

'''William Crosby Dawson''' (January 4, 1798{{spaced ndash}}May 5, 1856) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].

==Early life, education and legal career== Dawson was born in [[Greensboro, Georgia|Greensboro]], [[Greene County, Georgia|Greene County]], Georgia, January 4, 1798. His parents were George Dawson, Sr. and Katie Ruth Marston Skidmore.

After taking an academic course from the Rev. Dr. Cumming, Dawson attended the county academy in Greensboro, and then was graduated from [[University of Georgia|Franklin College]], [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]], [[Clarke County, Georgia|Clarke County]], Georgia, in 1816 at the age of eighteen. He studied law for a year in the office of the Hon. [[Thomas W. Cobb]], at [[Lexington, Georgia|Lexington]], [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]], Georgia, and then in the [[Litchfield Law School]] of judges [[Tapping Reeve]] and [[James Gould (jurist)|James Gould]] at [[Litchfield, Connecticut]].<ref name="litchfieldhistoricalsociety">{{cite web|url=http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/lawschool/students.html#d|publisher=litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org|title=A Catalogue of Students at the Law School|access-date=6 March 2017|archive-date=October 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020142200/http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/lawschool/students.php#d|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1818, he was admitted to the bar.

Dawson set up a practice in Greensboro, where he was a successful jury lawyer. He was known for his ability to settle cases out of court.

In 1819, he married Henrietta M. Wingfield. They had eight children. His wife died in 1850. Dawson remarried in 1854 to Eliza M. Williams of [[Memphis, Tennessee]].<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=The Bench and Bar of Georgia: Memoirs and Sketches: With an Appendix, Containing a Court Roll from 1790-1857, Etc|author=Miller, S.F.|date=1858|volume=1|publisher=J.B. Lippincott & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHQDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA298|page=298|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>

Dawson was elected as one of the vice presidents of the Alumni Society of the University of Georgia at its first meeting, on August 4, 1834.<ref name="uga">{{cite web|url=http://www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni/history.html|publisher=alumni.uga.edu|title=UGA Alumni Association | History|access-date=6 March 2017|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190344/http://www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni/history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Political and military career== He was elected Clerk of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1821 and served twelve years in that post. From 1828, he compiled ''Dawson's Digest of Laws of Georgia'', published in 1831.<ref name="uga2">{{cite web|url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/LXC514x1853/1f/cat_of_books_at_UGA_1850.txt|publisher=fax.libs.uga.edu|title=LXC514x1853/1f/cat_of_books_at_UGA_1850|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>

From 1834 to 1835, he served as a state senator.

In 1836, he was Captain of Volunteers under General [[Winfield Scott]] in the [[Indian Wars#Removal era wars|Creek and Seminole Indian War]] in Florida.

Dawson was elected as a States' Rights candidate to the [[United States House of Representatives]] for the [[24th United States Congress]] in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of General [[John E. Coffee]], taking office on December 26, 1836.<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=Men of Mark in Georgia: A Complete and Elaborate History of the State from Its Settlement to the Present Time, Chiefly Told in Biographies and Autobiographies of the Most Eminent Men of Each Period of Georgia's Progress and Development|author=Northen, W.J.|date=1906|volume=1|publisher=A. B. Caldwell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-KBOk41nU4C&pg=PA395|page=395|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> He was re-elected as a [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] to the [[25th United States Congress|25th]], [[26th United States Congress|26th]], and [[27th United States Congress|27th]] Congresses. He served from November 7, 1836, to November 13, 1841.

He was the Whig candidate for Governor of Georgia in 1841 but was defeated by [[Charles James McDonald]]. He thought his defeat as gubernatorial candidate meant that voters disapproved of his congressional service, particularly his vote earlier in the year to tax coffee and tea.<ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Stryker's American Register and Magazine|date=1849|volume=3|publisher=W.M. Morrison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p90RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA427|page=427|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> He resigned from Congress.

During his service in the United States House, Dawson chaired the Committee on Mileage (25th Congress), the Committee on Claims (26th Congress), and the Committee on Military Affairs (27th Congress).

