Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VII: Family

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VII: Family

Descriptive Summary

Title: Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VII: Family
Creator: Hardman, Lamartine Griffin, 1856-1937
Inclusive Dates: 1900-1953
Language(s): English
Extent: 13 box(es) (9.5 linear feet)
Collection Number: RBRL137LGH_VII
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Mrs. Hardman (Emma Wiley Griffin) maintained the majority of family-related papers in this series. Included are early photographs of Governor Hardman, genealogical information, courtship letters, and marriage congratulations. This series also contains various family letters from 1908 to 1953, letters and cards of sympathy on the death of Hardman in 1937, Mrs. Hardman's household financial papers, material documenting her world tour in 1953, and cards received during her illness in 1953. Her obituaries from several newspapers were added to the file. Additional family correspondence for the years 1927 to 1933 can be found in Series V. Governor, B. Office Correspondence.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

Dr. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was born April 14, 1856 in Harmony Grove, GA (now Commerce, GA). His father was both a physician and a minister, and Hardman followed in his father's footsteps by attending medical school at the Georgia Medical College in Augusta. He received further medical training at Bellevue Hospital in New York and also conducted post-graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania Polyclinic Hospital, and the Guy Hospital in London. In 1899, Hardman and his brother William established the Hardman Sanatorium in Harmony Grove.

Hardman achieved nationwide fame for his pursuit of the latest advances in medical science, especially his experiments in the new field of anesthesiology. Hardman was also a proponent of phrenology, the practice of measuring cranial features to predict mental traits. Phrenology was used throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to provide pseudoscientific defenses of white supremacy.

Aside from medicine, Hardman also had an interest in agriculture and manufacturing. He established the Harmony Grove Cotton Mill in 1893 and began investing in farmland, eventually becoming one of the largest farmers in Georgia by 1900. He used scientific processes to develop new agricultural practices, which he shared with other farmers around Commerce. Hardman was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1902 as a representative from Jackson County. He served in the House of Representatives until 1907, when he was elected to the State Senate. In 1909 he returned to the Georgia House for a final term. During his time in the General Assembly, Hardman introduced bills to support agricultural education in public schools and establish the State Board of Health. Drawing on his upbringing as the son of a Baptist minister, Hardman was also an author of Georgia's 1907 prohibition law.

Hardman launched two unsuccessful campaigns for governor—in 1914 and 1916—before finally being elected in 1926. In 1928 he defeated E. D. Rivers for re-election. As governor, Hardman attempted to apply "scientific" processes to the administration of the state, which included establishing the Allen Commission on Simplification and Coordination to reorganize the state's government. Hardman proposed initiating a nutritional study of north Georgia to address reported shortcomings in the average diet. However, he also applied what he believed were scientific processes to capital punishment, using phrenology and a belief that fingerprints could be used to predict mental ability and criminality to determine which condemned prisoners would be spared from the electric chair.

Hardman left the governor's office in 1933. He returned to Commerce, where he lived with his wife Emma Wiley Griffin until his death on February 18, 1937.

Scope and Content

Mrs. Hardman (nee Emma Wiley Griffin) maintained the majority of family-related papers in this series. Included are early photographs of Governor Hardman, genealogical information, courtship letters, and marriage congratulations. This series also contains various family letters from 1908 to 1953, letters and cards of sympathy on the death of Hardman in 1937, Mrs. Hardman's household financial papers, material documenting her world tour in 1953, and cards received during her illness in 1953. Her obituaries from several newspapers were added to the file. Additional family correspondence for the years 1927 to 1933 can be found in Series V. Governor, B. Office Correspondence.

The early diaries kept by Emma Griffin Hardman (1901 to 1902 and 1904 to 1905) offer a rare glimpse into the life of a young woman in turn-of-the-century Georgia. Mrs. Hardman and the governor's secretary also kept very detailed diaries during Hardman's gubernatorial years, 1927 to 1931. In addition to chronicling Georgia politics, these diaries also record trips, visits by dignitaries, and everyday life at the Governor's Mansion.

Emma Griffin's yearbook and diploma from Southern Home School in Baltimore, along with other large documents, have not been microfilmed.

Organization and Arrangement

Loosely arranged by topic.


Administrative Information

User Restrictions

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Preferred Citation

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Processing Note

During the arrangement and description process, archivists noted that many of the manuscripts were very fragile and in need of preservation work. After Hardman's death in 1937 his papers were moved to Harmony Grove Mills for storage. When the Hardman family sold the mill in 1990 the papers were transferred to the basement of the First Commerce Bank in Commerce, GA. Shortly after the papers arrived at the Russell Library, archivists observed that the collection had suffered serious deterioration from poor paper quality. Additionally, many of the pulp paper carbons of Hardman's correspondence had become very brittle and were literally breaking into pieces. The more these originals were handled, the more fragile they became. These papers required transfer to an additional format to ensure the information would be available for current and future researchers. After discussions with the Hardman family in 1997, Russell Library archivists proposed a project to microfilm the collection.

Thanks to a generous grant through the Harmony Grove Foundation, the Hardman Preservation Microfilming Project began in January 1998. The library hired a microfilm preservation specialist to prepare the collection for filming and to supervise the filming project, which was conducted in cooperation with Computer Hardware, Imaging and Preservation Services (CHIPS) at the University of Georgia Libraries. Items in each folder of the collection were re-arranged alphabetically or chronologically (depending on the nature of the material), a task that took well over a year to complete. Items not selected for filming routinely included duplicates, household bills and receipts, cancelled checks, invitations, greeting cards, photographs, advertisements and promotional pamphlets, and non-print memorabilia. Material to be filmed was then counted, programmed onto individual reels, targeted and microfilmed according to Research Libraries Group (RLG) guidelines--a process that ultimately produced 153 reels of microfilm, or roughly one reel per linear foot of manuscript material. Reels for research use are housed at the Russell Library. Master negatives are stored at the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Atlanta; copy negatives are housed at the University of Georgia Libraries. A microfilm reel finding aid, keyed to the collection finding aid, is available to assist researchers.

