What's In A Name Part 1: From Monarchy to Independence

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This story originally appeared in Discover Downtown Brunswick, a publication of The Brunswick News, in the August 2023 edition.

King George II, circa 1750
by John Shackleton
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the names of places in the Golden Isles.  Part is just pure curiosity on my part, but as I learn more about some of the names we pass between each other for directions or location each day, the more I see the interconnections between them.  I give to you here part of what I think will be a multi-part series.  Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Fort Frederica – 1736. Named for King George II's eldest son, Fort Frederica (1736) takes its name from Prince Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne.  Frederick's wife Princess Augusta was also honored when General James Oglethorpe named the outpost of Augusta, Georgia for her.  Frederick died at 44 years old and never became king, but his son became King George III in 1760, the last king to rule over the American colonies.  


Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales,
1736 by Philippe Mercier

Speaking of George III (any Hamilton fans out there?), Brunswick takes its name from George III's ancestral birthplace. Between its earliest years from 1738 to 1771, the area that is now old town Brunswick was known as Plug Point, a tobacco farm established by Captain Mark Carr.  In 1771, the Royal Province of Georgia (also named for George II by General Oglethorpe) purchased Plug Point and renamed it Brunswick in honor of the king's ancestral home of Braunschweig, Germany.   

 

The newly established town's two largest squares also bear the names of nobility.  Hanover Square was named for the King's lineage, the House of Hanover.  The Hanovers were of German origin and ruled parts of Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times from the 17th through the 20th centuries. King George II himself remained the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg until his death in 1760.  The current head of the House of Hanover is Prince Ernst August of Hanover.


Sir James Wright, by Andrea Soldi
Hanover's twin square to the west is Wright Square, which took its name from Sir James Wright (1716-1785), a colonial lawyer and jurist who was the last British Royal Governor of the Province of Georgia. He was the only Royal Governor of the Thirteen Colonies to regain control of his colony during the American Revolutionary War. 

 

Prior to 1777, the former colonies were subdivided into parishes. In that year, Saint David's Parish, Saint James Parish, and Saint Patrick's Parish were united into the newly formed Glynn County.  It was named for John Glynn (1722-1779), a member of British Parliament who had supported America's struggle for independence.

Portrait of John Glynn, 1769 by
Richard Houston
 

In July of 1771, the Glynn’s Society of Gentlemen Supporters of the Bill of Rights published a manifesto calling for the "full and equal representation of the people", the abolition of all excise taxes and for American colonies not to be taxed without consent.

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