Savannah Morning News

Purdue professor promotes one of Georgia's forgotten founders

Frank Lambert will speak to the Georgia Historical Society about James Habersham

Chuck Mobley
912.652.0323
charles.mobley@savannahnow.com

James Habersham was a major player in colonial Georgia. He arrived in Savannah in 1738, was instrumental in the development of Bethesda Home for Boys and became one of the leading merchants of the fledgling city.

He was also a Loyalist, but his name has faded from the state's history while his sons, who were revolutionaries, won lasting fame.

Purdue University professor Frank Lambert wants to correct that situation. His latest book, "James Habersham: Loyalty, Politics, and Commerce in Coastal Georgia," was published by the University of Georgia Press earlier this year.

"History has not been kind to Habersham," Lambert writes in the book.

A specialist in colonial and Revolutionary War studies, Lambert will be in Savannah next week to speak at the Georgia Historical Society.

He enlarged on Habersham's life and legacy in an e-mail interview.

1Q. How did a professor from Purdue get interested in a colonial Georgia planter?

A. In the early 1990s I was researching my book on George Whitefield and encountered James Habersham, who struck me as an intriguing colonial figure. Habersham accompanied Whitefield to Georgia in 1737 as a missionary and teacher, and emerged as Georgia's leading merchant, a successful planter and an important public official. No book-length biography existed, and I thought his story deserved telling.

2Q. How large a role did the Georgia Historical Society and its archives play in the book?

A. The GHS played an important role. One might say that it was there in the reading room that I first met Habersham through various surviving scraps of manuscript evidence: land conveyances, letters, ledger entries, etc. There is something about seeing a historical figure's handwriting that quickens the historian's imagination. From what I learned about Habersham at the GHS, I wandered around Savannah trying to imagine him in the spaces he occupied: Tybee Island, the waterfront, Bull Street, Bethesda, etc.

3Q. How close was the colony to collapse in the 1740s after its founder, Gen. James E. Oglethorpe, returned to England?

A. By 1747, when Habersham drafted his suggestions for reviving Georgia's economy, some troublesome trends indicated that the colony would not long survive under its present policies. Population was dwindling, not only the result of the lack of immigration but the decision of some planters to leave the colony. Trade was diminished. Habersham wondered how much longer Parliament should continue to subsidize Georgia. He had already advised Whitefield to establish a plantation in South Carolina, and he personally was considering leaving the colony.

4Q. What made Habersham stand out from other planters and merchants in the colonial capital?

A. Two things come to mind. First, as a planter, Habersham insisted on providing religious instruction to his slaves, a practice that most other planters thought dangerous. Second, as a merchant, Habersham had both vision and perseverance; vision to inaugurate direct trade between London and Savannah, and perseverance to overcome myriad challenges in obtaining credit, overcoming high shipping costs and meeting stiff competition from Charleston.

5Q. Who were some of the other Loyalists that Savannah has forgotten? Will they ever get a fair shake from history?

A. The Loyalists include such first-generation Georgians as Habersham, Francis Harris, Noble Jones and James Wright, whose sons became patriots. These pioneers were largely responsible for ensuring Georgia's survival through difficult times. To be sure, they also profited from the colony's close British connections. From the perspective of those who view history through the eyes of the winners, in this case the patriots, loyalists made the wrong choice by backing the loser. That might condemn them to the dust bin of history, but I think, when viewed within the context of colonial Georgia, their contributions are enormous and noteworthy.