Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 3079natural gifts and of estimable family. He is a thorough Southerner, both heand his wife representing stanch Confederate stock.His father, William T. Stallings was born in Morgan County, Georgia.His ancestors come from Virginia to Georgia. William T. Stallings was amember of Company I of the Nineteenth Georgia Regiment, holding the rankof lieutenant and acting as captain the greater part of his four years servicein the war between the states. Among other engagements he participated atSeven Pines, the second battle of Manassas, and at Chancellorsville waswounded. Following the war he was for several years in the profession ofteaching. Being a highly educated man, holding a degree from Bowdon College, he became prominent in the educational affairs of Coweta County.After a time he devoted his attention to agriculture, and that was his regularvocation through the remainder of his life. An active democrat and an ablespeaker, he represented his county in the State Legislature of 1881-82. Hewas an enthusiastic politician and a loyal adherent of his party friends. Athis death in 1898 he had reached the age of sixty-five. His wife, Mary SusanFreeman, a native of Coweta County, was the daughter of Henry and NancyFreeman. She died at the age of forty-four. In the family of William T.Stallings and wife were eleven children. The oldest is William Laelius.Thomas O., the second son, is a planter of Coweta County. Lillian R. Stallings, now Mrs. G. S. Powers, resides at the old family homestead. Mattie,the fourth child, became Mrs. A. S. Laird and died in Oak Cliff, a suburb ofDallas, Texas. Ernest F. Stallings, a merchant of La Grange, Georgia, is secretary of the La Grange Dry Goods Company. Wade H. Stallings is a prominent cotton dealer of Newnan. Ines, Mrs. W. W. Kirby, also resides in Newnan.Mary Susan became the wife of the Rev. Joseph G. Christian, who is amember of the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church. ElginStallings, another prominent member of this family, is secretary and treasurerof the Oil Mills of Grantville, Georgia. Charles Robert, another son, is in business at Newnan, Georgia. Ethel, the youngest, is Mrs. J. H. Walker, ofGriffin, Georgia.William Laelius Stallings was born September 27, 1867, at Haralson inCoweta County, Georgia. In the public schools of that community he receivedhis early academic instruction, which was later supplemented by teaching inprivate lessons from Prof. Charles L. Moses. Thus prepared for collegiatestudy he entered the University of Georgia at Athens, where he pursued thecourses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. Granted that degreein 1890, the following year was spent in teaching at Roscoe, Georgia, fad hethen returned to Athens and took up the study of law at the university, andwas graduated in the law school.Mr. Stallings began practice in 1892 at Newnan. From that time until1894 he was in the law office of Judge R. W. Freeman, his uncle. At this timeMr. Stallings took a partner, Mr. S. G. Orr, and the firm thus organized continued until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, when Mr. Orr withdrew from legal practice in order to join the army.Political honors came to Mr. Stallings in his election to the office of countyattorney, a place he filled for eleven years. This office is awarded by appointment of the county commissioners, who in this case were in a position to knowthe.superior ability and conscientiousness of the appointee.In 1906 Governor Joseph M. Terril appointed him solicitor of the citycourt of Newnan. He was reappointed by succeeding governors and is nowserving his third term in the responsible office. It is a position of trust andone in which Mr. Stallings has rendered a splendid service to Newnan andCoweta County.Aside from his official duties Mr. Stallings is ostensibly concerned with thesupervision of his fine farms, of which he has several, and his especial prideand pleasure is in the raising of corn and cotton. He gives his valuable sup-