INTRODUCTION

This volume spans the years 1754 through 1756, essentially the period of John Reynolds’ administration as Governor of Georgia, and consists of Reynolds’ letters and reports to the Board of Trade in London. For these years the main developments in Georgia were the institution of royal government and the outbreak of war between England and France. The first of these events does not loom very large in this volume, but the second does.

In Reynolds’ initial letter to the Board of Trade, he showed himself to be prosaic and not very impressed with his colony or his job. This attitude continues throughout the volume. Reynolds described Savannah as an unimpressive town of about 150 small, rundown wooden buildings and indicated his fear that the French might wean Georgia’s Indian neighbors away from their friendship with the English. Reynolds at the same time reported he had already discovered that he could not live in Georgia in a manner befitting a governor on his salary of £600, so he asked for an increase.

Throughout the volume there are documents about silk culture, the operation of Georgia’s government, the troubles which soon developed between Reynolds and his council, land granting under both the Trustees and the new royal government, and the attempt to move the capital to Hardwick on the Altamaha River. The closely associated items of Indian relations and defense were the two most important problems from Reynolds’ viewpoint. He sent to England a long and detailed defense plan developed by Engineer John G. W. DeBrahm. The plan was obviously too expensive for Georgia or the home government to implement, but Reynolds never seemed to grasp this reality.

More than half of this volume is taken up with the Bosomworth Affair, the attempt of Thomas and Mary Bosomworth to secure compensation for Mary’s services as Indian interpreter and “agent” since the founding of the colony. The volume opens with documents on this problem continued from Volume 26 of this series. There is also Thomas Bosomworth’s main effort in the affair, a long “Narrative” of the case from the Bosomworth viewpoint, with numerous appendices and enclosures. It was transmitted to the Board of Trade by Reynolds for a decision in September, 1756. The Governor was more favorable to the Bosomworth claims than the President and Assistants under the Trustees had been. Much of this document seems not to have been used by historians who have written on the Bosomworths.

Where justice lay in the claims and counterclaims between the Bosomworths and authorities in Georgia is still hidden under this jumble of contradictory words. By far the most intriguing part of the entire controversy is the part played in it by Mary Bosomworth herself. Her husband Thomas wrote the letters, memorials, “Narrative,” and other papers presented to the authorities in Georgia and in England. Mary enters the controversy only through the writings of others, never in her own words. Hence her real feelings must remain an enigma to all who study this fascinating affair. The Bosomworth claims were not to be settled in the confines of this volume nor during the governorship of Reynolds. It was in Henry Ellis’ governorship–covered by volume 28, part 1–when the final decisions were reached.

Editorial Guidelines

The original volume division and internal arrangement created by Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, the original editors of this series, are retained. This will facilitate references in works already published which used these volumes in manuscript.

Original spellings are retained unless the meaning is not clear. A single word may be explained in brackets immediately after its appearance in the text. More lengthy explanations will be given in footnotes. Punctuation, often absent in eighteenth-century manuscripts, has been supplied for the sake of clarity, though many sentences are long by modern standards. All raised letters have been lowered, abbreviations that are not clear have been expanded, and slips of the pen have been corrected silently. No attempt at uniform spelling, even of proper names, has been attempted; rather the original text has been followed. For proper names a single most common spelling has been used in the index.

Each document is given a short introduction which contains the name of the writer and recipient, place written, date written, date received and/or read where indicated, Public Record Office location if available, and the topic or topics treated in the documents.