Willis (or Wyllys) Buell (c. 1790November 1851) was a native of Connecticut and third mayor of

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 ...

Biography

Willis Buell was born in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

in 1790. He is reportedly related to the famed Connecticut cartographer

Abel Buell Abel Buell (1742–1822), born in Killingworth, Connecticut, was a goldsmith, silversmith, jewelry designer, engraver, surveyor, printer, type manufacturer, mint master, textile miller, and counterfeiter in the American colonies. In 1784, Buell ...

. Buell's 1833 map of

Muskingum County Muskingum County ( ) is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bisected by the Muskingum River, the county name is based ...

was among the first printed maps of any of Ohio's counties. In the mid to late 1830s, he became the first Justice of the Peace of the 1026th militia district. He was a prosecuting attorney for the Supreme Court held in Muskingum from 1837 to April 1839. In 1839, he was appointed by the City Council to serve on

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 cen ...

's first board of examiners for its education system. He lived 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 ...

during the mid-1840s. Buell was among the original members of Atlanta's first

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

. He was known for his skill in

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

painting, establishing a studio within Atlanta's first

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

in 1847.Garrett, F. M., & Martin, H. H. (20111969). Atlanta and environs : a chronicle of its people and events. University of Georgia Press. As a member of the Free and Rowdy Party, also known as the ''Rowdies'', he served a single term as the third Mayor of Atlanta from January 1850 to January 1851, as stipulated by the city charter.

Jonathan Norcross Jonathan Norcross (April 18, 1808 – December 18, 1898) was elected in 1850 as the fourth Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, serving the customary term at the time of one year. Dubbed the "Father of Atlanta" and "hard fighter of everything" by publi ...

succeeded him as mayor.

Death

Willis Buell died in Atlanta, Georgia in November 1851.

References

Mayors of Atlanta 1790s births 1851 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub