The Life of a Georgia Girl
By Minnie Edwards Akerman
(written early 1950)

     I was born April 13th, 1872 in Cartersville, Georgia. My father was William 
Clark Edwards. He was born in Elberton, Georgia. My mother was Mattie Melissa Howard. 
Her birthplace was in DeKalb County near Atlanta. I was born in Grandma Howards home. 
My grandfather had the first house built in Cartersville and had the first well dug. 
He and my grandmother ran the first boarding house. When my parents first married 
they rented four rooms over a store and lived near my father's business. There were 
few houses in Cartersville then. My parents were married December 28th, 1870.
     Soon after my birth my father bought an acre of land on one of the best streets 
in town and a had a comfortable home built. Five other children were born in this home 
and I was married in it. Before my parents moved into it, my mother had a colored boy 
helping her. At that time I was a baby. For some reason Mamma asked him to hold me for 
a few minutes, I imagine he was interested in the loading and moving, anyway he fell 
with me in his arms from the top of the stairs down to the sidewalk. My mother said she 
thought I would be killed but I was picked up with no bones broken.
     My sister Lucy was born August 6th, 1874. Before Lucy was born my parents had taken 
an orphan colored girl, Maria Brown. She was seven years old when she came to them and 
she lived with us fifteen years till she died. My parents' third child was a boy, Wofford 
Felton Edwards, born October 3rd, 1876.
     I remember Maria took Lucy and me across the street to a neighbors, Mrs. Milligan's. 
We were playing in her front yard when my father came and said "Girls, you have a little 
brother." Wofford was named for a Confederate General. General William Tatum Woford. My 
mother had been governess for Lena, General Wofford's only child, when Mamma married 
General and Mrs. Wofford gave her her bridal bonnet. The Felton in my brother's name was 
for Dr. William H. Felton, a Methodist preacher and twice elected to Congress in 1874 
and 1976. His wife, Rebecca, was the first woman Senator in the United States. They often 
had Sunday dinners with us. Mrs. Felton always brought presents, white pique dresses for 
Wofford and gifts for Lucy and me. Mrs. Elton gave me my first open and shut fan. One 
Christmas my Mother's youngest sister, Aunt Fanny dressed two large dolls for Lucy and 
me. One doll had on pink tarlatan and the other blue tarlatan. Santa Claus brought me a 
trunk, the lid was up and the dolls were standing in the trunk and Santa brought Woford 
a small red wagon that he could pull all over the house.
     The fourth child, Robert William was born on March 16th, 1879. He had quantities of 
black curly hair, my mother said he was beautiful so she had a picture made of him. The 
day he was born we were all sent to Aunt Laura's, one of Mamma's sisters. Maria had baked 
tea cakes on Saturday so we were given some of those to eat on the way, as Maria was 
taking us early. There were no street cars or busses and we had to walk about a mile. 
Aunt Laura and her husband were still in bed. They laughed and called us early visitors.
     Harry Howard, the fifth child was born at night, April 8th, 1881. The next morning 
Aunt Fanny came in where I was dressing and told me that I had anoher little brother she 
said I could go in Mamma's room and see him.
     The night Rose, the sixth child was born, my mother attended church and sang in 
the choir.
     Rosebud Carrie was born on the 20th of May, 1883, I was eleven years old, I can 
remember when all my brothers and sisters were born except Lucy, I was twoo years and 
four months older than Lucy.
     My mother had six sisters, in my childhood all of them lived in Cartersville. They 
were devoted to one another and added much to the happiness of their neices and nephews. 
Aunt Minda, who was Mrs. Ben Mountcastle, always had the entire family at her home for 
Christmas dinner. She was good and truly religious but she always made eggnog early 
Christmas morning. My mother would not allow eggnog to be made in our home. Uncle Jerry 
always invited the family for new years dinner, he was one of the half brothers. He was 
ordinary of the Bartow County Court for twenty five years. My parents were married in 
his home, he generously gave them a large reception with quantities of food. Uncle 
Jerry's wife was Martha Leake, she was good natured and kind to all of his people. 
Her brothers, John and Tom Leake, were successful farmers. My father called the Leakes 
substantial citizens.
     Aunt Fanny married Dr. Tom Arnold when she was twenty nine years old. Till that 
time preparing for our Christmas was her delight. She trimmed our Christmas trees, made 
grab bags and gifts of all sorts. One time she made sewing boxes for Lucy and me and our 
cousin Bettie. She found the description and picture in the Delineator and the three 
sided boxes contained thimbles, scissors, needles and thread.
