Harriet and Thomas Church - Slavery in Tennessee 1843 to 1864, on to Utah in 1878
DRAFT 19 Aug 2026
See this link for the Biography of Harriet Elnora Burchard Church who was enslaved at birth on 23 February 1843 in Tennessee. Samuel Bryan was her slavery owner.
On 30 March 1847 Samuel died. His will gave Harriet to his daughter Nancy Bryan who had married Thomas Holiday Church on 12 May1846 when she was 17. According to sources in FamilySearch, Nancy gives birth to Mary Elizabeth in June 1848 (died 1863) and to Thomas Samuel in September 1849 (died 1926). Two children, Orsaa and Chastie are shown, without sources, as born in 1847. Two other children were born in 1854 (died 1865) and 1857 (died 1859). On 3 January 1861, Nancy dies.
FamilySearch links for Harriet Elnora Burchard , Thomas Holiday Church, Nancy Maria Bryan
Then during the early years of the Civil War, Harriet in effect is married to Thomas who was then her legal owner (or enslaver as per current usage). In the July 1870 census, they are listed in separate yet nearby households apparently due to interracial marriage being illegal. Harriet is in the census with 5 children and a D Boen, an age 55 female farm laborer, all listed as Black (Harriet had been listed previously as Mulatto). Her daughter, Laura Church who was age 11 by then based on her 7 March 1859 birthday, is listed as L Church age 10.
In 1876, Harriet became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thomas had joined in March of 1847. Members of the church were persecuted in Tennessee in that era. Also, Reconstruction ended in 1877 and federal troops were withdrawn. The family moved to Utah by 1878. In 1880, they are all listed as White in one family with 8 children in Deseret, Millard, Utah. By then, Laura is married, listed as White, and lives in a separate home in the same town.
The biography is part of an impressive collection called Century of Black Mormons.
Harriet's biography does not review Tennessee Slavery Laws which were particularly harsh. I researched these laws to supplement many years of experience with slavery laws and practices, and wills tragically treating enslaved people and their descendants as perpetual property.
My research contradicts key assertions listed in the article as facts without question. The image below highlights in yellow these assertions in the biography. I hope to learn more about what may or may not support them.
My conclusions, reasons, and sources.:
- Harriet at age 4 in 1847 was not likely to be separated from her mother Maria.
See the link further below that notes how a child at age 4 would typically be kept with her mother due to the need for childcare, the child's limited ability to work, a desire to not upset the mother such that her work efforts were diminished, and other considerations by the owners.
Slave Schedules listed enslaved persons owned by the owner (including those of his spouse) and included persons not currently living at the owner's location. Harriet seems to be listed in 1850 as a girl about age 7 with Thomas Church as owner. She may not be staying regularly at his location.
Harriet lived within 4 miles or less of her mother if not at the same location based on the records I have seen of where Thomas and Nancy Church lived and where Nancy's mother lived. This seems to be true into Harriet's teen years and up to age 35 when she and her family move to Utah.
(In the second map below, A is Williamsport in Maury County and B is Shady Grove in Hickman County. Thomas Samuel Church was born 25 Sept 1849 in Maury County, 3 1/4 miles north of Williamsport per sources in FamilySearch.)
In the map below, the Williamsport area is just northwest of Columbia TN and is highlighted in yellow. See also distance from Nashville and Memphis. - Samuel Bryan's 1847 will was likely the best way to keep Harriet's family together (or at most 4 miles apart). The cold and terse lawyer's wording in the will treating people as property was needed to comply with the harsh and evil web of laws in Tennessee. The will was written within a month of Samuel's death and includes what to do at his wife Charlotte's death.
Nancy age 18 and her sister Sarah age 20 at their father's death were given Harriet age 4 and Mary about age 8. They would have known these girls since birth. It was better to give Harriet and Mary to them rather than to their 4 brothers who were about ages 6 to 15 in 1847 and would become their owners at age 18.
As for the other enslaved persons in the custody of their mother Charlotte, the 4 brothers at their lawful age would be "entitled to a distribution share in said negroes" up to the value of $950 set as the value of Harriet and Mary. The $950 was very high for 1847, perhaps twice market value. I am not sure, but this seems to say each brother would be given ownership of an enslaved person or persons rather than force a sale to provide cash. Each owner could then sell or take the enslaved person elsewhere, but the enslaved persons likely would be adults by then and, given the history of the Bryan family, likely to live close to their family members.
