Westview Cemetery

02/13/2026

'Little Mabb,' Grande Vie: Adrien Esmilaire

In 2015, historian and author Jeff Clemmons, then working for Troutman Sanders LLP, was gathering information for his book "Atlanta's Historic Westview Cemetery" (History Press, 2018). To blow off some steam after a long day of work followed by research, he'd watch one of his favorite television shows - the horror anthology, "American Horror Story."

That year, the show's season - "Freak Show" - was about one of the last "freak shows" existing and struggling for relevance in the United States in 1952. Aside from starring Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, John Carroll Lynch, Evan Peters, and several others, one of the most unique cast members was Jyoti Amge.

Amge, an Indian actress who stands just under 25 inches tall and touted as the shortest living women by Guinness World Records, fascinated Clemmons. He had just discovered Adrien Esmilaire, aka "Little Mabb," who stood only 27 inches tall and was buried at Westview.

Esmilaire, a French circus performer, was in Atlanta performing at Lakewood park with the Johnny J. Jones Exposition when he died of the Spanish Influenza at Crawford Long Hospital on October 18, 1918; he was buried in Section 8 at Westview the following day.

Both Amge and Esmilaire had the same genetic condition - primordial dwarfism.

Fast-forward to 2021.

Clemmons - after a stint at Georgia Power, publishing his Westview book, and getting the cemetery placed on the State and National Historic Registers - now worked at Westview. There, he had more time to ferret out information about those who had intrigued him during his book research and writing. Esmilaire was one of those he wanted more information on.

Not long after Clemmons started at Westview, Catherine Monnet, town secretary of Croismare, France, reached out to him; she was looking for Esmilaire's grave, and Clemmons was looking for Esmilaire's hometown or village. Both - elated with finding each other - got their answers. And the two began a friendship, communicating via Google Translate.

In 2017, Westview had placed a small marker on Esmilaire's grave, but in 2022 Westview erected a much larger marker with a life-size image of Esmilaire on it. Clemmons and Westview President Charles Bowen (and other staff) thought the tribute to "Little Mabb" would make a fascinating spot to visit in the cemetery and would be a wonderful way to remember Esmilaire's life and legacy.

Monnet in Croismare, France, and other townspeople were also ecstatic with the new marker; Little Mabb's history had come full circle and two locales connected.

One of the townspeople thrilled over all that had transpired was retired teacher and artist Ginette Weyer. Weyer, who, incidentally, lives in Esmilaire's childhood home, had, years ago, created a life-size doll of Esmilaire for display in the village. But last month, Weyer, with the full backing and help of Monnet, decided to gift her "Little Mabb/Adrien Esmilaire" doll to Westview for display in its offices and for future installation in its 1890 gatehouse museum.

Last Thursday, "Esmilaire" was sent from France to Atlanta via a special wooden crate made by Croismare-woodworking-enthusiast Jacques Ricatte. While Esmilaire was in route, the "L'Est Républicain Lunéville" newspaper ran an article about the events above mentioned. (See below for link and translation.)

Today, Clemmons - excited like a child on Christmas morning - received the doll, uncrated him, and took "Little Mabb" to meet "Little Mabb." It was a full-circle moment years in the making.

The entire staff at Westview is humbled by this gift from Weyer and is indebted to Monnet and the villagers of Croismare for their efforts in making this happen.

May Adrien Esmilaire's "little" life loom large. May his memory endure. May you all come visit him for yourself.

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02/05/2026

Celebrating Black History Month with Westview Residents!

Every year, Black History Month is celebrated across the United States in February to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who helped shape the nation.

The precursor to the month-long celebration started in 1926 as the Negro History Week to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and abolitionist, orator, and author Frederick Douglass (February 14).

In 1976 during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial, President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month urging Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

This year, as in years past, Westview would like to list some of the notable Black Americans that reside in the cemetery. (This is not an exhaustive list.)

Too, be sure to sign up on the Atlanta Preservation Center's Website for the upcoming tour of Rest Haven, Westview's historically Black section, during this year's Phoenix Flies celebration on March 25.

