Born in 1854 in Oglethorpe, Georgia, Alec Pope was enslaved for nine years on the farm of Mordecai and Martha Edwards until emancipation in 1863. In 1938, Pope took part in an interview for the Federal Writer’ Project, a government funded project that wanted to develop a historical narrative of enslavement and provide jobs for the unemployed during an economic recession. Conducted by Sadie B. Hornsby, Pope’s interview offers an interesting insight into the enslaved experience. Many interviewers lacked proper literacy skills which meant that the interviews were subject to editing, to maintain a particular narrative. The interview transcript shows that some words have been underlined but explicit editing is not evident. A 1940 census recorded that Hornsby was uneducated but literate.[i] Being a white Southerner meant that Hornsby may have unconsciously influenced Pope to avoid conflict and manipulate his story, meaning Pope’s testimony, like all WPA interviews, must be evaluated carefully.[ii] Hornsby mentions that Pope was ‘glad’ the interview had concluded which presents his discomfort and leads us to question whether Hornsby created a rapport despite racial differences.[iii]

The scale of the Edwards farm is presented when Pope describes that there were ‘so many’ enslaved people, multiple overseers, and a ‘big house’ which leads us to assume the great wealth of the Edwards family.[iv]  Pope also mentions that Edwards owned multiple plantations which further enforces an image of wealth, although, no information could be found to confirm this. A Slave Schedule census recorded that in 1860, Edwards had 65 registered enslaved people under his control and authority at his residence.[v] Although not one of the largest plantations of the time, the number of workers suggests that Edwards had the finances and material resources to maintain the lives of the enslaved population. An asset census recorded in 1860 defines Edwards’ total assets as $51,000, which would be worth around $2 million today, which displays the wealth within the farm, which was likely valued according to the value of the enslaved people tied to it.[vi] Pope describes how the Edwards family would protect the health of the enslaved population as to not lose ‘good property’ and maintain their profits. Pope evokes a paternalistic image by suggesting that the enslaved were well cared for, but at the expense of maintaining a work force and enslaver profit.

Pope discusses the importance of community via the practice of religion. Pope mentions Sunday prayer meetings and how the enslaved community enjoyed enriching time together, outside of gruelling work and suffering. Plentiful food, weather appropriate clothing, and a good relationship with their enslaver meant the enslaved community on Edwards’ plantation would ‘have little parties’ and would be included in Christmas celebrations with the enslaving family.[vii] Stephanie Camp regards the importance of community and connection within enslaved kinships as the reclaiming of autonomy and identity which resisted the oppression instilled within the institution.[viii]  Pope acknowledges the physical punishment which enslaved people were subjected to, but regards this as justifiable, because they had challenged white authority, perhaps showing the impact of a white interviewer.

Pope states that his father obtained their surname from his former enslaver. Unknown whether his father willingly took on this name or whether his enslaver forced it upon him, this was a widespread practice and displays how enslavers asserted their authority by oppressing enslaved identities. Pope names his siblings which displays how he fondly remembered their sibling bond despite the circumstances, and through genealogy records, Pope’s heritage and family lineage can be investigated. Interestingly, only six of his siblings mentioned in his interview appear on this report.[ix] This could reflect a mistake within the archive, presenting the further development of existing and future documents which needs to take place. Emily West has explored the way the enslaved community, and especially mothers, adopted a communal and shared mothering practice that meant large groups of children were raised together to remove the difficulty of mothering whilst having to work.[x] This displays the strong relations which would have formed between women, and the burden of productive and reproductive work that women were subjected to.[xi] The siblings that Pope names in his interview may not be included on his genealogy report because they were not biologically related- but the nature of their upbringing, and their bond because of their shared experience, meant Pope viewed them as family regardless.

In an 1870 census, Pope’s family is documented as his mother and father, as well as four of the children mentioned in the interview, but not Pope himself.[xii] After emancipation, Pope and his family remained living on Edwards’ land for a year before moving. The family is recollected as not having the finances to purchase land which presents the economic difficulties of the formerly enslaved. Pope’s first marriage, to Frances Crate in 1871, could have prompted him to move, but given the economic struggle, he likely could not afford to.[xiii] A Tax List from 1871 records Pope, and five of his brothers or relatives, as being employed by J.B. Dillard, but lacks clues of where his business was based or what it conducted, but it was likely a form of physical labour due to the lack of education of the formerly enslaved, which would have prevented them from obtaining jobs that required specific skills.[xiv] Poor literacy rates amongst the enslaved population impacts the archive as formerly enslaved people would have spelled things differently, so may not match records which were conducted by their parents which creates gaps within document linkage.

