Edward Conyngham Peters (October 22, 1855 – February 1, 1937) was an

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

real estate developer. He was the son of Richard Peters, a founder of the city.

Early life

Peters was born on October 22, 1855, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He was one of nine children born to Mary Jane (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Thompson) Peters (1830–1911) and Richard Peters (1810–1889), a railroad executive who was one of the founders of Atlanta. Among his siblings were

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

, president of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

, and Nellie, who also became prominent. His paternal grandfather was Richard Peters, a

reporter of Decisions The Reporter of Decisions (sometimes known by other titles, such as Official Reporter or State Reporter) is the official responsible for publishing the decisions of a court. Traditionally, the decisions were published in books known as case repor ...

to the

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, and his great-grandfather was

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

man Richard Peters, a Pennsylvania jurist. His maternal grandfather was Dr. Joseph Thompson, an early settler and doctor.

Career

In 1889, upon his father's death, Edward inherited Richard's land, railroad and trolley interests. He operated a real estate firm known as Peters Land Co., founded in 1890, and was a member of the

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council (formerly the Atlanta Board of Aldermen until 1974) is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members: the council president, twelve members elected from di ...

, and donated the land for Peters Park in 1887. He sold off the land for the development of what is now the southern half of

Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown for short, is a Urban area, high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used ...

(below 8th Street, as far west as Atlantic St. on the Georgia Tech campus, to Argonne St. east of Piedmont). Peters also served as president of the Atlanta Savings Bank, the

Exposition Cotton Mills The Exposition Cotton Mills were Cotton mill, cotton mills located in what is now the West Midtown area of Atlanta at the upper end of the Marietta Street Artery, an area rich with industrial heritage architecture. They were built on what had bee ...

, and was one of the organizers of the Fourth National Bank in Atlanta.

Personal life

On November 19, 1878, Peters was married to Macon native, Helen Wimberly (d. 1936), the daughter of Ezekiel Wimberly and Mary Victoria (née Holt) Wimberly. Together, they were the parents of: * Wimberly B. Peters (1885–1948), who married Lucille Kuhrt. * Edna Peters, who died in infancy. His wife died at their home in June 1936 after five years of illness. Peters died on February 1, 1937, in Atlanta and was buried at

Westview Cemetery Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than , 50 percent of which is undeveloped. The cemetery includes the graves of more than 125,000 people and was ...

Residence

Peters' residence, the Edward C. Peters House, built in 1883 and designed by architect G. L. Norrman in the Queen Anne style, on the southwest corner of

Ponce de Leon Avenue Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Decatur, Georgia, Decatur, Clarkston, Georgia, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs (Atlanta), Po ...

and Piedmont, is now used by the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Edward C. 1855 births 1937 deaths Businesspeople from Atlanta Atlanta City Council members