Westview Notables:
* Darrow Bronner - Bronner Brothers’ International Beauty Show director, and professional sales/marketing director
* Nathaniel Bronner - Bronner Bros. founder and president
* Roderick Burton, II - rapper, known as "Dolla"
* Lecresia Campbell - gospel singer
* Herman Cain - businessman, politician
* Josephine Cook - Fulton County Superior Court judge
* Howard Creecy, Jr. - pastor, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) president
* Howard Creecy, Sr. - minister, founder of Olivet Church
* Bill (Billy Ray) Ellis - S.O.S. Band founding member
* Vernon Forrest - U.S. Olympic and professional boxer
* Annie (A.D.) Hall - actresses Phylicia Rashad and "Debbie Allen" Nixon's grandmother, union organizer
* Alice J. Hawthorne - Centennial Olympic Games bombing victim
* Andrew Hill, Sr. - Peters Land Company employee, landowner
* Lula Hill - successful dress maker
* Robert Hightower – Georgia’s first African American state trooper, Division Director of Driver Services
* Donald Lee Hollowell - civil rights attorney
* Dr. Louise Thornton Hollowell - professor
* Arthur Leroy Idlett - Atlanta Black Crackers player, school principal
* Duane Jones - actor
* Rev. N. J. Jones- creator of the Colored Men’s Protective Association (CMPA)
* Vivian Jones - one of the first two African American students at the University of Alabama, and its first African American graduate
* James "Chris" Kelly - half of the rap duo Kris Kross
* Evelyn Lowery - civil rights activist, SCLC/WOMEN founder
* Joseph Lowery - minister, civil rights activist, SCLC president, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
* William Lucas - Atlanta Braves general manager, first African American to hold executive position in MLB
* James “Jim” Mitchell - NFL Atlanta Falcons player
* James Paschal - Paschal's Motor Hotel and Restaurant co-founder
* Robert Paschal - Paschal's Motor Hotel and Restaurant co-founder
* Dr. James Palmer - Civil Rights physician
* Cleo "Clayton" Powell, Sr. - first Black doctor of optometry to join the Georgia Optometric Association, vice president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP
* Romae Powell - first African American Georgia state court judge
* Harry V. B. Richardson - theologian, writer, first president of the Interdenominational Theological Center
* Nicolas Rogers - NFL player
* John Shepherd - first registered African American State of Georgia professional engineer
* C.T. Vivian - minister, author, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
* Horace Ward - first African American federal court judge in Georgia
* J. Lowell Ware - Atlanta Voice editor
* Lottie Watkins - businesswoman, first African American female
licensed real estate broker in Atlanta
* Wendell Phillips Whalum, Sr. - composer, head of music at Morehouse College
* Rico Wade - music producer, hip hop pioneer, and member of Organized Noize

(All photos used for educational purposes)

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01/31/2026

Due to the weather and for the safety of our staff, families, and guests, we will be closing the office and grounds early today.

We will reopen at our regular times on Monday morning.

01/25/2026

Out of an abundance of caution, we will open tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.

If conditions worsen overnight, we may alter that time and/or remain closed.

Please check back here for any update or call the office and get a "live" person before driving to us; our nineteen miles of roads don't often thaw as quickly as public roads do.

Most importantly, stay safe.

01/25/2026

Due to the weather, our gates are closed.

We are monitoring the situation to see if we will open delayed or at all tomorrow, Monday, January 26.

Thank you for your understanding.

01/19/2026

Westview Cemetery would like to take a moment to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those who fought alongside him for equality and justice.

Many of those people are buried here at Westview: Donald Lee Hollowell, C. T. Vivian, Howard W. Creecy Sr., James V. Paschal, Vivian Malone Jones, Joseph and Evelyn Lowery, Dr. James Palmer, and others. See previous posts for historical information on some of these individuals.

Also, join us in March during the Atlanta Preservation Center's Phoenix Flies events for a tour of Westview's historically-Black burial section, Rest Haven.

On that tour, learn about prominent citizens Lula Leigh Hill and Andrew Hill, Atlanta University President Edmund A. Ware, Rev. N. J. Jones, Martha Fabian, Mack Leigh, Sterling Kent, Columbus and Anna Pullin, the Seay family, Louvenia Robinson, Anna May Harris, and many more!

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12/30/2025

We would like to wish all our families and guests a Happy New Year.

Our office hours on New Year's Eve will be 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

The cemetery's gates will be open New Year's Day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The office and Westview Abbey, however, will be closed.

Please call with any questions: 404.755.6611.

