At the Church-Waddel-Brumby House Museum, we believe it is vitally important to educate the public on both the positive and negative aspects of our antebellum house’s history. On this webpage, we welcome you to read A History of Black Athenians at the House and Enslaved Persons in the World of Dr. Moses Waddel, in order to learn more about the history of slavery tied to the House and its various owners.

A History of Black Athenians at the House

Alonzo Church

Alonzo Church was born in April 1793 in Brattleboro, Vermont. Alonzo Church worked as an educator in his home state of Vermont before relocating to Putnam County, Georgia, and later coming to Athens to teach at the College. He succeeded Moses Waddel after his resignation as the sixth president of the University of Georgia, a position he held for 30 years.

During his tenure at UGA and until his death in May 1862, Church enslaved a number of people, including 6 persons whom he left to his children.

Georgia censuses and probate records have provided lots of insight into the history and finances of enslavers in Athens during the post-reconstruction era. The 1849 Clarke County tax digest is one of the first listings of the enslaved persons of Alonzo Church; he is listed as having 13 enslaved persons in his household. In 1850, the Clarke County slave census records 9 people enslaved by the Church family. 

These censuses often list the number of persons enslaved by each Athens resident as well as the gender and age of each enslaved person, but rarely record their names. There is also mention of enslaved persons on an 1861 probate record of Alonzo Church.

In addition to being recorded in official Athens-Clarke County government documents, enslaved persons were often listed for sale in Athens newspapers such as The Athenian and the Southern Banner. Children as young as a year old were sold away from their families weekly in these papers. 

The last will and testament of Alonzo Church shows record of 6 individuals (of the 9 he enslaved) at the time of his passing; their names were Alfred, Caloline, Elvir, Hanson, Lousia, and Sophia. The 3 individuals unaccounted for in these records are likely Sophia’s children. However, there is no official record of their names.

His will, written March 23, 1863, read as follows:

To my daughter Elvina A, I give my servant Elvir about 10 years of age… Also I give to my son, William L. Church, my servant Alfred... I give to my daughter Anna P. Whitmer, my servant Louisa. I give the remainder of the price of my farm to be divided equally among my children after paying all my lawful debts. And I give my servants Hanson and Caloline to my children...and also the same with respect to the servant Sophia and her children.
Athens Clarke County Slave Census, 1860
Athens Clarke County Tax Digest, 1849
Will and Probate Records, Alonzo Church, 1861
Church is mentioned in several local papers like The Athenian.
News clipping announcing the sale of enslaved children.
Church’s obituary was printed in the Southern Watchman. 

Moses Waddel

Moses Waddel, born in Yadkin, Rowan County, North Carolina in June 1770, was a minister and Christian theologian. Waddel established the Willington Academy in Willington, South Carolina, in 1804. He taught and ministered in South Carolina for many years before accepting the position of president of the University of Georgia, a position he held from 1819 to 1829.

The 1820 U.S. Census lists 16 enslaved people belonging to Moses Waddel, including 9 children under the age of 14. A few years prior to his father's death, James P. Waddel was given primary ownership of the Waddel family slaves, and under the 1847 tax digest, 12 people were listed as slaves of the James Waddel family. There are eleven people reported as James Waddel’s slaves according to the 1850 Census. 

Dr. Moses Waddel founded Willington Academy in 1804 for a sect of elite Georgians and South Carolinians, along with the Willington Presbyterian Church. Here, he ministered and taught before coming to Athens, Georgia. Prior to the Willington Academy, he founded the Log Cabin School. In 1985, Dr. James Lewis MacLeod, a descendant of Willington graduates, wrote, The Great Dr. Waddel: Pronounced Waddle, a full length novel on the life of Moses Waddel based on his experience and study of theological seminary. What he writes can be corroborated by Moses Waddel’s diary, written from 1821 until he suffered a stroke in September of 1836.

Dr. MacLeod’s writings on plantation life with the Waddel’s revealed much about the character of the Waddel family. Moses Waddel initially enslaved 23 people on a 400 acre farm in Willington, South Carolina prior to relocating to Georgia, most of whom he bought as a dowry for his second wife Elizabeth ‘Eliza’ Pleasants.

