Jordan Family Collection of Ephemera (SMC 122)
Biographical Note
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.
Scope and Content
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.
1899-1979 1 folder (.1 l.f.)
Permission to Publish
Permission to publish material from Jordan Family Collection must be obtained from the Columbus State University Archives at Columbus State University. Use of the following credit line for publication or exhibit is required:
Jordan Family Collection (SMC 122) Columbus State University Archives Columbus, Georgia
Note to Researchers
See also:
G. Gunby Jordan Collection (MC 12)C. Dexter Jordan Collection (MC 64)
Contents of folder
1 - George Gunby Jordan's spring 1932 report from Kent School, Kent, Conn.
2 - 1944 Columbus Army Flying School graduation announcement. This is presumably for R. Curtis Jordan Jr, a Lieutenant in 1944.
3 - Envelope addressed to Lt. R. Curtis Jordan Jr. c/o Jordan Mills, 1944
4 - Postcard addressed to Mrs. R. Curtis Jordan, Green Island Ranch
5 - Postcard addressed to Mrs. N.N. Curtis, Broad St. Columbus from Kinney Shoe Store, 1928
6 - Embroidered bookmark, "Remember me", nd
7 - Postcard addressed to Armed Services Y.M.C.A., not used
8 - Note of sympathy to Ruth from Elizabeth Turner
9 - Photograph of an unidentified woman sitting in an archway, nd
10 - Registry Receipt at Dawson Post Office to Henry Grady, Atlanta, October, 1899
11 - Photograph of Dawson, Georgia Post Office
12 - Postcard addressed to Mrs. Gardiner Garrard reminding of her Brookstone clinic duty
13 -- Postcard addressed to Mr. Gardner Garrard Jr., Midland Fox Hounds, February, 1980
14 --The Midland Foxhounds list of Foxhounds, 1979
15 - Business card for Turner's Taxi Service, Atlanta
16 - Brochure for Dixie Camps New York World's Fair Trip, Aug 21-29, 1939
17 - Unused check of Columbus Bank and Trust Company, North Highlands Branch-blank
18 - Photograph of two unidentified men with dog hunting in field, unlabeled, nd
