USA > Georgia > Fulton County > Atlanta > History of Atlanta, Georgia : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5
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The Knights of Labor are represented by the following assemblies in At- lanta : Atlanta Assembly No. 2516; Belmont Assembly ; Cotton Operative's Assembly No. 4455 ; District Assembly No. 105 ; Enterprise Assembly No. 3209; Eureka Assembly 3854; Friendship Assembly; Fulton Assembly No. 2992 ; Gibralter Assembly No. 4 335 ; Oglethorpe Assembly ; Peters Street Assembly ; Piedmont Assembly No. 5778; Rising Star Assembly.
The locomotive engineers and firemen are represented by two labor organ- izations, Division No. 207 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and At- lanta Division No. 247 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. The other organizations in the interest of labor are the order of Railway Conductors and Atlanta Typographical Union No. 48. The other secret societies which have branches in Atlanta are the Catholic Knights of America, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor, Knights of the Golden Rule, Royal Arcanum, Atlanta Turn Verein, Red Men and Ameri- can Legions of Honor.
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
In the cities of the South prior to the war there was never such a demand for benevolence and charity on account of destitution as in the northern and eastern sections of the country. The absence of beggary was a noted fact till war and its devastation brought their changes. Organized public charities therefore have been of comparatively recent origin. But the poor and the suffering have always been properly taken care of in Atlanta, and the humani- tarian and philanthropic labors of its citizens have always been conducted on the most generous scale.
Hibernian Benevolent Association .- This association was organized as the Hibernian Society, under the presidency of B. T. Lamb, in 1858. In August, 1863, it was reorganized as the Hibernian Benevolent Association with B. T. Lamb, president ; M. Mahoney, treasurer, and Joseph Gatens, secretary. Its officers in 1869 were John H. Lynch, president ; Timothy Burke, vice-presi- dent; Owen Lynch, treasurer, and William Dowling, secretary. The general object of the association is to promote friendly intercourse, and to advance the temporal welfare of its members and their families. The present officers are : T. Burke, president ; William M. Dowling, vice-president; Thomas Nunan, secretary, and James Weich, treasurer.
Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society was chartered in 1870, and has been the means of accomplishing much good among poor Jewish families. In 1878 its officers were : Mrs. J. T. Eichberg, president ; Mrs. D. Rich, secretary ; Mrs. L. Lieberman, vice-president. The organization is still maintained, and is an efficient factor in the benevolent work of Atlanta.
Atlanta Benevolent Association .- In January, 1874, through the active efforts of Mrs. . W. H. Tuller and Mrs. J. A. Hayden and others, was organized this association. The object at that time was to provide a temporary " home for destitute and helpless women and children." For a time the ladies carried on this benevolent work on a comparatively small scale. After most persist- ent effort they succeeded in raising $4,000, with which they purchased a build- ing on East Alabama street, where they greatly enlarged their sphere of operation. In March, 1881, they turned over their property and the entire management of the institution to a board of trustees, composed of Henry H. Tucker, president; John Milledge, vice-president ; H. Cranston, secretary ; David Mayer, treasurer ; John H. Fitten, G. T. Dodd, S. M. Inman, and John Flynn. The property purchased in 1881 has since been sold, and a building,. No. SI Waverly Place, has been secured. The principal object of the associ- ation is to provide a home for the aged and infirm, and in this direction much good has been accomplished. The present officers are H. H. Tucker, presi- dent ; John Milledge, vice-president, and Mrs. Mary Irby, matron.
Besides the associations and societies named, which are engaged in benevo- lent and charitable work, there are innumerable smaller organizations devoted to the same object. Connected with every church or religious denomination
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SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
are one or more similar bodies, devoted to the work of providing for the sick and destitute of their own church or society.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was organized in 1876, by Miss Louise King, of Augusta, aided by Mrs. George R. Black. Under its operation several prosecutions which have occurred have led to im- proved treatment of dumb brutes. Through the efforts of the society, several drinking fountains have been erected through the city, the largest one being the present of the late Hon. John P. King.
