Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....De Renne, Wymberley Jones July 19, 1827 - unknown
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 12, 2004, 10:55 pm

Author: William Harden
p. 533-549

   ANCESTORS OF WYMBERLEY JONES DE RENNE. The first of the Jones family to come
out from England to America was Dr. Noble Jones, the great-great-grandfather of
Wymberley Jones De Renne, at present living upon the old family estate, Wormsloe
Plantation, near Savannah. Dr. Noble Jones was the father of Noble "Wymberley
Jones, the grandfather of Dr. George Jones, and the great-grandfather ot George
Wymberley Jones De Renne. Hereafter follow accounts in greater or less detail of
the lives of each of these gentlemen, who have since their earliest connection
with America been makers of her history, and prominent and successful in a high
degree.

   Dr. Noble Jones was bred to the profession of physic and lived at Lambeth, a
village in the County of Surrey, situated on the south side of the river Thames,
opposite Westminster, in which county his ancestors were born and resided. Being
intimately acquainted with General Oglethorpe, he was induced by the general to
accompany him on his first voyage to America in 1732. This friendship lasted all
their lives. After General Oglethorpe returned to England to live, he sent
Colonel Jones his portrait, with his Indian pupil standing by his side, reading.
This portrait was lost when Savannah was captured by the English.

   Dr. Noble Jones' family then consisted only of his wife and two children—a
daughter and a son, Noble Wymberley Jones. It was his first intention to
accompany the general without his family, but his wife objected to being left.
Having promised the General to accompany him, he concluded to bring his family,
not however, with an intention of remaining permanently, but after his arrival
he was so pleased with the country that he decided to stay. Before leaving
England, Doctor Jones, by deeds, to which the seal of the corporation of the
Trustees of the Colony of Georgia was affixed, was appointed, November 7, 1732,
conservator of the peace, and on the next day, November 8, 1732, he was
appointed recorder in the place of Thomas Christie. How long he remained
recorder is not certain, but he still held that office in 1735, and was
succeeded by Thomas Christie. He was appointed surveyor by General Oglethorpe
February 1, 1734, but did not give satisfaction and was discharged by the
trustees and also suspended from the office of constable, which he had held for
some time. To the last office he was soon re-appointed. That he was a good
surveyor was testified to by Mr. Stephens in a letter to the trustees December
31, 1740. Other letters endorsed Mr. Stephens' opinion. He was also appointed by
General Oglethorpe "Agent for the Indians," and for Tomo-chi-chi in particular.

   During this time he was very active protecting the southern frontier. He
writes to General Oglethorpe July 6, 1735: "I have been twice to the most
southern parts of the province; the first time upon an alarm with about fifty
men (all volunteers except ye scout boat), the particulars of which voyage (for
fear of false account comes to your hands) I will send by next. The second time
was with Captain Dunbar, who, I do not doubt, has informed you thereof before now."


   The constables were responsible for the colonists attending to their military
duties, and Jones and Fallowfield are mentioned as the two constables "in whom
the civil and military power was lodged." Each of these two controlled three wards.

   On the 10th of April, 1738, Mr. Stephens writes: "The two constables, Jones
and Fallowfield (which was all we had), came early to town on the present
occasion, conferring on the affair they came about, which was more immediately
to look into the condition of the arms. It was resolved (for experiment's sake)
to order the drum to beat immediately to arms, that thereby we might see how
alert the people were and what number would get together on a sudden without
previous notice. It was so done, and in less than an hour's time we saw eighty
odd men in the center of the town with their proper arms, well appointed, and
all able men, freeholders. Such as were absent were, almost every man, abroad
busy planting."

   When General Oglethorpe invaded Florida and laid siege to St. Augustine, some
forty volunteers under Noble Jones joined the South Carolina regiment, in which
he held a lieutenant's commission. On their return the company was disbanded in
Savannah, according to the General's orders, and Noble Jones was sent to
Charleston to collect the pay due them.

   Soon after Noble Jones' arrival in the colony, he leased from the trustees
the southern end of the Isle of Hope; later he received a grant from the
trustees, which, in turn, was exchanged for a royal grant when the crown took
charge of the colony. He named his place Wormsloe and built on it a watch house
to protect Jones' Narrows. Later he built a large, tabby fort, the ruins of
which are still well defined. This fort was successfully defended by his
daughter Mary against a party of Indians during her father's absence. The other
two-thirds of the Isle of Hope were owned by Messrs. Fallowfield and Parker. All
three acted as magistrates at the same time "by Colonel Oglethorpe's orders
until the trustees' further pleasure be known." "Wormsloe is mentioned in the
London Magazine of August, 1745; "We arrived in somewhat more than two days at
the Narrows, where there is a kind of Manchicolas Fort for their defense,
garrisoned from Wormsloe, where we soon arrived. It is the settlement of Mr.
Jones, ten miles southeast of Savannah, and we could not help observing, as we
passed, several pretty plantations. Wormsloe is one of the most agreeable spots
I ever saw, and the improvements of that ingenious man are very extraordinary.
He commands a company of marines who are quartered in huts near his place, which
is a tolerable defensive place with small arms. From this house there is a vista
of near three miles cut through the woods to Mr. Whitefield's orphan house,
which has a very fine effect on the sight."

   When the Spaniards invaded Georgia in 1742, Noble Jones who was in command of
a company of scouts with General Oglethorpe's regiment on St. Simons, prepared
to resist the Spanish army which had landed there. It was through his vigilance
that General Oglethorpe was enabled to surprise and thoroughly defeat them at
Bloody Marsh. Captain McCall gives the following account of this affair: "Capt.
Noble Jones, with a detachment of regulars and Indians, being out on a scouting
expedition, fell in with a small detachment of the enemy's advance, who were
surprised and made prisoners. From these prisoners information was obtained that
the whole Spanish army was advancing. This was immediately communicated by an
Indian runner to the General, who detached Captain Dunbar with a company of
grenadiers to join the Regulars and Indians, with orders to harass the enemy on
their advance. These detachments, having formed a junction, observed at a
distance the Spanish army on the march, and, taking a favorable position near a
marsh, formed an ambuscade. The enemy fortunately halted within one hundred
paces of this position, stacked their arms and made fires and were preparing
their kettles for cooking when a horse observed some of the party in ambuscade,
and, frightened at the uniform of the soldiers, began to snort and gave the
alarm. The Spaniards ran to their arms, but were shot down in great numbers by
Oglethorpe's detachment, who continued invisible to the enemy, and after
repeated attempts to form, in which some of their prominent officers fell, they
fled with the utmost precipitation, leaving their camp equipage on the field,
and never halted until they got under cover of the guns of their battery and
ships."

