The accidental slaveowner : revisiting a myth of race and finding an American family / Mark Auslander.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Auslander, Mark.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Slavery--Georgia--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Enslaved women--Georgia--Social conditions--19th century.

Enslaved women.

Kitty, 1822-1851.

Kitty.

History.

Bishops.

Slaveholders.

Social conditions.

Georgia.

Slaveholders--Georgia--Biography.

Andrew, James O. (James Osgood), 1794-1871.

Andrew, James O.

Bishops--Georgia--Biography.

Methodist Episcopal Church, South--History--19th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 383 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Athens : University of Georgia Press, [2011]

Summary:

The enslaved woman Miss Kitty was owned by Methodist Bishop James Andrew, who was the first president of Emory University's board of trustees. In 1844, Bishop Andrew's ownership of slaves triggered a split in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The story goes that Bishop Andrew offered Miss Kitty her freedom, but she stayed out of loyalty. However, a competing local legend has it that Miss Kitty was held captive as a lover by Bishop Andrew. The author of this book draws on interviews with Miss Kitty's descendents and other black and white residents of the town of Oxford, Georgia, to examine the ways in which these myths affected race relations in the local community, at Emory University, and in the Methodist Church. Appendices offer a timeline of the families from 1783 to 2011, speculations on Miss Kitty's origins, profiles of Kitty's children, and the lives of the Greenwood slaves after emancipation. The book is illustrated with b&w historical and contemporary photos. Auslander directs the Museum of Culture and Environment at Central Washington University. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

The myth of Kitty

Distant kin : slavery and cultural intimacy in a Georgia community

"The tenderest solicitude for her welfare" : founding texts of the Andrew-Kitty narrative

"As free as I am" : retelling the narrative

"The other side of paradise" : mythos and memory in the cemetery

"The most interesting building in Georgia" : the strange career of Kitty's cottage

Enigmas of kinship : Miss Kitty and her family

"Out of the shadows" : the Andrew family slaves

Saying something now.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780820340425

0820340421

9780820340432

082034043X

OCLC:

709890520