Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

GEORGIA AND GEORGIANSEDWIN K. LUMPKIN. The impartial enforcement of wholesome laws belong to the quickening current of the times, and the medium through whichmany of the 'benefits must come is the able, far-sighted, alert lawyer, whohas a keen sense of conscious obligation. Not always is great ability associatedwith this consciousness, but neither is it always lacking.The Athens Bar offers a notable example of unusual legal talent, combinedwith a high sense of professional duty, in Edwin K. Lumpkin, who is acknowledged to be one of the ablest members of the legal fraternity in Clarke Countyand the 'rrounding section.Er1 |K. Lumpkin was born January 1, 1856, at Marion, Alabama, inthe " /'of his maternal grandfather, Gen. Edwin King, who fought inthe A. /lean and Indian wars, and afterwards settled where Marion now is,becoming a large planter and a man of great influence in the early days ofAlabama. Mr. Lumpkin was named for his grandfather.Athens, Georgia, was the home of his paternal grandfather, Judge JosephHenry Lumpkin, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, andheld that office until his death, in 1867. Chief Justice Lumpkin was a manof great prominence as a lawyer, and later as a judge, and in the politicallife of Georgia, and a man of honor, influence, position and wealth.In his infancy, the parents of Edwin K. Lumpkin (W. "W". Lumpkin andhis mother) returned to Athens, Georgia, and here the youth grew to manhood, with the advantages that culture and social position could give. In 1873he graduated from the University of Georgia, together with class-mates, amongwhom were Joel Hurt, now of Atlanta, and Judge John L. Hardeman, ofMacon. He had chosen civil engineering as a career, and followed that profession for some three years, and for the four succeeding years was interestedin farming and surveying. His active brain was not satisfied, however, andhe is next found an ardent student of law, his preceptor being ex-Senator PopeBarrow. In 1878 he was admitted to the Bar at the Oconee Superior Court,and immediately located at Athens, and attracted attention not only by hislegal ability, but his unusual capacity and .willingness to work and give timeand attention to the dry and more or less burdensome details of the profession. And since then his wide and varied experience has resulted in comprehensive familiarity with legal principles and precedence, that goes far to prevent faulty judgment in presenting claims for clients that have not a good. legal foundation.Mr. Lumpkin has been, to some degree, a general practitioner, but whathas interested him most has been a form of practice which may perhaps becalled anti-corporation practice. He has been connected with a number oflarge and important cases, among others, in which he was a moving factor,the litigation with the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, to compel themto distribute among its past policy-holders, as well as the then present ones,the accumulated surplus, in 1885, which amounted to more than a milliondollars; his position being, that, in justice and law, the past policy-holders,having contributed, were proportionately entitled to share in the surplus withthe then present policy-holders.In 1888 Mr. Lumpkin formed a partnership with W. B. Burnette, the firmbeing Lumpkin & Burnette, and becoming one of great strength, the saidpartnership continuing until the death of Mr. Burnette, since which time hehas practiced alone, until recently, his son, Edwin K. Lumpkin, Jr., has beentaken into partnership by Mr. Lumpkin.In 1878 Mr. Lumpkin was united in marriage with Miss Mary B. Thomas,who .was a daughter of John G. Thomas, who was a large planter, and latera prominent citizen of Milledgeville, Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Lumpkin have afamily of nine children, five .daughters and four sons. The family are affiliatedwith the Presbyterian Church.Mr. Lumpkin is a great reader and very fond of literary pursuits. Hishobby, if it might be called a hobby, is his garden, his house and his home.