   The first official notice of the appointment of Noble Jones as a captain was
on the 21st of March, 1842-43. Egmont's Journal has this reference: "Noble
Jones, made a captain by Oglethorpe," but he fulfilled the duties of a captain,
and was so called before that date. After his return from the Spanish campaign
he seems to have devoted himself to his scout boat duties (captain of which he
had been named by General Oglethorpe), and to the improvement of Wormsloe. He
raised mulberry trees and silk worms, and the colony in a measure depended upon
him for worm seed.

   He and Captain Demetree cruised together with scout boats to intercept
unlawful trading at Tybee. On December 22, 1739, "with boat well armed he
captured a schooner in Ossybaw Sound and carried her around to Tybee."

   Meanwhile, he did not neglect his military duties in Savannah, and when in
1749 Mary Musgrave, now Mary Bosomworth, assumed the title of Independent
Empress, and, putting herself at the head of a large body of warriors, set out
for Savannah to demand from the president and council a formal acknowledgment of
her assumed rights the militia was ready to receive her. President Stephens put
the town into the best state of defense possible and received the Indians
boldly. Jones' History of Georgia says: "The militia was ordered under arras,
and as the Indians entered town Capt. Noble Jones at the head of a troop of
horses stopped them and demanded to know whether their visit was of a friendly
or hostile nature. Receiving no reply he commanded them to ground their arms,
declaring that his instructions were not to suffer an armed Indian to set foot
in the town, and that he was determined to enforce the order at every hazard.
The Indians reluctantly submitted. Later, at their solicitations, their arms
were returned to them, but strict orders were issued not to allow them any
ammunition. When at last an amicable adjustment of existing difficulties had
been effected, Mary, drunk with liquor, rushed into the Assembly and told the
president that the Indians were her people and that he had no business with
them. Mary had been arrested and locked up and had just been released. The
president calmly threatened to confine her again. Turning to Malachte in a great
rage, she repeated to him with some ill-natured comments what the president had
said. Malatche thereupon sprung from his seat, laid hold of his arms, and
calling upon the rest to follow his example, dared any man to touch his queen.
In a moment the whole house was filled with tumult and uproar. Every Indian
having a tomahawk in his hand, the president expected nothing but instant death.
During this confusion, Capt. Noble Jones, who commanded the guard, with
wonderful courage interposed and ordered the Indians immediately to surrender
their arms. This they reluctantly did. Mary was conveyed to a private room,
where a guard was placed over her, and all further communication with the
Indians was denied her during her stay in Savannah."

   About this time the expediency of subordinating Georgia to South Carolina was
in certain high quarters seriously discussed and gave the trustees some concern.
Before they could communicate with President Stephens, Captain Demetree landed
at Causton's Bluff with boats, which, having brought the last of Oglethorpe's
disbanded regiment to Charleston on their way to England, were returning to
Frederica in his charge. He had a small detachment of ten or twelve men and said
that he was on his way to Frederica to assume command at that point; that he
took orders only from the governor of South Carolina, and that the trustees were
cognizant of the fact As he failed to report to the president and his assistants
and disclose to them his orders or his intentions, they were at a loss to
understand his extraordinary conduct and ordered Capt. Noble Jones to wait upon
him and demand an explanation of and an apology for his discourtesy. Captain
Demetree’s reply to Captain Jones was that he was acting under the instructions
from His Grace, the Duke of Bedford, and that he was to receive his orders from
and report only to the governor of South Carolina. He reluctantly appeared
before the council in answer to their summons. After Captain Demetree had made
ample apology to the council, he was permitted to assume command of the military
forces stationed at Frederica. The annexation of Georgia to South Carolina was
to be accomplished at this time by stationing officers from three independent
South Carolina companies in proper/places in Georgia, "to preserve the
possession of the province.”

   On July 13, 1750, the trustees recommended to the common council that Noble
Jones be appointed an assistant in and for the province of Georgia, and the
appointment under seal was sent to him July 16, 1750.

   On April 18, 1751, the trustees recommended to the common council his
appointment as Eegister of the Province, and his appointment followed on May 24,
1751.
   About the middle of May of this year news came from Augusta that there was
fear of an Indian invasion. "Accordingly the Magazine was examined, officers
were appointed and ordered to muster and discipline the militia,'a troop of
horses was ordered to be raised composed of such inhabitants as were possessed
of three hundred acres of land. Noble Jones was appointed Colonel, and his son,
Noble Wymberley Jones, who had been a cadet in Oglethorpe's regiment, was
appointed to command the Dragoons."

   The alarm was exaggerated, but it served to bring out the militia, which
consisted of 220 men, infantry and cavalry, and when they paraded (on the 16th
of April, 1751, under the then Capt. Noble Jones) they "behaved well and made a
pretty appearance." Noble Jones was appointed to '* a'ccompany Mr. Robinson in
his inquiry into the state of the colony." According to Mr. Habersham, he was a
stiff churchman and took a great deal of voluntary trouble in building the
church, and in all church matters greatly aiding his friend, Rev. Mr. Zouberbuhler.

   In the last year of the trustee's government of the colony, he was captain of
the Marines and scout boat at Wormsloe, assistant to the president, register of
the province, commissioner to treat with the Indians, member of the council to
report on the state of the colony, and colonel of the regiment.

