# Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson

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American educator (1860–1942)

Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Susan Milton Atkinson, in an 1896 publication. First Lady of Georgia In role October 27, 1894 – October 29, 1898 Governor William Yates Atkinson Preceded by Martha Northen Succeeded by Eugenia Candler Personal details Born Susan Cobb Milton 1860 (1860) Greenwood, Florida, U.S. Died 1942 (aged 81–82) Spouse William Yates Atkinson ​ ​ (m. 1880; died 1899)​ Children 6 Relatives John Milton (grandfather) Alma mater Lucy Cobb Institute Occupation Educator

**Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson** (1860 — 1942) was an American educator who was influential in promoting education to women in [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the wife of [William Yates Atkinson](/source/William_Yates_Atkinson), the [Governor of Georgia](/source/Governor_of_Georgia) from 1894 to 1898, she used her position as the state [First Lady](/source/First_Lady) to advocate for state funding for women to attend college.[1] After her time at Georgia College, she went into the insurance business.[1] In her later life, Atkinson served as the [postmistress](/source/Postmaster) in [Newnan](/source/Newnan%2C_Georgia)—a title bestowed upon her by [President Theodore Roosevelt](/source/Theodore_Roosevelt) himself.[2]

## Early life and education

Susan was born in [Greenwood, Florida](/source/Greenwood%2C_Florida).[3] She was the granddaughter of Florida governor [John Milton](/source/John_Milton_(Florida_politician)), so Susan was exposed at a young age to the life of politics.[1]

She attended the [Lucy Cobb Institute](/source/Lucy_Cobb_Institute) for college, where she also met her husband.[1]

## Georgia College and State University

Susan Atkinson was encouraged by one of her friends, Julia Flisch, to help open another college for women in Georgia. In 1889, Atkinson created a petition for the state of Georgia to open a college, so her husband presented a bill to the House of Representatives that finally passed.[2] After [Milledgeville](/source/Milledgeville%2C_Georgia) was selected as the site for the college, it was founded in 1890 as Georgia Normal and Industrial College. The school's name was later changed to Georgia State College for Women and then finally to [Georgia College & State University](/source/Georgia_College_%26_State_University).[1] When the college was founded, William was named Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Susan became the President of the Board of Visitors.[1]

## Personal life and legacy

Susan Cobb Milton married [William Yates Atkinson](/source/William_Yates_Atkinson) in 1880. She was widowed when William died in 1899. The Atkinsons had six children together. One of their sons, William Yates Atkinson Jr., became a justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Georgia Normal and Industrial College honored the Atkinsons by naming a building in their honor.[2] Atkinson Hall is now the building for the School of Business at Georgia College.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-GA_Women_1-6) ["Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson"](https://www.georgiawomen.org/susan-cobb-milton). *[Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement)*. March 1996. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200827195344/https://www.georgiawomen.org/susan-cobb-milton) from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Arnold_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Arnold_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Arnold_2-2) Arnold, Edwin T. (2009). [*What Virtue There is in Fire*](https://archive.org/details/whatvirtuetherei00arno_0). Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. p. [207](https://archive.org/details/whatvirtuetherei00arno_0/page/207). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0820336169](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0820336169).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lineage_3-0)** ["Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson"](https://books.google.com/books?id=JG4ZAQAAIAAJ&q=susan+cobb+milton+atkinson&pg=PA43). *Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution*. **24**: 43. 1907. Retrieved January 3, 2014.

v t e Georgia Women of Achievement 1990s 1992 Martha Berry Lucy Craft Laney Juliette Gordon Low Flannery O'Connor 1993 Dicksie Bradley Bandy Mary Musgrove Cassandra Pickett Durham Viola Ross Napier Ma Rainey 1994 Julia Flisch Carson McCullers Margaret Mitchell Ruth Hartley Mosley Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman 1995 Selena Sloan Butler Anna Colquitt Hunter Hazel Jane Raines 1996 Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Nellie Peters Black Ellen Craft Corra Harris Lugenia Burns Hope 1997 Rebecca Latimer Felton Mary Ann Harris Gay Nancy Hart Lucy Barrow McIntire 1998 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Julia Collier Harris Rhoda Kaufman Carrie Steele Logan 1999 Moina Michael Lillian Smith 2000s 2000 Sallie Ellis Davis Laura Askew Haygood Ellen Axson Wilson 2001 Julia L. Coleman Catherine Evans Whitener 2002 Wessie Gertrude Connell Lula Dobbs McEachern Alice Harrell Strickland 2003 Madeleine Kiker Anthony Helena Maud Brown Cobb Julia Lester Dillon Leila Ross Wilburn 2004 Mathilda Beasley Louise Frederick Hays Helen Dortch Longstreet Sarah McLendon Murphy Emily Barnelia Woodward 2005 Alice Woodby McKane Nina Anderson Pape Jeannette Rankin 2006 Eliza Frances Andrews Grace Towns Hamilton Sarah Porter Hillhouse 2007 Margaret O. Bynum Edith Lenora Foster Helen Douglas Mankin Sara Branham Matthews 2008 Elfrida De Renne Barrow Amilee Chastain Graves Susan Dowdell Myrick 2009 Caroline Pafford Miller Jane Hurt Yarn Harriet Powers 2010s 2010 Mary Ann Lipscomb Celestine Sibley Madrid Williams 2011 Lillian Gordy Carter Mary Francis Hill Coley May duBignon Stiles Howard 2012 Sarah Randolph Bailey Beulah Rucker Oliver Ethel Harpst 2013 Lollie Belle Wylie Mary Gregory Jewett Henrietta Stanley Dull 2014 Rebecca Stiles Taylor Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Bazoline Estelle Usher 2015 Allie Carroll Hart Frances Freeborn Pauley Nell Kendall Hodgson Woodruff 2016 Sarah Harper Heard Ellamae Ellis League Katie Hall Underwood 2017 Carolyn Mackenzie Carter Clermont Huger Lee Lucile Nix 2018 Ludie Clay Andrews Susie Baker King Taylor Mamie George S. Williams 2019 Leila Denmark Mary Dorothy Lyndon 2020s 2020 Clarice Cross Bagwell Katharine DuPre Lumpkin Juanita Marsh Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright 2021 Ruby M. Anderson Mary G. Bryan Laura Pope Forester Allie Murray Smith 2022 Lizzie Lurline Collier Josephine Fields Sanders Hedy West Josephine Wilkins 2023 Phyllis Jenkins Barrow Alice Coachman Luck Flanders Gambrell Dorothy Rogers Tilly 2024 Beatrice Hirsch Haas Adella Hunt Logan Valerie Murphey Elizabeth "Bessie" Tift 2025 Jessye Norman Alma Thomas

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