The ATLANTA HISTORICAL BULLETIN Published by the ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Vol. VIII January, 1947 No. 31 The Bulletin is the organ of the Atlanta Historical Society and is sent free to its members. All persons in­ terested in the history of Atlanta are invited to join the Society. Correspondence concerning contributions for the Bulletin should be sent to the Joint Editors, Stephens Mitchell, 605 Peters Building, Atlanta, or to Franklin M. Garrett, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta. Applications for membership and dues should be sent to the Executive Secretary, Miss Ruth Blair, at the office of the Society, 1753 Peachtree St., N. W. Single numbers of the Bulletin may be obtained from the secretary. Members of the Atlanta Historical Society, wnen making their wills, are requested to remember this organi­ zation. Legacies of historical books, papers, pictures and museum materials, in additon to funds, are wanted for the Society. The latter are particularly needed with which to complete payment for the new home and for its main­ tenance and furnishing. CurtiHB Printing Co., Inc., Atlanta ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Officers, Members of Advisory Council, and Board of Directors, 191+7 WALTER MCELREATH Honorary President for Life and Chairman, Board of Directors HENRY A. ALEXANDER President GORDON F. MITCHELL Vice-President JOHN ASHLEY JONES Treasurer FRANKLIN M. GARRETT Secretary STEPHENS MITCHELL \ _ _ _ _Joint Editors FRANKLIN M. GARRETT j RUTH BLAIR Executive Secretary Advisory Council, Term ending January, 191+8 A. G. DEVAUGHN E. KATHERINE ANDERSON JOHN ASHLEY JONES JOHN M. HARRISON A. A. MEYER MRS. P. THORNTON MARYE JOSIAH T. ROSE WALTER MCELREATH JOHN M. SLATON META BARKER Advisory Council, Term ending January, 191+9 MRS. R. W. DAVIS MRS. JOHN S. SPALDING JOHN M. COOPER BEVERLY M. DUBOSE ROBERT LEE AVARY MRS. J. 0. WYNN CHARLES P. KING CARL T. HUDGINS MRS. JOHN R. MARSH T. J. O'KEEFE Advisory Council, Term ending January, 1950 MRS. A. P. BRANTLEY CLARENCE HAVERTY MRS. THOS. H. MORGAN EDWARD S. WEST MRS. ELI A. THOMAS RUTH BLAIR DR. FRANK K. BOLAND MRS. S. W. MCCALLIE FRANKLIN M. GARRETT ELLA MAE THORNTON Board of Directors WALTER MCELREATH, Chairman H. A. ALEXANDER JOSIAH T. ROSE G. F. MITCHELL BEVERLY M. DUBOSE JOHN ASHLEY JONES JOHN M. SLATON FRANKLIN M. GARRETT EDWARD S. WEST ELLA MAE THORNTON R. R. OTIS DR. FRANK K. BOLAND CHARLES P. KING TABLE OF CONTENTS Officers, Members of Advisory Council and Board of Directors of Atlanta Historical Society, Inc., 1947 59 Dr. Ashby Jones, by Caroline Pierce Dillard 61 History of West End 1830-1910, by Cornelia E. Cooper 65 New Home of Atlanta Historical Society 60 Some Nineteenth Century Atlanta Homes Still Oc­ cupied by the Families of Their Builders, by Julia Porter Block 95 William Barnes, C.S.A., Captain Leydens Battery, Ninth Georgia Battalion of Artillery, by John M. Harrison 100 Pryor Street In Its Young Days, by Leonora Raines 105 Founders, Atlanta Historical Society _ 118 si «3 so CO -si 2 ^j is ;* o o CO cq £ <a QQ t a Oj *a s a © SO s a ?J co a IS a o o o a THE ATLANTA HISTORICAL BULLETIN Vol. VIII JANUARY, 1947 No. 31 DR. ASHBY JONES* By CAROLYN PIERCE DILLARD Liberal is a word which people use spontaneously when they speak of Dr. Ashby Jones. Now, liberal means all things to all people, depending upon their political complex­ ions, but Dr. Jones likes the label. He particularly likes to think of liberal in its historical meaning, freedom to think. In any discussion of him, another word, or rather a prefix, recurs — inter — interracial, interdenominational, interna­ tional. But Dr. Jones is not the glib, upstart type of liberal who thinks that any disparagement of the South sets him apart as a man of discernment. He is a gentleman by birth and training. Born in Lexington, Virginia, in 1868, he was given the name Meredith Ashby. His father, who had served as a chaplain under General Lee, had followed the General when he became president of Washington College, later to become Washington and Lee University. There is a tradition that the great General once held the baby Ashby in his arms, and although he cannot document this statement, Dr. Jones says he is ready to fight anyone who challenges it. Throughout his life, Dr. Jones has been a student and a thinker. For this, he had a sound academic background at the University of Richmond, Washington and Lee Univer­ sity, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Virginia. He was ordained into the Baptist ministry in 1893 and two years later was married to Miss May Turner of Rich­ mond, Kentucky. Their only son is Turner Jones, of Port­ land, Maine. *This paper was prepared for and read as a part of the May 1945 program of the Atlanta Historical Society. 