by Sara Logue, Research and Public Services Archivist, MARBL
While the little town of Atlanta was just on the verge of growing by leaps and bounds, rumblings of an approaching Civil War began to spread throughout Georgia. One of the great schisms of the Methodist Church occurred during the 1840s and directly involved the Emory community; in particular Rev. James Osgood Andrew, a Methodist Bishop, slaveowner, and President of the Emory Board of Trustees. Though the details of how Andrew came to own his slaves are muddled, the fact of their existence in his possession led to a North/South split in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
