John T. Grant was a Georgia capitalist and railroad builder.
Background
John Thomas Grant was descended from Daniel Grant. He was born in Virginia in 1716 of Scotch progenitors, who moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, after the Revolution. That county had but recently been laid off and was on the frontier.
Daniel Grant is said to have erected there the first Methodist Church in Georgia and the first school-house in the county. That he was an unusual man, far in advance of his fellow citizens, is indicated by the fact that he emancipated his slaves.
His grandson, Daniel, married Lucy Crutchfield and settled in Greene County, where their son, John Thomas Grant, was born on December 13, 1813.
Education
When John was a lad the family removed to Athens, Clarke County, so that the boy might be educated at the University of Georgia. His course was completed in 1833.
Career
In 1844, Grant moved to Walton County, where he acquired a huge tract of land and developed one of the greatest plantations in antebellum Georgia. He owned 2, 000 acres and more than a hundred slaves.
His career, however, was rather that of a builder and promoter than a planter. He correctly visualized the future importance of railroads, threw himself with great energy into the new industry, and executed large building contracts for railways in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.
When his work was interrupted by the Civil War, he became an aide with the rank of colonel on the staff of his friend, Gen. Howell Cobb.
At the close of hostilities, Grant and his son, William D. Grant, who had been a captain in the Confederate army, moved to Atlanta, where they became prominent among the business men who made that city an important commercial, financial, and manufacturing center.
The Grants resumed the work of railroad building and became large holders of real estate in the city.
He died in Atlanta in his seventy-fourth year.
Achievements
Religion
Grant was a member of the Presbyterian Church and his purse was always open to worthy causes.
Politics
Grant never entered politics, except to serve one term (1856) in the state Senate as a senator from Walton County.
Personality
Grant was a man of culture, a talented musician, and a patron of literature and the arts.
Connections
In 1834, Grant was married to Martha Cobb Jackson, a grand-daughter of Gov. James Jackson.