George Plater
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
George Plater (November 8, 1735– February 10, 1792) was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Saint Mary's County, Maryland. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780 and briefly served as Governor of Maryland in 1791 and 1792.
George was born on the family plantation of Sotterly, near Leonardtown, Maryland. His father (also George) had married Rebecca Addison Bowles, the the widow the plantation's founder in 1729. His early education was at home then he attended William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, graduating in 1752. He read law and was admitted to the bar.
Political Career
Plater was first elected to Maryland's colonial Assembly in 1758, and served many years in that body. He served on the Governor's Council in 1773 and 1774. As the Revolution neared, he represented St. Mary's County in the Annapolis Convention which became a revolutionary government. When the ninth convention met in August of 1776, Plater was on the committee which drafted Maryland's first Constitution.
Under the new constituion, George served in the Maryland State Senate from 1777 until 1790. Maryland sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1778 and he also served there in sessions through 1780.
When Maryland held a convention to consider the United States Constitution. Plater attended and was the president of the convention when they voted for ratification on April 28, 1788. The following year he served as a Presidential elector to help install George Washington as the first President.
In late 1791 Plater was elected as Governor, and was installed in December. But less than three months later he died in office.
Personal life
Plater was an active churchman who served twenty-eight years as a vestryman of the local St. Andrew's Episcopal Church that he had helped to found and build. He was married to Elizabeth Rousby and they had six children: Rebecca, George, John, Thomas, Edward, and Ann. Their son Thomas (1769-1830) would go on to represent Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.
When George died on February 10, 1792 in Annapolis, Maryland his body was returned home and buried at Sotterly. His home still stands on the banks of the Patuxent River in St. Mary's County. It is maintained and operated as a museum by a foundation created for that purpose. The property is on Route 245, just outside of Hollywood, Maryland and is open to visitors during the summer. (An entrance fee is charged).
External limks
- Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000377)
- Sotterly Plantation website (http://www.sotterley.com/)
| Preceded by: John Eager Howard | Governor of Maryland 1791—1792 | Succeeded by: James Brice |
