Bernhardt (Barney) Mannheim, son of Jacob and Rachel Mannheim, was born near Berlin, Germany, July 10, 1844, and died in Hawkinsville, August 31, 1914. He came to the United States July 9, 1860, and soon enlisted in the United States Army, serving four years of the War Between the States. He was captured during battle and held a prisoner at Andersonville, Georgia, and while there met and admired the people of this section so much that he decided to locate in Georgia later on in life. He made friends of several Confederate soldiers who were guarding him in prison, and those living in Dooly and Pulaski Counties became his lifelong friends. At the close of the war in 1865, joining the United States Navy, he visited almost every port in the world and learned to speak many languages.
While in this service, Mr. Mannheim helped to survey the Panama Canal for the United States Government, and from 1908 to 1915 his son, Joe Mannheim, served in the building of the Canal.
Mr. Mannheim came to Hawkinsville September 20, 1870, and after three. or four years of employment by mercantile firms of the city, entered business for himself and was one of the best known business men of this section until his death. He was a lifelong Democrat, a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias Lodges, and served several terms as city alderman. He was regarded as one of the builders of Hawkinsville and Pulaski County.
On January 13, 1876, he married Mattie Burch, daughter of Reverend and Mrs. E. A. Burch, born August 23, 1853, died June 30, 1903. The children are: Maurice, born October 29, 1876, who for fifteen years has been, and is at the present time, with the Wrought Iron Range Company, of St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to this connection, he was a merchant of Hawkinsville, was several times city alderman, and contributed greatly to the development of the city. On June 28, 1911, he married Ariel Lillian Wagener, daughter of Isaac Clifton and Blanche Wagener, of New Castle, Virginia. Their children are: Martha Ariel, born March 25, 1912, died June 21, 1916, and Maurice, Jr., born December 25, 1914, who holds a responsible position with the George D. Barnard Stationery Company, of St. Louis, Missouri.
Emma, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. Mannheim, was born November 3, 1878, and died October 26, 1883.
Joe, born August 21, 1880, selected railroads as his vocation, and spent seven years in this work on the Isthmus of Panama. He was conductor of the Gulf Line and Wrightsville and Tennille Railroads, and for twenty-two years has been connected with the Georgia Southern Railroad in Macon. In 1908 he married Miss Sallie Durden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Durden, of Hawkinsville. Their children are: Rachel, Martha, Jacquelin, Sarah, and Edward. Mrs. Mannheim died in 1919.
Edward, born August 29, 1882, died September 23, 1917.
Israel, born August 7, 1883, married Leonora Irene Bembry, daughter of Mrs. Cora Taylor and Herschel F. Bembry, on April 6, 1908. David Bernhardt, Ruth Louise, and Israel are the children born of this union. Israel has been clerk of the Superior Court for twenty-two years. He is a member of the Hawkinsville Methodist Church, has been a lifelong Democrat, and served on the State Democratic Executive Committee for several terms. He is the only living member of the Pulaski County Draft Board which, during the entire time of the World War, had active charge of the Selected Draft for Pulaski County; was president of the Roosevelt Club for Pulaski County in 1932, and was a member of the Senatorial Executive Committee for the Fourteenth District for more than ten years. Israel Mannheim, keenly interested in the affairs of his State and county, can always be depended upon for the support of any move which is constructive. Bernhardt, his son, is a successful young business man. He was married February 24, 1934, to Sara Margaret Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Benton Smith, of Hawkinsville, formerly of McRae, Georgia.
Aaron, born December 20, 1885, died October 26, 1923. He was one of the most affable and likeable men of Pulaski County. He contributed generously to charities, and it was not known until after his death that ten children were kept in school and clothed by him. He was a progressive and successful business man and took an active interest in sports of all kinds.
It is probable that no family in this county has a greater number of friends than the Mannheim family, three generations of which have contributed to the fine structure of Pulaski County.