Georgia politician and judge.

Admitted to the bar (1774); practiced in Savannah. Member of Continental Congress (1776-78, 1780-81, 1787-88); signed Declaration of Independence. Served in Revolutionary War. Governor of Georgia (1779, 1789). Chief justice of Georgia (1783-86, 1793). First judge of the superior courts of the eastern judicial district (1790). U.S. Senator (1795-96). Judge of the middle circuit of Georgia (1799-1804). Knew Franklin and his family in Philadelphia.

Born in Cumberland County, Virginia. Settled in Georgia (1769).