The Mansell family has been well known in North Fulton for more than a century. They have been successful farmers employing the latest farming techniques. They have been astute and creative businessmen and were committed to their churches, and in some cases, became quite wealthy yet were always frugal. This column is a tribute to this remarkable family.
I am indebted to several people who have documented various aspects of Mansell history. First, Linda Mansell Martin who wrote “The Great Generation of Mansell’s of N. Georgia,” the definitive history of the Mansell family. Her brother Jody Mansell, deceased, wrote stories about his experiences with his grandfather. Maude Dorris Mansell, (1883-1977) had her granddaughter compile some facts of her life for her descendants. Finally, I appreciate the help of Barry Mansell a retired BellSouth executive, Kathy Beck of the Milton Historical Society and many articles in local newspapers about various members of the family.
The Mansell story begins like that of many local families. The first Mansell’s in America came from England, Ireland and some from Germany in the 18th century. They settled in Virginia and the Carolinas. The first Mansell to settle in Georgia emigrated from South Carolina. Robert Henry Mansell Sr. (1820-1862) and his wife Hanna Maude McCollum (1815-1903) settled in Fields Crossroads in Milton County, at one time a thriving community.
Robert Sr.’s grandson, also named Robert Henry Mansell (1873-1950), was born in Crabapple and was married to Maude Dorris Mansell (1883-1977). People called him Bob. He is noted for the farmhouse he built in 1911 on what is now Mansell Road in Roswell from trees grown on his property. He gradually amassed some 700 acres and lived in the house until 1949 when he retired. In addition to farming, Bob was a successful businessman with an interest in two cotton gins and a sawmill. He also sold his produce from the back of a truck with his grandson Jody every Saturday in Atlanta.
Bob gave each of his five children approximately 60 acres depending on its location and built for each child a house with the understanding that they could never sell their property or take out a mortgage on it. The exception was James Earl Mansell (1910-2002) who received a larger plot because he was the only one of the children interested in farming.
Earl Mansell and his wife Lillian Shirley Mansell [1911-2002] moved into the home. Over the years the Mansells added to the property and raised four sons on the farm: Bob, a retired professor at Florida State University; Marcus, owner of the Mansell Home and Garden Center at Mansell Road and Highway 9 and an extended stay motel in Woodstock (1940-2019); Denny (1948-2013); and Barry. Barry recalls getting up very early every morning to milk the cows before going to school. Before she was married, Lillian Mansell was a teacher in Crabapple and rented a room in the historic Reese House in the Crabapple crossroads.
Earl sold his 135-acre property to the Herman Miller Company, a manufacturer of office furniture, in 1980 after farming the property for 33 years. The company donated the 10-room Mansell farmhouse to the Alpharetta Historical Society in 1990. The society moved it to its current location on Old Milton Parkway where it serves as a special event facility and headquarters of the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society. Earl and Lillian retired to a house on Upper Hembree Road. In addition to Earl, Bob had three other sons, Joe, Walter and C.B., and a daughter,Pauline.
Bob Mansell’s grandson Jody wrote some short stories about his grandfather who was very close to Jody as he grew up. The stories are included in Linda Mansell Martin’s fascinating book. One story written in 1910 was about Mitch & Madeline, a black tenant farmer and his wife who lived on Bob’s farm. Mitch helped Bob with all his farm work: plowing, planting, harvesting, hog killing – whatever needed to be done. Madeline helped Maude with cooking, cleaning, canning, etcetera. The two couples were good friends.
One day, Jody reported, Bob said to the couple “The two of you deserve a place of your own…lets go see if we can find one.”
Jody recalled that they found a house and that the Martins lived in the house until they passed away years later. After their deaths, their son lived in the house until his death. When Bob died, the Atlanta Journal referred to him as “one of North Fulton county’s most well-known citizens.”
In the next column I will discuss Bob’s four sons and daughter and some other interesting members of one of the most fascinating families in this area.
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