     My Father's Mother was Caroline Clark, she was married to Joseph Edwards. My Father 
wanted one of his daughters to have her name but my Mother did not like the name Caroline 
so she put Clark in my name. Then she named Lucy for my Father's sister Lucy and Rose, 
she added Carrie to Rosebud. My Grandmother Howard was Sarah Arminda Callahan and she 
was married to Nathan Owen Howard. His Mother was a South Carolinian, Grandma Howard's 
father was Joshua Callahan and her Mother was Elizabeth Huff, Grandma married a widower 
with five children and had eight of her own. I think I was eight years old when Grandma 
came to live with us. My Father lost his Mother when he was a young boy. He was devoted 
to Grandma Howard and called her Grandma. I never heard him speak a cross word to her. 
My Father had Family prayers night and morning. Every member of the family, including the 
cook, must be ready and seated quietly when Papa opened the Bible. My father was a Steward 
in the Methodist Church fourteen years, and taught the mens Bible class. He was Santa 
Claus for the Sunday School Christmas tree. He had a long beard and weighed two hundred 
pounds. I remember one time Mamma and her friend, Mrs. Jim Conyers sewed pieces of cotton 
all over a bathrobe to make it look like snow. The children thought my father was a genuine 
Santa Claus.
     My father was a Mason, and a member of the Knights of Honor. He belonged to an 
organization called Knights Templar, Mamma was a member of the Eastern Star and the United 
Daughters of the Confederacy. For many years my father was the only Funeral Director in 
Bartow County. I can remember when my father went off to a school for embalming and returned 
with a diploma.
     My brothers, Wofford and Bob, enjoyed going to town and walking home with Papa. 
One evening when supper was ready Bob was missing. Mamma said "I bet you locked him up in 
that building."
     After much discussion Papa gave her the key and Maria, Wofford and I were sent to 
look for Bob. When we reached town Maria said "I am afraid to go in there with those 
coffins." She looked across the street and saw Nelson Gilreath, a young man we all knew. 
Maria said, "Minnie you call him and ask him to go in with us. I did and sure enough there 
was Bob sound asleep on the wicker couch used for dead bodies before they were put in 
caskets. I remember when there was an earthquake, often referred to as the Charleston 
Earthquake. My Father had gone to bed, but we all gathered in Mamma's room, Grandma Howard 
said "Willie, why don't you get up and pray for us." My father said "Grandma, you should 
have done your praying before now," and he did not budge.
     My mother was born August 20th, 1840, she attended Cassville Female College that 
was burned down by the Union Army during the Civil War. She was an accomplished musician 
and taught music for many years. She taught and paid for her own piano. My daughter Eugenia 
has this piano now. It is beautiful rosewood. My mother said she hated to sew so she taught 
music and hired the sewing. Aunt Fanny was a good seamstress and made most of our clothes. 
My grandfather Howard died many years before my Mother's marriage. For a while my mother 
lived with her half-brother, William, in Cave Springs, Ga. He and his wife had eleven children.
     When Wofford was a baby my father took us on a trip. We travelled in a double seated 
buggy, Papa, Mamma, Lucy and I, and Maria holding Wofford. Aunt Laura was living in Dallas, 
Ga. Then and that was our first stop. Then we went to Cave Springs to Uncle William's. He 
had a long bench back of the dining room table and some of the children sat on it at mealtime, 
I remember some of their names, George, Frank, Jimmy, Fannie, Lila and Mattie. While in Cave 
Springs, we spent one night at Uncle Immanuel Lyons. He was not a real uncle. He was a brother 
of Grandpa Howard's first wife. I remember for supper they had fried chicken, grits and hot 
biscuits, preserves and fresh butter and milk. They kept a cow so there was plenty of milk. 
Our last stopping place was in Rome, GA. My mother started me in music when I was five years 
old, also to school. Though it was private school, there were no public schools in 
Cartersville in those days. An older girl named Ella Bradley came by every morning and took 
me to school.
     The year I was fifteen my teacher told my father there was nothing more I could 
learn in Cartersville schools. That fall I entered Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Ga. 
As a Sophomore. My biggest event that fall was my joining the Adelphean Society, now the 
A.D. Pi Sorriority [sic]. And too, Jefferson Davis came to Macon and Wesleyan girls were 
carried to see him.
     The next year I went to LaGrange and specialized in music. In February, 1890, I 
married Alexander Akerman, a boy of my home town and with whom I had been in school. 
Like my mother I have had six children but mine are not evenly divided. I have four sons 
but only two daughters. Walter, my oldest son was born in Cartersville, then we moved to 
the Pacific Coast. Margaret was born in Everett, Washington. There I taught music and was 
the paid soprano in the choir of the First Presbyterian Church. My husband's health failed 
so we came back to the South and located in Dublin, Georgia.
