Matthew McAllister

He was born on May 4, 1758^[1] in York County, Pennsylvania,^[2] the 5th child of Colonel Robert McAllister who founded the town of Hanover, Pennsylvania.^[1] In 1784, after graduating from Princeton, he moved to Savannah, Georgia where he practiced law.^[2] In 1789, he was named by George Washington^[3] as the first United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia; he served until 1797 when he was replaced by Charles Jackson.^[2] He ran for Georgia's 1st congressional district in 1792 as a Federalist.^[4] He was linked to the Yazoo Land Fraud of 1795 and came under scathing criticism from the state's leading Republican, James Jackson which impacted his career.^[2] He later served in the Georgia Legislature^[2] and as mayor of Savannah from 1798 to 1799 and again during the War of 1812 from 1814 to 1815.^[5] He did not receive an appointment during Thomas Jefferson's administration (1801–1809).^[2]

He married Hannah Gibbons, sister of William Gibbons.^[1] They had two children, Harriet, who died in infancy, and Judge Matthew Hall McAllister.^[1] He died on May 9, 1823.^[1]