Mill Worker Photographs

Roswell Mill Workers Photographs

Olney & Judson EldredgeOlney & Judson Eldredge
Mary EldredgeMary Eldredge
Martha EldredgeMartha Eldredge
  • Olney and Judson Eldredge
    Olney was the supervisor of the Roswell cotton mills, and one of the favored few to be rehired after the war.  Judson was only 8 when his family was loaded onto to a mule wagon and sent to Marietta.

  • Mary Eldredge
    The oldest daughter of Olney Eldredge, Mary was only 19 when forced from her home in Roswell.

  • Martha Eldredge
    Martha was 17 when Union soldiers arrested her father.  Martha Later married Thomas J. Minhinett, whose father had been employed by the Roswell factories for many years. Martha's picture appears on the book cover of The Women Will Howl.
Mary KendleyMary Kendley
Thomas Hugh KendleyThomas Hugh Kendley
John KendleyJohn Kendley
  • Mary Kendley
    Sent to Indiana with her brothers and sisters, Mary married Albert May and settled in Perry County. She visited Georgia on a couple of occasions, but Indiana remained her home.

  • Thomas Hugh Kendley
    Roswell mill worker Thomas Kendley was sent north with his sister and brother. He found work at the Indiana Cotton Mill in Perry County, Indiana.  He never returned to Georgia.

  • John Robert Kendley
    John was serving in the Roswell Battalion when his brothers and sisters were arrested and sent to Indiana.
Walter & Charlotte StewartWalter & Charlotte Stewart
Synthia StewartSynthia Stewart
  • Walter Washington Stewart and Charlotte Elizabeth Stewart
    Formerly a mill boss at the New Manchester mill, Walter joined the Confederate Army, but was captured and sent north as a prisoner of war.  After his release, he found his wife and children in Louisville, Kentucky and worked in a local tannery until he could earn enough money to return to Georgia.

  • Synthia Stewart
    From a tintype made when she was about 17 years of age. Synthia’s father, Walter Stewart, was serving in the Confederate army when the rest of the family was sent to Louisville. Synthia recorded her version of the events when she was 92.
Nelson TuckerNelson Tucker
Berdine & Sarah TuckerBerdine & Sarah Tucker
Elizabeth TuckerElizabeth Tucker
James CarrollJames Carroll
  • Nelson Tucker
    Avowed Unionist and New Manchester farmer, Nelson Tucker told his wife he was “trying to make crops for the Yankees to subsist on while they whipped the rebels." Nelson took his wife, Eliza, and their younger children to Louisville after the Yankee army helped themselves to Nelson's crops. Nelson died in Louisville in 1865, but the rest of the family returned to Georgia.

  • Berdine Tucker
    Having sustained a back injury from a falling tree at Vicksburg, Berdine Tucker was sent home and detailed to work in the Sweetwater factory.  Berdine (son of Nelson Tucker) was arrested as a political prisoner and sent north with the New Manchester mill workers.

  • Elizabeth Tucker
    Daughter of Nelson and Eliza Tucker, Elizabeth Tucker, a New Manchester mill worker, met a Union soldier, probably while he was hospitalized in Marietta, and married him 1865. She and her new husband settled in North Georgia after the war.

  • James Carroll
    Union soldier James Carroll married Elizabeth Tucker in Atlanta in August 1865.
Photograph of the Bell Family: Elizabeth Bell, William Bell, Elizabeth Bell (his wife), James Bell, Raford Bell and Sarah BellSeated left to right: Elizabeth Bell, William Bell, Elizabeth Bell (his wife) Standing: James Bell, Raford Bell and Sarah Bell
Photograph of the Humphries family: 
John Humphries, Sarah Humphries,
and John B. HumphriesBack row left to right John Humphries, Sarah Humphries, and John B. Humphries
Elizabeth JenningsElizabeth Jennings (left)
  • Bell Family
    Thomas Bell and his oldest son William were both employed by the New Manchester cotton mill when Union soldiers arrived in New Manchester. Thomas and William were both arrested as "political prisoners", and sent north along with Thomas's wife Mariah and eight younger children. The family was back in Georgia by August 1865, but Mariah died a short time later after giving birth to her tenth child, Raford Bell.

  • John Humphries
    John Humphries operated a shoemaking business, which was probably part of the leather-making operation at the New Manchester mill.  John and his oldest son Merrell were arrested as “political prisoners” and sent north along with John’s wife and several young children.

  • John B. Humphries
    John Benjamin Humphries, second oldest son of John Humphries, was arrested in October of 1864 while serving in the 41st GA.  Sent to a Federal Prison at Camp Douglas, John Benjamin was paroled seven months later.  He managed to locate his parents and siblings in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and worked in a government stable until he earned enough money to bring them all home.

  • Elizabeth Jennings
    Elizabeth was the daughter of Gideon and Jane Jennings of New Manchester. Gideon was employed the New Manchester mill and his name appears on the list of "political prisoners" arrested in New Manchester. Elizabeth, who was only five at the time of the arrest, was sent north with her parents and six brothers. It is believed that Elizabeth's mother died in Evanston, Indiana before the family could return to Georgia. Her burial place remains unknown.

    SEARCHING FOR YOUR ANCESTORS? I highly recommend Ancestry.com. It was extremely helpful with my research on the mill workers and my own ancestors. I've used it for researching census records, military records, newspapers and much more. And they are constantly adding more records. Not sure you want to commit to a subsription? Don't let that stop you. Ancestry.com offers a free trial so you can try it for yourself free of charge.

From Mill Worker Photographs to Roswell Women


Ancestry US


As an Amazon Associate, we earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com at no cost to you. Purchases of qualifying products from other affiliates generated by links on this site, may result in additional sources of affiliate commission.


Roswell Civil War Books

AncestryDNA® now offers even more ways to discover your family story.