1834–1836 · William Hill’s Briery ministry
Religion and slaverySupplement
Briery Presbyterian Church finances ministry through enslaved labor
Prince Edward County, Virginia
Briery Church’s use of enslaved people’s hired-out labor illustrates how religious institutions could benefit financially from slavery. William Hill’s brief ministry there provides the setting for the sheet’s 1835 reference.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
The church’s slaveholding and hiring-out practices predated Hill. The sheet’s 1835 date should not be read as the founding of the practice or proof that Hill introduced it. His ministry is dated 1834–1836 in the cited biography.