   The trustees surrendered the colony to the British government on the 23d of
June, 1752, and Benjamin Martin was appointed agent of the colony in England.
Upon the death of President Parker, who had succeeded President Stephens (the
first president of the colony appointed in April, 1741), Patrick Graham became
president. His assistants were James Habersham, Noble Jones, Pickering Robinson
and Francis Harris.

   On the 6th of August, 1754, Capt. John Reynolds was appointed governor of the
province and Noble Jones was confirmed as member of councils. On the 27th of
November, 1754, Governor Reynolds, with the advice of the board, appointed Noble
Jones and William Spencer, esquires, judges to hold the approaching court of
oyer and terminer, and on December 12, 1754, Noble Jones and Jonathan Bryan were
appointed as judges to hold the first general court in the province.

   On March 29, 1757, "Noble Jones of His Majesty's Council, was appointed one
of the new commissioners of the peace." This appointment was made before the
Lords of Trade had heard from Governor Reynolds, who on Wednesday, December 15,
1756 "acquainted the board that he had thought proper to suspend Noble Jones,
Esq., from all offices, for reasons which he would lay before the king."
Governor Reynolds "removed Mr. Noble Jones from the board and bench to gratify
Mr. Little, and it is positively affirmed, to promote the establishment of
Bosomworth's titles to the Indian lands with a view to sharing the spoils.",
Governor Reynolds was summoned to England to answer for his conduct in Georgia.
He embarked in a merchant vessel in February, 1757, resigning the government
into the hands of Lieutenant Governor Henry Ellis, who became governor in chief
on May 17, 1758. Noble Jones was re-instated by an order of the English council
to Governor Ellis May 31, 1759, with his former precedence as councillor and
also as senior justice of the general court.

   Under Governor Ellis he was one of His Majesty's council, senior justice of
the general court, colonel of the regiment and treasurer of the province, having
been appointed to this last office by Governor Ellis on the 16th of February,
1760. "He had no salary, but a commission of five per cent, which on the last
year's tax amounted to sixty-five pounds sterling, and may this year amount to
eighty pounds." Governor Ellis resigned his office on account of ill-health and
handed over the government to Lieutenant-Governor James Wright, who was
appointed governor in chief on the 20th of March, 1761. In the following letter
to the Lords af the board of trade, Governor Wright commends Noble Jones'
services as chief justice of the colony after Mr. Simpson's death and before Mr.
Anthony Stokes' arrival:

                             SAVANNAH, GA., Sept. 28, 1769.

   "My Lords:—I take the liberty to acquaint your lordships that Noble Jones,
Esq., senior judge of the courts here, has in every respect done and performed
the office and duties, of chief justice from 20th of October, 1768, when Mr.
Simpson died, to the arrival of Mr. Stokes; and although Mr. Jones was not bred
to the law, yet I believe that justice only was administered during that time
and with integrity, and I have not heard any complaint made or fault found with
his conduct. I therefore submit to your lordships whether it may not be
reasonable that Mr. Jones shall receive the salary from the death of Mr. Simpson
to the appointment of Mr. Stokes, and half of it from the appointment of Mr.
Stokes to his arrival here. I have given Mr. Jones two certificates of his
having done his duty here and have the honor to be, my Lords, Your Lordships'
most obedient and obliging servant,

                                 JAMES WRIGHT,
                           The Right Honorable Lords of Trade."

   On the 10th of July, 1771, Governor Wright availed himself of a leave of
absence, and three days afterward Mr. James Habersham took the usual oath of
office and entered upon the discharge of the gubernatorial duties.

   In a long letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, Governor Habersham relates that
the assembly had against royal orders elected Noble Wymberley Jones, the son of
Noble Jones, three times speaker in succession, and that they refused to leave
this fact out of their minutes on the subsequent election of Archibald Bulloch,
and that he had dissolved the assembly. Noble Wymberley Jones was as ardent a
patriot as Noble Jones, his father, was a thorough Royalist. His opposition to
-the crown and his upholding of the cause of liberty seems to have embittered
Mr. Habersham, who, not able to punish the son, brought his spleen to bear upon
the father. He writes to the Earl of Hillsborough, April 30, 1772: "My Lord, it
is very painful to me to say or even insinuate a disrespectful word of anyone,
and every person who knows me will acknowledge that it is contrary to my
disposition to dip my pen in gall; but I can not help considering Mr. Jones'
conduct for some time past in opposing public business as very ungrateful and
unworthy of a good man, as his family have reaped more advantages from
government than any one I know in this province. He was several years first
lieutenant and sergeant in a company of rangers paid by the crown, and in these
capacities met with great indulgence. His father is the king's treasurer, and if
I am not mistaken, reaps very considerable emoluments from it. But his accounts
have never been clearly stated and examined by any assembly that I know of; and
such an inquiry may not be agreeable. Governor Wright in his speech to the
assembly in October, 1770, recommended our financial and public accounts to be
examined entire but that assembly was dissolved in February following and no
steps taken therein, and many people suspect that this very necessary
examination operates with some to retard and impede progress. I sincerely meant
to recommend this inquiry to the late assembly in the strongest terms, and as we
now have no assembly I shall require the treasurer to lay before me in council a
clear account of the produce of our funds, also the certificates that have been
issued for different purposes, and of every account that may be necessary to
post me with the state of the treasury, and after that is done I shall pursue
such measures as seem necessary for the service of his majesty and the province,
of which I shall inform your lordship."

   That the treasurer's accounts were examined and approved of at times by the
deputy auditor and the governor, is shown by a treasury account signed "Noble
Jones, treasurer," February 26, 1767. Audited by Gray Elliott, Det. Aud. Gen.,
6th February, and approved by James Wright 10th of February.