Young Mens' Library Association .- During July and August, 1867, about a dozen young men of Atlanta, especially active among whom were D. G. Jones, E. Y. Clarke, Henry Jackson and W. H. Parkins, met with the view of organizing a library association. On August 12 a constitution was adopted which declared the name of the association should be "The Young Men's Library Association of Atlanta," and that its purpose should be "to facilitate mutual intercourse, extend our information on subjects of general utility, pro- mote a spirit of useful inquiry and qualify ourselves to discharge properly the duties incumbent upon us in our various professions and pursuits," and in fur- therance of these objects, to " collect a library, establish a reading-room, and organize a system of instruction by lectures." At the next meeting the consti- tution was signed by forty-seven members. The following board of directors for the first year was then elected: Henry Jackson, president; Darwin G. Jones, vice-president ; C. P. Freeman, secretary ; W. D. Luckie, treasurer ; E. Y. Clarke, A. R. Watson, H. G. Phillips, E. B. Pond, Albert Hape, F. O. Reidy, W. M. Williams, J. R. Barrick, and L. H. Orme, directors. Two rooms were secured in the Granite Block on Broad street, owned by L. W. Lee, and these were used until the new library building was completed in 1880. The first donation to the library consisted of " Appleton's Cyclopedia," and was made by Colonel L. P. Grant, a gentleman who has ever since ex- tended generous aid to the association, and was justly elected its first honorary member. For the first year the struggle for existence was a hard one, and taxed to the utmost the exertion of the managers. But it grew gradually, however, into popular favor, and in December, 1869, the number of volumes had reached eight hundred, besides being well supplied with daily newspapers and the current literary monthlies. Each succeeding year the association con- tinued to increase in membership and power for usefulness. In 1871 it had four hundred members and more than two thousand volumes.
In 1880 the present building occupied by the association on Decatur street, was dedicated. At that time the number of members exceeded eight hundred, and some ten thousand volumes were upon its shelves. The present member- ship is six hundred; number of volumes twelve thousand. The officers of the association are, Howard Van Epps, president; A. H. Cox, vice-president ; George B. Forbes, secretary ; B. M. Fowler, assistant secretary ; W. T. Turn- bull, treasurer, and Miss L. A. Field, librarian.
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
The Catholic Library Association was organized in 1877. Its first officer. were J. F. Burke, president ; R. D. Spalding, vice-president ; A. C. Ford, treas- urer ; John M. Graham, secretary, and John H. Flynn, E. Van Goidsnoven, P. J. Moran, W. B. Cox, John Stevens, M. H. Dooley, John Doonan, and Joseph Gatens, directors. The object of the association is the dissemination of Catlı- olic literature and knowledge generally. Library rooms are located on the southwest corner of Loyd and Hunter street. The present officers are, J. J. Doonan, president ; P. A. Lynch, secretary ; J. J. Lynch, treasurer, and A. Bolsius, librarian.
Union Hall and Library Association was organized in July, 1884, and has quarters at 492 South Broad street. Its officers are : J. Taylor Cooper, pres- ident ; S. H. Shaw, librarian ; M. T. LaHatte, secretary, and J. O. Perkins, treasurer.
Musical Societies and Associations .- It was not long after the war before the attention of those who had been foremost in musical circles before the war began to be directed to their favorite art. There was also new talent in the city, among the first of the new teachers and professors being Professor Carl Harmsen, a wonderful and gifted pianist. His specialty was music of a high grade; he, however, remained here but a few years, being compelled to go away on account of ill health. From 1868 to 1878 Atlanta was quite promi- nent as a musical center. The first musical organization after the war was the Beethoven Society, which was organized in 1871. This society flourished for a number of years, was a part of the time very strong, having as many as seventy-five members, and did much to popularize music in the city. W. H. Parkins was the first president of the society. Subsequently the Rosini Musical Society was organized, which embraced some of the talent of the Beethoven Society and others, making up a creditable organization.
In the meantime some very talented musicians located in Atlanta, among them being Professor Hart Denck, one of the most gifted pianists yet produced in this country. Professor Alfredo Barili located here soon afterward, and by his excellent piano playing and his ability as a teacher brought music up to a high standard. Professor and Madam Von Der Hoya Schultze opened a con- servatory of music in 1880, and gave some elegant receptions and concerts. Their long residence here has resulted in educating and developing some of the best musical talent in the city.
