U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, Georgia Governor. After graduating from the College of New Jersey, in 1797, he studied law, was admitted to the bar and opened a successful law practice in Savannah, Georgia, in 1799. Entering politics, he was a member of the Georgia State House of Representatives, (1803-05).
In 1807, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Tenth Congress and to the next three succeeding Congresses, serving until 1815. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he practiced law and ran his plantation. In 1816, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the U.S. Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William W. Bibb, serving until he resigned in 1818. In 1823, he was elected as a Democratic Republican, the 32nd, Georgia Governor, serving until 1827.
As Governor, he advocated for internal programs and endorsed states' rights and the federal government met the terms of agreement decided when Georgia ceded her western territory to the United States, in 1802. Also, treaty negotiations with the Creek Indians were initiated, allowing for the removal of the Creeks from the state and authorizing white settlers to make use of their land.
After leaving office, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, as a Jacksonian, in 1829, serving until he resigned in 1833. After leaving the Senate, he retired and managed his plantation until his death.
=====================================================
Contributor:Amy Lyn Hedrick •[email protected]•
The above reads as if the governor was a remarkable and wonderful man. While he seemed like a "Great American" to others in his time, today, he would be considered a monster and not someone to celebrate.
Between his several estates and those of his brother Robert Lachlan Troup, George was the enslaver of over 800 human beings at any one time; several of which were his nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.
As more people test, DNA is revealing genetic descendants of the governor's family; however, many researchers have placed the governor as their direct ancestor when it was most likely his brother or one of his sons (or some other family member, male or female).
The following excerpt is from a book published in 1855 by Dr. C.G. Parsons, an abolitionist who visited several wealthy planters and interacted with the families and the enslaved people in order to immerse himself in the culture of plantation life and enslavement. He had no problem telling "family secrets", therefore, one would assume, had he learned of the governor fathering children, he would've had no problem telling his readers. After all, he revealed the actions of the governor's sons and the governor's brother.
But, we can only assume...
This book can be found online in the public domain and has been reprinted and bound for those wanting a physical book.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Inside View of Slavery: or A Tour Among the Planters" by C.G. Parsons, M.D.; Boston, Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1855; Pages 115-117.
"The Governor, like most of the large slaveholders, had been unfortunate in his sons. He owned, as I had been informed, about a thousand slaves, on different plantations. He had a large number on a plantation twenty miles below, which I had visited. His brother, Colonel Troup, was, as I was told, the overseer on this plantation for several years. He led a dissipated life, and found an early grave. I was told that he confessed to a minister, a few days prior to his death, that he had terrible remorse of conscience in the reflection that many of his own children would be left as his brother's slaves.
Governor Troup's eldest son succeeded his brother as the manager of the lower plantation, where he lived a few years in dissipation, and died from its effects. His youngest, and now only son, was sent to take the place of the first, and he followed in his footsteps. After being wrecked both in morals and mind, he was sent, as I heard, to the Insane Hospital, — and I suppose he was there at the time of my visit.
If the sons of his Excellency were as fine looking as any one of the bright boys I saw about his house, he surely had good reason to lament their untimely end. I saw no young men on that river who appeared so intellectual, and so highly endowed with natural qualities, as some of the mulatto servants in Governor Troup's family. They seemed devoted to his happiness, — but I ascertained that they fully appreciated their liability to a worse fate after his death, — as he was far advanced in years, and his only heirs were two maiden daughters, who would not be likely to keep the slaves together long after they should be left upon their hands.
Two of the whitest boys walked at my side as I rode to the gate, about fifty rods from the old house, — and I felt so deep an interest in their welfare that I took the liberty to converse with them in relation to their situation.
"You have an easy life here, boys," I remarked. "You are lucky to find a home so good as this."
"O, yes master," replied one of them sadly, — "but we don t know how soon our master may die, and then we shall be sold away, and our lot may then be much harder."
"Well, boys, I would not borrow trouble, but would rather be thankful for so many blessings. You fare so much better than the slaves generally do, that you ought to be happy."
"I know that master," replied one of them, "but still we cannot help thinking what we may have to suffer by and by.
"Well, be good boys, — don't drink whiskey, — take good care of your old master, — always do right, and you will be sure to fare the better for it. Good evening!"
"Good bye, master! good bye!
O, how my heart beat for these noble boys! How I longed to speak to them of the blessings of freedom! What multitudes, alas ! of these noble Douglasses, Bibbs, Clarks, and Wards there are in the South,—sons of Governors, Judges, and statesmen,—dragging out their weary lives in bondage! If some of "the best blood in Virginia" flows in the veins of the slaves, it is not less true of the other slave States.