62 THE ATLANTA HISTORICAL BULLETIN After spending the early years of his ministry in Virginia and Kentucky, Dr. Jones came to Georgia in 1906 to accept a call to the First Baptist Church of Columbus. Two years later he transferred to the First Baptist Church of Augusta, where he served with growing reputation until 1917, when he came to the Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Here he took a position of leadership in the life of the city, and in 1926 when he resigned because of an "unanswerable conviction" that the Second Baptist Church of St. Louis offered him "not a larger field but one better suited to his individual talents and training," his decision shook the en­ tire city. Press and editorial comment at that time reflect the regret so generally felt at his going. Nevertheless, in 1932, when he gave up the active pastorate, Dr. Jones re­ turned to Atlanta as a preacher and lecturer, and again he was called upon to take a stand on all matters affecting the welfare of the community. In the pulpit Dr. Jones is unforgettable; a man rather small in stature with a radiance of spirit making his face glow, he delivers a simple, thoughtful sermon, which gains validity from the character of the speaker. His influence, moreover, has extended far beyond his congregation. Five times he has been called to Europe; once in 1921 he was speaker before the International Rotary in Edinburgh; twice he went to Europe with the Sherwood Eddy seminar (one of these times he was sent with a small group to make a detailed study of Soviet Russia) ; in 1928 he visited Eng­ land as guest speaker of the British Committee of World Alliance for Peace. Commenting upon the fact that he spoke 48 times in 32 days, Dr. Jones said: "The English got a good deal more speaking out of it than they did peace." As a writer, he is known best as the author of a column, "Text and Pretext," which has appeared in the Sunday edi­ tion of the Atlanta Constitution since 1919. We may well regret that he has published little else, for he has developed a prose style that is cleanly edited and flexible; but writ­ ing, Dr. Jones says, is difficult for him. A number of his sermons, however, have been included in various collections. It is his interracial work which gives Dr. Jones the great- DR. ASHBY JONES 63 est personal satisfaction. About 1919 when the soldiers were returning from the first World War and there was appre­ hension as to what would happen when the Negroes came back, he, with three other men, Dr. Plato Durham of Emory University, Mr. John Eagan, and Dr. C. B. Wilmer, organ­ ized the Interracial Commission of the South. Locally, there was no Negro high school at that time. Recognizing the need, Dr. Jones served as spearhead in the movement which resulted in a bond election and ultimately in two Negro high schools. Neither did Atlanta have a recreation spot for the Negroes. Here again Dr. Jones helped to create sentiment, which, coupled with a cash gift from Mr. Eagan, gave the city the Booker Washington Park. Continuing to fight for justice in the pulpit and in his column, Dr. Jones did not escape opposition. Nor was his work overlooked by the Ku Klux Klan, which in those days was more than vocal. A second field in which Dr. Jones finds genuine satisfac­ tion is his interdenominational activities, particularly his work with the National Conference of Jews and Christians. In Atlanta, Dr. Jones was instrumental in organizing the Christian Council, with representation from the laity as well as the clergy of all denominations. When he left his pastor­ ate in Augusta, the Catholics of the city presented him with a handsome gold watch, and he is still wearing it. This trib­ ute was in appreciation of Dr. Jones' defense of the Catho­ lics against Tom Watson. Always interested in international affairs, he has taken an active part in patriotic matters. During the first World War, he toured the state with a Catholic and a Jew in behalf of Liberty Bonds; at the request of the War Department, during the present war, he has spoken at camps throughout the South as a part of the orientation program. He visited camps also as a representative of the National Conference of Jews and Christians. Dr. Jones has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Di­ vinity by the University of Richmond, and later Oglethorpe conferred upon him the LL.D. degree. He is a Kappa Alpha, a Phi Beta Kappa, a Shriner, a Mason, and a Rotarian. At present he is honorary president of the Atlanta Branch of the English-Speaking Union.