Joseph Bertrand “Joe” McGinnis (1936-2017) was born on August 18, 1936 to Gilbert and Lois McGinnis. The McGinnis family had three children and Joe was the middle child. The family lived briefly in Temple, Georgia, but McGinnis grew up and was raised in Carrollton, Georgia for the majority of his childhood. His father, Gilbert, worked at Southeastern Motor Lines as a bus driver and ticket agent until his death in January 1952. Following his father’s death, Joe’s mother, Lois, supported the family by working at Sewell Mill in Bremen. McGinnis attended Carrollton High School (CHS) where he served as captain and quarterback of the football team. In addition to football, he also participated in baseball and track which led to him to be inducted into the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame. McGinnis also served as President of the Student Body his senior year. He graduated from CHS in 1955.

Following high school, McGinnis attended Georgia State University. During his time in college, McGinnis worked at Reynolds Metals Co., married Carole Copeland, had his first son, Joe Jr., and served his reserve duty in the Army. He graduated in 1963.

After graduating high school, McGinnis and his family moved around the southeastern United States. During this time, Joe and Carole had two more sons: Gilbert “Gil” and Glen. In 1975, they moved back to Carrollton and purchased the Baskin-Parker house.

McGinnis served on the Carrollton City School Board from 1977 to 1993. In that year, McGinnis was elected Mayor of Carrollton, serving from 1993 to 1999. In 1999 Mr. McGinnis lost his re-election to Gerald Pilgrim. After his loss to Pilgrim, McGinnis was again elected to the Carrollton City School Board from 2001 to 2013. In addition to serving Carrollton, McGinnis worked as a real estate appraiser and salesman for Macklanburg-Duncan and Kaiser Aluminum, and owned McGinnis & Associates, a manufacturer representative agency that served the floor-covering installation supply industry. He is the author of The Last Zinnia (2009), a fictional work which takes place in Georgia. Moreover, McGinnis has been involved in numerous organizations including the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame, the Carroll Historical Society where he was Vice President (2012), the Rotary Carrollton Dawnbreakers where he was a charter member, and the West Georgia Habitat for Humanity where he was a founding member. He was also a participant in the House Raising Team in Charlotte, NC, working alongside President Jimmy Carter, and the House Raising Walk of 1988 which went from Maine to Georgia. McGinnis was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Carrollton.

This collection includes a number of program books from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Annie Wheeler chapter. The United Daughter of the Confederacy, Annie Wheeler Chapter #391 was originally chartered on June 19, 1901 under the leadership of Mrs. J. L. Caldwell. This charter became inactive in 1976. On August 29, 2009, a committee of fifteen ladies met with the Georgia President of the UDC and the Organizing Chairman to reactive the Annie Wheeler chapter of the UDC within Carroll County. It was officially re-chartered on March 10, 2010. The chapter was named after Miss Annie Early Wheeler who was born July 31, 1868 in Wheeler, Alabama. Annie Wheeler was the second daughter of Joseph Wheeler and his wife Daniella. It was in the Spanish-American War that Annie served as a nurse for wounded soldiers. Her work within this conflict led to her being named the 'Angel of Santiago'. She later became a nurse for the Red Cross during World War One; she worked under the leadership of Clara Barton, stationed in England and France. After her time serving as a military nurse, Annie returned to her family's plantation where she remained until her death in 1955.

The official objectives of the Annie Wheeler chapter include: Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial, and Patriotic. The chapter centers all of its work on these objectives. Furthermore, the goal of the chapter is the educating of public on the Carroll County area's Civil War veterans, as well as honoring the sacrifices these veterans made through special programs.