   On further deliberation Mr. Habersham either found out that the accounts had
been'audited, or that an investigation was unnecessary, as there is no record of
one having taken place—and as Noble Jones continued treasurer until the day of
his death, which occurred three years afterward, it would seem reasonable to
suppose that Mr. Habersham's fears were groundless. During Governor Wright's
administration he took part in all important matters appertaining to Georgia,
and his fidelity and absolute devotion to the crown were unswerving. In a card
appearing in the Georgia Gazette, September 7, 1774, his name appears with James
Habersham, Josiah Tattnall and ninety-three others, criticizing the meeting at
Tondee's Tavern in Savannah, and protesting that the resolutions there should
not be adopted as reflecting the sentiments of the people of Georgia. He
performed his judicial duties up to the last. Upon the assembling of the general
court on the 10th of October, 1775, one of the jurors summoned refused to be
sworn. Others "behaved insolently," and the conduct of the business was
practically obstructed. Mr. Noble Jones, one of the associate justices, was then
"lying extremely ill." He died on the second of November following, at Wormsloe,
and was buried near the fort on the place he loved so well. His remains were
removed from Wormsloe to the colonial burying ground in Savannah, and later to
Bonaventure cemetery near Savannah. His death was hastened by the dissensions
among the Colonists; he could not sympathize with the idea of separation from or
independence of the mother country, and he saw nothing but storms and trouble
ahead for his beloved Georgia. During a long life, in which he held nearly every
office in the province, if he was found fault with he never failed upon
investigation of the charges against him to rise higher in the public esteem.
Notwithstanding the zealous patriotism of Noble Wymberly Jones, he was a devoted
son, and though then first elected a member of the continental congress,
remained with his father at Wormsloe until the latter's death. On Noble Jones'
tombstone at Bonaventure cemetery is inscribed the following:

NOBLE JONES, of Wormsloe, Esq.,

SENIOR JUDGE OF THE GENERAL COURT AND ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE OP THE PROVINCE OF
GEORGIA.

FOR TWENTY-ONE YEARS MEMBER AND SOMETIMES PRESIDENT OF HIS MAJESTY'S COUNCIL.

COLONEL OF THE FIRST GEORGIA REGIMENT.

DIED NOVEMBER 2, 1775. AGED 73.

                           W. J. DE RENNE.

   Noble Wymberley Jones, already mentioned in connection with some of the more
important concerns of the Province of Georgia, was born near London, England, in
1723. Coming to Georgia at a tender age he secured an appointment as a cadet in
Oglethorpe's regiment. Having studied medicine and received his degree, he was
promoted to first lieutenant, and with the rank and pay of surgeon, was assigned
to a company of rangers in the pay of the crown. After a few years passed in
military service he resigned from the army and entered upon the practice of his
profession in Savannah. He arose rapidly in the public esteem as a citizen and
physician, winning golden opinions from the community. No idle spectator of
passing events or indifferent to political preferment, he was in 1768 elected
speaker of the Lower House of the Assembly of the Province of Georgia. By that
body he was placed upon a committee to correspond with Dr. Benjamin Franklin—who
had been appointed an agent "to represent, solicit and truthfully account the
affairs of the colony of Georgia in Great Britain"—and gave such instructions as
might appear necessary for the public welfare. Re-elected to this position in
1770, so pronounced and influential had become his views and conduct in
opposition to the objectionable and oppressive acts of parliament, and in
support of American ideals, that Governor Wright, exercising the power vested in
him, refused to sanction this choice and ordered the house to select another
speaker.

   Incensed at this affront offered to one who had been aptly termed the Morning
Star of Liberty in Georgia, and resenting what they deemed an unwarrantable
interference with the power resting solely with them to nominate and judge of
the qualifications of their own presiding officer, the members of the house
passed resolutions complimentary to Dr. Jones and declared that the "sense and
approbation this house entertains of his conduct can never be lessened by any
slight cast upon him in opposition to the unanimous voice of the Commons House
of the Assembly in particular and the Province in general." Criticising the
action of the executive, they resolved "that, this rejection by the governor of
a speaker unanimously elected was a high breach of the privileges of the house
and tended to subvert the most valued rights and liberties of the people and
their representatives.” This bold assertion the council was pleased to
stigmatize as "a most indecent and insolent denial of his majesty's authority,"
and the governor, wielding the only punitive weapon at his command, dissolved
the assembly on the 22d day of February, 1770.

   Adhering to the preference shown on a former occasion, and resolving to
rebuke the late interference on the part of the executive, at the first session
of the eighth General Assembly of the Province, convened at Savannah on the 21st
day of April, 1772, the Commons, house perfected its organization by electing
Dr. Jones as speaker. Officially informed of this action, the Hon. James
Habersham, who, during the absence of Sir James Wright, was occupying the
gubernatorial chair, responded: "I have his Majesty's commands to put a negative
upon the speaker now elected by th"e Commons House, which I accordingly do; and
desire that you will inform the house that I direct them to proceed to a new
choice of speaker.”

   Despite this inhibition, and in direct opposition to the injunction of the
executive, thrice did the house adhere to its selection; and it was only by
dissolving the assembly that the governor was able to carry his point. It was
upon this occasion that Governor Habersham wrote the letter of April 30, 1772,
to the Earl of Hillsborough, commenting at length upon this matter, and which is
quoted in the foregoing date upon the life of Col. Noble Jones.

  The truth is, that while Gov. Habersham was loyally seeking to carry out the
instructions of the king and to support the authority of Parliament, Dr. Jones
"was in sympathy with those who considered taxation without representation as
wholly unauthorized, and who were zealous in maintaining what they regarded as
the reserved rights of the colonists, and the privileges of provincial
legislatures." Both were true men but they viewed the situation from different
standpoints. An honored servant of the crown, Mr. Habersham was confronted with
peculiar duties and stringent oaths. Dr. Jones, on the contrary, was a
representative elected by the people, was free to give expression to his own
views and the sense of his constituents at an epoch when American liberty was
being freely discussed and proclaimed. Of each it may be fairly said that he was
pure in purpose, wise in counsel, and fearless in action, enjoying in a
conspicuous degree the esteem and  affection of the community. But their
political paths henceforward diverged. The one clave to the crown and shared its
fortunes, while the other cast his lot with the Revolutionists and became a
favored leader of the patriot band.