Access Restrictions

Use of microfilm recommended.

Copyright Information

Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: 2000.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Related Collections in this Repository

Hoke Smith Papers

Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection

Dudley M. Hughes Papers

Richard B. Russell, Sr. Papers

Hugh Peterson, Sr. Papers

Related Collections in Other Repositories

Ivan Allen, Sr. Papers, Atlanta History Center


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

VII. Family, 1900-1953

13 box(es)
(6 linear feet)
Mrs. Hardman (nee Emma Wiley Griffin) maintained the majority of family-related papers in this series. Included are early photographs of Governor Hardman, genealogical information, courtship letters, and marriage congratulations. This series also contains various family letters from 1908 to 1953, letters and cards of sympathy on the death of Hardman in 1937, Mrs. Hardman's household financial papers, material documenting her world tour in 1953, and cards received during her illness in 1953. Her obituaries from several newspapers were added to the file. Additional family correspondence for the years 1927 to 1933 can be found in Series V. Governor, B. Office Correspondence.The early diaries kept by Emma Griffin Hardman (1901 to 1902 and 1904 to 1905) offer a rare glimpse into the life of a young woman in turn-of-the-century Georgia. Mrs. Hardman and the governor's secretary also kept very detailed diaries during Hardman's gubernatorial years, 1927 to 1931. In addition to chronicling Georgia politics, these diaries also record trips, visits by dignitaries, and everyday life at the Governor's Mansion.Emma Griffin's yearbook and diploma from Southern Home School in Baltimore, along with other large documents, have not been microfilmed.
boxfolder
11Courtship letters [microfilm reel #145]
12Congratulations on marriage [microfilm reel #145], March-April 1907
13Letters [microfilm reel #145], 1907-1920
14Letters [microfilm reel #145], 1920-1932
15Death of Mrs. W. B. Hardman (clippings) [microfilm reel #145]
16Death of Mrs. J. N. Griffin [microfilm reel #145]
boxfolder
21Letters [microfilm reel #145], 1930s
22Letters [microfilm reel #145], 1930s-1940s
23Clippings, programs, club booklets [not filmed]
boxfolder
31Biographical items [microfilm reel #145]
32Dr. Hardman's billfold (contents) [not filmed]
33Telegrams of Sympathy on death of Dr. LGH [microfilm reel #146]
34Letters of Sympathy, A-M [microfilm reel #146]
35Letters of Sympathy, N-Z [microfilm reel #146]
36Death of L. G. Hardman [not filmed], 1937 February
boxfolder
41Emma G. Hardman Letters [microfilm reel #146], 1940s
42Programs, booklets [not filmed], 1940s, 1950s
43Finances, Taxes [not filmed], 1947-1951
44Household finances [not filmed], 1952-1953
45Memorials, club dues, investments [not filmed], 1953
boxfolder
51-4Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs World Tour (EGH) [folders 1-2, 4 - not filmed] [folder 3 - microfilm reel #146], 1953
boxfolder
61Correspondence re: World Tour [microfilm reel #146], 1953
62Illness of EGH [microfilm reel #146], December 1953
63Correspondence, clippings re: L. G. Hardman Jr. [microfilm reel #146]
64Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs [not filmed], 1953
65Baptist Church [not filmed]
66Clippings on varied interests [microfilm reel #146]
67Travel [not filmed]
68[Clippings: Sue Hardman, Josephine , Mrs. J. N. Griffin, death of Lamartine Hardmman] [not filmed], 1925-1940
69[Legal Petition concerning the will of Lamartine G. Hardman] [not filmed], 1942
610[Letter from Lamartine Hardman to Emma Hardman] [not filmed], 1934 May 16
611[Certificate of Marriage: Lamartine and Emma Hardman] [photostat; not filmed], 1907 March 26
boxfolder
71-4EGH Financial papers (paid bills, bank statements, check stubs) [not filmed]
box
8Booklets and brochures from countries Mrs. Hardman visited on Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs world tour [not filmed], 1953
box
9Diaries kept by Emma Griffin, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905 [microfilm reel #147], 1901-1905
box
9.2Diaries kept by Emma G. Hardman 1927, 1928 [microfilm reel #147], 1927-1928
9.2Emma Griffin's hand lettered yearbook from Southern Home School in Baltimore, MD [not filmed], 1900
box
10Diaries kept by Emma G. Hardman [microfilm reel #147], 1929-1931
10Guest book [microfilm reel #147], 1925-1936
boxfolder
111Diploma from Southern Home School, Baltimore, MD, for Emma Wiley Griffin [not filmed], May 1900
112Appointment of Mrs. Hardman to Advisory Committee N. Y. World's Fair [not filmed], 1939
113Certificate of membership, D.A.R., Mrs. Emma Griffin Hardman [not filmed]
114Certificate of membership, U.D.C., Miss Emma Wiley Griffin [not filmed]
115Certificate of membership, D.A.R., Miss Josephinem Staten Griffin [not filmed]
116Diploma, Convention Normal Course, Southern Baptist Convention, Mrs. J. N. Griffin [not filmed]
117Tribute to Governor Hardman by the governor's staff [not filmed]
box
13[Bible used by Lamartine Hardman when he was sworn in as Governor of Georgia and by Linton Collins when he was sworn in as a judge in the U.S. Court of Claims], circa 1927

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University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641