Few, William, 1748-1828

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>11/04/1794 GA US Senate Lost 5.88% (-64.71%)</li>
<li>10/06/1794 GA-At Large Lost 0.01% (-20.42%)</li>
<li>11/04/1792 GA US Senate Lost 12.20% (-73.17%)</li>
<li>01/04/1789 GA US Senate Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1787 GA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1785 GA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1781 GA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1780 GA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1779 GA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>William Few Jr. (June 8, 1748 – July 16, 1828) was a farmer, a businessman, and a Founding Father of the United States. Few represented the U.S. state of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention and signed the U.S. Constitution. Few and James Gunn were the first Senators from Georgia.</p>

<p>Born into a poor yeoman farming family, Few achieved both social prominence and political power later in life. Exhibiting those characteristics of self-reliance vital for survival on the American frontier, he became an intimate of the nation's political and military elite. The idea of a rude frontiersman providing the democratic leaven within an association of the rich and powerful has always excited the American imagination, nurtured on stories of Davy Crockett. In the case of the self-educated Few, that image was largely accurate.</p>

<p>Few's inherent gifts for leadership and organization, as well as his sense of public service, were brought out by his experience in the American Revolutionary War. Important in any theater of military operations, leadership and organizational ability were particularly needed in the campaigns in the south where a dangerous and protracted struggle against a determined British invader intimately touched the lives of many settlers. Few's dedication to the common good and his natural military acumen quickly brought him to the attention of the leaders of the Patriot cause, who eventually invested him with important political responsibilities as well.</p>

<p>The war profoundly affected Few's attitude toward the political future of the new nation, transforming the rugged frontier individualist into a forceful exponent of a permanent union of the states. Men of his stripe came to realize during the years of military conflict that the rights of the individual, so jealously prized on the frontier, could be nurtured and protected only by a strong central government accountable to the people. This belief became the hallmark of his long public service.</p>

FEW, William, a Delegate and a Senator from Georgia; born near Baltimore, Md., June 8, 1748; moved with his parents to Orange County, N.C., in 1758; completed preparatory studies; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Augusta, Ga., in 1776; member, State house of representatives 1777, 1779, 1783, 1793; member of the State executive council in 1777 and 1778; engaged in the expedition for the subjugation of east Florida in 1778; presiding judge of the Richmond County court and surveyor general in 1778; served as lieutenant colonel of the Richmond County Militia in 1779; Member of the Continental Congress 1780-1782 and 1786-1788; original trustee for establishing the University of Georgia in 1785; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and one of the signers of the Constitution; delegate to the Georgia convention that ratified the Federal Constitution in 1788; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1795; judge of the circuit court of Georgia 1794-1797; moved to New York City in 1799; member, State assembly 1802-1805; State prison inspector 1802-1810; United States Commissioner of Loans 1804; director of the Manhattan Bank 1804-1814, and president in 1814; served as alderman 1813-1814; died in Fishkill, N.Y., July 16, 1828; interment in Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery, Beacon, Dutchess County, N.Y.