Button Gwinnett
(1735-1777)

signatory of the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and President of Georgia (1777)

Died aged c. 42

Button Gwinnett (March 3, 1735 – May 19, 1777) was a British-born American Founding Father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of the signers (first signature on the left) of the United States Declaration of Independence. He was also, briefly, the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, and Gwinnett County (now a major suburb of metropolitan Atlanta) was named for him. He was named in honor of his mother’s cousin, Barbara Button, who became his godmother. Gwinnett was killed in a duel by rival Lachlan McIntosh following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida.

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Commemorated on 2 plaques

Button Gwinnett 1735-1777 married in St. Peter's Church 1757 Signer of the Declaration of Independence 4th July 1776 President of Georgia 1777

St. Peter's House, Exchange Street, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom where they was

Button Gwinnett. In this, Saint John's Parish, (now Liberty County), lived Button Gwinnett, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, Speaker of the Assembly, and President of the Executive Council. He also was a member of the Convention that met in Savannah in October, 1776, in which he played a prominent part in drafting the first Constitution of the State of Georgia. Born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1735, son of a Church of England vicar, Button Gwinnett came to Georgia in 1765 and acquired a store in Savannah. He shortly purchased St. Catherines Island in this parish. He moved to the island at once and engaged in farming and cattle raising. His business was transacted in Sunbury, then a thriving port. On May 16, 1777, Mr. Gwinnett was mortally wounded in a duel fought on the outskirts of Savannah with Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, dying on May 19. Mr. Gwinnett's grave is supposedly in Savannah, but its exact location is unknown and unmarked. One of his rare autographs sold for over $50,000. 089-2 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1954

U.S. 17 at Midway Church, Midway, GA, United States where they lived