Meldrim, Peter Wiltberger, 1848-1933

Peter Wiltberger Meldrim, also known as P. W. Meldrim, (born December 4, 1848, Savannah, Georgia-died December 13, 1933, Savannah, Georgia), son of Ralph (1823-1882) and Jane Fawcett Meldrim (Ralph was a businessman in Savannah. His daughter, Margaret, married Thomas F. Thomson and was the grandmother of Meldrim Thomson, Jr., a former Governor of New Hampshire). He received his early education in the Savannah, Georgia, school system; he received his A.B., L.L.B., and LL.D. from the University of Georgia.

During the Civil War, Meldrim (at the age of 16) fought with local defenders of Savannah against General Sherman's forces. He began his successful law practice in Savannah in 1869. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Senate, a Mayor of Savannah, and president of the American Bar Association (1914-1915). He was a member of many social and philanthropic societies in Savannah and held office in most of them. From his youth, Meldrim was a member of the Georgia Hussars; he rose to the rank of Colonel of the 1st Regiment, Georgia Cavalry and became Brigadier-General of the Georgia National Guard. He also served as Major-General of the Georgia Division of Confederate Veterans.

He actively supported the extension of education in Georgia and was instrumental in the establishment of the Georgia State Industrial School (now Savannah State College) in 1891. He served as its Chair of the Board from 1891 until his death. Meldrim was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of the Eastern Judicial Circuit in 1917 and was still on the bench at the time of his death. He was a well-known orator and some of his addresses were published. He rests in famed Bonaventure Cemetery, just east of Savannah.

In 1881, Peter Wiltberger Meldrim married Frances Pamela Bird Casey. Frances Pamela Bird Casey Meldrim (1853-1949) was born in Columbia County, Georgia, the daughter of Dr. Henry Rosier Casey (1816-1884) and Caroline Rebecca Harriss (1820-1856). She was a granddaughter of Dr. John Aloysius Casey (1799-1819) and his wife, Sarah Lowndes Berrien Casey, and of the Rev. Juriah Harriss (1784-1868) and Elizabeth Shaw d'Antignac Harriss. After her marriage to Peter Wiltberger Meldrim in 1881, she spent the rest of her life in Savannah. She was known throughout the city and state as a great beauty and a gracious hostess. She was instrumental in having the bill introduced in Congress to restore Arlington, the home of General Robert E. Lee; she promoted the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the steamship Savannah (the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean), and the erecting of commemorative tablets on City Hall to this vessel and the steamship John Randolph (the first successful iron vessel in American waters). She was president of the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of America, vice-president of the Federation of Women's Clubs, and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Peter and Frances Meldrim had many children. Caroline Louise Meldrim (1882-1974) was active in civic, social, and cultural affairs in Savannah. Sophie d'Antignac Meldrim Coy Shonnard (1887-?) married twice: first to Edward Harris (Ted) Coy, and second to Horatio Seymour Shonnard. Jane Meldrim Hewitt (1888-?) married Erastus Henry Hewitt of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Frances Casey Meldrim Jones (1883-1965) was the wife of George Noble Jones (1874-1955).