Georgia Magazine - March 2021 - 17

Here are a few of the women in the Georgia
Women's Hall of Fame.

Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson,
1860-1942, Newnan
Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson helped establish
Georgia's first state-supported college for women
and successfully managed her husband's campaign
for governor. Men in power referred to her as " a tiny
little lady. " But Atkinson's energy and determination
proved dynamic.
While growing up during the Civil War and
Reconstruction, Atkinson witnessed the plight
of Southern women who could not afford higher
education. She held the political ladder steady as
her husband, William Yates Atkinson, climbed it-
from county solicitor to speaker of the House and,
ultimately, governor. She reminded him routinely
that Georgia's women needed to learn industrial and
domestic arts.
In 1889, Atkinson sent copies of a petition to
women of influence in every Georgia county. When
her husband presented a bill to the Georgia Legislature later that year to establish a college for women,
it was accompanied by petitions with thousands of
signatures-and it passed. Milledgeville was chosen
as the site for the new college, known today as
Georgia College and State University, where the
School of Business is named for the couple.
Atkinson's campaign to get her husband elected
governor succeeded when he won by a landslide.
He served as governor from 1894 to 1898. A writer at
the time noted that she directed " the most brilliant
political victory in Georgia since the war. "

COURTESY NEWNANCOWETA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

" It's a great website with information about
each honoree and a video about each woman of
achievement, " says GWA Trustee Abit Massey, of
Gainesville. " These are exceptional women who
have made incredible accomplishments and are a
continuing inspiration. "
A nominee to the hall of fame should have
made a significant contribution at a statewide,
regional and/or national level in areas such as business, technology, the arts and medicine. Historical
perspective is necessary for a nominee's contributions to become clear, so the GWA requires that
nominees must be deceased for at least five years. A
GWA board of selections reviews nominations and
chooses inductees.
For more information about the women in the
Georgia Women's Hall of Fame or to submit a nomination, visit bit.ly/gawhof.
Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer living in
LaGrange.

Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson

'Why cannot Georgia girls who need and have
to work, and who need and want to go to
school, be instructed in some practical
training and become proficient in the
industrial arts?'
-Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson

After her husband's death in 1899 at age 44,
Atkinson worked in the insurance business to support their six children. She later traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask President Theodore Roosevelt in
person for the job of Newnan postmistress, a role she
held until 1928.

Sarah Randolph Bailey,
1885-1972, Macon
Sarah Randolph Bailey taught school for nine
years and was appointed to Macon's Maryland M.
Burdell School, where she worked for 35 years as a
teacher and principal. When one of her students was
sent to Macon's Old Detention Home, Bailey volunteered to teach Sunday school there. Because of her
leadership, the home became the Negro Training
School for Girls, which focused on rehabilitation and
life preparedness. Today it is the Youth Development
Center, managed by the Georgia Department of
Juvenile Justice.
Hoping to provide African American girls with
the same experiences their white counterparts had
in the Girl Scouts, Bailey organized the Girl Reserves
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Georgia Magazine - March 2021

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