William Pope Harrison (September 3, 1830 – February 7, 1895) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and was the 48th

Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Claus ...

. He was an author of books on

theology, most notably ''The Gospel among the Slaves'', the first comprehensive accounting of the religious beliefs of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

slaves in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Harrison was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and attended the preparatory school of Emory College. In 1850, he became an itinerant minister of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

. In 1859, he was appointed to the faculty of the East Alabama Male College in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

as Adjunct Professor of Languages, and from 1861 through 1862 was president of the Auburn Female College, today Auburn High School. He returned to Emory, receiving the

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree in 1866.Johnson, ''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, vol. V'' Later that year, Harrison became pastor of the First Methodist Church in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, the first of four terms as pastor there, the last of which ended in 1877. Harrison was elected

on December 3, 1877. He served in that capacity for the 45th and

46th United States Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 ...

, before resigning in 1881. In 1882, Harrison was elected book editor of the Methodist Episcopal, South publishing house, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Harrison was a delegate to the First (1881) and Second (1891)

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this ...

s, and was Secretary of the Methodist General Conference in 1890. Harrison died on February 7, 1895, in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

."Dr. WP Harrison Dead", ''The Atlanta Constitution'', February 8, 1895.

Bibliography

*''Theophilus Walton, or, The majesty of truth a reply to Theodosia Ernest''. (1858). Nashville, Tenn: Published for the author by Stevenson & Owen. *''Lights and shadows of forty years''. (1883). Nashville, Tenn: Southern Methodist Publishing House. *''The living Christ: the life and the light of men''. (1883). Nashville, Tenn: Southern Methodist Publishing House. *''Ministerial freedom''. (1884). Nashville, Tenn: Southern Methodist Pub. House. *''Studies in the Gospel according to St. John''. (1885). Nashville, Tenn: Southern Methodist Pub. House. *''The high-churchman disarmed: a defense of our Methodist fathers''. (1886). Nashville: Southern Methodist Pub. House. *''The scripture mode of baptism''. (1888). Nashville: Southern Methodist Pub. House. *''The Wesleyan standards: sermons by the Rev. John Wesley''. (1888). Nashville, Tenn: Pub. House of the M.E. Church, South. *''The doctrines and discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South''. (1890). Nashville, Tenn: Barbee & Smith. *''Methodist Union''. (1892). Nashville, Tenn: Pub. House Methodist Episcopal Church, South. *''The Gospel among the slaves''. (1893). Nashville, Tenn: Pub. House of the M.E. Church, South. *''The Codex Vaticanus: an essay prepared by request of the Tennessee Historical Society''. (1894). Nashville: Pub. House of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, William P. 1830 births 1895 deaths Methodist theologians People from Auburn, Alabama Methodists from Georgia (U.S. state) Emory University alumni Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives Auburn High School (Alabama) people Auburn University faculty