Abraham Baldwin was born in 1754, at North Guilford, Connecticut; he was the second son of Lucy Dudley and Michael Baldwin. This was large New England family with eleven siblings by two wives. As a child Baldwin attended a school in a local village, obviously bright and mathematically bent. His father, a blacksmith desired to see his children educated, and to that end, he borrowed money to send his son Abraham, to Yale College, later known as Yale University.

Baldwin studied theology and intended a career as a minister. He graduated from Yale in 1772; he was a tutor until 1779, when he became a chaplain in the Revolutionary army. It was during his service in the army that he realized that political steps had to be taken in order to secure the future of this burgeoning nation. He made a decision not to return to the pulpit but pursue law; and was admitted to the Bar in Connecticut. In 1784, Baldwin moved to Augusta Georgia, where he began his law practice and soon found himself with a political career.

No sooner had Mr. Baldwin moved, that he received an offer from Yale College as professor of divinity. He turned down that prestigious office, but Georgia governor Lyman Hall persuaded Abraham to accept the task of creating and develop an educational plan for both the secondary and higher education in the state. This call fitted well the heart and mind of Baldwin, for he believed that education was “the key” to improve a frontier state such as Georgia.

Abraham used his new position as a Georgia state representative to develop an educational plan that was comprehensive and, which included land grants to help fund Franklin College (today known as University of Georgia) in Athens, Georgia. The institution was approved in 1785 with Baldwin serving as president of the school during its planning phase that lasted from 1786 through 1801. The architecture of Franklin was after the manner of Baldwin’s alma mater, Yale. Franklin College opened the doors to students in 1801.

Abraham Baldwin in 1785 was also elected to the Confederation congress; two years later in 1787, he was honored to serve at the constitutional convention; all of this while simultaneously holding onto his seat in the Georgia Assembly until 1789.  Beginning in 1789, Baldwin represented Georgia in five consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1789-99) followed by two consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate (1799-1807), and again was honored as he served as president pro tem for a short term.

Although Abraham Baldwin never married, he assumed the role of father, providing home, education and all the needs of six of his younger half- brothers and sisters, after his father’s death. But, his generosity did not end there, for he helped many a young person with funds for education and to establish them in business.

Abraham Baldwin died in 1807, buried in Washington's Rock Creek Cemetery. Truly, a Founding Father of this nation, a Christian, a minister, an educator, a politician beyond reproach, an honorable man was he.