They came seeking a new life in a new town. As a newlywed couple, they left a comfortable home in Marietta and moved to Terminus to make their fortune. Little did they know that just by doing what every newlywed couple does, they would make history.
Willis and Sarah. Carlisle had followed the advice of their minister who pointed them to the growing town of Terminus as a place of opportunity. They rented a one-room cabin in the community formerly used by railroad workers, loaded their worldly possessions into a wagon, and arrived in Terminus after dark, in the rain, only to find another family had taken up residence in their cabin. Forced to wait out the night in a structure formerly used to house livestock, their introduction to Terminus was, to say the least, off to a rocky start.
Thankfully, life did improve for Sarah and Willis. They were able to establish a foothold in the new community by opening a general store. Willis was elected to the city council and the Carlisles became some of the earliest citizens of the City of Atlanta. With the impending birth of their first child, Sarah and Willis briefly returned to Marietta to be nearer to family and medical attention. They were ferried to and from Marietta by stagecoach driver Tom Shivers, who would himself soon become a part of the history of the City of Atlanta. It’s the story of a first-born child on this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
