George Washington Bonaparte Towns
b. 4 May 1801, d. 15 July 1854
- Father: John Towns
- Mother: Margaret George Hardwick
- George Washington Bonaparte Towns was born on 4 May 1801 in Wilkes County, Georgia.
- According to the 1878 City Directory and History of Montgomery, Alabama: "The dramatic talent among the early inhabitants was soon developed. In the fall of 1822, a Thespian Society was ortganized that gave its first public performance on the night of the 17th of December, at the 'Montgomery Hotel.' On this occasion, Shakespeare's great tragedy of Julius Caesar was produced with: Julius Caesar, Benjamin Fitzpatrick; Octavius Caesar, G. W. B. Towns; Marcus Antonius, Henry Goldthwaite. . . Of the twenty-three citizens who represented parts in the play. . . [t]hree of them afterwards obtained high distinctions, to wit: Mr. Fitzpatrick became Governor of the State and United Sttes Senator, Mr. Towns, Governor of Georgia, and Mr. Goldthwaite, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. . . ."
- He married Margaret Jane Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell and Rebecca Kirk, on 31 October 1826 in Montgomery County, Alabama, with James McLemore as bondsman.
- George Washington Bonaparte Towns became a widower at the 5 November 1826 death of his wife Margaret Jane Campbell.
- George Washington Bonaparte Towns died on 15 July 1854 at age 53 in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia.
- He was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia.
- The following appeared on 18 July 1854 in The Georgia Telegraph: It is with emotions of no ordinary character of sorrow, that we announce the death of our distinguished fellow-citizen and highly valued friend, the Hon. George W. Towns, who expired at his residence in this city, on Saturday morning last. /P/ He was born in 1801, in Wilkes County, Georgia, and was consequently fifty-three years of age at the time of his decease. . . . In early manhood he devoted himself to the profession of the Law, and for a short period of time made his residence in Montgomery, Alabama. Removing to Talbot county in this state, he at once began to practice his profession with success. . . He repeatedly represened his fellow-citizens of Talbot in the State Legislature, and about the year 1834 was returned to the Congress of the United States, where he served for two terms. . . . In 1845, he was again returned to Congress as a member of the Democratic party. In 1847, he was called back from Washington by his Democratic fellow-citizens, who in that year conferred upon his the Gubernatorial nomination. After a spirited contest, he was elected by a handsome mahority. . . . In 1849 he was renominated by the Democratic party, and re-elected. . . . his retirement from the Gubernatorial Chair in 1851. It was not long, before he was attacked by paralysis. . .
- Last Edited: 1 May 2011