Featuring a Local Author - Historical Book about St. Marys Georgia

Boston Photography had the pleasure of meeting and working with Author Kay Westberry recently to capture portraits that she needed for her new book.  Kay is a historian in Saint Marys, Georgia, so it was important to her to capture these portraits in the area.  We chose the McIntosh Sugar Mill Tabby Ruins in Saint Marys, Georgia.  It was a perfect setting, as these tabby ruins were tucked just off the road beneath a canopy of beautiful trees.  

In the Eye of the Storm: A Look at the Turbulent History of Saint Marys, Georgia, is now available to those interested in learning the history of the quaint little town. This book covers the time well before there was a town up until the day the city council discontinued its meetings in 1859 marking the beginning of the War Between the States.

 Local historian and genealogist Kay Westberry has developed a fascination with the history of the Georgia coast and has spent four years in this effort assembling historical documents, photographs, and much more.  Extensive research, photographs received from the late Eloise Bailey Thompson, the Bryan Lang Historical Archives, and also collected from local citizens, along with the author’s photographs, make this book a collector's item.

 It was the intent of the author to record and publish information on St. Marys which has never been presented in one place. Previously, St. Marys has been included in books featuring Camden County or in books covering topics related to the town. To preserve this history, the first edition of the 380-page full color book is printed on very heavy best quality paper with a hardback binding meant to stand up to centuries of library reference use.

 The book is available from Once Upon A Bookseller in St. Marys.  To contact the author, go to her website at kaywestberry.com. 

About the Author

 Native Savannahian Kay Lynn Westberry has lived as far north and as far south on the Georgia coast as is possible. After being heavily involved in civic and charitable organizations in Chatham, Glynn and Camden Counties, she relocated to Saint Marys in 1989 and became enamored of the history of this place. Formerly a newspaper editor who received many Georgia Press Association awards for her column, section, series and photographs, she now enjoys writing about family history and especially about the history of the Georgia coast. Of the awards she has received in her various endeavors, one of the awards she values most is the honor of being selected by the Guale Historical Society as its 2012 Camden County Historian of the Year. Her first St. Marys history was a volume devoted entirely to the 229-year-old city cemetery for which scant records had been kept. Entitled Oak Grove Cemetery: Quiet Reflections on the History of St. Marys, Georgia, and Its People, this book has been very well received. She has also written and published two family history books, Going Home, the histories of five families of Tattnall County, Georgia, and The Clarys of Appling County. Westberry is currently working on the second volume of the trilogy of books which will make up a complete history of St. Marys. This second volume will cover the period of the Civil War to World War I.