   With Archibald Bulloch, John Houstoun and John Walton, he issued the public
call on July 20, 1774, which convened the citizens of Georgia at the Watch House
in Savannah. The resolutions then adopted, and the measures there inaugurated,
gathering potency and allegiance as they were discussed and comprehended, proved
effective in unifying public sentiment in support of the plans suggested by the
Liberty Party, and paved the way for sundering the ties which bound the Province
to the British empire. Of the committees then raised to conduct the public
affairs of the colony and to minister to the relief of the "suffering poor" of
Boston, Noble Wymberley Jones was an active member. He was also elected with
Archibald Bulloch and John Houstoun, a delegate to the Continental Congress, by
a convention of patriots assembled at Savannah on the 8th of December, 1774, and
again by the Provincial Congress of January, 1775. These three, concluding very
properly that inasmuch as they had been nominated by the political convocation
which in reality embraced only four of the twelve parishes then constituting the
Province of Georgia, they could not be justly regarded as representatives of the
entire colony, were yet persuaded that the will of those who commissioned them
should be formally made known and the mind of Georgia be freely interpreted, and
on the 6th of April, 1775, addressed the following communication to the
president of the Continental Congress:

    'Sir: The unworthy part which the Province of Georgia has acted in this
great contest leaves room to expect little less than censure or even indignation
of every virtuous man in America. Although on the one hand we feel the justice
of such a consequence with respect to the Province in general, yet on the other
hand, we claim an exemption from it in favor of some individuals who wished a
better conduct. Permit us therefore in behalf of ourselves and many others of
our fellow citizens warmly attached to the cause to lay before the respectable
body over which you preside, a few facts, which we trust will not only acquit us
of supineness, but also cause our conduct to be approved by all candid and
dispassionate men.

   "At the time the late congress did this Province the honor to transmit to it
an extract from their proceedings, included in a friendly letter from the
Honorable Mr. Middleton, the sense and disposition of the people in general
seemed to fluctuate between liberty and convenience. In order to bring on a
determination respecting the measures recommended, few well affected persons in
Savannah, by public advertisement in the Gazette, requested a meeting of all the
parishes and districts by delegates or representatives, in Provincial Congress.
On the day appointed for this meeting, with concern they found that only five
out of twelve parishes to which they had particularly written, had nominated and
sent down delegates; and even some of these five had laid their representatives
under injunctions as to the form of an association. Under these circumstances
those who met saw themselves a good deal embarrassed. However, one expedient
seemed still to present itself. The house of assembly was then sitting, and it
was hoped there would be no doubt of a majority in favor of American freedom.
The plan therefore was to go through what business they could in Provincial
Congress, and then with a short address to present the same to the house of
assembly, who it was hoped would by votes in a few minutes and before
prerogative should interfere, make it the act of the whole Province.

   "Accordingly the congress framed and agreed to such an association and did
such other business as appeared practicable with the people, and had the whole
just ready to be presented, when the governor, either treacherously informed, or
shrewdly suspecting the step, put an end to the session. What then, could the
congress do? On the one hand, truth forbid them to call their proceedings the
voice of the Province, there being but five out of twelve of the parishes
concerned; on the other, they lacked strength sufficient to enforce them on the
principle of necessity. They found the inhabitants of Savannah not likely soon
to give matters a favorable turn. The importers were mostly against any
interruption and the consumers very much divided. There were some of the latter
virtuously for the measures; others strenuously against them; but more that
called themselves naturals than either. Thus situated, there appeared nothing
before us but the alternative of either commencing a civil war among ourselves,
or else of patiently waiting for the measures to be recommended by the general
congress.

   "Among a powerful people provided with men, money and conveniences, and by
whose conduct others were to be regulated, the former would certainly be the
result that would suggest itself to every man removed from the condition of a
coward; but in a small community like Savannah (whose members are mostly in
their first advance towards wealth and independence, destitute of even the
necessities of life within themselves, and from whose junction of silence so
little would be had or lost to the general cause), the latter presented itself
as the most eligible plan, and was adopted by the people. Party disputes and
animosities have occasionally prevailed and show that the spirit of freedom is
not extinguished, but only resting for a time until an opportunity shall offer
for calling it forth.

   "The congress convened at Savannah did us the honor of choosing us delegates
to meet your respectable body at Philadelphia on the 10th of next month. We were
sensible of the honor and importance of the appointment and would gladly have
rendered our country any service our poor abilities would permit of; but alas
with what face could we have appeared for a Province whose inhabitants had
refused to sacrifice the most trifling advantages to the public cause, and in
whose behalf we did not think we could safely pledge ourselves for the execution
of any measures whatever?

   "We do not mean to insinuate that those who appointed us would prove apostate
or desert their opinions, but that the tide of opposition was great; that all
the strength and virtue of these our friends might not be sufficient for the
purpose. We beg, sir, you will view our reasons for not attending in a liberal
point of light. Be pleased to make the most favorable representation of them to
the honorable, the members of congress. We believe we may take upon ourselves
the satisfaction, notwithstanding all that has passed, that there are still men
in Georgia who, when occasion shall require, will be ready to evince a steady
allegiance and manly attachment to the liberties of America. For the consolation
of these they find themselves in the neighborhood of a Province whose virtue and
magnanimity must and will do lasting honor to the cause, and in whose fate they
seem disposed freely to insolve their own.

   "We have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient and very humble servants,

                                     NOBLE WYMBERLEY JONES,
                                     ARCHIBALD BULLOCH,
                                     JOHN HOUSTOUN."

   The news of the affairs at Concord and Lexington reached Savannah on the 10th
of May and caused the wildest excitement. The thunders of the 19th of April
aroused the Georgia Parishes from their lethargy and multiplied patriots within
their borders. The magazines at the eastern extremity of Savannah,—built of
brick and sunk some twelve feet under ground,—contained a considerable amount of
ammunition. So substantial was thus structure that Governor Wright deemed it
unnecessary to post a guard for its protection. The excited revolutionists all
over the land cried aloud for powder. Impressed with the importance of securing
the contents of this magazine, there quietly assembled Dr. Noble Wymberley
Jones, Joseph Habersham, Edward Telfair, William Gibbons, Joseph Clay, John
Milledge and some other gentlemen, at the residence of Dr. Jones, at a late hour
on the night of the llth of May, 1775, and proceeding to the magazine, broke it
open and removed therefrom some six hundred pounds of powder. A portion of the
rest was sent to Beaufort, South Carolina, for safe keeping, and the rest was
concealed in the garrets and cellars of the houses of the captors. Although
Governor Wright offered a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling for
the apprehension of the offenders, it failed to elicit any favor, although the
actors in the affair are said to have been well known in the council. The
tradition lives and is generally credited that some of the powder so obtained
was forwarded to Cambridge and was actually expended by the patriots in the
memorable battle of Bunker Hill.

