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From: Elaine McConnell <>
Subject: Re: [VAFREDER] George Walton the Signer of DI
Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001 10:19:14 -0400
References: <200104150539.f3F5d9e03604@cgi.rootsweb.com>


Wilmer,
George Walton the Signer of the Declaration of Independence had two sons
- Thomas and George. Thomas died as a young man in Dec. 1803 and the
father, George died two months later. I believe his son George had at
least one daughter.

The Georgia State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
owns and is restoring George Walton's home, Meadow Garden, which stands
in Augusta, GA. As a DAR, I am very proud of Georgia's Signer of the
DI. At age 26 years, Walton was the youngest signer. He was born in VA
in late 1749 or early 1750. His father died within a few months of his
birth and his mother deid before he was seven. He then lived with an
uncle, also named George Walton, of Prince Edward Co., VA. At the age
of 15, young George apprenticed himself to a builder, Christopher Ford,
with whom he worked for several years. At the age of 19, Walton
traveled to Savannah, GA to begin a new career in law.

George's older brother John was living in Augusta, GA. George remained
in Savannah and studied law under Henry Yonge, Jr., a Savannah
attorney. Walton built for himself one of the most successful legal
practices in GA. From there he involved himself in politics and became
very involved in events leading up to the American Revolution. He was
one of Gerogia's delegates to Continential Congress in Philadelphia and
one of the three Signers from GA. In 1788 he married Dorothy Camber,and
they had two sons.

Two months after his marriage, Walton was captured by the British but
was exchanged almost a year later. GA elected him Governor. He
continued to serve our cause until the British were finally driven out
of GA in 1782.

By the mid-1780s, George Walton left Savannah and moved to the new
Capital of GA, Augusta. He was elected Governor a 2nd time in 1889. In
June 1791, he purchased two adjacent lots of approximately 50 acres each
in Augusta township. By 1793, he was identifying himself by the name of
his new home, "George Walton of Meadow Garden". Because of his
continuing financial troubles, he never formerly listed his home in his
name. However, he made sure Meadow Garden was held in trust for his
son, George Walton. When George Walton died in Feb. 1804, his body was
carried from Meadow Garden to be interred in a family cemetery.

Elaine McConnell

"Wilmer L. Kerns" wrote:

> Excuse me, but I believe that George Walton the Signer of the Declaration
> of Independence was born in Cumberland County, VA in 1749. When his father,
> Robert Walton Jr., died in Cumberland County in 1750, George was orphaned
> to his Uncle George Walton who lived near Farmville in what is now Prince
> Edward County, VA. His early years are documented in the Cumberland County
> records.
>
> Many Waltons claim George Walton as their ancestor, but in fact he has
> no living descendants named Walton. Go to the Scott County, VA site and
> you will see George the Signer there. They claim that George the Signer
> came to America in 1773. He is claimed on many other websites. I have seen
> it all, and am trying to correct some of the erroneous information.

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