dannomac.com

Welcome to my Home History Page We live in a wonderful old Craftsman bungalow in one of the oldest neighborhoods in town. I have researched our home's history by visiting the local genealogical societies, and using old-fashioned techniques as well as new-fangled technologies, I've been able to not only determine who has lived in our house, but have had the good fortune of being able to locate many of the former residents and/or their decendants. In several cases, previous dwellers have actually just shown up on our doorstep, curious to see how the old place has stood the test of time. No one who visits is ever disappointed, and all have great stories to share of their adventures here. The residents (past and present) are listed and honored here.
Galloway (1912-1918)
Miles D. and Mollie Galloway were the first owners of our home. The house next door (no longer standing) was owned and occupied by his brother, Clarence. Miles worked in sales at Jacobs Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta - the same location where Coca Cola was discovered in the late 1800s. Miles and his siblings (Thomas, Clarence and Sam) were involved in early Atlanta real estate. They were also locally known for their singing talents, forming the Galloway Brothers Quartet. They were often featured on WSB Radio had somewhat of a local following. Miles and Mollie had four boys - Miles Jr, Thomas (both born here), Sam and Bobby. After moving to Decatur for a brief period in the 20s, the Galloways ultimately blazed a trail to Miami, FL, where they made their fortune in automotive sales. The Galloway Brothers are still known for their auto dealerships in Florida to this day.
Original Property Sale Atlanta Constitution - 1/27/1912		Birth Announcement - Thomas Galloway Atlanta Constitution - 2/2/1916		Galloway "Four" Quartet Announcement Atlanta Constitution - 6/15/1923

Davis (1918-1921)
The house was occupied for a brief period of time by a Mrs. Viola Davis and her children, James Curran, Kate, Tommie Lee, and Mary. The eldest son (James Curran Davis) was born in 1895 in Franklin, GA. He was a WWI veteran, and after he returned home in 1919, he came to live with his mother here. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in that same year. He went on to become a Dekalb County Superior Court judge, and then a Georgia state representative. He served in the US House of Representatives from 1947-1963. After losing his 1962 re-election bid, he started a local Atlanta newspaper (The Atlanta Times), which was published for a mere 15 months from June 12, 1964 until August 31, 1965. He was also a member of the Board of Directors for DeKalb Federal Savings and Loan until his death in 1981.

Flannigan (1921-1934)
Roland A. and Berta Flannigan came to live on Confederate Avenue in 1921, after Berta inadvertently burned down their previous home on Federal Terrace while cooking. Recovering from this tragedy, they came to live here with their children R.A. Jr, Edythe, Norman, Margaret, and (Thomas) Wayne. Another son, Herbert, was born here in 1922, and a daughter, Mary, born in 1932. In addition to the immediate family, Berta's mother (Janie Wise) resided with the Flannigan's for a time, and ulitmately passed away here in the house. Daughter Edythe gave birth to her first daughter (Barbara) here in 1932. During the onset of the Great Depression, in an effort to make ends meet, the Flannigan's also took in two boarders, Katie Davis and her daughter, Juanita. The 1930 census (excluding Janie, Mary and Barbara) boasted ten people living under one roof. Unfortunately, as with many people impacted by the Depression, the Flannigan's ultimately lost the home in 1934 for approximately $58 in back taxes. We've been fortunate enough to meet and befriend several members of the Flannigan clan, including Barbara and her daughters. They've shared many stories with us, including the fact that they used to house the family cow in our basement in the evenings. In 2008, our house was featured in the Ormewood Park Tour of Homes, and Barbara was an honored guest hostess, sharing her stories with those who came to view our humble abode. We feel lucky and blessed to have the Flannigan's in our lives and in our home, all these years later.
Edythe & Roland Jr 1911	Janie & Berta 1919	Edythe 1927	Edythe with daughter Barbara - 1932	Neighbor Thelma and Berta - 1932	Edythe & Berta 1932

Harris (1936-1938)
Cornelia Harris (widow of Samuel) came to live in our home in 1936 with her children James, Edwin and Marion. During their brief stay here, Cornelia was employed as a machine operator for Saul-Klenberg plant in Atlanta. Her oldest son (James) worked as a pressman for Globe Ticket Company. Although there is little photographic evidence of the Harris stay, young Edwin left his mark by on one of the back supporting columns of the house, as seen in this recent picture standing under our back deck.

