169 Grady Ave

While public tax records suggest that 169 Grady Avenue was constructed in 1943, the home appears to have been standing on Grady Avenue since at least 1910, when some of its earliest residents, the Brand family, were recorded in the U.S. Census. Its exterior is that of a simple, vernacular Queen Anne home with Classical ionic porch columns.

The head of the Brand family was Herbert H. Brand, an agent of the Georgia Railway who came to Georgia from South Carolina. He lived at 169 Grady Avenue with his wife, Carrilea, and their daughter, Josephine. By 1914, based on historic directories, the home was lived in by Reverend Samuel J. Cartledge and his wife, Rebecca. A young woman named Florida Campbell, a student at the Lucy Cobb Institute, moved into the Cartledge home in 1916. By 1920, 169 Grady Avenue became the home of wholesale grocer M.H. Merry, his wife, Bertha, and their children, Kathleen, Louise, William, Miriam and Milton. By 1923, the Fambrough family moved into the home that stands at 169 Grady Avenue.

The head of the family, Ernest L. Fambrough, was a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He lived here with his second wife, Vera, and children from his first marriage, Alberta and Pauline; his sisters, Bernice (“Burnie”) and Dora; and a Madeline Fambrough, a student, to whom his relation is unclear. Interestingly, M.H. and Bertha Merry were still listed at this address in 1923, suggesting that it was a multi-family home. In the late 1920s and into the 1930s, the Banner-Herald advertised “nicely furnished” rooms for rent with “all conveniences” at this “steam-heated home” at 169 Grady Avenue. At one time, homeowner W.C. Thornton rented out the house as a whole. It was under Thornton’s ownership, in the 1930s, when the house was converted from steam to furnace heat.

Among the later residents of 169 Grady Avenue were Robert S. Patillo, clerk of the Georgia Railroad; Jonathan S. Dodd, manager of the Schwob Co.; J.C. Echols, salesman; W. Carlton Thornton, freight and passenger agent for the Georgia Railroad, and his wife, Willie Mae; Alfred D. Webster, associate professor at the University of Georgia; Daniel Greer, employee of the Hanna Manufacturing Co.; Mrs. Roberta S. Harper, saleswoman for Michael Brothers Inc.; Charles W. Haulbrook, lathe operator at Kellar Machine Co.; Francis E. Haulbrook, stenographer at the University of Georgia; Leila and Margaret Stevens; James W. Edwards, mechanic and warehouseman for H. Paul Williams, and his wife, Margaret.

On December 13, 1960, a “Grady Avenue Christmas Party” was advertised in the Banner-Herald. The party would be hosted by Margaret Edwards of 169 Grady Avenue on Thursday, December 15. About three years later, in February 1963, Margaret tragically died in a head-on collision, along with two other passengers, about nine miles outside of Athens. Her husband, James, was transported to Athens General Hospital– which has since grown into Piedmont Athens Regional– and he survived his injuries.

In more recent history, ownership of 169 Grady Avenue changed twice– being owned by Thomas and Kris Biesinger from 1998 to 2010, and Thomas Riddle, Jr. from 2010 to 2019– before becoming home to current residents Thomas and Elizabeth Leonard and their children.

For the Leonards, 169 Grady Avenue is a family home that is well-lived and well-loved.