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Benjamin Andrew was an American rice planter and state politician in the Royal Province of Georgia, and later, the State of Georgia. He became heavily involved in supporting the Patriot cause in the American Revolution and was closely associated with patriotic Georgia leaders, like Noble W. Jones, Button Gwinnett, Archibald Bulloch, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Lachlan McIntosh, Nathan Brownson, John Houstoun, John Adam Treutlen, Edward Telfair, Samuel Elbert, Richard Howley, and William Few. He was born in either Dorchester County or Colleton County, South Carolina, around 1726. His father was John Andrew, who is believed to have come to South Carolina from the New England area around 1705.

Benjamin was a member of the Dorchester, South Carolina, Congregationalist Church, and re-located with that church when they elected to move, as an entire congregation, to Georgia in 1754. The congregation established itself in Midway, Georgia that year. The community cleared the marshes and became a thriving community of rice planters. In 1756, they built their church, the Midway Congregational Church, which served as both church and community center, with a stockage built around it in case of raids by the nearby Muscogee (Creek) Indians. Benjamin was a selectman (i.e., governing board member) of the church.

By 1769, Benjamin Andrew owned a rice plantation of 1350 acres, had a wife and 5 children, and 19 Negro slaves. He was affluent enough to enter into provincial politics. Later in 1769, Benjamin was elected to the royal provincial legislature (the Commons House of Assembly) representing Midway and St. Johns Parish [CRG15]. He served as their representative in the Commons through 1774. On 27 Jul 1774, Benjamin Andrew was among those who responded to a notice in the local Georgia Gazette newspaper to meet at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah to discuss the political situation in the American colonies following the announcement of the “Intolerable Acts” and the closing of the port of Boston. Benjamin was appointed as one of 30 men to start Georgia’s Committee of Correspondence. [RR1, p.11-13] 9 Feb 1775 - A meeting is held in Midway of the Committee of the Parish of St. John. They draft and send a letter to the Committee of Correspondence in Charleston, SC declaring their support for the resolutions of the 1st Continental Congress and inquiring if they can be considered “separate” from the rest of Georgia and not have sanctions imposed upon them by the other colonies. [American Archives Series 4, Vol 1, p.1161-1163] 13 Apr 1775 – Benjamin Andrew’s signature is one of 21 signatures on the letter from St. John’s Parish to the Continental Congress. Dr. Lyman Hall presents the letter to Congress on 13 May 1775. [Journals of the Continental Congress, Vol 2, p.44-48] In Feb 1776, Benjamin begins attending the Council of Safety meetings 8 May 1777 – The new Legislature of Georgia under the 1777 Constitution meets in Savannah. John Adam Treutlen is elected Governor of GA. Benjamin is chosen president of the new Executive Council. Samuel Stirk was chosen Clerk and the books and papers of the late Council of Safety were by resolution of the Assembly, confided to them and thenceforth the Council of Safety ceased to exist Nov 1778 – Col James Mark Prevost conducts a raid in the Midway and Sunbury areas prior to the main British assault on Savannah in December. Benjamin, his family, and many others flee the region to South Carolina. The Midway Church is burned by the British. Jan 1780 – Benjamin Andrew is elected to represent Georgia in the Continental Congress.

Family Life

Benjamin Andrew was married 4 times.

His first wife, Elizabeth, died shortly after the birth of their 2nd child in 1753.

He married his second wife, Susanna Franklyn, in 1753. Together they had 5 children, but only one child, a daughter survived infancy to live to adulthood. Susanna died in 1762.

Later in 1762, Benjamin married Mary Philbin. They had 4 daughters. Mary died in 1787.

References:

Jones, Charles C. Biographical Sketches of the Delegates from Georgia to the Continental Congress, Riverside Press, Cambridge, MA 1891. Stacy, James, History and Published Records of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia, The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, SC 1987

Candler, Allen D. and Lucian Lamar Knight, ed. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia. 26 vols, Atlanta, Franklin Printing and Publishing Company,1904-1916 Bartram, William, Travels Candler, Allen D., ed. The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia. 3 vols. Atlanta, Franklin Printing and Publishing Company, 1908