The following year at age 16, William lost his father. By 18, William was managing a plantation of his own while furthering his education. William graduated at Emory college with a degree of Master of Arts. Later the University of Georgia conferred upon him the same degree. He married Nancy Jane Martin 12/6/1853 in Greenville, Georgia, daughter of Rev. Martin and Martha Hill.

By the age of 24, William was a family man with an infant son, and had begun his professorship with the college he had helped found. By the age of 30, he had a college full of young men well-trained in the classical, disciplined tradition known to William since childhood. Therefore, when the War Between the States broke out, one of the first, and some would say best-trained and bravest, group of soldiers from Alabama were formed from the ranks of the school boys and their teachers at East Alabama Male College. Among Professor Slaton's pupils at that time was William J. Samford who would later become Governor of Alabama.

Colonel William Franklin Slaton (3/6/1831-11/29/1916)

Extraordinary Educator, Civil War Hero, and Father

(c) Elizabeth DuBois 1999 All rights reserved.

Discharged as a prisoner of war June 5th, 1865, Colonel ("Major") Slaton returned to Georgia, and settled on a farm at Sandtown, now Woodbury, Georgia. In 1871, he gave up farming to teach at Griffin, Georgia for four years. He then assumed the position of Principal of the Atlanta Boys High School until 1879 when he was elected Superintendent of Schools in Atlanta, a position he held for 27 years until his retirement at the age of 76.

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