William Daniel (W. D.) Lovvorn was born on February 7, 1831, in Henry County, Georgia, to James M. Lovvorn Jr. and Bathsheba Traylor. In 1838, the Lovvorn family moved to Randolph County, Alabama, and settled in the city of Lamar.

W. D. Lovvorn married Sarah Delila Burden in January of 1852. W. D. and Sarah had eleven children: Thomas Jefferson (Tom), Nancy Evelyn, Mary Elizabeth (Bob), Gaines Washington, William Jeptha (Jep), Sarah Rebecca, Robert Monroe (Dr. Bob), Martha Ellen, Emma Cindonia (Donnie), Samuel Alex, and Henry Oliver.

In the early years of their marriage, W. D. and Sarah worked as farmers in Lamar, Alabama. In 1859, Lovvorn moved his family to Newell, Alabama, after buying a mill and 450 acres of timber and farming land. During the Civil War, W. D. was a member of the Home Guard. He did not join an infantry group or see military action due to his beliefs against the succession and slavery. At the end of the war, and while continuing to operate his mill, Lovvorn became the Justice of the Peace for Newell and in 1872, he was elected a State Representative in Alabama for Randolph County.

W. D. decided to move to Bowdon, Georgia, in 1877 in order to provide his younger children with a better education. When the Lovvorns moved, they left their house and mill to their oldest son Thomas Jefferson. Once in Bowdon, W. D. bought a mill on Indian Creek which became known as Lovvorn Mill. Over the years, he added to the mill site a store, a sawmill, a wool plant, a tannery, and a cotton gin. Lovvorn also served as a prominent benefactor for Bowdon College and was extremely active in petitioning for a new college building. He served as chairman for the college’s Board of Trustees for twenty years.

W. D. passed away on December 17, 1900. He is buried in the Bowdon Baptist Church Cemetery.

David Green Hay was born on May 20, 1841, most likely to James Peyton Hay and Mary A (her maiden name is unknown). During the Civil War, Hay served as a Sergeant in Company H 56th Georgia Infantry. He married Mary Matilda Brock on April 4, 1867. Hay worked as a farmer, moving his family to Dallas in Paulding County, Georgia, sometime before 1880. He died on February 24, 1887, and is buried in the Carrollton City Cemetery.

The wife of David G. Hay, Mary Brock Hay was born in December of 1851 to William Thomas Brock and Mary Ann Attaway. She and her husband had ten children: Augustus A., James William, Mary Etta, Martha L., Francis Lou, Effie, Hattie J., Ada, Dora Bell, and Oscar Henry. After the death of her first husband in 1887, Mary married Henry W. Hay on November 8, 1896. There is no record of any children from this marriage. Mary passed away on October 12, 1934, and is buried in the Bowdon Methodist Protestant Church Cemetery.

The Lovvorn and Hay families were connected through the marrriage of Henry Oliver Lovvorn, W. D. Lovvorn’s youngest child who was born June 15, 1876, to Effie Hay, the sixth child of David and Mary who was born August 6, 1875. They were married on July 18, 1897 and had ten children: William M., Charles Julian, Henry Oliver Jr., Mary, Robert Jeptha, Sara, Frances, Frank Hay, Mary, and Frances. Henry died on November 25, 1938, and Effie died on August 8, 1973. Both are buried in the Carrollton City Cemetery.