Just one year after his interview, Alec Pope passed away in Athens, Georgia, at eighty-five years old, on 16th February, 1939.[xv] Leaving behind a legacy which allows his children and grandchildren to understand their heritage, Pope’s narrative focuses on the positive experiences and destroys the linkage between himself and his enslaved experience.[xvi] By deconstructing the connotations that he is to be remembered by, Pope refuses to be remembered for pain, suffering, and oppression, and
instead the ways enslaved populations created a found family and exercised their love and connection.

[i] 1940 U.S. Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

[ii] Jeff Strickland. “Teaching the History of Slavery in the United States with Interviews: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936–1938.” Journal of American Ethnic History 33,4 (2014): 43.

[iii] Interview with Alec Pope conducted by Sadie B. Hornsby, in Kendricks-Styles, Federal Writers’ Project Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 4, Georgia, Part 3, Pages 175-180, in Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938, https://libraryofcongress.gov (accessed March 17 2026).

[iv] Kendricks-Styles, Federal Writers’ Project Slave Narrative, https://libraryofcongress.gov (accessed March 17 2026).

[v] 1860 U.S. Federal Census- Slave Schedules, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

[vi] 1860 U.S. Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

[vii] Kendricks-Styles, Federal Writers’ Project Slave Narrative.

[viii] Stephanie M H Camp.  'The Pleasures of Resistance', The Journal of Southern History, 68,3 (2002): 544.

[ix] Genealogical Report of Pope, https://www.familysearch.org (accessed March 17 2026).

[x] Emily West and Erin Shearer. “Fertility Control, Shared Nurturing, and Dual Exploitation: The Lives of Enslaved Mothers in the Antebellum United States.” Women’s History Review 27,6 (2018): 1013.

[xi] Deborah G White "Female Slaves: Sex Roles and Status in the Antebellum Plantation South." Journal of Family History 8,3 (1983): 249.

[xii] 1870 U.S Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

[xiii] Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950, https://www.familysearch.org (accessed March 17 2026). Due to the lack of evidence within Pope’s testimony about his physical movement, no result has been drawn from this document to suggest that it was around this time that Pope moved from Oglethorpe to Athens, as to not create a narrative which is unevidenced and has not been suggested by Pope himself.

[xiv] Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

[xv] Georgia, U.S., Death Records, 1914-1940, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026). Although Pope is named Alec in his interview, his death certificate names him as Elex. Pope has been regarded by his given title from his WPA interview as to not alter or manipulate his identity, legacy, and narrative to conform to archival records. Despite copious research and investigation, no records could be found to suggest when Pope moved from Oglethorpe to Athens likely due to discrepancies in the spelling of his name.

[xvi] Marisa J. Fuentes. Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016. 16.

Bibliography Primary Sources

1860 U.S. Federal Census- Slave Schedules, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

1860 U.S. Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

1870 U.S Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

1940 U.S. Federal Census, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950, https://www.familysearch.org (accessed March 17 2026).

Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892, https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

Georgia, U.S., Death Records, 1914-1940[i], https://ww.ancestry.co.uk (accessed March 17 2026).

Genealogical Report of Alexander “Elex” Pope, 1854-1939, https://www.familysearch.org (accessed March 17 2026).

Interview with Alec Pope conducted by Sadie B. Hornsby, in Kendricks-Styles, Federal Writers’ Project Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 4, Georgia, Part 3, Pages 175-180, in Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938, https://libraryofcongress.gov (accessed March 17 2026).

Bibliography Secondary Sources

Camp, Stephanie M H.  'The Pleasures of Resistance', The Journal of Southern History, 68,3 (2002): 533-

Fuentes, Marisa J. Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.

Strickland, Jeff. “Teaching the History of Slavery in the United States with Interviews: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936–1938.” Journal of American Ethnic History 33,4 (2014): 41–48.

West, Emily, and Erin Shearer. “Fertility Control, Shared Nurturing, and Dual Exploitation: The Lives of Enslaved Mothers in the Antebellum United States.” Women’s History Review 27,6 (2018): 1006–20.

White, Deborah G. "Female Slaves: Sex Roles and Status in the Antebellum Plantation South." Journal of Family History 8,3 (1983): 248-261.