In 1849, Joseph Gatins (1827-1905) moved to Atlanta with his two brothers, James and John. Joseph Gatins was a railroad clerk and freight manager of the Central of Georgia Railroad, and later and investment banker. In 1853, he married Bridget Cullen (?-1905) and the couple had a son, Joseph Francis Gatins, Sr. (1855-1936). Their other children were Mary Theresa Gatins (1861-1869), Julia (1863-1938), Thomas (d.1868) and Mamie R. (d.1936). Joseph Francis moved to New York City in 1900 where he continued his career as an investment banker. He was also the first owner of the Georgian Terrace Hotel in Atlanta.

Joseph Francis Gatins, Sr. married Kate Thomas (1855-1937) in 1881 and they had five children including a son, Joseph Francis Gatins, Jr. (1882-1927). He became a real estate investor, and in 1914 married Egle de Villelume-Sombreuil (1892-1990), a descendant of a prominent French family. The couple moved to France in 1915 and had a son, Joseph Francis Gatins III (1915-1983) who served in the French army during World War II and was a prisoner-of-war at five different German prison camps. After escaping in 1943, he married Sylvia de German-Ribon (1915-1987), a Columbian heiress. The couple moved to New York in 1946 and had a son, Joseph Francis Miguel Gatins (1946- ). After Joseph, there came five more children: Charles (1947-1995), Sophie (1949- ), Martin (1950- ), Egle (1950- ), and Miguel (1951- ). Following a long battle with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the family settled in Atlanta in 1952. Joseph Francis Miguel Gatins lived in Richmond, Virginia and worked as a reporter and special projects editor for The Richmond Times-Dispatch. In 2009, with help from family members and friends, Joseph F. M. Gatins wrote a book on his family, We Were Dancing on a Volcano: Bloodlines and Fault Lines of a Star-Crossed Atlanta Family, 1849-1989, Satolah, Ga.: Glade Press, 2009