James Hamilton Hall was born in Greenville, Georgia to Alexander and Elizabeth Hall on April 16, 1836. Due to his father’s wealth, Hall was able to attend school and receive an education. On November 2, 1859, he married Sarah E. Hall and throughout their life they had eight children, one being Hewlett A. Hall, a Georgia politician. Hall was baptized in May 1860, having decided to become a preacher a couple of months prior. He was ordained into the Baptist ministry in August 1861 and preached at multiple churches including Bethlehem Church, Mt. Lebanon, and White Oak Grove before becoming the pastor of Newnan Church in 1869. Hall remained at this church for over thirty years. Hall died on July 18, 1903 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan. That same year, a book of his sermons were published titled Exodus from Death: Sermons “concerning those who have fallen asleep."

John Holland Melson (1870-1952) was the first principal of the Fourth District Agricultural & Mechanical School, which would one day become the University of West Georgia. Melson served as principal from 1907 to 1920. Penelope Stevens Melson established the first library collection for the school and volunteered as the institution's librarian from 1908 to 1920.

Irvine Sullivan Ingram was born 11 November 1892 in Whitfield County, Georgia, the oldest child of George Conley and Annie Lee Irvine Ingram. In 1919, he became school superintendent for Chipley, Georgia. In 1920, when J. H. Melson resigned as principal of the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School in western Georgia, Ingram was selected to succeed him even though he had not yet earned a bachelor's degree.

It was at the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School that he met his future wife, Martha Munro, a teacher and daughter of attorney George Munro, the chairman of the school's board of trustees. They married in 1921 and had one child, Anne, in 1924. Ingram earned an A.B. degree from the University of Georgia in 1928, and an A.M. degree from Emory in 1933. In 1952, he was awarded an honorary Ed.D. from Oglethorpe University. In 1955, Ingram's wife died of cancer. He never remarried and spent much of his remaining life with his daughter. In 1957, the Board of Regents granted four-year status to West Georgia College. Ingram was president of West Georgia College until his retirement on 1 July 1960. His successor, William H. Row, died unexpectedly during his first year in service, so Ingram came out of retirement for six months in 1961 until a successor, James E. Boyd, arrived at campus. Ingram died 27 December 1981 and is buried in the Carrollton City Cemetery.