The Joel Early Chapter was named for Joel Early. He was born in Virginia around 1745 and served in the Revolutionary War as an officer in Virginia’s infantry.
Lt. Early was attached to Col. James Pendleton’s command which marched from Culpepper Courthouse to Williamsburg where his company was detached from the regiment and stationed along the York River to monitor the activities of the British. His group’s reports aided in the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.
Sometime after the war, Joel moved his family to Georgia, first to Wilkes County and later to Greene County, where he lived until his death in 1806.
One of Joel’s sons, Peter Early, served Georgia as state Senator, Judge of Superior Court, Governor, and Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Early County, Georgia was created in 1818 and named to honor the former Governor.
The Joel Early Chapter was chartered September 13, 2002 to serve the southwest corner of Georgia. We have members from most of the counties that were carved from the original Early County that was created in 1818. We also have some members or joint members from Houston County, Alabama and Jackson County, Florida which border our area.
The Joel Early Chapter meets at 6:00 PM on the third Saturday of each month except June and July. Our meetings are held at the Red Hill Center located at 2102 Ash Crossing Road, Iron City, Georgia.
For information, contact Steve Peace, President, peace1@windstream.net, 229-308-0055 or Neal Spooner, Registrar, nealspooner67@gmail.com, 229-774-2227.