Samuel Martin Inman (February 19, 1843 – January 12, 1915) was a prominent cotton merchant and businessman in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, who is best known for the neighborhood in Atlanta that bears his name. Inman is also commemorated in the name of the Samuel M. Inman Middle School in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.

Early life

Inman was born in Dandridge, Tennessee, in Jefferson County. He was the son of Shadrach W. Inman and Jane Martin Inman. He went to college at

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

and at the age of 18 he joined Company K of the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

's First Tennessee Cavalry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. During the war he served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of his company and was present at the surrender of the army.

Atlanta and Inman Park

In 1866, Inman moved to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, and became a businessman. He joined with

Joel Hurt Joel Hurt (1850–1926) was an American businessman. He was the president of Trust Company of Georgia, and a developer in Atlanta. He was one of the many founders of SunTrust Bank. Early life Hurt was born on July 31, 1850, in Hurtsboro, Ala ...

that year to form the

East Atlanta Land Company East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

with the purpose of developing

Inman Park Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman. History Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated * Inman Park p ...

as a residential suburb of Atlanta. They also formed the

Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad The Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1886 by Joel Hurt, C. W. Hubner, H. E. W. Palmer, W. P. Inman, Peter Lynch, R. C. Mitchell, Asa Griggs Candler, J. P. McDonald, J. G. Reynolds, A. F. Morela ...

to provide convenient transportation to the new neighborhood. He moved permanently to Atlanta in 1867 to establish the S. W. Inman & Son cotton house with his father. The next year he married Jennie Dick of

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. In 1869, they changed the title of the company to S. W. Inman & Co and by 1889, it was the largest cotton business in the city, with a branch house in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Some estimated at that time that Inman was worth about $750,000 to $1,000,000, a sum that would have been much larger if not for his charitable donations.

Relatives

By 1889, Inman, his two younger brothers, and other male relatives were a very wealthy, enterprising, and influential clan. According to the '' New Georgia Encyclopedia'', "From their interest in cotton they expanded into such related areas as fertilizers, cotton presses, steel hoops to hold compressed cotton, and railroads for the shipping of cotton. In order to influence shipping rates, the Inmans obtained positions on the boards of various railroads and as voting stockholders." The Inmans also invested very profitably in Atlanta real estate, streetcar lines, banking, and insurance, and eventually became involved in Atlanta politics and charitable organizations. Samuel's brother

John H. Inman John Hamilton Inman (23 October 1844 – 5 November 1896) was an American capitalist who invested in cotton, coal, iron and steel, and railroads, especially in the impoverished American South during the Reconstruction Era. While he is remembere ...

was the head of the investment company Inman, Swann, & Co. of

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and president of the Richmond and West Point Terminal Railway and Warehouse Company, a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

which controlled several railroads that served Atlanta, including the Richmond and Danville Railroad, the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, and the

Central of Georgia Railroad Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, totalling 11,000 miles of track throughout the Southeast. John was president of the Richmond and Danville for two years, but was forced to resign on account of charges of financial mismanagement. The other brother, Hugh T. Inman, owned the Kimball House Hotel in Atlanta. Other relatives involved in the family businesses were William H. Inman and Walker Inman, uncles to Samuel and his brothers.

Georgia School of Technology

Inman was instrumental in the early days of the Georgia School of Technology, now known as the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. First, he secured funding for the school in the amount of $5,000 of his own money and $75,000 plus an annuity of $2,500 from the city. He also helped secure the land for the school and was appointed to the board of commissioners to help oversee some of the construction. Some stated that the school was better equipped than any other technical school at the time.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inman, Samuel 1843 births 1915 deaths History of Atlanta Businesspeople from Atlanta People from Dandridge, Tennessee 19th-century American businesspeople