Gaston Cesar Raoul was born in Bolingbroke, GA on March 1, 1874. His father, William Green Raoul (1843-1913) was President of the Central of Georgia Railway, a position he succeeded from his father-in-law, William Morrow Wadley. Raoul’s mother Mary Wadley Raoul (1848-1936), had eight children in addition to Gaston; they are Mary, William Green, Edward, Agnes, Rosine, Loring, Eleonore and Norman. In his early adolescence and teenage years, Gaston Cesar Raoul moved from Savannah, Georgia to New York (where his father had been established in a position as President of the Mexican National Railways), and back to Atlanta, Georgia with occasional trips to Mexico. From 1892-1894, he studied at Georgia Tech and from 1895-1903 worked for the Railway in both Mexico and America. In 1905, Raoul moved to Chattanooga, TN where he developed the Cavalier Corporation, a furniture manufacturer. Involved in many civic organizations, Raoul was a member the Mountain city club, served as chairman of the Selective Service Board of Hamilton County during WWII, and was a leader in the Association Charities. In 1908 he married Marion Alexander Haskell of Columbia, South Carolina.

Marion Alexander Haskell was born June 5, 1876, in Columbia, SC. Daughter of Alexander Cheves Haskell and Alice Van Yeveren Alexander, Marion was one of ten children; they are, Alexander Cheves Jr., Charles, Fredericka, Louise, Adam, Mary, Suzanne, Porter and Alice. Marion Haskell lived in New York from ages 18 through 22, where she studied music at a conservatory and took courses at Columbia University. Later, she taught at the Columbia College for Women in South Carolina before moving to Savannah, GA where she became head of school which was later named Haskell School. It was in Savannah where Marion met Gaston Raoul. In Chattanooga, the two married and eventually moved to Lookout Mountain. Like her husband, Marion Haskell Raoul was involved in many community organizations. She was a charter member of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, the Lookout Mountain Garden Club and the Lookout Mountain Book Club. She founded the Fort Wood School for Girls which ran from 1930-1933 and ran a kindergarten from her home. Additionally, Mrs. Raoul contributed several articles on South Carolina to national periodicals. She and Gaston raised five children, Alice (c.1909-1916), William Gaston, Marion, Rosine, and Dorothea from their Lookout Mountain home.

Born May 2, 1911, William Gaston Raoul was the oldest child of William and Marion Raoul. He attended Baylor school and later Dartmouth College where he was valedictorian in his senior year and was a magna cum laude graduate. Raoul enlisted in the Army in 1941 at the start of World War II. He was stationed in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee before fighting in Europe as lieutenant colonel of artillery in the 12th Armored Division. In 1942, William married Louisa “Kit” Cheves Popham, daughter of Navy admiral, William Popham and Mrs. Louise Popham. After WWII, William and Kit Raoul settled on Lookout Mt, TN and shortly thereafter, William joined his father at the Cavalier Corp. William was involved in many civic organizations such as the Chattanooga Kiwanis Club, the United Way, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association, the Allied Arts and many more. He is also noted to have brought rowing to Chattanooga and founding the Chattanooga Rowing Club. William and Kit had two children, Gaston C. Raoul II and Louisa Raoul Moore. Marion Raoul moved from Lookout Mountain to New York City in the early 1940s. It was in New York where she met her husband, Walter Stewart. The two lived in New Jersey with their two children, Walter Jr. and Helen “Bay.”

Rosine Raoul (1915-1977) attended art school in Chicago, IL and afterward lived in New York City where she worked as an associate editor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Rosine married George Hinds in 1952; they later divorced.

Dorothea Raoul lived on Lookout Mountain until 1946 when she joined the Red Cross and was stationed in Paris. After the war, Dorothea traveled the country until settling in San Francisco where she attended school in 1948. There she met her husband, Robert “Bob” Black and the couple had three children, Marion, Dorothea and Robert Jr. After accepting a position with Carnegie Tech, Robert Black moved his family to Pittsburgh, PA. Later the family moved to Akron OH. Dorothea eventually moved to Blue Hill Maine.