The Atlanta Historical Journal
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•<h '\^\e' The Atlanta Historical Journal WINTER 1979-80 Volume XXIII Number 4 The Atlanta Historical Journal Franklin M. Garrett Editor Emeritus Ann E. Woodall Editor Harvey H. Jackson Book Review Editor Volume XXRI, Number 4 Winter 1979/80 Copyright 1980 by Atlanta Historical Society, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia COVER: This drawing of an Agnes Scott student holding a basketball was rendered by Philip Shutze for the 1912 Silhouette. The Atlanta Historical Journal is published quarterly by the Atlanta Historical Society, P.O. Box 12423, Atlanta, Georgia, 30355. Subscriptions are available to non-members of the Society. Manuscripts, books for review, exchange journals, and subscription inquiries should be sent to the Editor. If your copy of the Journal is damaged in the mail, please call the Society for a replacement. Please notify the Society of changes in address. TABLE OF CONTENTS Officers, Trustees, Past Presidents, and Past Chairmen of the Board 4 Publications Committee, Editorial Review Board, Staff 5 Editor's Note 6 Nellie Peters Black: Turn of the Century "Mover and Shaker" By Jane Bonner Peacock 7 The Role of Women in Atlanta's Churches, 1865-1906 By Harvey K. Newman 17 "Not a Veneer or a Sham": The Early Days of Agnes Scott By Amy Friedlander 31 Woman Suffrage Activities in Atlanta By A. Elizabeth Taylor 45 Women Authors of Atlanta: A Selection of Representative Works with an Analytic Commentary By Barbara B. Reitt 55 The High Heritage By Carlyn Gaye Crannell 71 Women Architects in Atlanta, 1895-1979 By Susan Hunter Smith 85 Book Reviews 109 New Members 126 In Memoriam 127 Academic Advisory Board, "Atlanta Women from Myth to Modern Times" 128 THE ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS Stephens Mitchell Chairman Emeritus, Board of Trustees Beverly M. DuBose, Jr Chairman, Board of Trustees Dr. John B. Hardman Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees Virlyn B. Moore, Jr President Jack Spalding First Vice President Mrs. Ivan. Allen, Jr Second Vice Preident Tom Watson Brown Secretary Julian J. Barfield Treasurer Henry L. Howell Assistant Treasurer TRUSTEES Cecil A. Alexander Henry L. Howell Mrs. Ivan Allen, Jr. Dr. Willis Hubert Julian J. Barfield Dr. Harvey H. Jackson Dr. Crawford Barnett, Jr. George Missbach Alex W. Bealer Stephens Mitchell E. William Bohn Mrs. John Mobley Tom Watson Brown Virlyn B. Moore, Jr. Dr. F. Phinizy Calhoun William A. Parker Mrs. Julian S. Carr H. English Robinson Thomas Hal Clarke Mrs. William Schroder George S. Craft Mrs. Robert Shaw Beverly M. DuBose, Jr. Mrs. Roff Sims Franklin M. Garrett John M. Slaton, Jr. Mrs. William W. Griffin Mrs. John E. Smith II Richard Guthman Jack Spalding Dr. John B. Hardman Mrs. Thomas R. Williams Edward C. Harris William L. Pressly, Ex Officio Honorary The Hon. Mrs. Robert W. Chambers Mrs. Richard W. Courts, Jr. Philip T. Shutze Robert W. Woodruff PAST PRESIDENTS Walter McElreath October, 1926-June 30, 1933 Eugene Muse Mitchell June 30, 1933-July 11, 1936 Jack Johnson Spalding July 11, 1936-July 30, 1938 Frank Kells Boland, M.D July 30, 1938-Jan. 31, 1942 Franklin Miller, Garrett Jan. 31, 1942-Jan. 30, 1943 Henry Aaron Alexander Jan. 30, 1943-Jan. 16, 1948 Beverly Means DuBose, Sr Jan. 16, 1948-Jan. 19, 1952 John Ashley Jones Jan. 19, 1952-Jan. 16, 1954 Ivan Allen, Sr Jan. 16, 1954-Jan. 21, 1956 Stephens Mitchell Jan. 21, 1956-Jan. 25, 1958 Beverly Means DuBose, Jr Jan. 25, 1958-Jan. 16, 1960 Franklin Miller Garrett Jan. 16, 1960-Jan. 29, 1965 Thomas Hal Clarke Jan. 29, 1965-Jan. 27, 1967 Beverly Means DuBose, Jr Jan. 27, 1967-May 2, 1976 PAST CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD Walter McElreath June 30, 1933-Dec. 6, 1951 Gordon Forrest Mitchell Dec. 12, 1951-Aug. 2, 1956 John Marshall Slaton, Jr Aug. 8, 1956-Jan. 25, 1958 Stephens Mitchell Jan. 25, 1958-Jan. 27, 1967 Franklin Miller Garrett Jan. 21, 1967-Mar. 12, 1968 Jesse Draper Apr. 1, 1968-Sept. 24, 1973 Samuel Inman Cooper Oct. 22, 1973-Apr. 22, 1974 William A. Parker Apr. 22, 1974-June 1, 1978 PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Alex W. Bealer, Chairman Dr. John Hardman Mrs. George W. Kennedy Dr. Clarence A. Bacote Kent Higgins Mrs. Lamar Peacock Dr. Crawford F. Barnett, Jr. Henry Howell Mrs. Martin Sherry Dr. Dan T. Carter Dr. Harvey H. Jackson STAFF Judson C. Ward Administrator William L. Pressly Director of Development Franklin M. Garrett Historian and Editor Emeritus Sara Roberts Secretary to Dr. Ward Lillian Salter Secretary to Mr. Garrett Elma Kurtz Administrative Assistant Marguerite Somers Assistant to Mrs. Kurtz Elizabeth Reynolds Curator Louise Shaw Assistant Curator Laura Inman Coordinator, Public Relations Madeline Reamy Educational Coordinator Ann Woodall Editor Jane Peacock Assistant Editor Patsy Wiggins Acquisitions Director Richard Elzroth Manuscripts Curator Mamie Locke Archivist John Robert Smith Assistant Archivist Eugene Craig Librarian Anne Salter Research Assistant Alicia Clarke Registrar Janet Brooks