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Soperton/Treutlen...A
New County Continued
Neil Gillis, Sr., thus
earned the name "Father of Treutlen County."
His sons, Neil Gillis, Jr., and James L. Gillis, Sr.,
were also credited with helping to establish Treutlen
County. Jim L. Gillis Sr. went on to become active
in Georgia politics, and today Interstate 16, connecting
Macon and Savannah, bears his name because of his
longtime service as director of the Highway Department
in Georgia. Both of Jim L. Gillis, Sr.'s sons have
served the community through politics. Jim L.Gillis,
Jr. served as county commissioner for ... years, while
Hugh Gillis, Sr., is in his ... term of office as
senator in the Georgia General Assembly.
The naming of Treutlen
County has an interesting story behind it. The new
county was named for Governor John Adam Treutlen,
who was the first governor of Georgia elected by the
people under the state's first constitution. Treutlen
and his family came to Georgia fleeing religious persecution
in Austria when he was just six years old. They settled
in Effingham County. Treutlen became governor for
a short term in 1777. The county was named for him
in a political maneuver to gain the support of an
Effingham County legislator whose vote was needed
to pass the amendment.
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