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Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 2861(Lane) Milner. The gr<strong>and</strong>parents on <strong>the</strong> paternal side were Thomas <strong>and</strong>Sarah (Lane) Milner, <strong>the</strong> gr<strong>and</strong>mo<strong>the</strong>r being a daughter <strong>of</strong> Joseph Lane <strong>and</strong>sister <strong>of</strong> Rev. Charles W. Lane, <strong>of</strong> A<strong>the</strong>ns, <strong>Georgia</strong>.Rev. Robert William Milner, fa<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> our subject, entered upon a ministerial career early in life, preaching <strong>the</strong> gospel at Ackworth, <strong>Georgia</strong>, A<strong>the</strong>ns,<strong>Georgia</strong>, <strong>and</strong> Commerce, <strong>Georgia</strong>. During <strong>the</strong> latter years <strong>of</strong> his ministryhe fiUed <strong>the</strong> pulpit <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Evangelical Presbyterian Church at A<strong>the</strong>ns. Ofscholarly attainments <strong>and</strong>' sincere Christian character, he was esteemed <strong>and</strong>honored wherever known. His death occurred in 1887, when he had attained<strong>the</strong> age <strong>of</strong> sixty-seven years. His wife, a noble Christian woman, died inOctober, 1910, at <strong>the</strong> age <strong>of</strong> eighty-two. They had a family <strong>of</strong> seven children,namely: Nellie, who died in C^vington, <strong>Georgia</strong>, in 1915; George C., agraduate <strong>of</strong> Augusta Medical College, who died in Cuero, Texas, where hewas engaged in active practice as a physician; Robert Wells, <strong>the</strong> directsubject <strong>of</strong> this sketch; Talmadge, a graduate <strong>of</strong> Louisville (Ky.) MedicalCollege, who is now engaged in <strong>the</strong> practice <strong>of</strong> medicine at Waynesboro,Burke County, <strong>Georgia</strong>; William T., a lumberman residing in Covington,<strong>Georgia</strong>; John Edwin, a resident <strong>of</strong> Lithonia, <strong>Georgia</strong>; <strong>and</strong> Arthur H., whois agent for <strong>the</strong> Central <strong>of</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> Railroad at Covington.Robert Wells Milner laid <strong>the</strong> foundation <strong>of</strong> his education in <strong>the</strong> publicschools <strong>of</strong> Madison County, subsequently entering <strong>Georgia</strong> University, wherehe was graduated Bachelor <strong>of</strong> Arts in <strong>the</strong> class <strong>of</strong> 1880. The next eight years<strong>of</strong> his life were spent in educational work, <strong>the</strong> first four years as teacher atLithonia, <strong>Georgia</strong>. He was <strong>the</strong>n principal for three years <strong>of</strong> Laurens FemaleCollege, at Laurens, South Carolina, after which he spent a year at Jonesboro,<strong>Georgia</strong>, being head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> school known as Middle <strong>Georgia</strong> Collegeduring- <strong>the</strong> term <strong>of</strong> 1887-88. Some time previous to this he had resolved toenter <strong>the</strong> legal pr<strong>of</strong>ession <strong>and</strong>, after having studied under various preceptors,was admitted to <strong>the</strong> bar by <strong>the</strong> Supreme Court <strong>of</strong> South Carolina in 1887.He began legal practice in Lithonia, De Kalb County, <strong>Georgia</strong>, where he hada successful career <strong>of</strong> twenty years, during which time he served <strong>the</strong> city fornearly fifteen years as mayor. In 1905 he moved to Covington <strong>and</strong> here servedas solicitor for <strong>the</strong> city courts for six years, or until that <strong>of</strong>fice was abolished.He is attorney for <strong>the</strong> Bank <strong>of</strong> Covington <strong>and</strong> has been city attorney sinceJanuary 1st <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> present year, 1915. During <strong>the</strong> ten years he has spent inthis city he has added largely to his reputation as a lawyer <strong>of</strong> more thanordinary capacity. His knowlpdge <strong>of</strong> jurisprudence is extensive <strong>and</strong> accurate.He at once grasps <strong>the</strong> salient points <strong>of</strong> a case he is called on to h<strong>and</strong>le, <strong>and</strong>he possesses in a high degree <strong>the</strong> power <strong>of</strong> presenting it before <strong>the</strong> court in aforceful <strong>and</strong> convincing manner. These qualities have made him one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>leading attorneys <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Stone Mountain District <strong>and</strong> have gained for him asplendid clientele. He is a Knight Templar Mason <strong>and</strong> noble <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> MysticShrine, <strong>and</strong> also belongs to <strong>the</strong> Odd Fellows, Red Men <strong>and</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong>Pythias. For thirty-one years he has been an elder in <strong>the</strong> PresbyterianChurch. An educated gentleman, <strong>of</strong> genial manners <strong>and</strong> kindly disposition,he enjoys <strong>the</strong> esteem <strong>of</strong> a wide circle <strong>of</strong> friends.Mr. Milner has been three times married. In 1884, at Saint Albans, WestVirginia, he was united in <strong>the</strong> bonds <strong>of</strong> matrimony to Miss Lena Swindler.She died in 1892, leaving a daughter, Lena B., who is a graduate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>G. N. I. College <strong>of</strong> Milledgeville <strong>and</strong> is now a teacher at Calhoun, <strong>Georgia</strong>.In 1894 Mr. Milner contracted a second marriage to Miss Cora Bolton, <strong>of</strong>Rockdale County, <strong>Georgia</strong>. Of this union <strong>the</strong>re were seven children, as follows:William B., Robert W., Ruth W., Mary, Lee Johnson, Mariam, <strong>and</strong> Arthur.Mr Milner 's second wife died in April, 1910, <strong>and</strong> on August 30,1911, he married, at Lawrenceville, <strong>Georgia</strong>, Mrs. Anna (Mitchell) Bush, <strong>the</strong> daughter <strong>of</strong>Dr. T<strong>and</strong>y K, Mitchell <strong>and</strong> Anna (Simmons) Mitchell, <strong>of</strong> Lawrenceville.Mrs. Milner was reared in <strong>the</strong> Methodist Church, but is now an active memberVol. VI -6

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