Emily Dolvin
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator, historic preservationist, political campaigner and civic leader from the state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
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Dolvin was born in 1912 in Richland, Georgia
Richland, Georgia
Richland is a city in Stewart County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,794 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Richland is located at ....
as the youngest of Mary Ida Nicholson (1871–1951) and James Jackson Gordy's (1863–1948) nine children. Her sister Lillian Gordy Carter
Lillian Gordy Carter
Lillian Gordy Carter was the mother of former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. She is also known for contribution to nursing in her home state of Georgia and as a Peace Corps volunteer in India as well as writing two books during the Carter presidency.-Nurse and mother:Carter was born...
was the mother of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, the 39th President of the United States.
After graduating from the Georgia College for Women in Milledgeville, Georgia
Milledgeville, Georgia
Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon, located just before Eatonton on the way to Athens along U.S. Highway 441, and it is located on the Oconee River. The relatively rapid current of the Oconee here made this an...
, Dolvin taught primary school. In 1938, she married William Jasper Dolvin and moved to Roswell, Georgia
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
. Her husband was an elementary school principal and insurance agent, and Dolvin Elementary School in Alpharetta, Georgia
Alpharetta, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,854 people, 13,911 households, and 8,916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,631.6 people per square mile . There were 14,670 housing units at an average density of 686.7 per square mile...
is his namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
.
In 1951, Emily Dolvin participated in the organization of the Roswell Youth Recreation Committee. This committee created the Roswell Recreation and Parks
Roswell Recreation and Parks
The Roswell Recreation and Parks is a department of the City of Roswell, Georgia, USA. It has over eight parks open for public use. The park sponsors over 25 athletic programs ranging from soccer, football, basketball, and baseball for all age groups. Particularly popular youth athletic teams...
department. She was also the inaugural chairperson of the Roswell Historical Society
Roswell Historical Society
The Roswell Historical Society was established to preserve the history of Roswell, Georgia, USA, through preservation of historically significant documents and landmarks....
upon its establishment on October 28, 1971. The Roswell Rotary Club named her a William Watt Fellow
Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs...
, and she was the first female member of that organization.
In 1966, Dolvin became involved in the support of the political career of her nephew Jimmy and was often referred to as Jimmy Carter's Aunt Sissy. In 1970, she was a staff member, host, and delegate for the Georgia Democratic Party
Democratic Party of Georgia
The Democratic Party of Georgia is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is affiliated with the United States Democratic Party.-Leadership:...
, and she was the inauguration reception chairman for Carter's inauguration as governor of Georgia in 1971, and served as the volunteer coordinator for Carter’s gubernatorial campaigns. Dolvin also served as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women from August 11, 1972 to April 1, 1974.
During Carter's 1976 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1976
The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic...
, Dolvin campaigned throughout the United States as one of many volunteers that comprised the grass roots
Grass Roots
Grass Roots is an Australian television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2003.The series is set around the fictional Arcadia Waters Council near Sydney, and was primarily a satirical look at the machinations of local government...
Peanut Brigade. However, she was not an official member of the Peanut Brigade. She was campaigning as a member of the family. The Peanut Brigade was a different organization altogether. In 1976, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine referred to her as a “tiny, stylishly dressed, white-haired dynamo” and the secret weapon of Carter’s campaign. Dolvin served as the coordinator of docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
s for the Carter Center
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
from its inception in 1986.
Dolvin’s personal home, the W.J. Dolvin house, is located next to Bulloch Hall
Bulloch Hall
Bulloch Hall is a Greek Revival mansion in Roswell, Georgia built in 1839. It is one of several historically significant buildings in the city and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is where Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, mother of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President, lived as...
in the Historic District of Roswell and is often referred to as “President Jimmy Carter’s Roswell White House”. It is one of the few examples of late-Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
in that city.
An elder of the Roswell Presbyterian Church, Dolvin also founded the Refuge Resettlement Ministry. In 1992, Dolvin married a second time to Hubert “Hu” B. Visscher, but never legally took his name. She was named to the list of Roswell’s 15 Most Remarkable Citizens in 2004. Dolvin died at age 94 of congestive heart failure at her Roswell home on December 2, 2006.