Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

The University of Georgia

September 24

1735 In London, the Trustees designated James Oglethorpe as Commissioner of Indian Affairs with sole power to grant licenses to trade with the Indians. The Trustees also named Charles Wesley as Secretary of Indian Affairs.

1889 In Decatur, Ga., the Decatur Female Seminary opened in a rented three-story house that faced the Georgia Railroad. The initial student body consisted of 60 young women, 3 of whom were boarders. The next year, Col. George Scott offered to fund a permanent home for the seminary. In 1891, in recognition of Scott's $112,500 cash gift, the Presbyterian Synod of Georgia renamed the seminary in honor of Scott's mother -- Agnes Scott.

1919 Doctor, politician, and minister William Harrell Felton died in Cartersville, Georgia. Born in Lexington on June 19, 1823, he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1842 and the Medical College of Georgia in 1844. Felton opened a medical practice in Cartersville in 1847 but soon gave up medicine because of nerves and took up farming. In 1848, he became a Methodist minister, volunteering his services for the next half century. Felton's first wife died in 1851, and he married Rebecca Latimer two years later. Also in 1851, he was elected to the General Assembly, where he served in the House for one term. During the Civil War, Felton volunteered as a surgeon in Macon. In 1874, he successfully ran Congress as an Independent Democrat. Felton served three terms but lost a reelection bid in 1880. In 1884, he was elected to the Georgia House from Bartow County and served three terms. Also, from 1886 to 1892, Felton served as a trustee of the University of Georgia.

1976 Jimmy Carter left Philadelphia the morning after his first debate with President Gerald Ford. Carter flew to Houston, Texas to resume his campaign. Polls indicated most viewers had been bored with the debate, thinking the candidates had merely repeated campaign speeches. Carter frankly agreed, saying he didn't believe the debate changed anyone's mind about how they would vote. He promised to be "aggressive and more relaxed" in the next debate.

1997 Atlanta-based Value Jet Airways changed its name to AirTran, also changing its logo and the color of its airplanes.

1997 Singer Brenda Lee was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. Born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Grady Hospital on Dec. 11, 1944, she grew up in Lithonia. By age 5, she was a regular singer at her grandfather's church. By age 16, she was a popular music sensation with such million-sellers as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Sweet Nothings," and "I'm Sorry." By age 30, Lee had switched to country music and was living in Nashville. However, even today, she considers Georgia her home.

1997 Monticello, Georgia's Trisha Yearwood was awarded the Female Vocal Entertainer of the Year by the County Music Association at its annual awards ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.

2004 The Atlanta Braves defeated the Florida Marlins 8-7 to clinch their major league record setting thirteenth consecutive division championship.

2009 It was officially anounced that the College Football Hall of Fame would be moving to Atlanta from South Bend, IN.

Georgia cities and towns incorporated by acts approved on Sept. 24:

1883 Bronwood (Terrell County), East Rome (Floyd County), and Talking Rock (Pickens County)

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1735 The Trustees' appointment of Charles Wesley as Secretary of Indian Affairs apparently had a double purpose. As the Earl of Egmont noted in his diary:

"He [Charles Wesley] being a very religious man and good scholar, will take orders, and occasionally officiate in the church till we can get a settled minister in our new Colony."

U.K. Historical Manuscripts Commission, Diary of the First Earl of Egmont (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1923), Vol. 2, p. 196.

1797 Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins kept detailed records of the transactions between Americans and the Indians under his charge. This day's entry shows how he kept up with vital information regarding settlements and Spanish involvement on the frontier:

"James Denley, Hiram Monger, and Alex Megrew, of Tombigbee, exhibited passes from the Commandant of Fort St. Stephens, on the Tombigbee, to go to A los Estados D'America. I signed the passes to go through the Creek country. Mr. Denley thinks there are 40 men settled on the right bank of the Tombigbee, and about 60 men on the Tensaw, on the left bank of the Alabama, and hold their rights to their lands from Spain."

Source: Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. IX, Letters of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1806 (Savannah: Georgia Historical Society, 1916), p. 201.