William Mathusen Verdery was born at Belair, Georgia (ten miles west of Augusta), on July 27, 1825. His early childhood was spent in his grandfather’s house, where an aunt taught him to read, instructed him in the Presbyterian catechism, and trained him to read the Scriptures. In 1837, he attended the Mercer Institute in Penfield, Georgia. In 1841, he was sent to school at Cave Spring, and while there was baptized at the Cave Spring Baptist Church. He returned home and joined the Abilene Church, and was ordained there in November, 1848. In December of 1847, Verdery married Cornelia F. Skinner of Richmond County, and the couple had eighteen children.

For the years 1849-1857, Verdery served churches in the Hephzibah Association. In 1857, he moved to Hancock County, Georgia, within the bounds of the Washington Association, and served churches there for thirteen years. Verdery returned to the Hephzibah Association in 1870 and served both as an evangelist and pastor. He was elected Clerk of the Association in 1876 and was re-elected every year for twenty years. Verdery died April 29, 1897.

(Sources: Patterson, J. H. (1897). “A Memorial.” Hephzibah Baptist Association. Kilpatrick, W. L. (1894). The Hephzibah Baptist Association Centennial, 1794-1894. Augusta, GA: Richards & Shaver, Printers.)