If there were no will or if it were not properly written, there would be court proceedings to settle the estate. At Samuel's (or perhaps later at his wife's death), Harriet's family would likely be split up and sold to payoff debts and make equal distributions of residual values to heirs.
To "free" Harriet's enslaved family, the owner would need to go through court proceedings and have enough money to post bonds and payoff debts tied to enslaved persons; and have enough left to live on and manage his farm (perhaps selling off some of it or other property). As for Thomas Holiday Church, he did go into bankruptcy in 1868.
Once freed, Harriet's family would be forced to leave the state. They likely would not have a certain place to go, and would have limited rights and the risk of being enslaved again. They would need to go beyond Kentucky, a slave state, to get to a free state.
See this link for research on Slavery Laws and Practices in Tennessee
The role of Thomas as father of Laura raises questions.
Was Thomas the biological father of Laura born to Harriet in 1859? Or any other children born to Harriet before 1863? What is the evidence?
Would he take on the role of father even if he was not the biological father?
Could Thomas' wife Nancy have Harriet sold or moved away from Thomas if he had sexual relations with Harriet by 1858 based on Laura's 1859 birth?
Would the relationship likely be known by the church and community? Would he have been disciplined by the church?
What was the community's view of such infidelity to spouse and sexual exploitation or rape of a 15 year old enslaved female compared to exploitation in areas such as Memphis, a fast-growing urban center for slavery trade and breeding in Memphis?
Would Laura, Harriet, and Thomas refer to him as Laura's natural father or other wording that could be ambiguous and not disclose in Utah what they did not want to share about Harriet being enslaved and pregnant at age 15?Harriet and Thomas have 10 children together from 1863 to 1884 according to FamilySearch. Thomas had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1847. In 1876, Harriet also joins the church and their family starts its move to Utah in 1878. They stay active in the church, married for life, and most of their children and grandchildren remain active in the church.
What of Laura at age 11, the oldest child, being listed in the 1870 census as Black (as were the others in Tennessee, then all White in 1880 in Utah? Her mother seems to be a light Mulatto. If Thomas were her biological father, would she be expected to be as light or lighter than Harriet? What about her death notice saying she was born in Nashville?
Considering all of Thomas' life, experiences, and values; how likely would he be to sexually exploit a 15 year old? Certainly could be true, but should be questioned. If true, he seems to have been forgiven. If could reasonably not be true, he deserves consideration.
In Family Search, see also Orsaa A Church listed as born 1847 and Chastie Church listed as born 1847 (or perhaps 1846) without sources as children of Thomas and his first wife Nancy. They could fit with enslaved people listed in 1860 and 1850 Slave Schedules. See also the other enslaved in 1847 will. It would be good to see if other connections can be found.See these studies:
Exploitation of Female Slaves in the Memphis Slave Trade
Time on the Cross - The Economics of American Negro Slavery
Sexual Exploitation of the Enslaved in Virginia
Thomas Church’s wife Nancy dies in 1861. I think that would be when Thomas legally owned Harriet. State laws would have made it difficult for Nancy to emancipate Harriet prior to Nancy’s death if she wanted to do so and could afford to do so.
In 1861 when Thomas inherited Harriet and others, I doubt that emancipation was possible. He is a widower with family and farm to care for and manage. Thomas was in the Confederate Army less than 3 months and was captured at Fort Donelson in Feb 1862, the battle that gave the Union control of most of Tennessee. He was not released from prison until September 1862, the same month when the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln. Thomas resigns from the Confederate Army soon after. His brother-in-law Thomas Samuel Bryan died 10 Mar 1862 in the Union Prison at Terre Haute IN, likely the same one Thomas had been in.
Considering the laws and events of the time, calling him an enslaver does not seem fair or accurate. Even as a slavery owner he had little if any time and ability to do anything prior to emancipation coming for all of Tennessee in 1864.
See this link regarding word usage: Enslaver, Enslaved Person or Slavery Owner
including explanation given by the Underground Railroad Museum
Slavery Laws and Practices in VA
Slavery Laws and Practices in NC
Case Studies of Various Slavery Owners
See the book Complicity - How the North Prolonged, Promoted, and Profited from Slavery
Antietam and Turn to Emancipation
North and South - Origin of the Civil War
Slavery Loans after the Civil War
These Facebook Groups have posted histories from Century of Black Mormons.
Facebook page Black Lives Bless
Genesis Group Facebook Community
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