   On the 22d of June, 1775, in response to a call signed by Dr. N. W. Jones,
Archibald Bulloch, John Houstoun and George Walton, many of, the inhabitants of
the town and district of Savannah assembled at the Liberty Pole in Savannah and
elected a council of safety with instructions to maintain an active
correspondence with the continental congress and with the councils of safety
both in Georgia and other provinces, with a view to bringing about a union of
Georgia with her sister colonies in the cause of freedom.

   Of the provincial congress which assembled in Savannah on the 4th of July,
1775, Dr. Jones was a member accredited from the "town and district of
Savannah." In this congress every parish was represented. Dr. Jones was of the
committee then selected to frame a suitable address to the inhabitants of
Georgia, advising them of the true nature of the disputes existing between Great
Britain and her American colonies, and informing them of the deliberations and
conclusions of the present congress. He was also chosen with John Habersham,
Archibald Bulloch, Kev. Dr. Zubly and Dr. Lyman Hall to represent Georgia in the
Continental Congress. Georgia was now in acknowledged sympathy with her sisters
and took her place by regular representation in the national assembly. Of the
Council of Safety which ordered the arrest of Governor Wright, Dr. Jones was a
member.

   Upon the capture of Savannah in December, 1778, Dr. Jones removed to
Charleston, South Carolina. There, upon the fall of that city in 1780, he was
taken prisoner by the British and sent in captivity to St. Augustine, Florida.
Exchanged in July, 1781, he went to Philadelphia and there entered upon the
practice of his profession. While a resident of that city he was elected to the
Continental Congress by the General Assembly of Georgia.

   Shortly after its evacuation by the king's forces in 1782, Dr. Jones returned
to Savannah, repaired the desolations which war had wrought in his comfortable
home, and resumed his professional labors. He was a member of the committee
which received and saluted President Washington with an address of welcome upon
the occasion of his visit to Savannah in 1791. Dr. Jones presided over the
constitutional convention which assembled at Louisville, Jefferson county, in
May, 1795, and amended the constitution of Georgia. In 1804 he was president of
the Georgia Medical Society. He died in Savannah, January 9, 1805, honored by
the community as an accomplished gentleman, an influential citizen, a skillful
physician and a sterling patriot.

   Of his son, Dr. George Jones, no fitter expression as to his life and work
might be made than is embodied in a set of resolutions adopted at a meeting of
the bar of the federal and state courts, at the court house in Savannah, on
November 14, 1838, on the day following his death. Here is given entire the
resolutions adopted on that sad occasion: "Dr. George Jones, a distinguished
citizen of Savannah, died November 13,1838. His career of public service began
in early youth. He endured, the last two years of the Revolutionary war, the
hardships of a soldier, and manifested, in confinement on board an English
prison ship, the fortitude and constancy of a youthful patriot. When the war was
concluded, though still a very young man, he received strong proofs of public
confidence by being placed in official relations to his fellow citizens, the
duties of which required the ability, discretion and industry of matured
manhood. He was subsequently one of Georgia's prominent legislators, and in the
convention which framed our present constitution, was a leading member as a
delegate from Chatham county. He was frequently afterward a member of the
general assembly in both branches. Its history shows him to have been pure and
disinterested, at all times inflexible in support of correct principles and in
opposition to those schemes of personal aggrandizement which were unfortunately
corruptly consummated by the alienation of the most valuable portion of the
state's territory. The estimation in which his character and attainments were
held induced the legislature, though he was not a lawyer, to elect him judge of
the superior court for the eastern circuit. His demeanor as a judge was
dignified, courteous and patient, and when he voluntarily retired from the
appointment it was regretted by the bar, the officers of the court and the
public. From the bench he was transferred to the senate of the United States.
His services in that capacity being terminated, he was called by general consent
to other stations of usefulness.

   “It was truly said of him that he took office from a sense of obligation
rather than from any desire for distinction. He was for many years one of the
members of the superior court, and its record showed that he was a faithful
administrator of its duties, vigilant in all that regarded the rights of the
widow and orphan. He served efficiently as mayor of Savannah for two years, from
September, 1812, to September, 1814.

   "He was amiable, philanthropic, considerate, firm, forbearing, delicate in
his intercourse with society. He had a modesty in speech and manner, at all
times and to all persons, worthy of remembrance and imitation, and to these
graces were added the belief and humility of a Christian.”

   In setting forth details concerning the life of George Wymberley-Jones
DeRenne, it has seemed expedient to make free quotation of excerpts from an
address given by a prominent resident of Savannah on an occasion of considerable
importance. Here follows portions of the address referred to; with occasional
paraphrase:

   "Although born in the city of Philadelphia on the 19th of July, 1827, Mr.
George "Wymberley-Jones DeRenne, was in every thought and emotion, a Georgian
most loyal. In the paternal line he was the direct descendant of Col. Noble
Jones,—the trusted lieutenant of Oglethorpe,—his great-grandson, to speak in
exact terms, and the grandson of Noble "Wymberley Jones. And among the patriot
names shedding lustre upon the period when our people were engaged in the effort
to rid themselves of kingly rule, none in Georgia was more conspicuous for
purity of purpose, wisdom of counsel and fearlessness in action than was he.
Speaker of the provincial legislature at a time when it was no light matter to
incur the displeasure of a royal governor, arrested and confined because of his
sympathy with the revolutionists, .and upon the termination of the war, selected
a representative from Georgia in the congress, as physician, legislator,
patriot, citizen, he won the confidence and esteem of all.

