Garth, Charles, approximately 1734-1784

Charles Garth (ca.1734-1784) was born to Rebecca Brompton and John Garth, in Devizes, England. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford, and was called into the bar at Inner Temple in 1758. Garth was the British agent for South Carolina (1762-1766) and also briefly represented Georgia (1765) and Maryland (1767). During his time as parliamentary agent, Garth argued, on behalf of the colony, for broader trading freedoms (specifically for exporting rice), for greater control over domestic paper currency, and against the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act. Garth succeeded his father as M.P. for Devizes and was elected to parliament in 1768, 1774, and 1780, though he left parliament to become the HM Commissioner for Excise shortly after the 1780 election. Garth married Francis "Fanny" Cooper of Cumberwell in 1764. They had at least one child named Thomas, who joined the Royal Navy. Charles Garth died in Walthamstow, England, in 1784.

Sir James Wright (1716-1785) was born in London, England, to Robert Wright and Isabella Pitts. His family moved to Charlestown, South Carolina, in 1730, where Wright studied law. In 1739, Wright became the colony's attorney-general. In 1757, he was sent to London to serve as South Carolina's agent to parliament, a position he held until 1760, at which time he replaced Henry Ellis as lieutenant-governor of Georgia. He became governor of Georgia in 1761, and served in that position for 21 years. During the Revolutionary War, Wright was forced to return to England. He died in London in 1785.

From the guide to the Charles Garth letterbook, Garth, Charles letterbook, 1758-1760, 1762-1766, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)