Asa Griggs Candler was born 30 December 1851 in Villa Rica, and was the son of Samuel Charles Chandler and his wife, Martha Beall. He married on 1/15/1878 at the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Lucy Elizabeth Howard, the daughter of his employer, Elizabeth 9/28/1859-2/22/1919. He was raised in Carroll Co., came to Atlanta in 1873 and went into business as a wholesale druggist, ultimately to become the Coca Cola magnate. The following is a letter published in Atlanta and Its Environs, written to his brother, Warren Candler in Nashville, Tennessee on April 10, 1858:
"You show how I suffer with headaches. Well some days ago a friend suggested that I try Cola-Cola. I did and was relieved. Somedays later I again tried it and was again relieved. I determined to find out about it.....investigation showed that it was owned by parties unable to put it fairly before the people. I determined to put money into it and a little influence. I put $500 of the first and am putting a goodly portion of what I have of the last. Do you know a dispenser of soda water in Nashville who will take hold of it for me? I enclosed a card. Now to any retailer or soda fountain man who will allow me to issue one hundred twenty eight of these free cards which will require 1 gallon (128 ounces) of Coca-Cola syrup, I will send gratis 2 gallons of Coca-Cola syrup."
The original owned of the receipt was Dr. Pembleton who resided in a red brick home at 107 Marietta Street in Atlanta, and in 1885 he incorporated the Pemberton Chemical Company along with Ed Holland, E. W. Holland, Daniel D. Doe and Frank Mason Robinson. Coca Cola was already available in several drug stores as a tonic. But something happened in 1887 which changed the tonic status. A customer suffering from a headache entered Jacobs Drug Store (at Five Points) and asked Willis E. Venable, soda fountain operator, for a bottle of Coca-Cola. Venable suggested soda water instead of tap water, which the customer enooyed. At that, the drink was offered by other druggists as a headache remedy. An advertisement appeared in the Evening Journal on June 30, 1887, as follows :
DRINK The Brain-Tonic and Intellectual Soda Fountain Beverage COCA-COLA Acclaimed by all who have used it AT ALL FOUNTS.
The price was 5 cents a glass. Incidentially my sister worked at Jacobs Drug Store during the early 1940s. It was demolished in favor of the First National Bank of Atlanta.
When I was a little girl residing in Candler Park, where the Candler mansion stood (Elizabeth Street), coca cola had as an ingredient, cocaine, which was removed during the 1940's. That's what cured Candler's headaches! My grandmother, who resided near Candler Park, told me that one drank coca cola as a headache remedy, or to feel better. He stored the cola in his basement, as well as the "secret" recipe.
Children:
Charles Howard Candler born 12/2/1878 m. Flora Harper Glenn of Atlannta at the residence of Dr. W. F. Glenn at 683 Edgewood Avenue by Bishop W. A. Candler on 12/3/1903, in presence of W. F. Glenn. Flora was the daughter of Wilbur Fiske and Florella Harper Glenn. Children:
Charles Howard Candler, Jr. b. 9/15/1904 at 683 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta. He m. Ruth Tolbert Ozburn, daughter of Samuel Alonzo and Lilla Belle Tolbert Ozburn on 12/3/1928 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Ga. by Rev. High Moon. Ruth Tolbert Ozburn was the daughter of Samuel Alonzo and Lilla Belle Tolbert Ozburn. Child: Flora Glenn Candler b. 5/14/1941 Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, Ga.
Catherine Candler b. 7/5/1906 at 683 Edgewood Avenue, Atlanta, Ga. m. William Chester Warren, Jr. M. D., son of William Chester and Annie Dodd Warren on 11/22/1927 at 980 Briarcliff Rd, N. W., Atlanta by Bishop W. A. Candler.
Mary Louisa Candler b. 2/23/1912 at 114 Elizabeth Street, Atlanta, Ga.
Asa Griggs Candler, Jr. b. 8/27/1880 m. Helen Magill 7/15/1901. He d. 3/12/1929. In 1916, Asa G. Candler resigned the presidency of the company to run for Mayor of Atlanta. During World War I, the sale of the drink was reduced because of sugar rationing. However, by 1919, sales soared to nearly 19,000,000 gallons. Children:
Lucy Magill Candler b. 3/21/1902
Asa Griggs Candler III 6/10/1904-2/8/1905
John Howard Candler b. 12/16/1905
Laura Candler b. 12/23/1907
Martha and Helen Candler, twin daughters, b. 8/14/1911
Samuel Candler b. 11/1/1914
Lucy Beall Candler b. 4/11/1833 m. William Davis Owens 6/11/1903. He d. 12/20/1914. Children:
Elizabeth Candler Owens b. 6/8/1904
William Davis Owens b. 4/1/1911
Walter Turner Candler b. 10/5/1855 m. (1) Eugenia Bigham 12/10/1907 who died 9/3/1918. He m. (2) 8/1919 Marian Penland. Children:
Walter T. Candler, Jr. b. 5/17/1908
Asa G. Candler 4th b. 8/19/1909
Eugenia b. 10/29/1910
Mary Candler b. 11/4/1912
William Candler b. 1/24/1890 m. Bennie Teabrant of Cuthbert on 2/5/1913. William died 10/2/1936 in a tragic highway accident, in his prime, 46 years, 8 months. Children:
Rena Elizabeth Candler b. 1/25/1914
William Candler, Jr. b. 7/2/1918
Coca Cola invented by Asa Griggs Candler in the basement of this home on Elizabeth Street in (Candler Park) Atlanta. The mansion depicted most of the homes in this 1899 neighborhood (the first Atlanta suburb), with honey-dark woodwork, mantles, built-in china cabinets and pantries, round columns which divided the living room and dining areas. The staircase leading to upstairs bedrooms is about five-feet wide, having dark woodwork with fancy lace bannisters. The first stairwell level is adorned with massive eloquently painted stained glass windows....an attractive eye-catcher as one enters the main entry hall, which is the size of two average rooms by today's standards. He later built luxurious home (1916) on the northside of Ponce de Leon Avenue between Oakdale and Lullwater Roads at the cost of $210,000.
Sources: Genealogy Chart of Candler Family; Folder; Atlanta and Its Environs, Bible of Charles Howard Candler (owner, Mrs. William C. Warren, Jr., 3669 Paces Valley Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 (1966); Asa Griggs Candler Bible (Owner, Mrs. William C. Warren, Jr., above address); Men of Mark in Georgia, Vol. II by William F. Northen.
Coca Cola invented by Asa Griggs Candler in the basement of this home on Elizabeth Street in (Candler Park) Atlanta. The mansion depicted most of the homes in this 1899 neighborhood (the first Atlanta suburb), with honey-dark woodwork, mantles, built-in china cabinets and pantries, round columns which divided the living room and dining areas. The staircase leading to upstairs bedrooms is about five-feet wide, having dark woodwork with fancy lace bannisters. The first stairwell level is adorned with massive eloquently painted stained glass windows....an attractive eye-catcher as one enters the main entry hall, which is the size of two average rooms by today's standards. He later built luxurious home (1916) on the northside of Ponce de Leon Avenue between Oakdale and Lullwater Roads at the cost of $210,000.