Allatia Coley Westbrook (1842-1910)

From Georgia's General Assembly of 1880-81.

  Lifelong Georgia resident Allatia Coley Westbrook rose to become one of Dougherty County's distinguished political figures, being at various times Mayor of Albany, Georgia, a two-term state representative, and one term state senator. One of ten children born to Richard N. and Josephine (Coley) Westbrook, Allatia Coley Westbrook's birth occurred in Houston County, Georgia on March 19, 1842. His early education was attained in the common schools of Houston County and during his youth left Georgia to reside with a cousin, Henry Battle, then head of a high school in Chunnenuggee, Alabama. 

  Westbrook would continue his schooling in Chunnenuggee and worked as a mechanic until the outbreak of the Civil War. While he remained opposed to the destruction of the Union, Westbrook cast his lot with the Confederacy, returning to Georgia to enlist as a private in Co. C., First Georgia Volunteer Infantry. His duration with that unit extended a year and saw action at the battles of Laurel Mountain and Cheat Mountain. Westbrook would be wounded in action at the battle of Greenbriar, and, after the expiration of his first tour of duty, he reenlisted, forming a cavalry company with his brother that was later part of the Eighth Georgia Cavalry. He continued service with that regiment until early 1865 when he was promoted to Captain and dispatched to Albany, Georgia, where he remained until the close of the war.

   As the son of a slave owner, Allatia Westbrook is recorded by period sources as "having imbibed an early prejudice against the institution of slavery", and after receiving a number of slaves from his father in the early 1860s resolved to see them freed. Applying for a furlough from military duty to achieve this purpose, Westbrook's request was given the ok by General Robert E. Lee, and after returning home, Westbrook gave each of his slaves "the liberty of selecting his own home." Following the conclusion of the war, Westbrook saw his former slaves "comfortably well settled and doing well", many of whom "constantly manifested gratitude to him" for his actions.

   Embarking upon a mercantile career in Albany after the war, Westbrook's business met with success and in 1868 was elected to his first political office, that of Dougherty County treasurer. Westbrook would decline this post, however, and in 1870 was elected as a member of the Albany city council. This post was followed by his election as Albany's mayor in 1872, serving a one year term. In November 1874 he was elected as Dougherty County's representative to the Georgia State Assembly and during the 1875-77 session sat on the committees on Finance and Internal Improvements. In 1877 he won a second term in the state house (serving in the 1878-80 session) and during this term was a member of a special committee that investigated financial irregularities on the part of state comptroller Washington L. Goldsmith, who was later removed from office.

   Allatia C. Westbrook reached his highest degree of political prominence when he won election to the state senate in 1879. His service during the 1880-82 session saw him introduce a bill "to provide for the correct assessment of the property of this state for the purpose of taxation", an action that was reported on favorably by newspapers of the time. At the conclusion of his term Westbrook returned home to Albany, and in the 1880s and 90s held large farmland holdings in both Dougherty and Baldwin counties. He would subsequently hold the post of a claims adjuster for the Central Railroad and Banking Co. of Georgia and, after several months of ill health, died in Albany on November 28, 1910, aged 68. A lifelong bachelor, he was later interred at the Oakview Cemetery in Albany.

From the Milledgeville Union Recorder, November 29, 1910.