Godfrey Barnsley (1805–1873) was a nineteenth-century British-American businessman and cotton broker who became one of the wealthiest people in the southeastern United States. Early life Barnsley was born on August 26, 1805, in Derbyshire, England. His father was George Barnsley, an English cotton mill owner and his mother was Anna (Hannah) Goodwin Barnsley. He also had an older brother named Joshua. Barnsley began working in the cotton business at his uncle Godfrey Barnsley's importing establishment in Liverpool, England. After Barnsley came to America, he too joined the cotton business and made his fortune. In 1824, Godfrey Barnsley emigrated to America from Liverpool, England. At the age of eighteen, Barnsley moved to Savannah, Georgia. He arrived in Savannah with no money and no distinguished education. However, it was in Savannah that Barnsley made his fortune as a cotton broker and became one of the most affluent men in the American South through the cotton trade and shipping business. He also served as president of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce for several years. While living in Savannah, Barnsley met Julia Henrietta Scarbrough, the daughter of William Scarbrough, a wealthy shipbuilder and merchant. On December 24, 1828, at the age of twenty-five, Barnsley married Julia. Barnsley and Julia had eight children. In 1842, Julia's health began to decline and Barnsley decided to move his family to north Georgia, where he believed there would be a more healthful climate for Julia. Barnsley traveled from Savannah to Cass County (now Bartow County) on an expedition with three friends, William Henry Stiles, Reverend Charles Wallace Howard and Francis S. Bartow. Stiles traveled to north Georgia because he was looking for land for future development. Howard was on a geological survey. Barnsley sought to find land where he could build a home that would be away from the heat and threat of yellow fever and malaria prevalent of the Georgia Coast where he lived. He chose a piece of land in the small village of Adairsville, Georgia. Barnsley's mansion On , Barnsley began construction of his mansion for Julia. He called his manor Woodlands, which later became known as Barnsley Gardens. He designed the gardens of the estate in the style of Andrew Jackson Downing. Downing was considered "America's first great landscape architect." Barnsley also brought in every known variety of roses to be planted in the garden. The mansion had twenty-four rooms and was designed in