Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 2875due deliberation he accepted this position-, of which he has since continued theincumbent. Upon leaving Georgia he was tendered a remarkable farewellbanquet in Atlanta, on the 9th of November, 1907, and on this occasion weregathered together hundreds of the distinguished and representative men ofthe state, one of =the number having afterward said, "It is worth a thousandyears of'noble living to have had one night of love and honor like that."HON. FRANCIS WILLIS DART. Prominently placed on the roster of Southern Georgia's able jurists and attorneys is found the name of Hon. FrancisWillis Dart, .who has gained distinctive preferment among the members ofthe legal profession in his section. A man of marked analytical power, strongintellectual vigor and keen judicious mind, he has not only won his way to aposition among the foremost practitioners of Douglas, and of Coffee County,but has likewise attained a strong place in the confidence of the people whohave watched his advancement and progress during twenty-two years.Judge Dart was born at Brunswick, Georgia, April 21, 1869, and is a sonof Francis Miller and Mary A. (Hall) Dart. The Darts are of Englishorigin, and Judge Dart is a direct descendant of Dr. Cyrus Dart, a Revolutionary soldier, who was born in 1764. This patriot enlisted from Connecticut, where he then resided, April 1, 1782, in Captain Stillwell's Company, First Connecticut Regiment, commanded at various times by Col. JohnDurkee, Lieut.-Col. Thomas Grosvenor and Col. Zebulon Butler, joined hisregiment May 14, 1782, and served eleven months, receiving his honorable discharge April 17, 1783. After the close of the Avar he settled in CamdenCounty, Georgia, where for a number of years he practiced the profession ofmedicine in and about Coleraine. On May 7, 1796, he intermarried withAnn Harris, who was born at Frederica, Georgia, April 24, 1771. He wasdrowned by the capsizing of a boat off the coast of St. Simon's Island, Georgia,June 29, 1817. One of his sons, the grandfather of Judge Dart, Urbanus Dart,and who was born at Coleraine, Georgia, November 29, 1800, narrowly escapeddeath in the accident in which his father lost his life, and in later years becamea prominent planter and the owner of many slaves, besides taking a prominentpart in the political affairs of his county and section. On May 5, 1836, he married Eliza Rebecca Moore, a native of Glynn County, Georgia. He died inBrunswick, Georgia, in 1882, survived by his widow and a large family ofchildren, his widow dying in April, 1889.Francis Miller Dart was born in Glynn County, Georgia, October 17, 1838,was there reared on his father's plantation, and educated at Glynn Academy,one of the oldest chartered schools in Georgia, and was twenty-three years ofage when he left home to give his services as a soldier to the Confederacy.He enlisted in Company A (Brunswick Riflemen), Twenty-Sixth GeorgiaInfantry, and served in the Army of Northern Virginia until wounded inthe Battle of Fisher's Hill. After partially recovering from his wound, hewas granted a furlough, and, after further recuperating, he was on his wayback to join his command when the end of the war came with the surrenderof General Lee. Following the war he engaged in mercantile pursuits atBrunswick, Georgia, and continued to be engaged therein for many years.He is now living a quiet, retired life, at Douglas, Georgia. Mr. Dart married Miss Mary A. Hall, who was born in Telfair County, Georgia, February6, 1841, the daughter of Rev. Willis Hall, born June 11, 1812-, a native of thatcounty and for many years a Methodist preacher, and Margaret K. (Wilson)Hall, also of Telfair County, born July 1, 1819. Mrs. Dart died at Brunswick, Georgia, August 6, 1889, aged forty-eight years, firm in the faith of theMethodist Church. There were three children in the family: Evelyn, who isthe wife of J. L. Shelton, cashier of The Union Banking Company, of Douglas; Miss May, who resides at Douglas; and Francis Willis. The family is