The Mendelssohn Society was organized in 1884, and under the director- ship of Professor Barili it has made a creditable record in the cultivation of the musical art. Then came, in 1885, the organization of the Atlanta Musical As- sociation, which bid fair to outdo all previous efforts. Professor Sumner Salter, of Syracuse, N. Y., was engaged as musical director, which engagement was coupled with that of organist for the First M. E. Church South. Mr. Salter's wife, Mrs. Mary Turner-Salter, a dramatic oratorio singer of wide reputation
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MUSICAL ASSOCIATIONS.
in the North, was also engaged as soprano in the church. This association never received the active support of those singers who were expected to ben- efit by it. Only a few of those whose assistance was expected ever gave the association any aid. In spite of this fact, however, the organization grew from about eight at the first rehearsal to about seventy-five at the end of the second season, when financial support failed and the association was given up. The reason for this failure seems to have been that it was impossible to harmonize upon the selection of a musical director from among the numerous individuals qualified, who had long been residents of the city, and a director was therefore selected who was a comparative stranger. This selection made matters worse than before. The association gave seven concerts between March, 1886, and June, 1887, besides which Mr. Salter has given several organ recitals, and under his direction the Cecilia Ladies' Quartette, composed of four of the finest voices in the South, has given three concerts in the opera-house.
In 1885 a most valuable addition to the musical forces of the city was made by the engagement of Mrs. Weston Katzenberg, a Boston artist of wide reputa- tion, as soprano in the Central Presbyterian Church. The failure on the part of the church to sustain an excellent choir resulted in her subsequent departure to New Orleans. In the fall of 1886 Constantine Sternberg, an eminent concert pianist and composer, was engaged by Mrs. Ballard to succeed Professor Barili in the charge of the musical department of her school. Under Mr. Sternberg's direction a series of drawing-room concerts were given, and in May, 1888, assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Salter and other eminent local artists, Professor Sternberg gave a Wagner festival. Professor F. L. Freyer, a long time resident of Atlanta, has given Atlanta audiences some of the best solos on the violin ever heard in the city.
Church music has made wonderful advances. St. Philip's Church choir was the first to bring out good church music, their leading soprano being Mrs. P. H. Snook. This beginning of fine music in the churches has had a most happy effect, so much so that to-day Atlanta has as fine church music as any Southern city.
Professor Wurm's orchestra is one of the recognized musical institutions of the city, playing at balls, at theaters, and at other entertainments, and also at several of the different watering places every year. In April, 1888, a Gilmore jubilee was given for the benefit of the Woman's Industrial Home. Five per- formances were given in the Piedmont Exposition building, in which a local chorus of four hundred voices, trained by Professor Sumner Salter, participated.
The Atlanta Philosophical Society grew out of the reading of a manuscript review of a lecture delivered by the Rev. Dr. Deems, entitled "The Super- stitions of Science," before'a number of gentlemen called together by the Rev. Dr. J. G. Armstrong, of Atlanta, for that purpose. The discussion of this paper proved so interesting that those present resolved to organize a society
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
for the discussion of philosophical subjects. The result of this movement was the permanent organization of the Atlanta Philosophical Society on the 16th of January, 1888. Under the rules adopted the membership of the society is limited to thirty-five. The text-book at this time is Herbert Spencer's " First Principles." The society meets fortnightly in the Young Men's Library As- sociation building, the exercises consisting of the continuous reading of chap- ters from Herbert Spencer's works, and the free and formal discussion of ques- tions growing out of the text.
This society has already attained a commanding position in the South, and it is exercising a very beneficial and liberalizing influence upon the intellectual status of the city. It has already had before it as lecturers some of the most distinguished scholars and scientists in the country, and gives assurance of a bright, prosperous and useful career.
The Camera Club -The Atlanta Camera Club held a meeting October 15, 1888, and selected the following officers for the ensuing year : President, Sum- ner Salter ; vice-president, C. H. Behre; general secretary, F. J. Paxon ; cor- responding secretary, Miss E. M. Lindley ; treasurer, F. O. Stockton ; execu- tive committee, J. P. Field, C. A. Lane, Orion Frazee, George Crafts and W. P. Downing.
The Capital City Club is the chief social organization in the city. It was organized in 1883 by some of the leading citizens of the city, and at present has a large list of active members. It also has many non-resident members in many of the largest cities of the country. Its local members represent many of the leading capitalists, business and professional men of Atlanta, and they have made the club an important factor in the social life of the city. The club rooms, at the corner of Peachtree and Ellis streets, have been recently pur- chased. They are elegantly furnished and thoroughly adapted for the uses intended. The present officers of the club are, Major L. Mims, president ; ex-Governor R. B. Bullock, vice-president ; and H. C. Stockdell, secretary and treasurer.
