OGLETHORPE COUNTY. 461 



The hope of great blessings to be derived from the right of self- 

 government had stimulated the people to make the exertions 

 necessary to obtain their object ; and when the independence 

 of the United States was acknowledged by Great Britain, the 

 blessings which they expected to follow appeared for a while 

 to be deferred, or not to be obtained. The capita] with 

 which trade had to be carried on was exhausted by the war, 

 and it required time to create it anew. The means of making 

 capital were obstructed by Great Britain by restrictions upon 

 the trade of the States. How to improve their condition was 

 a question which they anxiously sought to solve. At this 

 time Georgia held out to emigrants from other States the 

 most seductive offers of land to those who would take pos- 

 session. The officers and soldiers who had served during the 

 war had formed the most favourable opinion of the fertility of 

 its soil. Gov. Matthews had served in Georgia during the 

 war. Soon after peace he made preparations for removing to 

 a tract of land, then and yet known as the Goose Pond, — a dis- 

 puted title to which he had purchased whilst in the army. 

 Influenced by his judgment, Francis Meriwether, Benjamin 

 Taliaferro, P. Gilmer, and John Gilmer, visited Georgia in 1784, 

 in search of suitable lands for settlement. They were pleased 

 with the lands in the vicinity of the Goose Pond, and pur- 

 chased them. Gov. Matthews, Francis Meriwether, John 

 Gilmer, and Benjamin Taliaferro, removed to Georgia imme- 

 diately afterwards, with their families. From 1785 to 1795 

 the lands on Broad river were settled chiefly by the relations 

 or friends of these first emigrants. They formed a society of 

 the greatest intimacy and cordiality, mutual wants making the 

 surest foundation for the interchange of mutual kindness. It 

 is difficult to obtain materials to give a full account of the 

 first settlers of the Broad river country. Few letters can be 

 found, or manuscripts. Although they left no written memo- 

 randums of themselves, the evidence of their energy may be 

 found in every part of the southern and western country. 



Name. — Oglethorpe county bears the name of the illustrious 



founder of Georgia. The history of General Oglethorpe has 



been compiled by several authors in England and in this 



country, and it is for the benefit of those who may not have 



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