A Letter to James Oglethorpe’s Father

A Letter to James Edward Oglethorpe’s Father

Dear Father,

Today, February 14, 1733, I wrote this letter to tell all of you the good news about the colony I’ve created for our poor English citizens. Almost every day I thought of the times when you use to take care and support me on my decisions and the times when I and my brothers use to play at the docks. I often wondered how the business is going around there and if everyone is just fine. There are allot of things here to be done but don’t worry I’ll visit there after a while till the colony has fully moved on. And I might really have to return to England to secure additional funds and have the trustees formally ban rum and slavery.

For the good news, King George II has successfully granted the charter to me and the other trustees to create a new colony now known as “Georgia”. Unfortunately, some of our groups were sent to jail because of their unpaid depths. And the King hoped that Georgia would represent as a shield between South Carolina and Spanish Florida. Better yet the charter prohibited any trustee from making money on the venture. The time came when we had to choose men and women who would establish the new colony but none were from debtors’ prison because enough non-debtor colonists were found.

And I’m really looking forward that you and  brother would come and live with me in Georgia, but I understand if there are too much problems there to take care of. During my past few days we found the city of Savannah on the coast of Georgia, and colonists who lived there were German, Swiss and Welsh Protestants. However, Jewish settlers also moved to Savannah, and that is when I had high hopes for Georgia. As the colony in Georgia grew larger and larger the resident trustees devoted me to improve the colony’s defense. I then traveled to an expedition. While I was travelling I then decided to give English names to the islands we discovered surrounding the coast of Savannah.

I will continue to make the colony a better place for everyone who lives in Georgia. That’s all I have to say for now, but I would write again soon. Take care always and God bless to you all…

Your dear beloved son,

James Edward Oglethorpe

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~ by maribeth11 on September 22, 2008.