Augustus Longstreet Hull
Augustus Longstreet Hull (1847-1909) served as one of Athens earliest local historians, recording the history of the Classic City in his of Annals of Athens. After serving with Confederate forces, he attended the University of Georgia. He served on the Athens School Board and as a trustee for the University of Georgia. Elected as Secretary and Treasurer for the University in 1890, he held this post until his death.
The son of Henry and Mary Nisbet Hull, Augustus Longstreet Hull was born in Athens on September, 8, 1847. He enrolled at the University of Georgia in 1861, but left school in September,1864 at the age of seventeen to serve as a courier to General Martin L. Smith, chief engineer of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. His gallantry under fire earned him the Confederate Cross of Honor. Hull’s military service ended on April 26, 1865 and he resumed his studies at the University the following August. He received his A.B. in July, 1866 and his A.M. in 1867. He served as a school teacher (1869-1872) and then accepted a position as cashier of the Bank of the University. He held this post until 1890. An active member of the community and a strong educational proponent, Hull held a number of posts including service as the first president of the Athens Board of Education (1888-1901), president of the Board of Trustees of the Lucy Cobb Institute (1887-1901), and trustee for the University of Georgia (1883-1901). Elected as Secretary and Treasurer for the University in 1890, he held this post until his death.
In addition to his busy schedule of work and service, Hull also produced three books. In 1894 he published A Historical Sketch of the University of Georgia. Seven years later, he published The Campaigns of the Confederate Army. In 1907, Hull published his best-remembered and most important work, Annals of Athens. In this work, Hull combined previously unpublished sketches of Athens produced by his father, Henry Hull, with his own reminiscences to produce a valuable account of Athens’s first century.
Hull married Callie Cobb, daughter of noted jurist and general, Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, on January 5, 1871. The marriage produced nine children. After suffering poor health for several years, he died on November 11, 1909, survived by his wife and seven of their children. The Athens city council adopted resolutions commemorating his passing and all members attended his funeral. While the city honored him for his community service, his family remembered him as a talented flautist and for his “keen sense of humor and dry wit.”
