Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VIII: General

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VIII: General

Descriptive Summary

Title: Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VIII: General
Creator: Hardman, Lamartine Griffin, 1856-1937
Inclusive Dates: 1890-1944
Language(s): English
Extent: 5 box(es) (2.25 linear feet)
Collection Number: RBRL137LGH_VIII
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VIII: General series consists of five subseries. World War I activities includes papers concerning Hardman's role as U.S. Fuel Administrator for the state of Georgia from 1916 to 1919. Personal Correspondence contains a wide range of material from the 1890s to 1926, including a folder of courtship letters from Rosa Taylor, correspondence concerning the unveiling of the memorial to Dr. Crawford Long, contracts, and speeches. Personal Interests contains miscellaneous publications, agricultural brochures, maps and church-related documents. Vault Papers consists of bank deposit books and financial statements. Publications includes information on public schools, speeches by others, and miscellaneous pamphlets. The 25 May 1944 issue of the Commerce News contains a feature on the 50th anniversary of Harmony Grove Mills. There are papers on prohibition, agriculture and education mixed throughout the series. Further documentation on these subjects can be found in Series IV. Legislative and Series V. Governor.

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

Lamartine Griffin Hardman Papers, Series VIII: General series consists of five subseries. World War I activities includes papers concerning Hardman's role as U.S. Fuel Administrator for the state of Georgia from 1916 to 1919. Personal Correspondence contains a wide range of material from the 1890s to 1926, including a folder of courtship letters from Rosa Taylor, correspondence concerning the unveiling of the memorial to Dr. Crawford Long, contracts, and speeches. Personal Interests contains miscellaneous publications, agricultural brochures, maps and church-related documents. Vault Papers consists of bank deposit books and financial statements. Publications includes information on public schools, speeches by others, and miscellaneous pamphlets. The 25 May 1944 issue of the Commerce News contains a feature on the 50th anniversary of Harmony Grove Mills. There are papers on prohibition, agriculture and education mixed throughout the series. Further documentation on these subjects can be found in Series IV. Legislative and Series V. Governor.

Organization and Arrangement

This series is organized into five subseries: World War I, Personal Correspondence, Personal Interests, Vault Papers, and Publications.


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

 

VIII. General, 1890-1944

5 box(es)
(2.25 linear feet)
The general series consists of correspondence, speeches, printed materials and reports maintained by Dr. Hardman on a variety of topics from 1890-1944. Dr. Hardman's activities during World War I are also documented in this series. There is further documentation of Dr. Hardman's interest in the Commerce Public schools in Series II. Business A. Commerce Office. Other files relating to agriculture and prohibition can be found in Series IV. Legislative and V. Governor.



A. WWI activities

boxfolder
11-2Council National Defense - State Committee [microfilm reel #148], 1917-1918
13Correspondence - U. S. Fuel Administration [microfilm reel #148], 1918
14Statement by the State Fuel Administrator [microfilm reel #148]
15State Organization - U.S. Fuel Administrator for GA [microfilm reel #148]



B. Personal

boxfolder
21General Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], 1926
22General Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], 1924
23General Correspondence - stenographer's notebooks [microfilm reel #148], 1921-1924
24Correspondence (Rosa Taylor and others) [microfilm reel #148], 1890s
25Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], 1890-1893
26Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], 1895-1899
27Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], August-December 1907
28Correspondence [microfilm reel #148], 1919
29Unveiling of the Crawford W. Long Statue [microfilm reel #148], 1926
210Dr. Crawford W. Long [microfilm reel #148]
211Speeches - others [microfilm reel #148]
212Speeches [microfilm reel #148], 1911-1919
213Speeches - Cotton Seed [microfilm reel #148]



C. Personal interests

boxfolder
31Nantahala National Forest [not filmed]
32Geological Survey of the US (Ellijay, GA) [not filmed]
33US Soil Survey Reports [not filmed], 1914-1928
34Recreation map of the Cherokee National Forest, TN [not filmed], 1937
35Agriculture information bulletins [not filmed]
36Agriculture [not filmed], 1920, 1923
37College of Agriculture - Indirect Appropriations [not filmed], 1917, 1918
38Agriculture committee [not filmed], 1915-1916
39Mercer University Bursar's Report [not filmed], 1917, 1918
310Clippings [not filmed]
311Ordinance - Electric lights to the city of Commerce [not filmed]
312Education - Commerce School System [not filmed], 1924
313Commerce High School [not filmed], 1926
314Hardman Library Dedication - Mercer [not filmed], 1937
315Members of the legislature of Georgia [not filmed], 1917-1918
316State Board of Health - Georgia [not filmed]
317Address of Dr. Ray Wilbur American Child Health Association [not filmed], April 10, 1930
318Prohibition [not filmed], 1922
319Prohibition - The Success of the Prohibition Party Policy [not filmed]
320Gubernatorial Announcements - others [not filmed]
321Church decorum rules [not filmed]
322Baptist student conference, Atlanta, GA [not filmed], October 30-November 2, 1930
323Survey of the Georgia Baptist Assembly Grounds, Blue Ridge, GA [not filmed]
324Baptist Church, Commerce - Business Woman's Circle, Mrs. H. C. Carrington [not filmed], 1923-1924
325Baptist Church, Commerce - Young Matrons Bible Class [not filmed]
326Church, speeches, programs [not filmed], 1922-1924
327Georgia Baptists [not filmed]



D. Vault papers

boxfolder
41Bank deposit books [not filmed]
42-3Vault papers [not filmed]
44-5Statements, reports and letters of Ranie Chasteen Estate (LGH executor) [not filmed], 1904-1905
46Wedding invitations [not filmed]
47T. C. Hardman speeches and clippings [not filmed]



E. Publications

boxfolder
51Harmony Grove Mill Anniversary [microfilm reel #148], 1944
52Rules governing sale of cotton to domestic mills [microfilm reel #148]
53Catalogues of the sculptures in the Corcoran Gallery of Art [not filmed]
54Advertisements [not filmed], 1894
55Publications [not filmed]
56Miss Rutherford's scrapbooks [not filmed]
57Volunteers vs. Conscripts Speech by Champ Clark [microfilm reel #148], 1917
58"His Great War Message" [microfilm reel #148], 1917
59Second Liberty Loan [microfilm reel #148], October 20, 1917
510"Win the War for Permanent Peace" [microfilm reel #148], 1918
511-12Catalogs [not filmed]
513High School Population in the South [microfilm reel #148], 1906
514What Georgia Offers You [microfilm reel #148]
515What the banks of the US think about the Federal Reserve Act [microfilm reel #148]
516"Making America Catholic" [microfilm reel #148]
517Lynching: Removing its causes [microfilm reel #148], 1910
518Slavery and the race problem in the South [microfilm reel #148], 1906
519Speech of Chas. Murphey Candler [microfilm reel #148], 1910
520"Little Notes on the Great War" The Jeffersonian [microfilm reel #148], 1917
521Letterhead [not filmed]
522The Jutland Battle [microfilm reel #148], 1916
523The Lost Cause - A Confederate War Record [microfilm reel #148], 1902
524Various reports [microfilm reel #148]
525Dear Old Georgia [sheet music; not filmed], 1926
526Crim's Magazine for Teachers and School Officials [not filmed], 1930 February

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University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641