Waddel refused to accept a salary for preaching and had to resort to working on his farm alongside enslaved people in addition to preaching to make up for lost income. In the winter, enslaved women would pick and dry fruit while men repaired farm fences and cleared land. As can be seen in his September 21, 1830 diary entry, Moses Waddel would often go out on the farm and watch slaves pick cotton and pick cotton alongside them; he even promised to buy them hats if they increased their workload. 

However, Moses Waddel’s treatment of those he enslaved can be considered puzzling at best. Waddel’s son John believed his treatment of slaves was too kind; John wrote that his father was the “most humane master...no cruel treatment was ever known or permitted, and every reasonable liberty was allowed them” and that his father’s kindness would “ruin all the Negroes in the neighborhood.” However, Moses Waddel’s own diaries show Waddel worked his slaves ruthlessly, particularly in the winter and forced them to learn long biblical texts and Christian theology for his own pleasure. He chaired a Presbyterian committee for the religious education of slaves in 1833 and required that all his slaves be religiously educated. Waddel also did not hesitate to beat slaves for idleness, laziness, or cursing. 

But according to his September 20, 1824 diary entry, a few students at the University of Georgia once called Waddel to prevent a slave on campus from being abused by a faculty member. And, in a January 26, 1831 diary entry, Waddel described the sight of “a drove of Negroes--14 chained” as “most unpleasant.”

From these diary entries, it seems Moses Waddel had no qualms with mistreating his slaves when he deemed necessary, but hated the sight of other enslaved people being mistreated.

Athens Clarke County Slave Census, 1850

Captain John W. Brumby

Captain John W. Brumby was the patriarch of the Brumby family. He acquired the Church-Waddel-Brumby House by marriage to Arabella Hardeman, the granddaughter of Sarah H. Harris, who purchased the house from Dr. Waddel circa 1833. Born in January 1843, he was a member of the Confederate States Army and had four children including two sons, Wallis and Frank, and two daughters, Anne and Mary. Frank served as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, and Anne served as the second dean of women at the University of Georgia. Anne and Mary later inherited the house. 

The least is known about Captain Brumby and his relationship with enslaved persons. However, there is evidence to suggest that he hired two enslaved carpenters named Alexander and Elijah from his father, Arnoldus Vanderhorst Brumby of Marietta, in 1864. Hypothetically, Captain Brumby may have been able to hire these men from his father for less than he would have paid another enslaver. Upon their hire, they would have been sent to Athens for the time allotted on a “slave payroll.”

Slave payrolls documented the loan of enslaved persons to other enslavers over a specific period of time. These payrolls often included the name of the enslaved person, the intended occupation, and the amount paid for their hire. It should be noted that all pay went to their enslavers.

Research continues to be done to learn more about Captain Brumby’s relationship with Black Athenians and slavery, as well as that of Dr. Church and Dr. Waddel.

However, in 1936, the Federal Writers’ Project conducted a series of interviews with former slaves, many of whom resided in Athens. These “Slave Narratives” offer the most accurate depiction of life for enslaved people in Athens though very few of them can be linked to the Church, Waddel, or Brumby families.

Given the nature of slavery and family separation, it is difficult to confirm and trace the family history, but the interviewee here, Alice Bradley is believed to be the daughter of Caloline, a woman enslaved by Alonzo Church. However, in the interview Alice has a difficult time recalling a portion of her family history. 

Narratives like this one, from formerly enslaved Athens native Willis Cofer, depict the most accurate picture of slavery Athens. Family separation and community and identity dissolution caused by chattle slavery makes it difficult to locate the descendants of slaves in Athens and piece together the complex history of enslaved peoples.   

1864 Slave Payroll, National Archives War Department Collection of Confederate Records
Narrative by Alice Bradley, from the Federal Writers’ Projec
Narrative by Willis Cofer, from the Federal Writers’ Project

Sydney Phillips is an intern at Historic Athens and student at the University of Georgia studying political science and public relations with a minor in Portuguese. Connect with her on LinkedIn or download a presentation of her research for the Historic Athens Welcome Center.