He was appointed by Governor [[George W. Crawford]] to fill a vacancy as Judge of the Ocmulgee Circuit Court in 1845, but he declined to run as a candidate for the bench at the completion of his term.

Dawson was elected by the state legislature in November 1847<ref name="google4">{{cite book|title=The Bench and Bar of Georgia: Memoirs and Sketches: With an Appendix, Containing a Court Roll from 1790-1857, Etc|author=Miller, S.F.|date=1858|volume=1|publisher=J.B. Lippincott & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHQDAAAAQAAJ|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> as the Whig candidate for Georgia's Class 3 seat in the [[United States Senate]] for the [[31st United States Congress|31st]], [[32nd United States Congress|32nd]], and [[33rd United States Congress|33rd]] Congresses, serving from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1855. Dawson supported the [[Compromise of 1850|compromises that preserved the union in 1850]].<ref name="google5">{{cite book|title=The Bench and Bar of Georgia: Memoirs and Sketches: With an Appendix, Containing a Court Roll from 1790-1857, Etc|author=Miller, S.F.|date=1858|volume=1|publisher=J.B. Lippincott & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHQDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA309|page=309|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hamilton|first1=Holman|title=Prologue to Conflict : The Crisis and Compromise of 1850|date=2015|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington|isbn=9780813158310|page=108}}</ref> He chaired the Committee on Private Land Claims (32nd Congress) and presided over the Southern convention at [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] in 1853.

He was twice a delegate to the convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.<ref name="google3"/>

==Freemason== Dawson was initiated to the [[Scottish Rite Freemasonry]] at the "[[San Marino]]" [[Masonic Lodge|Lodge]] No. 34, Greensboro, GA.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.matawanlodge.org/famous.htm | title = Celebrating more than 100 years of the Freemasonry: famous Freemasons in the history | language = en | website = Mathawan Lodge No 192 F.A. & A.M., New Jersey | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510153526/http://www.matawanlodge.org/famous.htm | archive-date = May 10, 2008 | url-status = usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://victorialodge.ca/2010/03/a-big-list-of-famous-freemasons/| title = List of famous Freemasons | date = March 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180914053631/http://victorialodge.ca/2010/03/a-big-list-of-famous-freemasons/ | archive-date = September 14, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.masonpost.com/ga/sanmarino34/ | title = San Marino Lodge #34 F&AM Masonic Lodge in Greensboro, GA | website = masonpost.com | archive-url = https://archive.today/20181024213225/http://www.masonpost.com/ga/sanmarino34/ | archive-date = October 24, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref> He was elected [[Grand Master (Masonic)|Grand Master]] of the [[Grand Lodge]] of Free and Accepted [[Freemasonry|Masons]] in Georgia on November 8, 1843<ref name="google6">{{cite book|title=The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine|author=Moore, C.W.|date=1844|volume=3|publisher=Tuttle & Dennett|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyIsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA86|page=86|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> and served in that capacity until his death in 1856.<ref name="glofga">{{cite web|url=http://www.glofga.org/allpgms.html|publisher=glofga.org|title=allpgms|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> While in Congress, he was active in local Freemasonry. The Dawson Lodge in Washington, D.C.<ref name="google7">{{cite book|title=History of the Grand Lodge and of Freemasonry in the District of Columbia: With Biographical Appendix|author1=Harper, K.N.|author2=Freemasons. Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia|date=1911|publisher=order of the Grand Lodge, R. Beresford, printer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMVNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA216|page=216|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> and the Dawson Lodge in Social Circle, Georgia were named for him.<ref name="usg">{{cite web|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/greene/william-c.-dawson|publisher=georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu|title=Historical Markers by County - GeorgiaInfo|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=1&new_day=4&new_year=2015 | title = Dawson Crosby, William | website = masonrytoday.com | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181024215427/https://www.masonrytoday.com/index.php?new_month=1&new_day=4&new_year=2015 | archive-date = October 24, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref>

