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Jordan Family Collection of Ephemera

 Collection
Identifier: SMC 122

Scope and Contents

The materials in this small collection show various parts of the family’s life, from report cards, to flying school and fox hunts. One item of note is the signature of Henry Grady on a postal registry.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940s

Biographical / Historical

The Jordan family is a well-known and well-established family in Columbus, Georgia. The patriarch of the family, George Gunby Jordan (1846-1930) was one of the most dynamic businessmen of Columbus, Georgia from the 1880s until his partial retirement, around 1915. He was born June 19, 1846 in Sparta, Georgia and died on May 9, 1930. He served with Nelson's Rangers during the Civil War. After the war, he moved to Columbus and became an officer in the Eagle & Phenix Mills until the 1880s when the Mills began to falter. He then headed the Georgia, Midland and Gulf Railroad to McDonough, the Columbus Southern Railroad to Richland, the Columbus Power Company, the Columbus Manufacturing Company, and many other businesses. After the Eagle & Phenix Mills entered receivership in 1896, he returned there and reorganized and modernized the company. He also served on the Muscogee County Board of Commissioners, where he focused on road paving projects, as well as on the Columbus Public School Board, the Railroad Commission of Georgia, the National Civic Federation, and the International Commission for Industrial Peace, among other organizations. In February 1881, Jordan married Lizzie B. Curtis of Columbus. She died the following year, leaving a son, Ralph Curtis. Ralph married Louise Mulford and had 4 children; G. Gunby II, Ralph C. Jr, Randolph Mulford and Louise. The Jordan home at Green Island Ranch was one of the show places of the area.

Full Extent

1 Folder

Language of Materials

English

Related Materials

G. Gunby Jordan Collection, MC 12

C. Dexter Jordan Collection MC 64

Status
Completed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
4225 University Ave
Columbus Georgia 31907 United States