Beasley, Archer Wilburn, 1897-1976.

Archer Wilburn Beasley was born on July 26, 1897 in Hampshire, Tennessee to William H. and Ocia Beasley. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Emory University and also attended Vanderbilt University, the University of Chicago, and Union Theological Seminary. Beasley was a member of the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Church and worked as a pastor, teacher, and administrator in several schools and churches in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia. He returned to Atlanta in 1956, becoming the first Almar H. Shatford Professor of Homiletics at Candler School of Theology. The chair was created by Mrs. Genevieve S. Shatford in honor of her husband, who was a well-known layperson in the Methodist Church and a member of the brokerage firm of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Bean. Beasley served as the Shatford Professor of Homiletics until his retirement in 1965. He continued to teach part-time at Candler and died in March 1976.

A. Wilburn Beasley was married to Sarah Elizabeth Flowers on September 6, 1924 and had three children: Archer Wilburn Jr., Robert Aiken, and Sarah Frances.