Alexander Atkinson Lawrence Papers
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Alexander Atkinson Lawrence papers Descriptive Summary Repository: Georgia Historical Society Creator: Lawrence, Alexander Atkinson, 1869-1930. Title: Alexander Atkinson Lawrence papers Dates: 1915-1981 Extent: 26.0 cubic feet (48 boxes, 73 volumes) Identification: MS 2019 Biographical/Historical Note Alexander Atkinson Lawrence (1906-1979) was born in Savannah, Georgia, on December 28, 1906. He was the son of Alexander Atkinson Lawrence and Isabel Ashby Paine. He attended Massie School (Savannah, Ga.) and Woodberry Forest Preparatory (Orange, Virginia). He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 1929 and read law in his father's Savannah law office, Lawrence and Abrahams. He married Margaret Adams on April 18, 1933, and they had two children. From 1930-1969, Alexander Lawrence practiced law in Savannah as a partner in the firm of Bouhan, Lawrence, Williams, and Levy and established a wide reputation in the legal profession. He engaged in mainly civil cases and represented some of Savannah's major insurance, utility and railroad companies. In 1968, he was nominated to the bench of the Federal District Court of South Georgia. As judge he faced the issue of the desegregation of the Savannah- Chatham County public school system. One of his highest profile civil-damages case grew out of the February 1971 explosion at the Thiokol Chemical Corporation in Woodbine, Georgia. Lawrence served as president of the Georgia and Savannah bar associations. He was a member of the Georgia Bar Examiners' Board, the American College of Trial lawyers, Georgia Historical Commission, Society of Colonial Wars, Society of the Cincinnati, and he served as president of the Georgia Historical Society from 1945 until 1952. He was an active participant in the historic preservation movement in Savannah. Lawrence possessed a great interest in history and wrote several works. His first, James Moore Wayne, Southern Unionist (1943), was a biography of a Savannahian who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1835-1867 but refused to join in secession in 1861. His most popular work, Storm Over Savannah (1951; rev. 1979), recounted the siege of the city in 1779. Lawrence's Present for Mr. Lincoln (1961) received an award from the American Association of State and Local History. Other works include: James Johnston, Georgia's First Printer (1956), and A History of the Georgia Supreme Court (1948). Alexander Atkinson Lawrence died on August 20, 1979. Scope and Content Note This collection consists of the personal and business papers of Alexander Atkinson Lawrence. The collection is arranged into 7 series: personal, educational, and legal papers; correspondence and speeches; A Present for Mr. Lincoln research materials; Storm Over Savannah research materials; James Moore Wayne research materials; Johnny Leber materials; and historical markers and sites. Index Terms Civil law--Georgia. Civil rights--Georgia. Constitutional law. Criminal law--Georgia Estaing, Charles Henri, comte d', 1729-1794. Fort Jackson (Ga.) Fort McAllister (Ga. : Fort) Habeas corpus--Georgia. Historical markers--Georgia--Chatham County. Inmates of institutions--Georgia. Johnston, James. Judges--Georgia. Judicial opinions--Georgia. Law. Lawrence, Alexander Atkinson, 1869-1930. Leber, Johnny. Legal documents. Letters (correspondence) Manuscripts for publication. Research notes. Savannah (Ga.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. Savannah (Ga.)--History--Siege, 1779. Scrapbooks. Sherman's March to the Sea. Speeches (documents) United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Participation, French. Wayne, James Moore, 1790-1867. Woodberry Forest School. Location of Originals Original materials in the possessions of University of North Carolina; University of Michigan; Indiana State Library; University of Georgia Library; Porter W. Carswell; Library of Congress; Solomon's Lodge (Savannah, Ga.); Indiana Historical Society; Emory University Library; Sullivan Bond; Detroit Public Library; Duke University; Wisconsin Historical Society; Maine Historical Society; Avingnon Municipal Library; and William L. Clement Library. Administrative Information Custodial History Material was acquired from creator. Preferred Citation [item identification], Alexander Atkinson Lawrence papers, MS 2019, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia. Acquisition Information Gift of Alexander Atkinson Lawrence, 1979. Restrictions Access Restrictions Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher. Publication