New Georgia Encyclopedia: Georgia Historical Society

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Georgia Historical Society

Founded in 1839, the Georgia Historical Society remains committed to its original mission "to collect, preserve, and diffuse information relating to the History of the State of Georgia." Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia's colonial capital, the society continues to bear the seal of the colony's Trustees, along with their philanthropic motto: Non sibi sed aliis —"Not for self, but for others."

Origins, Government, and Leadership

In the

Georgia Historical Society Seal

spring of 1839 three Savannah residents—Richard D. Arnold, William Bacon Stevens, and Israel K. Tefft—founded the Georgia Historical Society. The state legislature in Milledgeville incorporated the organization in December of the same year. Arnold described Tefft, an autograph and manuscript collector, as the true " fons et origo [source and origin]" of the society. Certainly, Tefft's splendid collection of documentary treasures suggested both a nucleus and an exemplar for the organization's collections.

The three founders soon succeeded in attracting to their cause an impressive group of tidewater "aristocrats" and businessmen. They also framed a constitution calling for a governing structure that continues, in general, to be followed today, with a president and other officers assisted by a governing board whose members are known as curators.

William Bacon Stevens

From around 100 active members in 1839, the society had grown to some 6,000 by the beginning of the twenty-first century.

From its inception the society profited from inspiring, dynamic leadership. Among the most effective of the organization's nineteenth-century presidents were its first two—John Macpherson Berrien (a lawyer, U.S. senator, and U.S. attorney general) and James Moore Wayne (a lawyer, U.S. congressman, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). One or the other served as president between 1839 and 1862. Henry Rootes Jackson (a lawyer, jurist, diplomat, and Confederate general) held the presidency from 1875 to 1898.

During the twentieth century few presidents served more than one term, and the majority were professionals or businessmen from the Savannah area. Some, however, like Alexander A. Lawrence and Malcolm Bell Jr., were also historians in their own right. Toward the end of the century, university-affiliated historians, including William M. Gabard and Roger K. Warlick, often led the society. In 1996 the attorney Lisa Lacy White became the first female president and served a term marked by productive initiatives and imaginative leadership.

Collecting Georgia's History

The

U.S. Constitution

society's missions of collecting, preserving, and diffusing Georgia's history have been closely intertwined. A circular issued by the society's 1839 library committee to establish the scope of the collection listed about 100 types of historical materials, including not only the primary sources of the state's history (manuscript and printed) but also secondary and literary sources. Steadily augmented over the years, the collection now numbers more than 4 million manuscripts, 90,000 photographs, 25,000 architectural drawings, 20,000 books, and thousands of maps, newspapers, portraits, and artifacts.

Preserving Georgia's History

The

Robinson Marker

society's aim of preserving Georgia's history has extended beyond its own collections, as seen most recently in its acquisition from the state of the Georgia Historical Marker program. But preservation of the society's own materials has remained central to its mission, with paramount importance placed on the various repositories in which its collections have been held. The first of these was shared from 1839 to 1849 with the Savannah Library Society, to whose collections and furniture the society was heir. This marked the first of many partnerships between the society and other entities that would be a vital element of the society's survival.

In 1849 the society moved into its own hall, a neo-Gothic structure designed by John Norris and located on East Bryan Street, just off Reynolds Square. In 1871 the society relocated to Armory Hall on

Hodgson Hall Reading Room

Wright Square, and in 1875 the society finally moved to its present headquarters, Hodgson Hall, at the northwest corner of Forsyth Park. Erected in memory of the prominent society member and savant William Brown Hodgson (1801-71), the impressive structure serves as a representation of the society to most of its members. Not surprisingly, the society's expanding collections and membership have necessitated periodic renovations, improvements, and additions to the original structure.

Crucial to the success of the society have been those individuals of various titles from librarian to director who have borne the major responsibility of overseeing society activities in Hodgson Hall. From the late 1870s to the late 1990s four individuals gave the society especially remarkable service, precious continuity, and a lengthy institutional memory: William Harden, 1875-1936; Lilla Mills Hawes, late 1940s-1976; Anthony R. Dees, 1976-83; and Anne P. Smith, who rose from staff member in 1982 to library director in the 1990s.

Various society members have assisted over the years with the society's collecting activities. Included among these members are several representatives of the De Renne family, whose own extraordinary collections were often used as an adjunct to the society's holdings.

Diffusing Georgia History

Publishing has been the society's major avenue of disseminating Georgia's history. Issued intermittently, the series Collections of the Georgia Historical Society began publication in 1840, and the

Collections

twenty-second volume was published in 1996. In 1914 J. Franklin Jameson of the American Historical Association noted of the Collections that the society "chose from the beginning the right path, in composing its volumes mainly of those original and contemporary materials whose value is permanent and secure. Its editions of Oglethorpe and Montiano and Wright, of James Habersham and Joseph Clay, are alone sufficient to confer distinction upon such a society." The society has also commissioned and published other books, from William Bacon Stevens's History of Georgia (2 vols., 1847, 1859) to Buddy Sullivan's Georgia: A State History (2003), with the assistance of various publishing houses.

In 1917 the society began publishing its own journal, the Georgia Historical Quarterly, which features scholarly articles and book reviews.

GHQ, 2003

An index to the journal (1917-76) was published in 1991. Though the Quarterly originally contained news on society activities and information on accessions, those subjects have been covered since 1972 by the society's newsletter, Georgia History Today (formerly the GHS Footnotes).

By the 1990s the society also boasted a Web site offering information on publications, outreach, and events. During the same period a more traditional brand of dissemination, the historical lecture, was revived and presented to audiences beyond Savannah by society representatives in a form of outreach that had been initiated by William Bacon Stevens in the 1840s.

Challenges and Achievements

In common with similar organizations, the Georgia Historical Society has experienced chronic funding difficulties. The adoption of a modest agenda and the benefit of various timely partnerships have contributed to the society's survival. Over the years the society's partners, who have assisted with various expenses, have included the Savannah Public Library, Armstrong College (now Armstrong Atlantic State University), and most notably, the Georgia Archives. From 1966 until 1997 the society's library served as a branch depository of the archives, resulting in considerable funding assistance. In 1997 this relationship was transformed with the privatization of the library. Though the library's depository status continues, funding has been cut in half, and the society today operates independently of the state.

In 1971 an endowment was established, and two years later a permanent board, the Georgia Historical Society Endowment Trust, was created to administer the funds. By spring 2002 the endowment had increased to $5 million. In 2003 the society began another endowment campaign involving a $750,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant.

These

Georgia History Festival

funding initiatives became the responsibility of W. Todd Groce, who assumed the position of executive director in 1995. Groce led the society in raising nearly $13 million for operations and endowment. Shortly after his appointment, Groce also presented "Initiative 2000," a five-year plan for a redirection of the society. Its salient feature was the Affiliate Chapter Program, which sought to enhance further the society's statewide character by adding regional vice presidents to the board of curators, along with creating a network open to Georgia's historical and genealogical societies, museums, foundations, archives, preservation organizations, churches, and patriotic organizations. In 2006 Groce was named president and chief executive officer of the society, and affiliate chapters numbered more than 165.

In 1989 the society received a Governor's Award in the Humanities.