   “Thus does it appear that Mr. De Renne was the legitimate inheritor, in the
fourth generation, of illustrious traditions and of memories personal and
precious connected with the history and honor of Georgia. With him they were
family legacies. He accepted them as such, and the allegiance which bound him to
home and state was inseparable from the ties which united him to kindred and
lineage. They were indissolubly interwoven, and whenever the name of Georgia was
uttered, there came heart throbs of loyalty and pride most peculiar and
pleasureable.

   “The first eleven years of his life,—that tender period when impressions the
most abiding are formed,—when loves are cemented which the vicissitudes of
subsequent age cannot impair,—that morning of existence whose sunlight fades not
from memory,—were passed at Wormsloe on the Isle of Hope, the abode of his
ancestors. There in infancy were his loves of Georgia begotten. There was his
knowledge of home and country localized. There were attachments born which
remained ever part and parcel of his inner being.

   "When not yet twelve years old, upon the death of his father, he accompanied
his mother to Philadelphia. There he pursued his academic studies and was, in
due course, admitted as a member of the collegiate department of the University
of Pennsylvania. His proficiency in the acquisition of knowledge, and his
intellectual capabilities attracted the notice and evoked the commendation of
his teachers. It was natural that he should seek an education in that city and
from that institution, for both were allied to him by ties of no ordinary
significance. His maternal grandfather,—Justice Thomas Smith,—had been for many
years a prominent lawyer and a distinguished judge in Philadelphia, and his
maternal great-uncle, the Rev. William Smith, D.D., was the first provost of the
institution now known as the University of Pennsylvania. He was a noted teacher,
an accomplished writer and an eloquent divine. A native of Scotland and a
graduate of the University of Aberdeen, shortly after his removal to America he
identified himself with all that was progressive and of high repute in the City
of Brotherly Love. After a long life spent in the rendering of important service
to the literary, educational and religious interests of the country, he died in
the city of his adoption on the 14th of May, 1803. His scholarly works and the
institutions he founded are living monuments to his memory.

   "In his maternal home, and upon the benches whence had gone forth many who
had been instructed by his distinguished relative, Mr. DeRenne found opportunity
for earnest study. Graduating with honor, and selecting medicine as the
profession best suited to his tastes, he became a private pupil of Dr. Samuel
Jackson and entered the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, This
college was at that time probably the most noted in the United States, and the
facilities there afforded for mastering the mysteries of the healing art were
unsurpassed this side of the Atlantic. Mr. DeRenne's graduating thesis was
entitled 'Theory Concerning the Nature of Insanity.' It was, in 1847, privately
printed, to the number of forty-eight copies, for special distribution. Striking
in thought and composition is this production, indicating an amount of careful
research, delicate analysis, and philosophical deduction quite uncommon in one
who had barely attained unto his majority. It elicited the praise of his
preceptors, who earnestly hoped that his talents and acquirements would be
consecrated to the calling which sweeps in its high scope the whole range of
physical and moral science. But with Mr. DeRenne there was no intention of
applying himself to the active pursuit of the profession to the privileges of
which he had just been admitted as a doctor of medicine. His affections turned
to his island home beneath the Georgia magnolias, and his thoughts were of a
quiet, independent life, devoted to the exhibition of hospitality, the pursuit
of literature, and the enjoyment of dignified repose.

   "Shortly after graduation he repaired to Wormsloe and there fixed his
residence. With all its wealth of magnificent live-oaks, palmettoes, pines,
cedars and magnolias, with its quiet, gentle views, balmy airs, soft sunlight,
swelling tide, inviting prospects and cherished traditions, this attractive spot
had uninterruptedly continued to be the home of his ancestors from the date of
its original cession from the crown to his great-grandfather, Capt. Noble Jones.
Here were the remains of the tabby fortification which he had constructed for
the protection of his plantation,—then an outpost of the town of Savannah,—and
there, vine covered and overshadowed by oaks and cedars, they will endure for
unnumbered years, constituting one of the most unique and interesting historical
ruins on the Georgia coast. During his residence at this charming abode, which
continued, with occasional absences, until the late war between the states, Mr.
DeRenne guarded his ancestral domain with the tender care and devotion of a
loyal son, adding to the recollections of the past literary and cultivated
associations in the present, which imparted new delights to the name of Wormsloe.

   "His carefully selected library contained works of high repute, and of great
rarity in certain departments. His reading was varied and accurate. Communing
often with his favorite authors, he maintained an active acquaintance with the
ever expanding domain of scientific and philosophical inquiry. His liberal
education, enriched by study, travel and observation, enabled him to appreciate
and cultivate those standards in literature and art which give birth to the
accurate scholar and the capable critic.

   "To familiarize himself with the history of Georgia and rescue her traditions
from forgetfulness were ever his pleasure and pride. During his sojourn in
London he obtained favored access to the records in the various public offices
and to the treasures of the British Museum. Thence did he procure" copies of all
papers throwing light upon the early life of the colony. We have no hesitation
in expressing the opinion that in a thorough acquaintance with the history of
Savannah and that of Georgia, both as a colony and a state,—he was excelled by
none.

   "During his residence on the Isle of Hope the literary tastes of Mr. DeRenne
found expression in the following publications,—with one exception bearing the
imprint of Wormsloe,—and executed in the highest style of the printer's art.

   "In 1847 he reprinted the rare and valuable political tract by George Walton,
William Few. and Richard Howley, entitled 'Observations upon the effects of
certain late political suggestions, by the Delegates of Georgia.' T\vo years
afterward appeared the caustic 'Observations on Dr. Stevens' History of
Georgia.' In 1849 was issued the second of the Wormsloe quartos, entitled
'History of the Province of Georgia; with Maps of Original Surveys; by John
Gerar William DeBrahm, His Majesty's Surveyor General for the Southern District
of North America.' This was a most valuable publication. DeBrahm's manuscript,
from which the portion relating to Georgia was thus printed, exists in the
library of Harvard University, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. DeRenne did for
Georgia what Mr. Weston has accomplished for South Carolina. The next year the
third of the Wormsloe quartos presented the interesting 'Journal and Letters of
Eliza Lucas/ the mother of Generals Charles Cotesworth and Thomas Pinckney.

