Through research, the Johns Creek Historical Society has corrected and added to the story of April Waters. April Waters is one of the few marked and documented graves in the cemetery as a person who worked on a plantation near where Macedonia African Methodist Church Cemetery now sits. Over time, the number of slaves buried became an unknown figure. However, with painstaking research like that done about April Waters, the Johns Creek Historical Society is trying to learn.
When George Waters died in 1852, he wrote in his will that forty-nine of his slaves were to be freed. April Waters was believed to be a part of the forty-nine freed slaves that later sailed to Liberia. Of the slaves that sailed to Liberia, most died from tropical diseases; however, many believed that April Waters survived and later returned to America. With further research, historians found that there is no record of April Waters on any of the freed slave ships that sailed to Liberia. Instead, records show that April along with his parents and siblings were bequeathed to the children of George’s deceased daughter Catherine and remained a slave until the end of the Civil War. Among these documents, such as the Reconstruction Oath helped historians discover more about April Water’s past. Many assumed that April was a female due to the name; however, by signing the Reconstruction Oath to receive the right to vote, the assumption became false. April Waters seemed to work as a freedman around Duluth, GA until his death on October 15, 1910, at the age of sixty-five. Today, he is buried at the Macedonia African Methodist Church Cemetery where the Johns Creek Historical Society has worked to determine elements of his past while overcoming the many obstacles in hopes to discover other slaves buried at the site.
When George Waters died in 1852, he wrote in his will that forty-nine of his slaves were to be freed. April Waters was believed to be a part of the forty-nine freed slaves that later sailed to Liberia. Of the slaves that sailed to Liberia, most died from tropical diseases; however, many believed that April Waters survived and later returned to America. With further research, historians found that there is no record of April Waters on any of the freed slave ships that sailed to Liberia. Instead, records show that April along with his parents and siblings were bequeathed to the children of George’s deceased daughter Catherine and remained a slave until the end of the Civil War. Among these documents, such as the Reconstruction Oath helped historians discover more about April Water’s past. Many assumed that April was a female due to the name; however, by signing the Reconstruction Oath to receive the right to vote, the assumption became false. April Waters seemed to work as a freedman around Duluth, GA until his death on October 15, 1910, at the age of sixty-five. Today, he is buried at the Macedonia African Methodist Church Cemetery where the Johns Creek Historical Society has worked to determine elements of his past while overcoming the many obstacles in hopes to discover other slaves buried at the site.