1732
To view the Georgia Charter, see the Georgia Archives.
King George II issued Georgia’s first official charter.
Georgia’s Trustees held their organizational meeting and elected John Percival, Earl of Egmont, as president.
Georgia’s Trustees decided that the new colony’s first settlement would be located on the Savannah River and would be named Savannah.
James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists departed England aboard the Anne.
1733
James Oglethorpe and a party of settlers crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the ship Anne to begin settlement of the colony of Georgia. They first arrived off the coast of Carolina, then negotiated permission to settle from Yamacraw Chief Tomochichi. Acting as interpreters were John Musgrove, who had a trading post in the area, and his wife Mary Musgrove, who was part Yamacraw. The settlers then entered the mouth of the Savannah River, finally disembarking at Yamacraw Bluff on February 12 - now known as Georgia Day. The settlement they founded was named Savannah. Note: despite Oglethorpe’s hopes to establish Georgia as a haven for debtors; reality prevented it (the settlers were chosen for their skills). None of the original settlers aboard the Anne were debtors, and few ever settled in Georgia. See This Day in Georgia History for February 1, 1733.
Soon after settlement, James Oglethorpe took Tomochichi on a visit to Charles Town, SC with him; his positive reception there helped lead Oglethorpe to make the decision to take Tomochichi and a group of Yamacraws to England the following year.
On July 11, a group of 42 Jewish settlers arrived in Georgia. The Trustees had earlier decided not to allow Jews in the colony, but James Oglethorpe allowed them to land - largely because one of them was a doctor - Samuel Nunes. While there was some controversy amongst the Trustees regarding the new settlers, they were ultimately allowed to remain in Georgia.
An agreement was reached between the Lower Creek Indians and the Georgia colonists, containing “Articles of Friendship and Commerce between the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America and the Chief Men of the nation of the Lower Creeks.” This was the first Treaty of Savannah; there would be another one later in the colonial period.
1734
A group of German Salzburgers arrived in the colony of Georgia. They were led by Pastor Johann Martin Boltzius, and established the settlement of Ebenezer.
James Oglethorpe took Tomochichi, his wife, nephew (and his successor), and a group of five Yamacraw warriors to England.
1735
John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley sailed from England for Georgia, Charles to serve as secretary to James Oglethorpe, while John was to be a minister to the Georgia colonists. John Wesley’s time in Georgia was an unhappy one, as he wished to be a missionary to the Indians, plus he fell in love with a young woman who chose to marry another man.
Future signer of the Declaration of Independence Button Gwinnett was born in England.
John Musgrove, an Indian trader who had helped translate for James Oglethorpe on his first meetings with the Indians, died near Savannah.
A group of Moravian Church colonists arrived in Georgia.
Alice Riley was hanged in Savannah for participating in a murder, making her the first woman to be executed in Georgia - here is a story of her “crime,” punishment, and how her ghost is reported to still haunt the place where she was hanged.
James Oglethorpe and over 200 new colonists departed England for Georgia, with instructions to build a fort on St. Simons Island.
A group of Scot Highlanders sailed from Inverness, Scotland bound for Georgia. They would settle on the Altamaha River, where they founded New Inverness, later named Darien.