William Horton traveled from England to Georgia with General James Oglethorpe in 1735, paying his own passage on the ship Symond when many others did not. In return, he received 500 acres, on the condition that he bring 10 indentured servants, one for every 50 acres, and have 20 percent of the land in cultivation within 10 years of settling in the new colony. Considered an "adventurer," he left behind a wife and two young sons in England, and nearly five years passed before he could return for them and bring his family to his farm on Jekyll Island. When Horton first arrived on Jekyll Island in 1736, the place was extremely isolated; he became the first European to occupy the land and established the first sustainable farm there. His nearest neighbors were at Frederica on St. Simons Island, which connected him to civilization and was also the site of Fort Frederica, where Horton became a Major in the British Army and second in command of the settlement under General James Oglethorpe.