   "So charmed was Mr. DeRenne with 'A Bachelor's Reverie' by Ik Marvel, that in
1850, by permission of and as a compliment to the author, he had a beautiful
edition of twelve copies privately printed.

   "In 1851 Mr. DeRenne published, as his fourth Wormsloe quarto, the 'Diary of
Col. Winthrop Sargent, Adjutant General of the United States Army during the
Campaign of 1791.' Only such portion of the diary was printed as related to St.
Glair's expedition. Of these quartos but a very limited edition was printed, and
the copies were donated to famous libraries and placed in the hands of favored
friends. Of the first quarto there are only twenty-one copies; of the second,
forty-nine ; of the third, nineteen; and of the fourth, forty-six. They are all
remarkable specimens of typography and literary taste; and, in addition to the
historical value they possess, are highly esteemed because of their rarity.

   "Soon after the inception of the war Mr. DeRenne transferred his residence
from Wormsloe to the city of Savannah. The desolations consequent upon the
failure of the Confederate cause pressed sorely upon the coast region of our
state, sadly altering the conveniences of life, changing the whole theory of our
patriarchial civilization, and begetting isolation and solitude where formerly
existed inviting mansions,—the centres of sympathies and social life which in
their essential characteristics can never be revived.

   "His residence in Savannah,—the abode of the choicest hospitality, within
whose walls dwelt comfort, refinement and elegance most attractive,—could never
in his affections supplant the love he cherished for the old homestead on the
Isle of Hope. During the winter and spring, one day in each week he dedicated to
the sweet influences of Wormsloe, where secluded from the turmoil of busy life,
he surrendered himself to the contemplation of scenes and the revivification of
memories upon which time had placed its seal of consecration.

   “Of the public spirit which characterized Mr. DeRenne as a citizen of
Savannah,—the public spirit of a high-toned, independent gentleman solicitious
for the general welfare, yet courting neither personal advantage nor political
preferment,—of the sterling qualities which he exhibited in the business affairs
of life and in the administration of his ample fortune,—of the active and
intelligent interest he manifested in everything promotive of the material and
intellectual progress of the city,— of his many charities, unheralded at the
times of their dispensation, I may not speak. They are fresh in the recollection
of us all. Were he here he would tolerate no mention of them, and now that he is
gone, as his friend, I will do no violence to his known wishes.

   "I cannot refrain, however, from reminding you of two princely gifts which
will identify his memory with Savannah so long as human structures endure. I
refer to his munificent donation of a commodious and substantial building on
West Broad street to be used as a public school for the education of the
children of citizens of African descent, and to his presentation, to the Ladies'
Memorial Association, of that admirable bronze statue of a Confederate soldier
which surmounts the monument erected by fair hands in the military parade of
Savannah in honor of our Confederate dead.

  "A meeting of the Ladies' Memorial Association was held June 3d, 1879, at six
o 'clock, at the lecture room of the Independent Presbyterian church, when,
after the transaction of the usual routine of business, the following
communication from Mr. G. W. J. DeRenne was submitted by the president and
ordered to be read:
                                   "SAVANNAH, MAY 21, 1879. 

"To the President of the Ladies' Memorial Association, Savannah:

   " 'MADAM: In pursuance of the proposition made and accepted in April of last
year, I now present to the Ladies' Memorial Association a bronze statue of a
Confederate soldier.

   " 'It represents him as he was,—marked with the marks of service in features,
form and raiment;—a man who chose to be rather than to seem, to bear hardship
than to complain of it;—a man who met with unflinching firmness the fate decreed
him, to suffer, to fight and to die in vain.

   " 'I offer the statue as a tribute to the "MEN" of the Confederate army.
Without name or fame or hope of gain, they did the duty appointed them to do.
Now, their last fight fought, their suffering over, —they lie in scattered
graves throughout our wide Southern land, at rest at last, returned to the bosom
of the loved Mother they valiantly strove to defend.

   " 'According to your faith, believe that they may receive their reward in the
world to come:—they had none on earth.

   " 'With the expression of my profound respect for those women of the South
who, true to the dead, have sought to save their memory from perishing, I am,
madam,

                            Very respectfully, etc.,
                                           G. W. J. DE RENNE.'

   "The following resolutions were then offered and unanimously adopted by a
rising vote:

   " 'Whereas our fellow citizen, G. W. J. De Renne, has presented to this
association the bronze statue of a Confederate soldier now crowning the monument
erected in the military parade of this city to the memory of the soldiers who
perished for the cause they held more precious than life;

   “ ' Therefore, Resolved, that we, as members of this association,
individually and as a body, do hereby unanimously express our grateful
appreciation of this noble gift; recognizing its great merit not only as a work
of art, but as a signal ornament to our beloved city, and as a valued
contribution to the public sentiment worthy of the munificent and solemn purpose
of the donor.

   “ 'Resolved, that we do hereby accept this tribute with profound gratitude,
and, in the name of all who are true to these heroic dead, we reverently
consecrate it to the memory of the Confederate army who 'went down in silence.'

   " 'Resolved, that two copies of these proceedings be signed by each of the
officers of this association;—one copy to be presented to G. W. J. De Renne,
Esq., and the other to the Georgia Historical Society, with the request that it
may be placed for preservation in the archives of the society.

                                  HENRIETTA COHEN, President.
                                  S. C. WILLIAMSON, Treasurer. 
S. C. MANN, Secretary.'

   "Thus are the name, the generosity and the patriotism of G. W. J. De Renne
indissolubly linked with the holiest monument erected within the confines of the
monumental city:—a monument redolent of the prayers, the loves and the tears of
mother, wife, sister, daughter;—a monument crystallizing in towering and
symmetrical form the memories of the Confederate struggle for independence; a
monument standing as a spotless, imperishable, just tribute to our Confederate
dead.”


Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913


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