Photographer Lee Mize Visual Arts Coordinator Harold Moore Document Conservator Nancy Lester Coordinator, Swan House Sally Funkhouser Assistant Cooodinator, Swan House Boyd Beamer Assistant Coordinator, Swan House Margaret Brock Coordinator, Tullie Smith House Dot Evans Assistant Coordinator, Tullie Smith House Bonnie Beard Weekend Assistant, Swan House Betty Gage Weekend Assistant, Swan House Janet MacKenzie Weekend Assistant, Swan House Meredith Edmondson Weekend Assistant, Swan House Mary Shouse Weekend Assistant, Tullie Smith House Peggy Smith Weekend Assistant, Tullie Smith House James Crittle Member, Custodial Staff C. E. Lovelace Member, Custodial Staff David Sparks Member, Custodial Staff Geraldine Thornton Member, Custodial Staff EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Dr. Clarence A. Bacote Dr. George R. Lamplugh Atlanta University The Westminster Schools Dr. Gary M. Fink Dr. Robert C. McMath, Jr. Georgia State University Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Jane Herndon Dr. Bradley R. Rice DeKalb Community College Clayton Junior College Dr. Harvey H. Jackson Dr. S. Fred Roach Clayton Junior College Kennesaw College Dr. Philip Secrist Southern Technical Institute Editors Note This issue of our Journal was designed as a companion piece to the outstanding exhibit now gracing the Society's Cox Gallery, "Atlanta Women from Myth to Modern Times." Project director Louise Shaw and former editor Grace Sherry initiated a wide-ranging search for manu scripts on Atlanta women and Atlanta women's issues in December of 1978. A special academic advisory board was established to select the most representative articles which have been published here. In subse quent issues we will feature other articles generated by this project. An additional highlight to the Society's focus on women's studies will be the two-day symposium sponsored by the Society, Spelman Col lege, Agnes Scott College, Emory University, and the Junior League of Atlanta which will be held at Spelman November 13-15. In this forum scholars will present papers on topics related to the theme of the exhibi tion. The symposium will be open to the public. Readers interested in specific Atlanta women or in more general themes in the history of Atlanta women will find a wealth of manuscript and photographic material at their disposal in the Society's archives. And, finally, readers desiring an overview of this specialized aspect of Atlanta's history are encouraged to purchase a copy of the handsome catalogue accompanying the "From Myth to Modern Times" exhibition. Copies are on sale at McElreath Hall. Our thanks to the authors and the readers who worked so hard on this issue. Ann Woodall Editor Nellie Peters Blach: Turn of the Century "Mouer and Shaher By Jane Bonner Peacock* Born into wealth and social prominence, Nellie Peters Black might have frittered her life away in trivial concerns. Instead she turned out ward, toward the underprivileged. Her era, encompassing both the Civil War and World War I, offered new opportunities in community service for leisure-class women of vigor and resourcefulness, and she is represent ative of a group of Atlanta women who brought significant improvements to the city. In a book publicizing the 1895 Cotton States and International Ex position, Nellie was described as "a philanthropist, a humanitarian, a woman of broad sympathy and kindly impulses, [who] has succeeded in accomplishing more real good in Atlanta than any other woman of today."1 The "real good" Mrs. Black was able to do is reflected in an interest ing collection of biographical material and personal reminiscenses in the archives of the Atlanta Historical Society. Known in Atlanta for her work among the disadvantaged, she helped found the first mission Sunday School in the city, one of the first charity hospitals, the Free Kindergarten Association, and the Visiting Nurse Association. On a broader level, she served as chairman of the hospital and nursery department of the Cotton States and International Exposi tion and was a founder and president of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs. In this capacity she lectured in all the congressional districts of the state on diversified farming, appearing also before the General Assembly to argue for compulsory education laws.2 When Mary Ellen (Nellie) Peters was born in 1851, Atlanta was busily astir as a newly created railroad center, and her father, Richard Peters, was well on his way toward becoming one of the city's most successful businessmen. A civil engineer, he had come to Georgia from Pennsylvania in 1835 and had risen rapidly in his work with the Georgia Railroad; he helped plan the line from Augusta to Athens and became superintendent and general manager in 1837. During the panic of 1840 when railroad stock dropped sharply, he "purchased all the shares [he] * Assistant editor ATLANTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY could manage to pay for." Un happy with the name "Marthas ville" when the Georgia Railroad was completed to that point in 1845, he consulted with J.