USA > Texas > History of Methodism in Texas > Part 6
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John Clark was one of the delegates elected to the General Conference which met this year in New York. Mr. Clark took his family north with him, and never returned to Texas. Some of our readers may wish to know what became of him. After filling various appoint- ments in New York in 1852, he was transferred to the west, and stationed in the Clark Street Church in Chi- cago. Here he died of the cholera on the 11th day of July, 1853. During his brief pastorate in Chicago, Mr. Clark induced a wealthy lady, widow of a former Mayor of the city, to give property worth some $300,000 for the endow- ment of Garrett Biblical Institute, for the education of young men preparing for the ministry. Mr. Clark was remarkably dignified and impressive in the pulpit. He was acceptable and useful in Texas during his stay here.
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During the year 1843, Wm. O'Conner closed his earthly labors, in the third year of his ministry, and the twenty- seventh of his age.
The General Conference of 1844 provided for two con- ferences in Texas, one in the east, and another in the west. After a consultation, however, it was thought advisable for all to meet together for that year.
East Texas Conference appointments for 1845 :
San Augustine District, F. Wilson, P. E .- San Augus- tine, J. W. Fields, J. T. P. Irvine; Jasper, Jacob Craw- ford, H. Z. Adams; Jefferson, James W. Baldridge; Lib- erty, L. S. Friend ; Trinity, Isaac Tabor; Crockett, M. H. Jones, Wm. K. Wilson ; Wesley College, L. Janes, N. W. Berks.
Sabine District, L. Fowler, P. E .- Nacogdoches, John C. Woolam, Silas W. Camp ; Rusk, Henderson D. Palmer ; Henderson, Wm. Craig ; Shelbyville, Orin Hatch; Mar- shall, S. A. Williams, F. M. Stovall; Harrison, to be supplied.
Clarksville District, Daniel Payne, P. E .- Clarksville, N. Shook; De Kalb, E. P. Chisholm ; Paris, Jeff Shook, Andrew Davis ; Fannin, Daniel Shook; Lake Soda, P. W. Hobbs, Robert Crawford.
Appointments of the Texas Conference for 1845 :
Galveston District, R. Alexander, P. E .- Galveston, I. M. Williams; Houston, J. W. Whipple; Brazoria, D. N. V. Sullivan, W. S. Hamilton ; Brazos, James M. Wesson ; San Jacinto, W. G. Booker.
Washington District, M. Yell, P. E .- Washington, R. B. Wells, L. D. Bragg; Montgomery, James G. Johnson ; Huntsville, Wm. C. Lewis; Franklin, James H. Collard ; Nasville Pleasant, M. Yell.
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Rutersville district, C. Richardson, P. E .; Rutersville, H. S. Thrall; Bastrop, John S. Williams ; Columbus, Robert Guthrie; Egypt, Daniel Carl, Jesse Hord; Vic- toria, David L. Bell; Gonzales, John W. De Vilbiss; Ru- tersville College, C. Richardson, President; H. S. Thrall, Professor.
SECTION V.
The General Conference of 1844-The Louisville Convention-The General Conference of 1846-Complete Organization of the M. E. Church, South.
IN this section, though it passes a little beyond the period assigned to the chapter in which it is found, we pro- pose to treat of the General Conference of 1844, the Louis- ville Convention of 1845, and the first General Conference of the church, South, held in 1846. We do this to complete in one section the history of the organization of the South- ern church. The Texas delegates to the General Conference which met in New York, in May, 1844, were Littleton Fowler and John Clark; R. Alexander, reserve. By way of introduction to the exciting controversy which sprung up in this body on the slavery question, we may quote a resolution that passed in the General Conference in Cin- cinnati in 1836.
Resolved, "They are decidedly opposed to modern aboli- tionism, and wholly disclaim any right, wish, or intention to interfere in the civil and political relations between master and slave, as it exists in the slaveholding States of this Union."
