Atticus G. Haygood
1839 - 1896
Atticus Haygood was an author, editor, educator, president of Emory College, and distinguished progressive bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He graduated from Emory College in 1859 and later that year, married Mary Yarbrough, with whom he had eight children (four of whom survived to adulthood). They also later adopted a grandson.
In 1858, Haygood became an ordained Methodist minister and served as a chaplain for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He became presiding elder in the North Georgia Conference and served as Emory College’s president from 1875 to 1884. During his administration, he reformed the curriculum by adding new vocational courses including telegraphy, bookkeeping, and manual arts, as well as academic courses, including modern languages, law and business courses.
Haygood gained national prominence as a spokesman for the “New South” with his November 25, 1880 sermon from the pulpit of the Oxford Methodist Episcopal Church South (now known as Old Church) entitled, “The New South: Gratitude, Amendment, Hope – A Thanksgiving Sermon.” In that sermon, he promoted Christian tolerance and acceptance and urged reconciliation with the northern states, courageously promoting reunion in both minds and hearts. He championed causes such as federal aid to education and educational opportunity for African Americans and attacked practices such as lynching and other cruel practices against people of color.
Haygood authored more than thirteen books. His Thanksgiving sermon and his book, Our Brother in Black: His Freedom and His Future (1881), about the role played by freed slaves during reconstruction, attracted the attention of the philanthropist and Brooklyn banker, George Seney, as well as the John F. Slater Fund for Negro Education in the South, an agency created by northern philanthropists to underwrite educational projects for southern African Americans. Haygood served as the fund’s agent from 1883 to 1890 and was the chief spokesman for the “New South” doctrine. Other published works of his include: Our Children (1876), Sermons and Speeches (1881), Pleas for Progress (1889), The Man From Galilee (1899), Jackknife and Brambles (1893), and The Monk and the Prince (1895).
In 1882, Haygood founded Paine Institute (now Paine College) as a cooperative endeavor between the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the predominantly African American Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church. Later that year, he was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but declined the position, saying he had unfinished work to do at Emory. In 1884, Haygood resigned his presidency at Emory College in order to work full time for the John F. Slater Fund for Negro Education. In 1890, Haygood was again elected bishop and this time he accepted. He was assigned to California, where he served until 1893. The Haygoods then returned to Oxford, where he died in 1896. Haygood Hall, a dormitory on the Oxford College campus, is named in his honor.
In 1858, Haygood became an ordained Methodist minister and served as a chaplain for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He became presiding elder in the North Georgia Conference and served as Emory College’s president from 1875 to 1884. During his administration, he reformed the curriculum by adding new vocational courses including telegraphy, bookkeeping, and manual arts, as well as academic courses, including modern languages, law and business courses.
Haygood gained national prominence as a spokesman for the “New South” with his November 25, 1880 sermon from the pulpit of the Oxford Methodist Episcopal Church South (now known as Old Church) entitled, “The New South: Gratitude, Amendment, Hope – A Thanksgiving Sermon.” In that sermon, he promoted Christian tolerance and acceptance and urged reconciliation with the northern states, courageously promoting reunion in both minds and hearts. He championed causes such as federal aid to education and educational opportunity for African Americans and attacked practices such as lynching and other cruel practices against people of color.
Haygood authored more than thirteen books. His Thanksgiving sermon and his book, Our Brother in Black: His Freedom and His Future (1881), about the role played by freed slaves during reconstruction, attracted the attention of the philanthropist and Brooklyn banker, George Seney, as well as the John F. Slater Fund for Negro Education in the South, an agency created by northern philanthropists to underwrite educational projects for southern African Americans. Haygood served as the fund’s agent from 1883 to 1890 and was the chief spokesman for the “New South” doctrine. Other published works of his include: Our Children (1876), Sermons and Speeches (1881), Pleas for Progress (1889), The Man From Galilee (1899), Jackknife and Brambles (1893), and The Monk and the Prince (1895).
In 1882, Haygood founded Paine Institute (now Paine College) as a cooperative endeavor between the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the predominantly African American Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church. Later that year, he was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but declined the position, saying he had unfinished work to do at Emory. In 1884, Haygood resigned his presidency at Emory College in order to work full time for the John F. Slater Fund for Negro Education. In 1890, Haygood was again elected bishop and this time he accepted. He was assigned to California, where he served until 1893. The Haygoods then returned to Oxford, where he died in 1896. Haygood Hall, a dormitory on the Oxford College campus, is named in his honor.