1925 Biography - P. M. Atkins

P. M. Atkins, a former president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, is president of the Monroe Hardware Company, a wholesale concern that has done much to establish Monroe's position as a leading center for the distribution of merchandise over North Louisiana. He is a son of the late L. A. Atkins, whose fame as a merchant is a cherished memory over a large section of North Louisiana,

The late A. L. Atkins was born in Claiborne Parish. As a young man he studied law, and for one term represented his parish in the State Legislature. Instead of practicing law, he founded, in 1885, the business known for so many years as A. L. Atkins & Son. He entered business at Arcadia, in Bienville Parish, soon after Arcadia made its start as a business center, following the completion of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railway. A. L. Atkins & Son were general merchants, and in time the firm became the largest in North Louisiana, and all who had a relation with it recall the extent and value of its service. Business was voluntarily liquidated in 1914. A. L. Atkins was always known as 'White' Atkins, on account of the generous and lenient manner in which he treated those who were in debt to him. He was in business at a time when the mercantile system was entirely one of long extended credit. A. L. Atkins literally carried hundreds of farmers and planters in his state territory, often extending them financial aid beyond the most liberal terms then existing, and while he prospered, his prosperity also signified the prosperity of those who did business with him. His personal character and integrity justified a system of business that is rapidly becoming obsolete in the South. His death occurred in 1901, but two of his sons continued the business until 1914.

P. M. Atkins was born at Athens, in Claiborne Parish, was well educated, and was one of the sons actively identified with the business founded by his father. In the meantime, in 1909, he removed to Monroe and became identified with, and took active management of, the Monroe Hardware Company, a wholesale house. In its first year this company did a business amounting to $100,000, while, in 1923 the trade volume aggregated $2,000,000. This is one of the bulwarks of Monroe's trade and industrial life. Mr. Atkins is also vice president of the Central Savings Bank & Trust Company, and a director as well as former president of the Chamber of Commerce and is a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner.

He married Miss Alena Millsaps. Her father, the late Uriah Milisaps, was one of the outstanding figures in the commercial and financial history of Monroe, founded and developed a large prosperous mercantile business and was also one of the founders and for three years president of the Ouachita National Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Atkins have four children: Mona Lynn, Louise Getty, Eleanor Lockett and Ruth Millsaps.

Contributed 2021 Nov 04 by Mike Miller, from A History of Louisiana, by Henry E. Chambers, published in 1925, volume 2, pages 307-308.