Warren Akin, Sr.

Warren Akin Sr. (October 9, 1811 – December 17, 1877) was an attorney, member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Confederate politician who served in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War, and an ordained Methodist minister.

Early years Warren Akin Sr. was born in Elbert County, Georgia, and raised on a farm. At a very early age, he was inspired to become a lawyer, after viewing proceedings at an Elberton court. At age 18, with a limited amount of education, Akin sets off to seek his fortune in the Dahlonega Gold Rush. He would work in the gold fields for the next seven years, during which time he fulfilled his childhood ambition by reading law. Akins was admitted to the Cherokee Superior Court in 1836. He subsequently established a successful law practice in Cassville, Georgia while also operating a modest farm just outside the city. He became well known within the north Georgia region and was appointed colonel in the Georgia Militia, aiding in the removal of the Cherokees, a historical event which became known as the Trail of Tears. Akin later confesses sympathy for their plight. Undeterred, he continued to stay active in the political events and controversies of the day. Akin was a slaveholder, but like many Southerners with Whig party backgrounds, he opposed secession. Nonetheless, after Georgia seceded from the Union, he felt honor bound to support his state, and the new national government of which it was part. He served in the Georgia state legislature from 1861 to 1863, where he was elected Speaker of the Georgia House. He is the only Representative ever elected to the position of Speaker in his first term. One act, for which he was largely responsible, was changing the name of his county from Cass to Bartow. During the first years of the war, Akin devoted his time to the practice of law in Cassville and his duties as a State Representative in Milledgeville. In November 1863, after the Confederate defeat in the Chattanooga campaign, Akin became convinced that his family would be in the path of approaching Union forces. In January 1864 he moved them initially to Oxford where Akin narrowly escaped capture by Union raiders. The loss of his home, and personal property, along with the high cost of living in Elberton, and the Confederate capital of Richmond compelled Akin to extreme economies. His letters indicate that he wore clothes until they were so soiled that he was embarrassed to continue to wear them.

Death and legacy Considered by the Cartersville Bar “as the first man in his profession in North Georgia”, Akin died December 17, 1877. Continued by his descendants, Akin’s law practice in Cartersville is today one of the oldest law practices in the state.