Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-11-10
GEORGIA GOVERNORS
FROM ENGLISH NOBILITY
BY GO. c. SMITH. D. D., vINEWLLE, MACON ca.

was the leading man in the county,
Among his sons was John, who be-
came one of the most prominent men
in Bedford, and was % years in the
house Of Burgesses in Virginia He
came to Georgia and was a judge and
a member of the legislature and OF the
convention which framed the constitu-
ton in 17S9. He left three sons, one or
them Thomas, who lived a quiet and
retired life in Wilkes, and whose
granddaughter is Mrs. E. Talbot Belt,
of Millen, and Matthew, who became
a leading public man in early life He
was elected to the senate of the state
in 1908 and for five years from 1918 to
1923. was president of the body. He was
exceedingly genial in his manner,
gentleman of the old school, and while
a warm supporter of Governor Clark,
was not obnoxious to the Crawford
party. Mr.. Crawford and himself lived
in the same county, and both came
from the same section of Virginia and
were not, think, personal foes
While Mr.. Talbot was president OF
the senate, Governor Rabun died, and
so he was for some months governor
He was the Clarke candidate against
Troup, and his friends confidently
expected his election. 1t was before
the legislature and when the joint bali
lot was taken Troup had 50, and Tai
bot 81. Troup was elected by four
votes He died only a few years after
this.
Governor Talbot was a representa-
tive OF a class of public men who gave
great dignity to our early assemblies
they were gentlemen of position and
often of wealth, whose sterling
honesty and stern integrity were
recognized everywhere. They were
partizans, but not politicians. They
were Democrats in creed, but
but no arlstocrat in the Eng
lish parliament was ever more exact
ing in his demand for respect nor
more careful to observe all the cere-
monials of the best type of English
life The tracing of Matthew Talbot's
ancestral line to Richard de Talbot OF
the days before the Conqueror is made
comparatively easy by the labors OF
those Englishmen who have devoted
years OF study to the history of fami-
lies. Thackeray said the Book of
Peerage was an Englishman's bible.
I have in my library ''Burke's Peer
age" Lodges Peerage" and ''Burke'S
Landed Gentry and it would sim
ply astonish the readers of the Jour
nal to find how many of them could
connection with families that begin
back of the sixteenth century in these
volumes. have been agreeably sur
prised to find in some leading name
exact evidence of a family connection
Thus the name Matthew is in the Tai
bot family and George in the Hous-
ton and Roger In the Lawson and
Owen in the Meyriclx, and Alexander
in the Ried, and Edmond in the Ba-
con, and Theophilus in the Howard.
Each one Of these names give a link
which binds the English families to
the American. There are, however, a
great many Of our best families who
would look in vain among the holders
of landed property for English con-
nections but who would find in the
heraldry the names of their an
cestors. Nothing is as disgusting
as tuft hunting, except the eager
ness with which some people try to
make themselves great by showing
how little their ancestors were.
Governor Troup was the peer of Gov
ernor Talbot, though the ancestors Of
the one was an earl and of the other,
on one side was shopkeeper. and on
the other a Scotch laird The old Ger
man carriage maker, John Sly, as it
was first written. was the ancestor of
GONGInOr William CSnl6ys anu was #
none the worse for being a German
mechanic, and William Even none the
less noble because he was an English
potter, who moulded jugs in Yama-
craw. hold to II, as / have said in
other articles, that no state ever had in
it a finer body Of first settlers than
Georgia, and there is found no where
a list Of governors who were men OF
worthier character; nor did Georgia
ever have a bribed legislature, for de-
spite all the clamor. have long since
ceased to denounce men like Stephen
Heard. William Longstreet, Peter
Carnes, Lachlan Mcintosh, Wade
Hampton, Thomas Cumming, Thomas
GIascock, Nathaniel Pendleton as eth
er bribed or bribers. This paper con-
cludes the series on our public men.
My next series viii give another phase
of Georgia history for time. History
is not to be found in the story of a
few public men. We must catch
glimpse OF the people as they appear
in their homes. Such books as present
all Virginians; some are seen in Nelson
Payne's lively pages and all Geor-
gians as Mr.. Harben's witty stories
show a few, are misleading, because
they merely give a part Of the true
picture.