------------------------------------------------
In 1807, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Tenth Congress and to the next three succeeding Congresses, serving until 1815. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he practiced law and ran his plantation. In 1816, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the U.S. Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William W. Bibb, serving until he resigned in 1818. In 1823, he was elected as a Democratic Republican, the 32nd, Georgia Governor, serving until 1827.
As Governor, he advocated for internal programs and endorsed states' rights and the federal government met the terms of agreement decided when Georgia ceded her western territory to the United States, in 1802. Also, treaty negotiations with the Creek Indians were initiated, allowing for the removal of the Creeks from the state and authorizing white settlers to make use of their land.
After leaving office, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, as a Jacksonian, in 1829, serving until he resigned in 1833. After leaving the Senate, he retired and managed his plantation until his death.
=====================================================
Contributor:Amy Lyn Hedrick •[email protected]•
The above reads as if the governor was a remarkable and wonderful man. While he seemed like a "Great American" to others in his time, today, he would be considered a monster and not someone to celebrate.
Between his several estates and those of his brother Robert Lachlan Troup, George was the enslaver of over 800 human beings at any one time; several of which were his nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.
As more people test, DNA is revealing genetic descendants of the governor's family; however, many researchers have placed the governor as their direct ancestor when it was most likely his brother or one of his sons (or some other family member, male or female).
The following excerpt is from a book published in 1855 by Dr. C.G. Parsons, an abolitionist who visited several wealthy planters and interacted with the families and the enslaved people in order to immerse himself in the culture of plantation life and enslavement. He had no problem telling "family secrets", therefore, one would assume, had he learned of the governor fathering children, he would've had no problem telling his readers. After all, he revealed the actions of the governor's sons and the governor's brother.
But, we can only assume...
This book can be found online in the public domain and has been reprinted and bound for those wanting a physical book.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Inside View of Slavery: or A Tour Among the Planters" by C.G. Parsons, M.D.; Boston, Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1855; Pages 115-117.
"The Governor, like most of the large slaveholders, had been unfortunate in his sons. He owned, as I had been informed, about a thousand slaves, on different plantations. He had a large number on a plantation twenty miles below, which I had visited. His brother, Colonel Troup, was, as I was told, the overseer on this plantation for several years. He led a dissipated life, and found an early grave. I was told that he confessed to a minister, a few days prior to his death, that he had terrible remorse of conscience in the reflection that many of his own children would be left as his brother's slaves.
Governor Troup's eldest son succeeded his brother as the manager of the lower plantation, where he lived a few years in dissipation, and died from its effects. His youngest, and now only son, was sent to take the place of the first, and he followed in his footsteps. After being wrecked both in morals and mind, he was sent, as I heard, to the Insane Hospital, — and I suppose he was there at the time of my visit.
If the sons of his Excellency were as fine looking as any one of the bright boys I saw about his house, he surely had good reason to lament their untimely end. I saw no young men on that river who appeared so intellectual, and so highly endowed with natural qualities, as some of the mulatto servants in Governor Troup's family. They seemed devoted to his happiness, — but I ascertained that they fully appreciated their liability to a worse fate after his death, — as he was far advanced in years, and his only heirs were two maiden daughters, who would not be likely to keep the slaves together long after they should be left upon their hands.
Two of the whitest boys walked at my side as I rode to the gate, about fifty rods from the old house, — and I felt so deep an interest in their welfare that I took the liberty to converse with them in relation to their situation.
"You have an easy life here, boys," I remarked. "You are lucky to find a home so good as this."
"O, yes master," replied one of them sadly, — "but we don t know how soon our master may die, and then we shall be sold away, and our lot may then be much harder."
"Well, boys, I would not borrow trouble, but would rather be thankful for so many blessings. You fare so much better than the slaves generally do, that you ought to be happy."
"I know that master," replied one of them, "but still we cannot help thinking what we may have to suffer by and by.
"Well, be good boys, — don't drink whiskey, — take good care of your old master, — always do right, and you will be sure to fare the better for it. Good evening!"
"Good bye, master! good bye!
O, how my heart beat for these noble boys! How I longed to speak to them of the blessings of freedom! What multitudes, alas ! of these noble Douglasses, Bibbs, Clarks, and Wards there are in the South,—sons of Governors, Judges, and statesmen,—dragging out their weary lives in bondage! If some of "the best blood in Virginia" flows in the veins of the slaves, it is not less true of the other slave States.
------------------------------------------------
U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, Georgia Governor. After graduating from the College of New Jersey, in 1797, he studied law, was admitted to the bar and opened a successful law practice in Savannah, Georgia, in 1799. Entering politics, he was a member of the Georgia State House of Representatives, (1803-05).
