John Early

John Early (September 15, 1757—July __, 1804) was a Virginia military officer, planter, businessman and politician who served six terms in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Franklin County, which he also represented in the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788, during which he voted against ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Early and family life The son of Jeremiah Early (1730- 1779) and his wife, the former Sarah Anderson (d. 1770), he had at least two brothers (Joseph and Jubal) and two sisters. Virginia not having public schools in this era, he received a private education appropriate for his class.

Planter and businessman

Shortly before Jeremiah Early died in 1779, he and his son-in-law (this man's brother-in-law) James Callaway (1736-1809)(a burgess and militia colonel who operated Oxford ironworks in nearby Campbell County, as well as the Chiswell lead mine to the southwest in what became Wythe County) purchased an ironworks from John Donelson who moved to Tennessee. The new owners renamed it Washington Iron Forge to honor the Patriot Commander-in-chief. Jeremiah Early bequeathed his share to this man and his two brothers. Although John Early soon sold his share to James Callaway, soon his brother Joseph died and bequeathed his share to his two remaining brothers, then Jubal Early died by 1793 (leaving his share to his infant sons Joab and Henry, for whom Col. Samuel Hairston became guardian. While John Early never operated the forge (which used enslaved labor), he retained that 1/6th ownership interest for the rest of his life.

Militia officer His participation in the Revolutionary War is unclear because of the common name in the family, though the Washington Iron Forge clearly assisted the patriot cause. This John Early clearly became a lieutenant in the Bedford County militia in 1783 and a captain the following year. Upon the creation of Franklin County in 1785, he retained that captain's rank. In August 1793, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel commandant, and held that rank at the time of his death. Early was also a presidential elector in 1792, when George Washington was unanimously re-elected President. Both men (perhaps following the lead of Patrick Henry) voted (unsuccessfully) against adoption of the federal Constitution. A cousin, Joel Early, represented Culpeper County in that convention and also unsuccessfully voted against adoption. That narrow adoption vote may have led James Madison to draft the Bill of Rights pursuant to an earlier document drafted by another prominent anti-Federalist, George Mason, the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

In December 1790, Early was one of the trustees charged with extending navigability of the Roanoke River to the forks of the Dan and Staunton Rivers. He also was a trustee of the short-lived town of Wisenburgh, one of two Franklin County towns which the legislature incorporated in 1792 (this one on land donated by Moses Grier).

Death and legacy Early died in early July 1804, although the exact date remains unknown, as is his final resting place in Franklin County. The ruins were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.