Background
Milton was born in Halifax County, North Carolina.
Milton was born in Halifax County, North Carolina.
Milton was the Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799. Milton is the grandfather of Florida governor John Milton and was the recipient of the votes of two Georgia electors in the first presidential election. Milton was one of Georgia"s five Presidential electors in 1789.
John Milton was a signer to Georgia"s ratification of the United States. Constitution.
He joined the Continental Army as an ensign in the 1st Georgia Regiment, January 7, 1776; was promoted 1st lieutenant.
And was taken prisoner at Fort Howe, Georgia, in February, 1777, with Lieutenant William Caldwell, on the surrender of that place, held as a hostage, and imprisoned in the castle at Saint Augustine, Florida, until November, 1777.
He was promoted captain, September
15, 1777, and on his release returned to the army and served until the end of the war, retiring September 15, 1782. He was secretary of the state of Georgia in 1777, 1781-1783 and 1789, and on December 6, 1778, at the approach of the British, removed the public records to Perrysburg by order of the governor.
He engaged in planting after the war, and his adopted home state showed its gratitude to Milton"s service with the electoral votes for John Milton in the historic first presidential election.
He was also one of the first mayors of Augusta, Georgia. Homer Virgil Milton (qv), was an officer in the War of 1812.
John Milton"s great-great grandson was William Hall Milton, United States Senator from Florida. Milton"s legacy as a Georgia founding father led to the naming of a county after him.
Milton County, Georgia was named for John Milton.
The county was formed in 1857. Milton County, with a population of 6,730 in 1930, merged with Fulton County on January 1, 1932, through an act of the state legislature. There has been significant activity in reviving Milton County by dividing portions of Fulton County.
John Milton has recently been honored again by the formation of a new municipality in Georgia.
The City of Milton, Georgia was formed by a law signed by Governor Sonny Purdue. The City of Milton boasts of its patron in its founding: "Named after Revolutionary War Hero John Milton, the City of Milton is a part of Fulton County with County Commission representation.".
He was a charter member of the (Georgia) Society of the Cincinnati, serving as the constituent society"s first secretary.