Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 3251Born in Clarendon County, South Carolina, September 22, 1879, LawrenceManning is a very young man to occupy so responsible a position. He hasattained high rank among American engineers and deserves all the morecredit for the fact that as a young man he chose to be independent and workout his own destiny.- His parents were Brown and Ella (Boykin) Manning,both natives of South Carolina. His father was for a number of years aplanter in Clarendon County. During the war he was a captain in the Confederate army, endured imprisonment after capture on Johnson's Island inLake Erie for a number of months, but after being exchanged rejoined hisregiment and continued with it until the close of the struggle. His deathoccurred in 1881 at the age of fifty years, when his son Lawrence was onlytwo years of age. The latter's mother is now living at Camden, South Carolina, at the age of sixty-five. Lawrence Manning is the only one now livingof the five children.He attended school in Kershaw County, South Carolina, continued hiseducation in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, where he received the founda-" tion of his scientific training in mechanical engineering, and left that institution in 1897, after finishing the third year's work. For two years he waslocated at Camden, South Carolina, engaged in constructing the plant of theElectric Light and Ice Company in that city. He was next with the GeneralElectric Company in their great works at Schenectady, New York, employedas a mechanical engineer from 1900 to May, 1904. After that he was managerfor the Owosso and Corunna Electric Company at Owosso, Michigan, untilJanuary 1, 1908. On April 1, 1908, he was made general superintendent ofthe Choctaw Railway and Lighting Company at McAlester, Oklahoma. Aftersix months there failing health compelled him to leave the state, and hereturned to Camden, South Carolina, where for a time he was in practice asa consulting engineer, under the firm name of Manning-Hughes Company.On January 1, 1913. Mr. Manning left Camden and located in Savannah,where he organized the Atlantic Engineering Company, which is an incorporated concern, with himself as president and manager, H. O. Bumann asfirst vice president and treasurer, and Pusey Jones as second vice president andsecretary.Since it was organized the Atlantic Engineering Company has completedor has under way more important engineering projects probably than anyother one organization of this kind in the southeastern states. While the firmhandles all classes of general and constructive engineering, its specialtiesmight be considered those just mentioned. This company has done the firstreal work of private engineers in the great work of drainage and reclamationof wet and overflowed lands in Georgia. The Atlantic Engineering Companyhas directed the work in preparation of draining the swamps to the amount of67,000 acres in Hampton County, South Carolina, at a cost of $300,000. Theyhave also handled the Buck Creek Drainage District in Horry County, SouthCarolina, involving 17,000 acres. They are the engineers for the GeorgiaLand Company in its project for the drainage of 85,000 acres in Mclntoshand Liberty counties, Georgia, at a cost of $500,000. They havealso handled the Broad River drainage work in Franklin and Stephenscounties, Georgia. They are also the construction engineers for several linesof railway recently built or under construction in Georgia. Their operationsalso extend to Florida, where they are handling the Peace Creek DrainageDistrict in Polk County, involving 40,000 acres and an outlay of over $250,-000. Several other large projects have been given to them in that and othersections of Florida.Mr. Manning is a director of the Pineora Development Company, a landand townsite company, is a director in the Georgia Land & Cattle Company,and is generally recognized as one of the most forcible younger men in thestate. Fraternally, he is a Mason, an independent in politics, and is a memberof the Episcopal Church.