William FEW, Congress, GA (1748-1828)

FEW, William, a Delegate and a Senator from Georgia; born near Baltimore, Md., June 8, 1748; moved with his parents to Orange County, N.C., in 1758; completed preparatory studies; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Augusta, Ga., in 1776; member, State house of representatives 1777, 1779, 1783, 1793; member of the State executive council in 1777 and 1778; engaged in the expedition for the subjugation of east Florida in 1778; presiding judge of the Richmond County court and surveyor general in 1778; served as lieutenant colonel of the Richmond County Militia in 1779; Member of the Continental Congress 1780-1782 and 1786-1788; original trustee for establishing the University of Georgia in 1785; delegate to the convention which framed the Federal Constitution in 1787; delegate to the Georgia convention that ratified the Federal Constitution in 1788; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1795; judge of the circuit court of Georgia 1794-1797; moved to New York City in 1799; member, State assembly 1802-1805; State prison inspector 1802-1810; United States Commissioner of Loans 1804; director of the Manhattan Bank 1804-1814, and president in 1814; served as alderman 1813-1814; died in Fishkill, N.Y., July 16, 1828; interment in Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery, Beacon, Dutchess County, N.Y.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Few, William. “Autobiography of Colonel William Few of Georgia.” Magazine of American History 7 (November 1881): 343-58; “Senator Few on the First Session of the First Congress, 1790.” American Historical Review 16 (July 1911): 789-90.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present