John Fontaine
{{short description|American politician (1792–1866)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
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| name =John Fontaine
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| birth_date =1792
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| death_date =1866
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| occupation =Planter, politician
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| spouse =Mary Ann (Stewart) Fontaine
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John Fontaine (1792–1866) was an American plantation owner and politician. He served as the first Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, from 1836 to 1837. He defended Columbus during the Creek War of 1836.
Biography
=Early life=
John Fontaine was born in 1792.[http://hmfa.libs.uga.edu/hmfa/view?docId=ead/ms3011-ead.xml Fontaine family papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013212244/http://hmfa.libs.uga.edu/hmfa/view?docId=ead/ms3011-ead.xml |date=2014-10-13 }}, University of Georgia Libraries: Hargrett Rare Books & Manuscript Library
=Career=
He was a steamboat owner and cotton merchant.[http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/meta/html/dlg/zlna/meta_dlg_zlna_jft005.html Letter, 1836 May 22, Milledgeville, Geo[rgia to] John Fontaine, Columbus, Georgia / William Schley, Governor of Georgia], Digital Library of Georgia[http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa725.htm Artists for Hire in Antebellum Columbus: March 18 - June 24, 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728171102/http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa725.htm |date=July 28, 2016 }}, Traditional Fine Arts Association He was also a large plantation owner.Hubert H. McAlexander, 'Francis Fontaine (1945-1901)', in The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature , Hugh Ruppersburg (ed.), John C. Inscoe (ed.), Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2011, pp. 145-146 [https://books.google.com/books?id=JegLXYrq1bMC&pg=PA145]
He served as the first Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, from 1836 to 1837.[http://www.columbusga.org/mayor/mayors.pdf Mayors of Columbus, Georgia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829133653/http://www.columbusga.org/mayor/mayors.pdf |date=2012-08-29 }}[http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_ari_254295 John Fontaine, (painting)], Smithsonian InstitutionJohn T. Ellisor, The Second Creek War: Interethnic Conflict and Collusion on a Collapsing Frontier, Omaha, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2010, p. 200 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqsAQF2EBSIC&pg=PA200] He defended the town during the Creek War of 1836, with the help of Governor William Schley. He used Creek informants to spy and report on their planned attacks.
=Personal life=
He married Mary Ann (Stewart) Fontaine (1808–1852). They had six children:
- Henrietta Fontaine (1827–1857).
- Mary Elizabeth Fontaine (1835-unknown).
- Benjamin Bruton Fontaine (1838–1870).
- Theophilus Fontaine (1842–1896).
- Francis Fontaine (1844–1901).
- George H. Fontaine (1850–1904).
=Death=
Legacy
- His son, Francis Fontaine, who inherited and managed his plantations, became a newspaper editor, poet and novelist.
- His portrait, painted by Edward Ludlow Mooney (1813–1887), can be found at the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia.
References
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Category:Mayors of Columbus, Georgia
Category:19th-century American planters
Category:American slave owners
Category:19th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state)
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