Enslaved Persons in the World of Dr. Moses Waddel:
1821 to 1831

Dedicated to writing in his journal daily, with the exception of instances where he was incredibly ill, Dr. Moses Waddel, D.D., Presbyterian minister and fifth president of the University of Georgia, chronicled his day-to-day life and the people involved in it– including those who he enslaved or hired from other enslavers. Between 1821 and 1831, the names of 41 enslaved Black Georgians and South Carolinians can be found noted in his entries: Old Dick, Solomon, Dick, Edmund, Ned, Old Ben, Young Ben, Lewis, Cyrus, Mary, Sophy, Vilette, Leanna, Kizzy, Creecy, Cicero, Gracy, Julia, Richard, Roxanna, Juley, Harry, Dicy, Andrew, Nelly, Harvey, Manuel, Sukey, Henson, Midas, Fanny, Wat, Jacob, Tully, Abraham, Stepney, Fredrick, Rupert, Joe, Hannah, and Matilda. The following descriptions of their responsibilities and experiences are entirely compiled from context clues found throughout the aforementioned journals.

Due its subject matter, this narrative contains content that may be troubling for readers.

The remaining twelve names primarily appear in single entries, many without great context. Jacob and Frederick appear together on October 11, 1828, when Dr. Waddel noted that there was “much fuss” on that day by a “negro trial” for Jacob and Frederick. An enslaved woman named Hannah appears twice: once with Old Ben, when Dr. Waddel sent Dick for a paddy wagon to carry them from Athens to Willington, and again when Dr. Waddel noted that he got castor oil for her. Harvey burst a bale of cotton on November 12, 1830, Dr. Waddel scolded Richard for “idleness” on February 1, 1826, and Sophy gave birth on January 27, 1823. Stepney traveled to and from South Carolina with Old Ben and Ned, bringing back three bushels of flour and a large melon, on September 6, 1828. Dr. Waddel saw Rupert cutting wood to fuel a fire on February 4, 1829, and saw Henson lying on a wagon when he visited his plantation on July 14, 1828. On June 15, 1830, Dr. Waddel sent an enslaved woman to his son James whom he referred to as “negress Matilda.” Based on context, Joe and Manuel were enslaved by Major Bull and Colonel Ware, respectively. Dr. Waddel noted on March 4, 1829, that he saw Joe threshing, and in August of the following year he noted that he “heard by Isaac King of [the] death of Mrs. Bull’s Joe by ox cart.” On July 9, 1823, Dr. Waddel was roused by Manuel who requested that he visit Colonel Ware. 

Based on census records alone, it would not be possible to pair names with the responsibilities and experiences of these Black Georgians and South Carolinians enslaved by Dr. Waddel and other white southern planters in the early nineteenth century. As stewards of the Church-Waddel-Brumby House, we are fortunate to have not only a detailed account of Dr. Waddel’s day-to-day life, but also a record of the names of these people who played a crucial role in his life’s functionality and the maintenance of his homes and plantations through the distasteful binds of slavery. 


1. “Dick wrote.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1821.

2. “Spoke of Dick’s marriage to ye others.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1830.

3. “Called at Mr. Thomas’ store – p’d him $45 for old Dick’s hire.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1823.

4. “Spoke to Judge C. in his garden about old Dick’s hire.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1827.

5. The Folk-lore of the Horseshoe, Journal of American Folklore, 1896.

6. “Ned drunk – rebuked him late.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1824. 

7. “Lewis made no fire till 11 ½.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1824.

8. “Heard old Ben preach in kitchen.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1828.

9. “John N. went with me. He played on the flute for young Ben p.m. by moonlight.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1830.

10. “Got Cyrus shoes at Welch’s.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1827.

11. “Rec’d a letter from Mr. Atkinson about Juley’s arrival.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1831.

12. “Maj’r Bull called wt. Midas.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1830.

13. “Sukey bro’t 3 blankets, gave her two.” Diary of Dr. Moses Waddel, 1831.


Caitlin Short is a long-time staff member of Historic Athens, an advocate for inclusivity, preservation of historic resources and telling the full story, and a dedicated steward of the Church-Waddel-Brumby House.