Morris/Dennard (1938-1954)
Gerald H. and Lora Morris came to live here in 1938, with Lora's mother Maggie Dennard. They were blessed with two daughters, Dianne and Jerry. A son, Gerald R., was born while the Morris family lived here. Gerald was a B-24 pilot in Europe during WWII, achieving Lt. Colonel status. While he was off fighting the war, wife Lora managed the house while her mother Maggie worked as a seamstress for JP Allen & Company. The Confederate trolley line ran from the Old Soldier's Home about a quarter mile from the house, so Mrs. Dennard would use this public transet source to get back and forth to downtown Atlanta. (author's side note - we found a tolley token under the subfloor when we renovated one of our bathrooms a few years back...) In my quest to find out more about our house history, Dianne and Jerry were the first two people that I managed to make direct contact with. Eventually, our phone conversations lead us to a few in-person meetings, and we learned a lot about their lives hear. When Dad was away at War, he'd send chocolate and other treats, and they were kept in a special place in the hand-built bench seat in the living room, next to the fireplace. The other bench seat (in the dining room) housed the fine silver. After the War, Gerald returned to Confederate Avenue, where he made a business for himself creating custom store window advertisements, becoming one of the early perfectors of the technique now known as "air-brushing". We have pictures of him working on one of his designs, as well as a photo of the finished product. The girls also provided us with copies of old stationary and business cards, which we now prominently display in our house.
Gerald	Lora	Maggie, Lora Dianne & Jerry	Lora	Dianne & Jerry	Dianne, Jerry & the chickens
Gerald & friend Working on store displays in back room	Zing Campaign final product	Painting by Gerald of our home	Jerry & Dianne	Jerry & Dianne	This is a photo of our back yard in the mid-40s - look closely for the hidden kids.

Dent (1954-1957)
Mrs. Rose L Dent (widow of John Thomas Dent) lived here. That's about all we know. To date, I've not been able to obtain any additional information about her or her family, other than the fact that she was born in 1891, died in February 1978, and was buried in Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. According to census information, she had four children: Willie Mae, John Jr, Elizabeth and Paul. No information pertinent to her years here has been discovered (yet).

Wilder (1957-1995)
William H. and Eunice Wilder lived in our house for the longest period of time, first renting, then purchasing the home. The family owned the house for almost 40 years. They raised three children here: William Jr, Michael and Mary Stephanie. William worked as a driver for the Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Association (MARTA). Eunice passed away in the front bedroom (now my office) in 1990. We feel her presence still today, as she turns light on and off without provocation, and plays little tricks here and there. It's not uncommon that, when something "odd" occurs at the house, one of us will say "OK, Eunice, that's enough now..." I've just recently met Stephanie for the first time, and look forward to finding out more facts and discovering new stories of things that have occurred in our house. We've already learned how her Dad used the butler's pantry as his tool room, and that the boys learned to shoot using a (now-vintage) Red Rider BB-gun in the back yard.

Miller/Adams (1996-2000)
John Miller and Kimberly Adams purchased the home from a "flipper" (Hugh Kelly) in early 1996. We believe they may have been married here - this story comes to us from a pizza delivery girl who told us once that she had met her partner at a wedding here in the late '90s. Fact or fiction? Someday I'd like some confirmation. :-)

Crosby (2000-2001)
Alexa and Sean Crosby lived here for the shortest period - just one year. I'm pretty sure they would have stayed much longer, but due to a career move, the couple jetted off to the West Coast in pursuit of new adventures We still get their mail.

Us (2001-???)
We bought the house in October 2001, mere weeks after the 911 attacks. We seriously thought about cancelling the purchase due to the trying times and uncertainly that we knew was ahead, but we forged onward. And what a great decision THAT was! After nine years of dilligent work efforts, we're almost complete in our task of restoring this grand old house to it's original state, with a few upgrades and twists. I think we've touched about every piece of the place by now, including the main floor, basement, roof, electrical, plumbing, yada yada yada. Our efforts have paid off, for us as well as our friends, who enjoy hanging out and spending time here, as we're sure generations before us have. We were honored to be included in the 2008 Ormewood Tour of Homes.