Westview Cemetery

Fernbank and Westview: The Emily Harrison Connection

If you ever took a field trip to the Fernbank Science Center when you were in elementary school, or if you’ve ever visited the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and enjoyed walking along the trails in Fernbank Forest, you can thank Emily Harrison, who - along with many of her family members - is buried at Westview in Section 4.

Emily Harrison - daughter of Col. ZD (Zadok Daniel) Harrison, a well-respected attorney and Georgia Supreme Court clerk - was an educationalist, enthusiastic lifelong naturalist/conservationist, and, you might say, a visionary.

After attending Washington Seminary in Atlanta, she went on to study at Radcliffe College, the Sorbonne, and Chicago University. She then worked as the assistant editor at the "Southern Educational Journal" and editor of the women’s department at the "Atlanta Daily News." Later, she served as chair of the Department of Literature at the Georgia State Normal School in Athens, as chair of the English Department at Shorter College, and as chair of the English Department at North Avenue Presbyterian School, which later became Westminster Schools.

In 1915, Harrison decided she needed a formal college degree and went to Chicago to earn a Ph.D. Afterwards and over the next few decades, she sought teaching positions in botany and landscaping at Rabun-Gap Nacoochee School, Piedmont College, Young Harris, and Appalachian State Teachers College. And at the age of 61, she returned to college, yet again, to study forestry and landscape gardening at the University of Georgia.

After her father’s death in 1935 and to avoid seeing her family's beloved woods sold (283 acres bought in 1899 near Clifton Road and Ponce de Leon Avenue), Harrison convinced some of her Druid Hills neighbors to purchase the land for the sum of $35,000 and create a non-profit, Fernbank, Inc.; both to be used to educate children.

In the 1940s, through Fernbank, Harrison offered a six-week “Nature Study School” for children and advocated for various "school in the woods" programs. For decades, she offered her beloved Fernbank woods to host nature programs for the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, YMCA, YWCA, and day campers; the Girl Scouts, alone, operated a day camp program there for 32 years (1934-1966).

In 1967, Fernbank Science Center was born out of a 40+year-land lease/agreement with the rapidly growing Dekalb County School System. The Fernbank Museum of Natural History followed in 1992. Passing away in 1973, Harrison saw the first of these two come to fruition.

So, the next time you find yourself in or near Fernbank - Science Center, Museum, or Forest - take a moment to not only appreciate your beautiful surroundings, but offer up a "thank you" to the lasting efforts and vision of Harrison. As she once explained in a letter to her parents: “Fernbank was too big and too beautiful for one family's consumption ... The best thing to do with it would be to put it into the lives of children."

Also, too, the next time you are out at Westview, visit Harrison's grave and ponder how much of Atlanta's history resides within the cemetery's gates! Or ask us how many of Asa Candler, Jr.’s big-game trophies once housed here at the cemetery made their way to Fernbank in the 1970s!

(The impetus and bulk of the above was researched and written by Westview's Christia Holloway; all images not Westview's are used for educational purposes only.)

, , , ,

Little Mabb garners some local news coverage. How cool!

Thank you, Thornton!

Historic Atlanta cemetery honors famed sideshow performer “The World’s Smallest Man,” Adrien Esmilaire, stood just 27 inches tall and weighed only 20 pounds.

Little Mabb Continues His Press Run

Adrien Esmilaire, aka "Little Mabb," continues to garner press in his native village, Croismare. (see yesterday's post)

Below is Director of Administration Jeff Clemmons's translation from French of the attached flyer. Be kind, he is not a professional translator. Nuances may have been lost.

***

NEWS

Adrien Esmilaire: a memory rediscovered all the way to America.

For a long time in Croismare, some older residents recounted that Adrien Esmilaire had disappeared in a shipwreck in the Atlantic during a voyage.

The reality is less romantic: Adrien Esmilaire died on October 18, 1918, in an Atlanta hospital, from the Spanish flu, as attested by official records and his death certificate.

While talking with the village elders, Catherine Monnet, our town clerk, heard the rumors surrounding Adrien Esmilaire's fate.

Intrigued, she began her research. By typing "Adrien Esmilaire dead," she discovered an article by Jeff Clemmons of the Atlanta Cemetery (USA), who was indignant [wanted more] about the modest state of Adrien's grave, contrasting sharply with the imposing monuments nearby.