In 1807, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Tenth Congress and to the next three succeeding Congresses, serving until 1815. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he practiced law and ran his plantation. In 1816, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the U.S. Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William W. Bibb, serving until he resigned in 1818. In 1823, he was elected as a Democratic Republican, the 32nd, Georgia Governor, serving until 1827.
As Governor, he advocated for internal programs and endorsed states' rights and the federal government met the terms of agreement decided when Georgia ceded her western territory to the United States, in 1802. Also, treaty negotiations with the Creek Indians were initiated, allowing for the removal of the Creeks from the state and authorizing white settlers to make use of their land.
After leaving office, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, as a Jacksonian, in 1829, serving until he resigned in 1833. After leaving the Senate, he retired and managed his plantation until his death.
=====================================================
Contributor:Amy Lyn Hedrick •[email protected]•
The above reads as if the governor was a remarkable and wonderful man. While he seemed like a "Great American" to others in his time, today, he would be considered a monster and not someone to celebrate.
Between his several estates and those of his brother Robert Lachlan Troup, George was the enslaver of over 800 human beings at any one time; several of which were his nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.
As more people test, DNA is revealing genetic descendants of the governor's family; however, many researchers have placed the governor as their direct ancestor when it was most likely his brother or one of his sons (or some other family member, male or female).
The following excerpt is from a book published in 1855 by Dr. C.G. Parsons, an abolitionist who visited several wealthy planters and interacted with the families and the enslaved people in order to immerse himself in the culture of plantation life and enslavement. He had no problem telling "family secrets", therefore, one would assume, had he learned of the governor fathering children, he would've had no problem telling his readers. After all, he revealed the actions of the governor's sons and the governor's brother.
But, we can only assume...
This book can be found online in the public domain and has been reprinted and bound for those wanting a physical book.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Inside View of Slavery: or A Tour Among the Planters" by C.G. Parsons, M.D.; Boston, Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1855; Pages 115-117.
"The Governor, like most of the large slaveholders, had been unfortunate in his sons. He owned, as I had been informed, about a thousand slaves, on different plantations. He had a large number on a plantation twenty miles below, which I had visited. His brother, Colonel Troup, was, as I was told, the overseer on this plantation for several years. He led a dissipated life, and found an early grave. I was told that he confessed to a minister, a few days prior to his death, that he had terrible remorse of conscience in the reflection that many of his own children would be left as his brother's slaves.
Governor Troup's eldest son succeeded his brother as the manager of the lower plantation, where he lived a few years in dissipation, and died from its effects. His youngest, and now only son, was sent to take the place of the first, and he followed in his footsteps. After being wrecked both in morals and mind, he was sent, as I heard, to the Insane Hospital, — and I suppose he was there at the time of my visit.
If the sons of his Excellency were as fine looking as any one of the bright boys I saw about his house, he surely had good reason to lament their untimely end. I saw no young men on that river who appeared so intellectual, and so highly endowed with natural qualities, as some of the mulatto servants in Governor Troup's family. They seemed devoted to his happiness, — but I ascertained that they fully appreciated their liability to a worse fate after his death, — as he was far advanced in years, and his only heirs were two maiden daughters, who would not be likely to keep the slaves together long after they should be left upon their hands.
Two of the whitest boys walked at my side as I rode to the gate, about fifty rods from the old house, — and I felt so deep an interest in their welfare that I took the liberty to converse with them in relation to their situation.
"You have an easy life here, boys," I remarked. "You are lucky to find a home so good as this."
"O, yes master," replied one of them sadly, — "but we don t know how soon our master may die, and then we shall be sold away, and our lot may then be much harder."
"Well, boys, I would not borrow trouble, but would rather be thankful for so many blessings. You fare so much better than the slaves generally do, that you ought to be happy."
"I know that master," replied one of them, "but still we cannot help thinking what we may have to suffer by and by.
"Well, be good boys, — don't drink whiskey, — take good care of your old master, — always do right, and you will be sure to fare the better for it. Good evening!"
"Good bye, master! good bye!
O, how my heart beat for these noble boys! How I longed to speak to them of the blessings of freedom! What multitudes, alas ! of these noble Douglasses, Bibbs, Clarks, and Wards there are in the South,—sons of Governors, Judges, and statesmen,—dragging out their weary lives in bondage! If some of "the best blood in Virginia" flows in the veins of the slaves, it is not less true of the other slave States.
