Judge Gorham Garrison was born on April 3, 1890, in Newnan, Georgia, to J. A. and Texanna Gorham Garrison. He attended Pavo High School and graduated from Mercer University. He was ordained as a Baptist minister at Ochlochnee Baptist Church on April 26, 1927. He pastored churches in rural Georgia for 32 years. He was a member of the Thomas County Baptist Association and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention. He was also the editor of The Baptist Builder. He served as a teacher, principal, and later superintendent for the Thomas County Schools for 37 years. He was the president of the Georgia High School Association from 1944-1948. He was trustee for both Mercer University and Norman College. Garrison served on several state and national education councils. He was awarded the Algernon Sydney Award for Distinguished Services to the State in the Field of Education. He was a member of the Free & Accepted Masons and the Lions Club International. Garrison married Vessie Smith, and the couple had five children: Searcy, Andy, Miriam, Jeanne, and Margaret. (Searcy S. Garrison serveed as secretary of the Georgia Baptist Convention.) Garrison died on March 4, 1967, in Thomasville, Georgia.