Catherine then contacted Jeff, and a correspondence ensued. He, in possession of the death certificate, which mistakenly listed a birth in Paris, was surprised to learn that Adrien was actually born in Croismare. Happy to reconnect with his native village, Jeff [with the help of Westview’s President Charles Bowen and Director of PR (sales) Grant Myers] decided to give him a more dignified burial, which has since become a place of remembrance for many people.

Touched by this story, Ginette Weyer, an artist from the village, created a life-size doll of Adrien, which was sent to Atlanta in a shipping crate made by Jacques Ricatte, a passionate woodworker—a gesture of craftsmanship and solidarity that deeply moved Jeff.

Since then, exchanges have continued between Atlanta and Croismare: more than a century later, Adrien's epic journey continues to bring the two sides of the Atlantic closer together.

Arriving in Atlanta, Jeff was overjoyed to see him.

'Little Mabb,' Grande Vie: Adrien Esmilaire

In 2015, historian and author Jeff Clemmons, then working for Troutman Sanders LLP, was gathering information for his book "Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery" (History Press, 2018). To blow off some steam after a long day of work followed by research, he'd watch one of his favorite television shows - the horror anthology, "American Horror Story."

That year, the show's season - "Freak Show" - was about one of the last "freak shows" existing and struggling for relevance in the United States in 1952. Aside from starring Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, John Carroll Lynch, Evan Peters, and several others, one of the most unique cast members was Jyoti Amge.

Amge, an Indian actress who stands just under 25 inches tall and touted as the shortest living women by Guinness World Records, fascinated Clemmons. He had just discovered Adrien Esmilaire, aka "Little Mabb," who stood only 27 inches tall and was buried at Westview.

Esmilaire, a French circus performer, was in Atlanta performing at Lakewood park with the Johnny J. Jones Exposition when he died of the Spanish Influenza at Crawford Long Hospital on October 18, 1918; he was buried in Section 8 at Westview the following day.

Both Amge and Esmilaire had the same genetic condition - primordial dwarfism.

Fast-forward to 2021.

Clemmons - after a stint at Georgia Power, publishing his Westview book, and getting the cemetery placed on the State and National Historic Registers - now worked at Westview. There, he had more time to ferret out information about those who had intrigued him during his book research and writing. Esmilaire was one of those he wanted more information on.

Not long after Clemmons started at Westview, Catherine Monnet, town secretary of Croismare, France, reached out to him; she was looking for Esmilaire's grave, and Clemmons was looking for Esmilaire's hometown or village. Both - elated with finding each other - got their answers. And the two began a friendship, communicating via Google Translate.

In 2017, Westview had placed a small marker on Esmilaire's grave, but in 2022 Westview erected a much larger marker with a life-size image of Esmilaire on it. Clemmons, Westview President Charles Bowen, PR Director (sales) Grant Myers, and other staff thought the tribute to "Little Mabb" would make a fascinating spot to visit in the cemetery and would be a wonderful way to remember Esmilaire's life and legacy.

Monnet in Croismare, France, and other townspeople were also ecstatic with the new marker; Little Mabb's history had come full circle and two locales connected.

One of the townspeople thrilled over all that had transpired was retired teacher and artist Ginette Weyer. Weyer, who, incidentally, lives in Esmilaire's childhood home, had, years ago, created a life-size doll of Esmilaire for display in the village. But last month, Weyer, with the full backing and help of Monnet, decided to gift her "Little Mabb/Adrien Esmilaire" doll to Westview for display in its offices and for future installation in its 1890 gatehouse museum.

Last Thursday, "Esmilaire" was sent from France to Atlanta via a special wooden crate made by Croismare-woodworking-enthusiast Jacques Ricatte. While Esmilaire was in route, the "L'Est Républicain Lunéville" newspaper ran an article about the events above mentioned. (See below for link and translation.)

Today, Clemmons - excited like a child on Christmas morning - received the doll, uncrated him, and took "Little Mabb" to meet "Little Mabb." It was a full-circle moment years in the making.

The entire staff at Westview is humbled by this gift from Weyer and is indebted to Monnet and the villagers of Croismare for their efforts in making this happen.

May Adrien Esmilaire's "little" life loom large. May his memory endure. May you all come visit him for yourself.

, , , ,