- Livingston Mims
Livingston Mims (1820 –
March 5 ,1906 ) [ [http://garrett.atlantahistorycenter.com/gdetail.php?idnum=28553 Franklin Garrett Necrology Database - Atlanta History Center] ] was an Americanpolitician who served asmayor ofAtlanta, Georgia during the early 20th century.Born in Edgefield,
South Carolina , he later moved toMississippi and represented Hinds County in the state legislature from 1859 to 1861. He was the only child of Henry Mims and Susan Burr Read of Edgefield, South Carolina.During the
United States Civil War , Major Mims served under GeneralJohn C. Pemberton and saw action in theBattle of Jackson , Champion Hill andVicksburg Campaign .Shortly after those losses, he joinedJoseph E. Johnston 's staff and shared a friendship and business interests until Johnston's death in 1891.After the war, he became southern manager of the
New York Life Insurance Company (since 1868) and he was charter member and served 20 years as president of theCapital City Club . Following his death in 1906, he was buried inWestview Cemetery . In observance of his death, Atlanta's City Hall was closed for one half day, and free carriage rides were offered from City Hall to the Westview Cemetery.Quote_box
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quote=I do not know exactly the church to which I owe allegiance, as I am a contributor to several. My wife is a Christian Scientist, my daughter is an Episcopalian, my father was a Baptist, my mother was a Presbyterian, and I am a confederate Veteran with inclinations to the Salvation Army.
source=Livingston Mims , "Campaign Speech (1900)"|Politically he was an old school Democrat and he was elected mayor of Atlanta in October 1900. The election came in the midst of Atlanta's streetcar war; he was supported by
Joel Hurt (Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway Company ) and opposed byHenry M. Atkinson (Georgia Electric Light Company ).On
October 9 ,1901 he rode in the inaugural streetcar over thePeachtree-Whitehall viaduct – before then it was a dangerous at-grade crossing of many busy railroad tracks.He was a fan of
wine and French cooking and his two-story residence was on the northeast corner ofPeachtree St andPonce de Leon Ave (current location of theGeorgian-Terrace Hotel ).His motto was "The pleasure of doing good is the only one that never wears out".
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