After the passage of the above, the Southern people felt secure in their rights.
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There were two cases that brought this question before the Conference in New York. Rev. Mr. Harding, of the Baltimore Conference, had married a lady who was a slave- holder; the Conference required him to emancipate the slaves. This he refused to do, and his Conference sus- pended him from the ministry. He appealed to the General Conference in New York, and that body reaffirmed the decision of the Baltimore Conference.
Another case was that of Bishop Andrew, who had also married a lady owning slaves. It was first proposed to suspend the bishop, but finally a resolution passed, after various whereases, announcing that the " bishop had become connected with slavery, and that this connection would render him unacceptable to a large portion of the church," in the following language :
Resolved, "That it is the sense of this General Confer- ence that he desist from the exercise of this office as long as this impediment remains." In voting on this resolution, Mr. Clark voted with the abolitionists. The delegates from the Southern Conference presented a dignified and able protest against these proceedings, which was spread upon the Conference Journal. They also petitioned for the privilege of forming a separate ecclesiastical organization. In this they had the example of Mr. Wesley, who made provision for the separate existence of the American Method- ist Church, and the American General Conference of 1828, which organized the Canada Conference, and gave up the jurisdiction which this Conference had previously exer- cised over their Canada brethren. After a protracted dis- cussion, the General Conference, on the 7th of June, by a vote of 135 to 15, adopted the famous plan of separation.
The first resolution left the Southern Conferences sole
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judges of the necessity of such separate church organiza- tion, and gave to border societies the right of election as to which organization they would adhere. The second gave all preachers, travelling and local, the privilege of adhering to either church. The other resolutions related to the division of the public funds of the connection. In the Texas Conference in San Augustine, January, 1845, Messrs. Richardson, Alexander, and S. A. Williams were appointed a committee on "Separation." This committee presented a report, which was unanimously adopted by the Texas Conference. The report " approved the action of the Southern delegates in the General Conference, and pronounces a special vote of censure upon Mr. Clark for his votes." Another resolution declared that " We deeply deplore the increasingly fearful controversy between the Northern and Southern divisions of the church, on the institution of domestic slavery." The third recommended the election of delegates to the Convention to meet in Louis- ville, Kentucky, in May next, to act under the following in- structions, to wit: "To endeavor to secure a compromise between the North and the South. To oppose a formal division of the church before the General Conference of 1848, or a General Convention can be convened to decide the present controversy, but, should a division be deemed unavoidable, and be determined on by the Convention, then, being well satisfied with the discipline of the church as it is, we instruct our delegates not to support or favor any change in said discipline by said Convention, other than to adapt its fiscal economy to the Southern organiza- tion." In accordance with the foregoing resolution, Messrs. L. Fowler, F. Wilson, and R. Alexander were elected delegates to the Louisville Convention.
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That Convention met in May, 1845. It was ascertained that ninety-five per cent. of the ministry and membership in the Southern States were in favor of a separate ecclesi- astical organization. Bishops Soule and Andrew presided over its sessions, and gave in their adhesion to the South- ern church. To complete the organization of the church, South, a General Conference was called, to meet at Peters- burg, Virginia, May 1st, 1846. In this body Francis Wil- son represented the East Texas, and R. Alexander and Chauncey Richardson the Texas Conference. In the Con- ference at Petersburg a most fraternal spirit was manifested toward the Northern church. By a unanimous vote the venerable Dr. Lovick Pierce was appointed a fraternal messenger, to attend the next session of their General Conference, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A pastoral address was issued, drawn up by Dr. Bascom, in which the evils of division are deplored. The address goes on to say :-
" We confidently regard the two great bodies, however, taking the aggregate of their numbers, intelligence, and piety, as one in principle and feeling, united in the great vocation of diffusing the knowledge and love of God among men. Between the two connections, in doctrines, discipline, and ritual, the indentity is com- plete. * With regard to the great mass of our brethren of the M. E. Church, comparatively few being excepted, may we not rea- sonably hope that, at no distant day, it may be said of them and us, in the language of Charles Wesley, 'and friends at first are friends again at last.' Let us, at least, seek to bring about such a result, and, if disappointed, let us bear it as we should. 'Thou shalt see and flow together,' may be addressed to us as to the ancient church."
