Broadus Brown Zellars (1898-1961)

Portrait from the 1917 Cauldron Yearbook.

  The Strangest Names In American Political History begins a monthlong stay in Georgia with a peek at the life of Broadus Brown Zellars, a native of Hart County who served terms in his state's house of representatives and senate. Elected to the former office at the age of just 25, Zellars continued prominence in state government in the late 1930s when he was appointed as assistant attorney general for the state. The son of Albert L. and Texie (Brown) Zellars, Broadus Brown Zellars was born in Bowman, Georgia on January 27, 1898.

  A student in the public schools of Hartwell, Georgia, Zellars graduated from that city's high school and would go on to attend Mercer University, where he edited the law portion of the Cauldron yearbook and took part in university debates. He received his bachelor of laws degree in 1917 at age 19, being remarked as the youngest member of that class.

  In June 1917 Zellars established his law practice in Hartwell, and although still in his teens, success at the bar came quickly to the young man, with Howell's History of Georgia noting that:

"He is well qualified to handle important litigation and has been accorded a liberal clientele. He possesses keen analytical powers and wins a large percentage of his cases, convincing by his concise statement of the law and the facts, rather than by word painting."

  Broadus B. Zellars married in March 1920 to Ora Lake Gaines (1898-1991), and the couple's four-decade marriage saw the births of three children, Mary Kate (1922-2011) and John Broadus (1924-2002), and Martha (1928-2007). Four years following his marriage Zellars entered into the race for the Georgia State Assembly, and in November 1924 won the election. As Hart County's representative in the legislature, Zellars held seats on the committees on Agriculture, Appropriations, Education, the Judiciary, and Public Highways. 
  In 1926 Zellars began his second term in the house and in 1928 was elected to the state Senate from Georgia's  30th senatorial district. During the 1929-31 session he chaired the committee on Education and Public Schools and was also named to the committees on Amendments to the Constitution; Banks and Banking; Commerce and Labor; Finance; Game and Fish; General Judiciary No. 1; Highways; Hygiene and Sanitation; Public Library; Public Printing; and Rules. 
  After several years away from government service, Broadus Zellars returned to public life in 1938 when he was appointed as assistant attorney general for Georgia, an office he served in until taking on the post of attorney for the War Labor Board and War Assets Administration in the mid-1940s. In 1947 Zellars became assistant solicitor for the Fulton County Criminal Court and remained in office until his death from a heart attack on January 19, 1961, shortly before his 63rd birthday. He was later interred at the Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.