Note Alexander Atkinson Lawrence, A Present for Mr. Lincoln (Ardivan Press, 1961); Storm Over Savannah (University of Georgia Press, 1951; reprinted 1968; reprinted Savannah, Ga.: Tara Press, 1979); James Moore Wayne (University of North Carolina Press, 1943; reprinted Greenwood Press, 1970). Sponsorship Encoding funded by a 2012 Documenting Democracy grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Container List SERIES 1:: Personal, educational, and legal papers, 1930-1979 This series contains 73 volumes of briefs, unreported and reported opinions of Judge Alexander Atkinson Lawrence from his work both as an attorney with Bouhan, Lawrence, Williams, and Levy (1930-1968) and while on the bench of the Federal District Court of South Georgia (Savannah, Ga.), 1968-1979. A few of the volumes contain both professional and personal photographs. Other items from Lawrence's professional career include notebooks and correspondence concerning his nomination and appointment to the bench of the Federal District Court of South Georgia. Also included in the series are items from Lawrence's time at Woodberry Forest School (Orange, Va.) and the University of Georgia. Among these items are a scrapbook from Woodberry Forest School, notebooks from the University of Georgia, and photographs. Box Fldr 1 1 Letters to his grandfather, R. de Lawrence, 1915 2 School paper, "The Cruise of the Ben Bolt, 1915-1925" Scrapbooks Box Fldr 1 3 WWI Navy, 1915-1920 4 WWI Aviation, 1918-1919 5 Correspondence sent while at Woodberry 6 Woodberry Forest School, scholastic reports, 1921-1924 7 Issues of the Taylor Tribune, October 6, 1924-November 17, 1924 8 English vocabulary list, 1925 9 Scrapbook of humorous stories, 1925 Class notes Box Fldr 1 10 Course on Georgia history, University of Georgia (also includes drawings and sports statistics), 1925 and 1926 11 Class in Greek, 1925-1926 12 Sigma Alpha Epsilon, membership certificate, 1926. Photograph of 1929 SAE Phi Beta Kappas 13 Correspondence, 1929 University of Georgia Box Fldr 1 14 Examinations for English, 1927-1928; Greek, 1927; Latin, 1927 Notes and examinations 15 History Box Fldr 2 16 Physics 17 Latin 18 Commerce 19 Math 20- English 21 22 Miscellaneous 23 Textbook, Marbot A. Austerlitz (including drawings and sports statistics) 24 Scholastic reports, 1926-1928 25 Graduation program, 1929 26 Poetry book, The Englishman in Greece by Sir Rennell Rodd, Oxford, 1910 27 Photograph, circa 1925-1929 Lessons from reading law Box Fldr 2 28 March 1, 1930 29 March 15, 1930 30 March 21, 1930 31 March 29, 1930 32 April 5, 1930 33 April 12, 1930 34 April 19, 1930 35 April 26, 1930 36 May 3, 1930 37 May 10, 1930 Box Fldr 3 38 May 17, 1930 39 May 26, 1930 40 June 9, 1930 41- Notebooks of quotes, writings, etc. 44 45 Wedding invitation, Alexander Atkinson Lawrence and Margaret Adams, April 18, 1933 46 Legal calendar with notes, 1938 Lawyer's desk book Box Fldr 3 47 1938 Box Fldr 4 48 1939 49 Historical notebook 50 Index of cases on automobiles and evidence in Georgia 51 Oath of office for U.S. Judge; includes other items regarding appointment, 1968 52 Resolutions regarding judgeship 53 Newspapers clippings concerning appointment Letters and correspondence concerning his appointment to U.S. Judge Box Fldr 4 54- 1967-March 1968 59 Box Fldr 5 60- April-July 1968 67 Box Fldr 6 68- July-September 1968 75 76 Correspondence, 1972-1978 77 Letters concerning recommendation to U.S. Supreme Court, 1971 78 Personnel actions and correspondence concerning Senior Judge status and retirement, 1976-1978 79 Richard B. Russell Foundation 80 Photographs, 2 items 81 Judges' dictionary 82 Autobiographical materials on Judge Lawrence Scrapbook, Woodberry Forest School, 1922-1924 Oversize_box 1 Woodberry Forest School certificate of distinction, 1921-1922; Woodberry Forest School diploma, June 5, 1925; certificate of admission for U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 5th district, November 19, 1943; watercolor from materials on Siege of Savannah Briefs Volume 1 Letter to his father, 1918; photographs of Alexander A. Lawrence as a child, 1930-1931. Volume 2-7 1931-1937 Volume 8 Photograph of Lawrence and his son, 1937-1938. Volume 9-10 1938-1940 Volume 11 Photograph taken November 18, 1940, 1940-1941. Volume 12 1941-1942 Volume 13 Photograph of A.A. Lawrence, 1942-1943. Volume 14-15 1943-1945 Volume 16 War related certificates. Photo of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945-1946. Volume 17 Photograph of University of Georgia Club, 1947, 1946-1947. Volume 18-19 1947-1949 Volume 20 Includes speeches and photographs, 1949-1950. Volume