Researching North Georgia Conference church histories at Pitts

One of the most common questions we receive in Special Collections is from patrons seeking historical church records from churches that either were or are current members of the North Georgia Conference. As the repository for the records of the conference, our collection consists of reports, histories, photographs, and bulletins from churches in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church (U.S.). These histories were maintained by the conference for each church for which members contributed information. Although the depth of information varies for each church, some of the material includes dates the church was founded, founding members, pastors, membership lists, location of the church, and other pertinent data. Many of the histories were prepared by members for church homecomings and anniversaries.

A brief history of the North Georgia Conference

The Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, originally part of the South Carolina Conference, was formed in 1830. In that same year the Methodist Protestant Church was formed as the result of a disagreement over the issue of lay participation in church government. In 1844, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery. In 1866, the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South divided to form separate conferences for North and South Georgia. The North Georgia Conference grew rapidly in the period after this division. Its membership was estimated at 38,211 in 1866 and had grown to 58,520 by 1875. In 1939 the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church merged to form the Methodist Church (United States). The North Georgia Conference of this new unification consisted of ten districts with a membership of 156,400. In 1968 the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church. In 2000 the North Georgia Conference consisted of twelve districts with a total membership of 308,489 persons.

Making church histories accessible

When a church provides materials for the Special Collections, there are several steps before we can make it available to the public for research purposes. We first process the materials, which means that we organize the materials in a way that makes sense for researchers. We place papers in acid free folders and photographs in plastic holders, and we arrange all materials in numbered acid free boxes for easy access. These containers are then placed in our climate-controlled vault that is located within our library, or the items are sent off to our off-site storage facility. We then create an online finding aid to ensure that researchers can easily view the materials that are in a collection. The materials are very useful for our local family researchers. Since the Special Collections department serves as the repository for the records of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, we are an active and growing collection. With that much information it can be difficult to find specific information in our collection! Thankfully many of our local church history records were previously digitized and can be seen here. In addition, our finding aids provide more detailed information about what exactly is in our collections.

For local church histories we recommend viewing our United Methodist Church (U.S.) North Georgia Conference, Local Church Histories collection. In addition, if there is a specific church that is of interest, we encourage patrons to search our finding aids for the church name and explore our holdings.

Beyond church histories, the Special Collections department of Pitts Theology Library also houses over 160,000 volumes of rare or special books and approximately 4,000 cubic feet of archival and manuscript material.

If something piques your interest, please contact us to view it in person. We can be reached by email at pittssc@emory.edu or by phone at 404-727-1223.

Written by Emily Corbin, Special Collections Reference Coordinator

Summer Reading, vol. 5: Caitlin Russell

This week we heard from Pitts Theology Library’s Acquisitions, Serials, and Assessment Librarian, Caitlin Russell. Take a break from the heavy academic reads with these novels grounded in religion and history!

First, Caitlin recommends Eternal Life by Dara Horn (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2018). This novel recognized by the New York Times follows the life of a Jewish woman in Second Temple Jerusalem who is blessed/cursed with eternal life.

Caitlin also suggests a novel the follows two juxtaposed tales called The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhader. This narrative tells the story of a family of Syrian refugees in tandem with the account of a twelfth century girl who became an apprentice to Muhammad al-Idrisi. This item is available in print at the Woodruff Library and as an audiobook!

Caitlin’s final recommendation is a fun adventure read called The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (Harper Voyager, 2017). She explains that “this book is loosely based in Islamic ideas of djinn and brings up some interesting conversations about race and class based in a fictionalized world. It’s high fantasy, but with a core of religion running throughout.”

Stay tuned next week for recommendations from Susan B. Reynolds, Candler’s Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies!

Summer Reading, vol. 4: Alison Greene

This week we invited reading suggestions from Candler’s Associate Professor of American Religious History, Dr. Alison Greene! Dr. Greene provides three cohesive suggestions in a variety of genres and formats to fit the needs of any reader.

First, Dr. Greene suggests Carol Anderson’s One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2018) available at Emory in print and online. Carol Anderson is an Emory professor (AAS and History) whose most recent two books aim for a general audience. This publication takes a look at the history of voting rights and voter suppression. It’s timely, readable, and important.

Next, Dr. Greene recommends Yaa Gyasi’s novel entitled Homegoing (Vintage, 2016). This story traces two half-sisters born in 18th century Ghana, unaware of one another’s existence, through eight generations all the way to the present. One sister marries an Englishman; raiders capture the other in her village and sell her into enslavement. The women’s descendants experience the full range of American and Ghanian histories, overlapping once again in a final (and hopeful) twist. Dr. Greene describes Gyasi’s novel as a “gorgeous, beautifully written book” and a “powerful exploration of the legacies of human enslavement on both sides of the Atlantic.” Homegoing is available at Emory in print, as an ebook, and as an audiobook.

Finally, Dr. Greene suggests you plug-in your headphones for a podcast called BackStory. Produced at the University of Virginia and hosted by United States historians Nathan Connolly, Joanne Freeman, and Brian Balogh, this hour-long weekly podcast provides the historical backstory (hence the name) to issues of contemporary interest and concern in the United States, from politics to pop culture to religion. Dr. Greene describes the content as “good history designed for a general audience, and a great introduction to a broad range of historians, who appear each week as expert guests.”

Next week we look forward to hearing from Pitts Theology Library’s Acquisitions, Serials, and Assessment Librarian, Caitlin Russell, with some excellent suggestions for historical fiction and fantasy!