Robert George Pierce McKinnon, named after his mother's cousin, in turn was a Methodist minister (and subsequently, baptist, as employment demands dictated); though, his fame was localized within the area of Eastman, Georgia.

He joined the Traveling Ministry of the Georgia Annual Regional Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1831, the only college graduate at the time.

In the end, the next year in Louisville he reluctantly helped to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church, South which resulted from the schism of 1844.

He was likewise initially resistant to Georgia's secession prior to the Civil War, but later supported the Confederacy and maintained friendships with Robert Toombs and Alexander Stephens.

Our Confederacy has committed herself to no iniquitous policy, no unholy alliances, no unwarrantable plans..."[2][3] Pierce was widely popular throughout the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

After resigning Emory's presidency to become Bishop, he maintained a close affiliation with the college, serving in later years as a trustee and helping to raise capital funds for the school.

The original Pierce Chapel was an integral part of daily life at Wesleyan's former downtown Macon campus before the college was destroyed in a 1963 fire.