     Our third child, Amos Tappan, was born in Dublin, August 20th, 1900. After four 
years my husband was appointed Asst. District Attorney for South Georgia and we moved to 
Macon. The three younger children were born in Macon.
     Emory on December 25th 1903.
     Eugenia on December 2nd 1906.
     Alexander, Jr. on January 12th 1910.
     While living in Everett Washington, my husband was City Attorney and in Dublin, 
Referee in Bankruptcy in 1898 and 1899, having jurisdiction over six counties. He was 
Supervisor of Census, Eleventh District of Georgia 1900. 
     In April, 1901, he was appointed Ast. Dist. Attorney for the Southern District of 
Georgia. We moved to Macon, the official residence designated by the Attorney General. 
Later on my husband was made District Attorney. Upon the change of administration, he 
offered his resignation, as is customary. It was not accepted until September 1st 1914. 
I went with him to Washington, D.C. when he offered to resign. We became good friends of 
the new Attorney General, McReynolds, also George Foster Peabody, who was staying in the 
Shoreham Hotel at the same time.
     In 1917 our family physician, Dr. William Little said we should move to Florida, on 
account of my husband's failing health. We lived first in Kissimmee, where my husband 
rested a year. Then joined the law firm of Kribbs and Steed. In 1920 he formed a 
partnership with the Late Judge John W. Cheney of Orlando. In February, 1929, Alexander 
Akerman was nominated by President Calvin Coolidge to be a Federal Judge for the Southern 
District of Florida. He was confirmed by the Senate and took the oath of office February 
20, 1929. The Bar Association of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit gave a banquet in honor 
of the new Federal Judge. It was held in the Orlando Country Club. The oath of office as 
Federal Judge was administered to Judge Akerman by Judge Frank A. Smith. This made a great 
change in our lives, as my husband and I had to move to Tampa. Tampa was headquarters for 
the Federal Judge. Fortunately all our children were married and gone out of the home except 
Alexander, Jr. He was in the University of Florida taking his law course. We spent ten years 
in Tampa. The people were hospitable and good to us.
     Before moving to Tampa, my husband and I had attended the graduation of our son, Amos 
at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in June 1935. Amos entered West Point in 1921. 
He graduated with honors and was given a Post-graduate course at Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, graduating there in 1927.
We went to see Amos in Boston and that trip was one of the happiest of my life. Boston is 
historically interesting and we went sightseeing every day. Going up for the West Point 
graduation we spent a day and night in New York. Wecalled on several of our friends, George 
Wickersham was Attorney General at that time so we went to his office. He was very cordial. 
I remember when we told him that Amos was graduating as an engineer from West Point, Mr. 
Wikersham said "That is fine he must be a smart boy for it takes brains and hard study to 
graduate as an engineer." We also went to see Merrill Callaway, a former citizen of Macon, 
Georgia. Merrill was then with the Guaranty Trust Company. I had never seen offices so 
handsomely furnished. At the time my husband and I had gone to Washington to submit his 
resignation as District Attorney Merrill was living in Washington. He invited us to have
dinner with him at the new Willard Hotel. That was the only time in my life I ever drank 
a cocktail. Merrill asked me would I jo     in him and Alex in having a cocktail. When I 
said yes, my husband was so shocked, he could not get over it.
     Another trip we enjoyed was our boat trip to Cuba on the "Florida." My husband was 
holding Court in Key West at the time and some one suggested we take the trip to Cuba. 
It was beautiful weather and the water was smoothe as glass. I thought the capitol in 
Havana was much prettier than ours in Washington. We were given a guide and shown through 
the building.
     Before my husband retired, we bought eight acres of land in Naples, North Carolina. 
Then we built a home there and spent twelve summers up there. While he was an active 
Judge he had only one month vacation but after retirement we would go up in April and 
return to Orlando in October.
     We had all sorts of fruit and vegetables. The children and grandchildren did enjoy 
visiting us there. After a short while we bought a farm and added 16 acres to our place. 
We kept a cow, chickens and pigs and horses. North Carolina flowers are beautiful and the 
vegetables are the best in our country. The only worry was to keep help. In our twelve 
summers we had three caretakers. I had eight cooks, some white and some colored and several 
chauffeurs. We had a garage apartment for our servants and also a nice cottage for the 
caretaker and his family. But we decided six hundred miles was too far apart to have our 
homes, so we sold the North Carolina place.
     Most of our children live in Orlando and we had our home there.
     It was fortunate we did sell the farm as I could not manage it alone.
     My husband died a year and a half ago on August 21st 1958. We had celebrated our 
Golden Wedding in 1940.
     My children are all still living and are good and kind to me.
     I have a great deal to be thankful for. My husband gave me a good home and an annuity 
for life. I have many lonely hours but I read and write and try not to murmur. God has been 
good to me all the way through life.