John Milton (Georgia politician)

John Milton (c. 1740/1757–1817) was a Revolutionary War officer from a family of settlers in North Carolina who became a Colonial-era political figure that played a prominent role in the establishment and growth of the state of Georgia. 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 U.S. Constitution.

Milton was born in Halifax County, North Carolina. He joined the Continental Army as an ensign in the 1st Georgia Regiment, Jan. 7, 1776; was promoted 1st lieutenant; and was taken prisoner at Fort Howe, Georgia, in February, 1777, with Lieut. William Caldwell, on the surrender of that place, held as a hostage, and imprisoned in the castle at St. Augustine, Florida, until November, 1777. He was promoted captain, Sept. 15, 1777, and on his release returned to the army and served until the end of the war, retiring Sept. 15, 1782. He was secretary of the state of Georgia in 1777, 1781–83 and 1789, and on Dec. 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 a charter member of the (Georgia) Society of the Cincinnati, serving as the constituent society's first secretary. He was also one of the first mayors of Augusta, Georgia. John married Hannah E. Spencer, and of their children, Gen. Homer Virgil Milton (q.v.), was an officer in the War of 1812. His grandson, also named John Milton, served as the Governor of Florida during the Civil War. John Milton's great-great grandson was William Hall Milton, United States Senator from Florida.