Benjamin Whitaker (surveyor general) explained

Benjamin Whitaker was surveyor general for the Province of South Carolina.^[1] He was initially deputy surveyor (under James St. John),^[2] but rose to attorney general (1721–1731),^[3] judge of the court of vice-admiralty (1727–1732 and 1732–1736),^[4] speaker of the assembly (1742–1744)^[5] and chief justice (1739–1749).^{[6] [7]} He was removed from the role of chief justice for "being paralytic".^[8]

He was regarded as one of the best lawyers of his time.^{[9] [10]}

Whitaker Street in Savannah, Georgia, is now named for him.^[11]

Personal life

On May 20, 1719, Whitaker married Sarah Godfrey, daughter of Captain John Godfrey.^[12] She died on December 29, 1747, and was interred in St. Philip's Church Episcopal Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: South Carolina: Early Surveying History . 2024-02-18 . www.surveyhistory.org.
2. Book: Migliazzo, Arlin C. . To Make this Land Our Own: Community, Identity, and Cultural Adaptation in Purrysburg Township, South Carolina, 1732-1865 . 2007 . Univ of South Carolina Press . 978-1-57003-682-8 . 56 . en.
3. Book: Smith, William Roy . South Carolina as a Royal Province, 1710-1776 . 1903 . Macmillan . 412 . en.
4. Book: Smith, William Roy . South Carolina as a Royal Province, 1719-1776 . 1903 . Macmillan . 414 . en.
5. Book: Smith, William Roy . South Carolina as a Royal Province, 1719-1776 . 1903 . Macmillan . 415 . en.
6. Book: HAMBURGER, Philip . Law and Judicial Duty . 2009-06-30 . Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-03819-6 . 270 . en.
7. Book: Smith, William Roy . South Carolina as a Royal Province, 1719-1776 . 1903 . Macmillan . 413 . en.
8. Book: The Statutes at Large of South Carolina . 1836 . A.S. Johnston . 439 . en.
9. Book: Osgood, Herbert Levi . The American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century . 1925 . Columbia University Press . 119 . en.
10. Book: Witzig, Fred E. . Sanctifying Slavery and Politics in South Carolina: The Life of the Reverend Alexander Garden, 1685-1756 . 2018-04-30 . Univ of South Carolina Press . 978-1-61117-846-3 . en.
11. Book: Cope, Tony . It's Not That Lincoln . The Abercorn Press . 2016.
12. Book: South Carolina Historical and Geneaological Magazine . 1914 . South Carolina Historical Society. . 57 . en.
13. Book: DALCHO, Frederick . An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in South Carolina, from the first settlement of the province, to the war of the Revolution . 1820 . E. Thayer . 125 . en.