Community FACTBOOK 2011
They really are
OMs ( O L D M A R I E T TA N S )
The Glover family dates back six generations in Marietta. They are truly a link to the city’s past, and its future By Sally Litchfield / MDJ features editor
T
here is Old Marietta and then there’s Old Marietta. The Glover family — Marietta’s pioneer family — established their roots in Marietta before Marietta was born. Six generations of Glovers claim Marietta as home. “We’ve always loved Marietta and loved the community,” says James Bolan “Bo” Glover IV, a fifth generation and the eldest living Glover at age 81. “There’s no place like Marietta.”
Like his ancestors, Bo has witnessed many changes in Marietta over the years. “We had cows just three blocks off the Square when I was a boy,” Bo said. “I remember the whole southwest corner of the Square was reserved for cotton wagons.” Bo recalls traveling Dallas Highway before the construction of expressways. He describes rolling hills, trees and
red clay. “I’m sure that’s what my relatives must have seen when they came here the first time. I would imagine they just loved it,” he said. “Marietta is just a lovely place. I think it’s the prettiest place in the whole world,” said Bo, the husband of Joan Wooten Glover. When John Heyward Glover Jr. (JHG) and his wife Jane
Staff/Todd Hull
Above, seated from left: Wilder Glover Little, Jane Glover Hawkins and Prilla Glover Ottley. Standing: A.D. Little and Bo Glover. James Bolan ‘Bo’ Glover (fifth generation) is the eldest living Glover. Below, left: John Heyward Glover Jr., who arrived in Marietta with his wife, Jane Porter Bolan Glover, in 1847 and became the city’s first mayor. Below, right: James Bolan Glover and his family at their home on the old Glover Marchine Works property in Marietta. Front cover, from left: Anne Glover Cundiff, Aimee Cundiff, Bo Glover and his wife Joan Wooten Glover, Lauren Cundiff and Jim Glover. Lauren and Aimee Cundiff are twins and are the grandchildren of Bo and Joan Glover. Jim Glover and Anne Glover Cundiff are their children. Section cover, from left: Jane Glover Hawkins, A.D. Little, Prilla Glover Ottley, Gracie Witcher, Wilder Glover Little, Aimee Cundiff, Bo Glover, Joan Glover, Anne Witcher, Ben Witcher, Anne Glover Cundiff, Rob Ottley, Mary Elise Ottley, Jim Glover, Cathy Ottley, Patty Witcher and Lauren Cundiff. Porter Bolan Glover (JPBG) arrived in Marietta in 1847, it was considered a summer resort town. The Glovers moved from Charleston, S.C., to escape coastal diseases like yellow fever that took the lives of several family members, according to James Bolan “Jim” Glover, V (sixth generation). Based on a promissory note to “John Heyward Glover, Jr. 13 June 1839, Marietta, GA,” it appears that JHG engaged in business in Marietta eight years before settling in the area. JHG, who became the first mayor in 1852, played a vital role in the establishment of Marietta as a thriving town, as did generations of Glovers to come. An original incorporator in 1852, JHG built his first home, Bushy Park, a large Greek revival plantation, due south of Marietta (off South Cobb Drive). (Bushy Park in modern time
was converted into a restaurant first known as The Planters and subsequently The 1848 House. Another Mayor, Bill Dunaway, owned The 1848 House from 1992 until the
MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL l SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2011 l MDJONLINE.COM
house sold in 2004. The restaurant closed in 2002.) JHG sold Bushy Park in 1851 when JPBG decided the
See Glover, P. 28
P. 11