The Concordia Association was organized in June, 1866. It was originally composed of Germans, and its object was the intellectual advancement of its members, and the formation of dramatic, literary, social and musical amuse- ments It commenced with thirteen members, but at present has a large mem- bership and is in a flourishing condition In 1869 its officers were, S. Well, president; C. Beerman, secretary ; M. A. Eiseman, corresponding secretary ; L. Mansbach, financial secretary; and Isaac Steinheimer, treasurer. This as- sociation has given many entertainments of a literary and social character, and is recognized as one of the leading German organizations in the city. The present officers are, J. Hirsch, president ; Isaac Lieberman, vice-president ; M. Teiltebaum, secretary ; and Henry Wellhouse, treasurer.
The Fulton County Confederate Veterans' Association was organized in May,
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MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS.
1888. Its object is for social reunion and to render aid to the wounded and destitute Confederate veterans. Captain W. A. Wright was its first president The present officers are, W. L. Calhoun, president; H. H. Colquitt, vice-pres ident; John F. Edwards, secretary ; and Amos Fox, treasurer. It has a men - bership of about three hundred.
Post O. M. Mitchell, No. 21, of the Grand Army of the Republic is the only branch of this order in Atlanta. It was organized in 1870, with George B. Chamberlin as post commander. Meetings are held in Good Templars' Hall, on the corner of Whitehall and Hunter streets. It is a branch of the depart- ment of Tennessee and Georgia, and embraces within its membership nearly all the honorably discharged Federal veterans in the city. Its present officers are, S. C. Menly, post commander ; C. R. Haskins, senior vice-commander ; A. Mattison, junior vice-commander; Antoine Bolins, quartermaster ; Dr. J. W. Stone, chaplain.
The Ladies' Memorial Association was organized May 7, 1868. Its pri- mary object was the collection and proper re-interment of the remains of the Confederate dead, and the erection of a monument to their memory. The officers in 1869 were, Mrs. John B. Gordon, president; Mrs. John Gannon and Mrs. John M. Johnson, vice-presidents ; Mrs. W. Clayton, treasurer ; Mrs. W. S. Walker, corresponding secretary; and Miss Cordele Meredith, record- ing secretary. Since its existence the members of this association have had taken up nearly three thousand bodies of the Confederate dead. These bodies were removed from their rude graves in the vicinity of Atlanta, and placed in Oakland Cemetery, where about five thousand Confederate soldiers lie buried. The association has had the portion of the cemetery allotted to this purpose graded and beautified, and here a substantial monument has been erected out of Stone Mountain granite.
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PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
A DAIR, COLONEL GEORGE W. For more than three decades, no citi- zen has been more prominently identified with all the agencies which have been conducive to the growth and development of Atlanta, than George W. Adair. Progressive, indefatigable, agressive and of unlimited resource, his varied line of efforts have touched almost every material and social interest of the city. Such a career naturally furnishes much of interest and abounds in striking incidents.
He is of Irish and French ancestry. His paternal progenitors were natives of the north of Ireland. In 1711, three brothers, James, John and William landed at Charleston. James traded with the Indians in company with the celebrated Galphin, for forty years, and was the author of a learned and cele- brated book on the origin and history of the North American Indians, pub- lished in London, in 1776, and was the ancestor of the Cherokee Indian fam- ily of that name. William emigrated to the blue-grass country with Daniel Boone, and from him descended the Kentucky Adairs.
John lived and died at Laurens, S. C., and was the great-grandfather of John F. Adair, the father of the subject of this sketch, who married Mary Slavin, a lady of French descent, and a representation of an old Virginia family.
George W. Adair was the child of these parents, and was born in Morgan county, March 1, 1823. His father was a wheelwright by trade, but in 1825 moved with his family upon a farm in De Kalb county, about six miles from Atlanta. Here the early childhood of the boy Adair was passed, and in that time of pioneer settlements he had only the most limited educational advantages.