------------------------------------------------
In 1807, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Tenth Congress and to the next three succeeding Congresses, serving until 1815. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he practiced law and ran his plantation. In 1816, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the U.S. Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William W. Bibb, serving until he resigned in 1818. In 1823, he was elected as a Democratic Republican, the 32nd, Georgia Governor, serving until 1827.
As Governor, he advocated for internal programs and endorsed states' rights and the federal government met the terms of agreement decided when Georgia ceded her western territory to the United States, in 1802. Also, treaty negotiations with the Creek Indians were initiated, allowing for the removal of the Creeks from the state and authorizing white settlers to make use of their land.
After leaving office, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, as a Jacksonian, in 1829, serving until he resigned in 1833. After leaving the Senate, he retired and managed his plantation until his death.
=====================================================
Contributor:Amy Lyn Hedrick •[email protected]•
The above reads as if the governor was a remarkable and wonderful man. While he seemed like a "Great American" to others in his time, today, he would be considered a monster and not someone to celebrate.
Between his several estates and those of his brother Robert Lachlan Troup, George was the enslaver of over 800 human beings at any one time; several of which were his nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.
As more people test, DNA is revealing genetic descendants of the governor's family; however, many researchers have placed the governor as their direct ancestor when it was most likely his brother or one of his sons (or some other family member, male or female).
The following excerpt is from a book published in 1855 by Dr. C.G. Parsons, an abolitionist who visited several wealthy planters and interacted with the families and the enslaved people in order to immerse himself in the culture of plantation life and enslavement. He had no problem telling "family secrets", therefore, one would assume, had he learned of the governor fathering children, he would've had no problem telling his readers. After all, he revealed the actions of the governor's sons and the governor's brother.
But, we can only assume...
This book can be found online in the public domain and has been reprinted and bound for those wanting a physical book.
--------------------------------------------------------
"Inside View of Slavery: or A Tour Among the Planters" by C.G. Parsons, M.D.; Boston, Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1855; Pages 115-117.
"The Governor, like most of the large slaveholders, had been unfortunate in his sons. He owned, as I had been informed, about a thousand slaves, on different plantations. He had a large number on a plantation twenty miles below, which I had visited. His brother, Colonel Troup, was, as I was told, the overseer on this plantation for several years. He led a dissipated life, and found an early grave. I was told that he confessed to a minister, a few days prior to his death, that he had terrible remorse of conscience in the reflection that many of his own children would be left as his brother's slaves.
Governor Troup's eldest son succeeded his brother as the manager of the lower plantation, where he lived a few years in dissipation, and died from its effects. His youngest, and now only son, was sent to take the place of the first, and he followed in his footsteps. After being wrecked both in morals and mind, he was sent, as I heard, to the Insane Hospital, — and I suppose he was there at the time of my visit.
If the sons of his Excellency were as fine looking as any one of the bright boys I saw about his house, he surely had good reason to lament their untimely end. I saw no young men on that river who appeared so intellectual, and so highly endowed with natural qualities, as some of the mulatto servants in Governor Troup's family. They seemed devoted to his happiness, — but I ascertained that they fully appreciated their liability to a worse fate after his death, — as he was far advanced in years, and his only heirs were two maiden daughters, who would not be likely to keep the slaves together long after they should be left upon their hands.
Two of the whitest boys walked at my side as I rode to the gate, about fifty rods from the old house, — and I felt so deep an interest in their welfare that I took the liberty to converse with them in relation to their situation.
"You have an easy life here, boys," I remarked. "You are lucky to find a home so good as this."
"O, yes master," replied one of them sadly, — "but we don t know how soon our master may die, and then we shall be sold away, and our lot may then be much harder."
"Well, boys, I would not borrow trouble, but would rather be thankful for so many blessings. You fare so much better than the slaves generally do, that you ought to be happy."
"I know that master," replied one of them, "but still we cannot help thinking what we may have to suffer by and by.
"Well, be good boys, — don't drink whiskey, — take good care of your old master, — always do right, and you will be sure to fare the better for it. Good evening!"
"Good bye, master! good bye!
O, how my heart beat for these noble boys! How I longed to speak to them of the blessings of freedom! What multitudes, alas ! of these noble Douglasses, Bibbs, Clarks, and Wards there are in the South,—sons of Governors, Judges, and statesmen,—dragging out their weary lives in bondage! If some of "the best blood in Virginia" flows in the veins of the slaves, it is not less true of the other slave States.
------------------------------------------------
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Inscription
George Michael Troup.
Born Sptr 8th, 1780, Died April 26th, 1856.
No epitaph can tell his worth.
The history of Georgia must perpetuate his virtues and commemorate his patriotism.
There he teaches us the argument being exhausted to stand by our arms.
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