==Death and legacy== Dawson died in Greensboro on May 5, 1856, and was buried in [[Greensboro Historical Museum|Greensboro Cemetery]] with Masonic rites following a service in the [[First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro|Presbyterian church]]. A historical sign was placed in his honor in Greensboro.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Seibert|first1=David|title=William C. Dawson historical marker|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/greene/william-c.-dawson|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>

Because of his elegant manners, he was called "the first gentleman of Georgia" by [[Joseph Henry Lumpkin]].<ref name="google8">{{cite book|title=A History of Georgia for Use in Schools|author=Evans, L.B.|date=1898|publisher=American Book Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfIXAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA246|page=246|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>

[[Joshua Reed Giddings]] described him: "He was a man of much suavity of manner; one of that class of Southern statesmen who felt it necessary to carry every measure by the influence of personal kindness, and an expression of horror at all agitation of the slave question, under the apprehension that it might dissolve the Union."<ref name="google9">{{cite book|title=The Florida Exiles and the War for Slavery: Or, The Crimes Committed by Our Government Against the Maroons, who Fled from South Carolina and Other Slave States, Seeking Protection Under Spanish Laws|author=Giddings, J.R.|date=1863|publisher=Follett, Foster and Company, J. Bradburn (successor to M. Doolady)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0xETAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA243|page=243|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref>

[[Dawson County, Georgia|Dawson County]], Georgia, and the county seat, [[Dawsonville, Georgia|Dawsonville]], were named for William Crosby Dawson.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA101 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=101}}</ref> The county was created by a legislative act on December 3, 1857, primarily out of [[Lumpkin County]] and small parts of [[Gilmer County, Georgia|Gilmer]], [[Pickens County, Georgia|Pickens]] and [[Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth]] counties. [[Dawson, Georgia|Dawson]], the county seat of [[Terrell County, Georgia|Terrell County]], Georgia was incorporated on December 22, 1857, and named for William Crosby Dawson.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/d.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=59 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref>

Company C, 3d Regiment, [[Georgia Volunteer Infantry]], [[Army of Northern Virginia]], C.S.A., from Greene County, was called the "Dawson Grays" in his honor.

==Bibliography== * {{CongBio|D000156}} NB: ''has error in date admitted to bar.'' * [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=ABK6335.0001.001 A collection of family records, with biographical sketches and other memoranda of various families and individuals bearing the name Dawson, or allied to families of that name. Comp. by Charles C. Dawson, pp 368–385. Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell, 1874.] * [http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ga/greene/wills/dawson556wl.txt Will of George Dawson, Sr.]

==See also== * [[George Oscar Dawson]], his third child * [[Edgar Gilmer Dawson]], his fifth child

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Mellichamp, Josephine. "William Dawson." In Senators From Georgia, pp. 127–30. Huntsville, Ala.: Strode Publishers, 1976. {{ISBN|0-87397-082-9}}

{{S-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-new|first}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Georgia|Governor of Georgia]]|years=[[1841 Georgia gubernatorial election|1841]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[George W. Crawford]]}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = AL | before= [[John E. Coffee]] | after= [[Mark A. Cooper]] | years=November 7, 1836 – November 13, 1841 }} {{s-par|us-sen}} {{U.S. Senator box | state=Georgia | class=3 | before=[[Herschel Vespasian Johnson|Herschel V. Johnson]] | after=[[Alfred Iverson, Sr.]] | alongside= [[John M. Berrien]], [[Robert M. Charlton]], [[Robert Toombs|Robert A. Toombs]] | years=March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1855 }} {{S-end}} {{USSenGA}} {{US House Armed Services chairs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, William Crosby}} [[Category:1798 births]] [[Category:1856 deaths]] [[Category:People from Greensboro, Georgia]] [[Category:American Presbyterians]] [[Category:Nullifier Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Whig Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Whig Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives]] [[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) state senators]] [[Category:United States Army officers]] [[Category:Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Dawson County, Georgia]] [[Category:American Freemasons]] [[Category:University of Georgia alumni]] [[Category:Litchfield Law School alumni]] [[Category:19th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges]] [[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]] [[Category:United States representatives who owned slaves]] [[Category:19th-century United States senators]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]