His mother died in 1835, and a few months after her death he was sent to Decatur to work in the store of Green B Butler, an old friend of his father's. Here the naturally bright and winning ways of the boy, and his industrious habits and quick business aptitude soon attracted attention, and in 1840 Colo- nel J. M. Calhoun, William H. Dabney, Hon. Charles Murphy and Dr. Eph- raim M. Poole advanced the necessary money to send him to school. With their assistance he attended the Decatur Academy for two years, and pursued the advanced studies of that institution. He then went to Covington, Ga.,
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
and began the study of law in the office of Judge John J. Floyd and General J. N. Williamson, and at the end of two years was admitted to the bar. He now found himself with a profession, but not only without means to pursue his calling, but with a debt of several hundred dollars, incurred by his four years of study. His obligations he desired to discharge, and with no immediate pros- pects of earning money in the legal profession, he turned his attention to what- ever avenue of employment chance might offer. With the assistance of J. Ed- gar Thompson, then chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, he secured the po- sition of conductor on that road between Social Circle and Augusta. At this time Richard Peters was general superintendent of the road, and the warm friendship which was soon established between him and Colonel Adair, has never been interrupted from that time to the present. Colonel Adair remained in that position about four years, and during that time, in 1845, he had charge of the first train that ever entered Atlanta.
After leaving the employ of the railroad company, he went to Covington, Ga., and clerked in a store; afterwards he moved to Charleston, S. C., and was salesman in a large wholesale house until 1854, when he. permanently located in Atlanta. Here his first business venture was in the mercantile line, under the name of Adair & Ezzard, in which he continued for two years, when he entered upon a general trading and real estate business. Marked success fol- lowed his efforts in this direction, and when the war between the States began he had accumulated a handsome fortune.
Colonel Adair was originally a Whig in political faith, and when the ques- tion of secession began to be discussed, he vigorously opposed the idea. So pronounced were his views that he was defeated as delegate to the State Se- cession Convention of 1861. But when the war began, and the question of the rights of the States was submitted to the arbitrament of the sword, he unhesi- tatingly arrayed himself on the side of the people of the South ; and during the four years of war the Southern cause had no more loyal, steadfast friend. No other course would have been consistent with his ideas of fealty to the place of his birth, ties of home and kinsmen, or the dictates of manly honor.
In 1860 he established the Southern Confederacy, a daily journal, in the edi- torial management of which he was assisted by J. Henly Smith. It was issued until the battle of Chickamauga, and during this period of doubt and gloom, in the history of the South, it was unwavering in its defense of the Southern peo- ple. During the last year of the war, Colonel Adair was a volunteer aid on the staff of that intrepid Confederate cavalry leader, General N. B. Forrest, and rendered him valuable services in the organization of some 7,000 men in West- ern Tennessee, just after the battle of Chickamauga. He remained with Gen- eral Forrest until after this surrender, and the close and intimate relations he bore to this brave and gallant soldier during this period, ripened into warm and mutual friendship, which continued unabated until the death of General Forrest.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
After the war closed, no man was more ready to accept, in a manly way, the results of the unsuccessful struggle, than Colonel Adair. He realized that if the Southern States were to become prosperous, and assume the place in the reunited republic, which nature intended they should occupy, the people must acquiesce in the changed conditions of affairs the appeal to arms had brought about, and in honest work must find the panacea for sorrow and useless regret. He returned to Atlanta after the final surrender at Appomattox, to find his home destroyed, and the result of years of toil well nigh swept away. With a brave spirit, he began again, almost at the bottom, to retrieve, by hard work, the ruin war had wrought. In partnership with William M. Clayton and I. Purse, under the firm name of Clayton, Adair & Purse, he opened a general commission house, but at the same time began to deal in real estate. At the expiration of one year he retired from the commission business, and has since confined himself to real estate operations, and since 1865 has been an active real estate dealer and auctioneer. He is among the pioneers in these branches of business in Atlanta, and for more than twenty years has been the most ex- tensive real estate operator in the city. He inaugurated the plan of subdivis- ion in Atlanta, and as auctioneer has conducted large sales, not only in this city, but in Birmingham, Sheffield and Chattanooga. He is careful and con- servative in all business matters, and the best proof of his unerring judgment, painstaking accuracy, and the care with which all his business transactions are managed, is furnished from the fact that in the innumerable transfers involving many millions of dollars, conducted by him since 1865, not a dollar was ever lost through irregularity of procedure or defective title.
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