12/23/2025

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah (a few days late, sorry), Happy Kwanzaa, and/or Happy Holidays!

From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Please note our Christmas Day hours:

Westview Abbey - 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Cemetery gates - 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Main office - closed, with limited hours the day before, Christmas Eve

Please call us if you have any questions, 404.755.6611.

12/22/2025

Our calendars have arrived! Get them while they are on sale, 20% off.

They will make great holiday gifts.

$20, tax included!

12/12/2025

Coming Soon: 2026 Westview Calendars!

We are delighted to announce the publication of our 2026 calendar - a collaboration with the Atlanta Photography Group (APG).

APG arranged for more than 25 of their members to visit the cemetery back in August. During that visit, members of the group spent hours photographing the cemetery. Later, those photographs were submitted to an APG judging panel who then sent fifteen photos to us. We chose twelve, and voila - the first known Westview Calendar of its kind is at the printers today.

Hopefully, the calendars will be here by the end of next week or Christmas week. $25. Limited quantity.

And, we might just make this a yearly thing - mixing up the photography groups!

Legal notice: photographs or video taken at Westview for monetary gain are strictly prohibited unless a commercial photography agreement is obtained and approved at our office. Live models, modeling at the abbey or elsewhere is not permitted. We are an active, private cemetery, not an exotic photography locale, or public park, such as Oakland Cemetery. Please be respectful of families visiting loved ones.

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12/05/2025

Giving Friday and Forever: Westview Hopes to Create Museum

We are three days past GivingTuesday 2025, but we hope you might give today and in the future!

As many of you know, we are trying to raise money to refurbish our 1890 Romanesque Revival gatehouse to serve as a visitor center, museum, and community space. To that end - and since we haven't used the space for cemetery purposes since the 1950s - we established in 2016, along with the Atlanta Preservation Center, Friends of Historic Westview Cemetery, a 501(c)(3).

It is hoped that Friends can help us generate funds for a complete restoration of the gatehouse - one of Atlanta's oldest, still-standing buildings. (We just need $2.5 million! Any deep pockets out there? We will do naming rights!)

With the anticipation of a museum someday, we have been gathering artifacts to display in it and have restored some of those. As such, we thought we'd share an update on a few.

First, a huge thank you goes out to David Bray who donated this week a monogrammed linen napkin and a pre-1909 P. H. Leonard, New York, monogrammed porcelain wine coaster from the estate of Alice (Allie) Garnie Candler Guy. Mrs. Guy, buried in Section 5, was the daughter of Georgia Supreme Court Judge John Slaughter Candler and the niece of Coca-Cola founder Asa Griggs Candler.

Second, our own director of administration, Jeff Clemmons - who authored a book on Rich's published in 2012 - donated before Thanksgiving a four-foot, eight-inch by four-foot downtown Rich's clock replica; it was created by Brubaker Design for the Breman Museum's November 2013 - May 2014 "Return to Rich's" exhibition. Just last year, the replica was used in Hapeville Depot's "Rich's: A Southern Institution" exhibition. Between the two stints, the clock was housed at the Rich Foundation in Buckhead. Dick Rich (long-time store president), Walter Rich (once store-president and founder of the Dogwood Festival), and other family members of the institution are buried in Section 5.

Third, yesterday, staff completed restoration on the WATL 1380, The Abbey Hour, radio sign, which we posted about in June. The sign, in worse shape than we thought, came out beautifully. Grounds manager and fourth-generation Westview-steward Chase Bowen discovered it tucked away in an unused closet within Westview Abbey.

The other pics posted are items we have in our collection - Orly plane crash caskets (we have two) issued by the French government; molds for Fritz Paul Zimmer's Last Supper bas-relief; Cold War-era fallout shelter signs and barrels (the abbey served as one); Lt. Thomas Mason Brumby's Spanish American War-era uniform (two jackets and a vest), and his circa 1877 Union Jack flag on loan from Arleigh Johnson, the museum director of the Polk County Historical Society; and many other items.

Therefore, the next time you are out here, stop by the office and view some of these, and think about donating - tax deductible at friendsofwestview.org - to help us make our museum a reality.

Our story is Atlanta's story.

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12/03/2025

Ever dreamed of working at Westview? Now is your chance!

The Westview Cemetery, Inc.