Alas ! that those fond anticipations of peace should have been so sadly disappointed. The Northern Church refused to give us our share of the public funds, and we obtained it only at the end of an expensive lawsuit. Their General
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Conference declined to receive Dr. Pierce, or to treat him with common ministerial courtesy ; in a word, an impla- cable fratricidal war was inaugurated .*
The General Conference elected Drs. Wm. Capers and Robert Paine bishops. Dr. Jno. Early was appointed book-agent, and a Committee was appointed to prepare a hymn-book for the Southern church. Dr. Edward Steven- son was elected Missionary Secretary. Editors were selected for a Quarterly Review, and for the advocates at Nashville,
* This note is only for the considerate and peace-loving reader. The implacable and bellicose knight, who is determined to keep up a warfare through this and the next century, will please pass over without reading it. A quarter of a century has passed since the adoption of the "Plan of Separation," and since the M. E. Church, South, has received recognition as a legal and legitimate branch of American Methodism. In the mean time, a terrible civil war has swept over our continent, devastating some of its fairest provinces. Slavery, the original occasion of sectional strife, has disappeared. Now, we modestly suggest whether it is necessary to continue the rancorous war between Northern and Southern Methodism. Would it not be a good plan, after so fierce a combat, to call off the braves and light the calumet? Smoking and chewing have a wonderful effect upon excited nerves. Unquestionably, as the world's pacifica- tor, tobacco is better than Paixhan guns or turret monitors. When high commissioners meet to settle questions that threaten the peace of the world, discussion may fail to produce a satisfactory adjust- ment. Dinners are spread, and even wine sparkles in vain. But let the members adjourn to a social hall, and "fumigate" and " rumi- nate," and, at once, the bow of peace appears amid the clouds. We say, then, let the belligerents meet and smoke. And if the reader is, after all, displeased with this suggestion for an armistice, let him smoke! As the question of church property enters largely into this controversy, it may not be irrelevant to quote a recent decision of the ยท Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. It was in reference to the property of a German Reformed Church in that State: Judge Sharswood
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Charleston, and Richmond. In a word, everything was done to put our ecclesiastical machinery in fine working order, and the Conference adjourned on the 23d of May, after a most peaceful and harmonious session.
formally decided that the constitutional guarantee of religious free- dom does not guarantee the right to steal churches. Now, let the redoubtable knights, who think it so much easier to steal other people's churches than to build for themselves, put Judge Shars- wood's decision in their pipes and smoke it.
CHAPTER IV.
FROM 1846 TO 1855.
SECTION I.
A new Era-First Church in Peter's Colony-Austin-San Antonio- Corpus Christi-Old Washington Circuit.
WE are now entering upon a new era, both civilly and ecclesiastically. The treaty of annexation had been con- summated, and henceforth the Lone Star of Texas is merged into the constellation of the American Union. After this auspicious event, in an incredibly short space of time, the population of Texas was doubled and quadrupled. Politically and commercially we enter upon an era of progress and prosperity. The Methodists in Texas, with unparalleled unanimity, acquiesced in the formation of the M. E. Church, South; and there was general rejoicing that we were free from abolition interference. Texas was now divided into two Conferences, and this enabled the minis- try to cultivate the whole field more thoroughly than had heretofore been practicable.
We shall not, hereafter, give the appointments of the preachers from year to year, as that would swell our volume to an unwieldy size. And we shall hereafter notice subjects rather topically than chronologically.
The venerable Bishop Soule held the Texas Conference in the Winter of 1845-6. Among the new appoint-
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ments in East Texas we notice that Andrew Davis was sent to Bonham ; Orrin Hatch, to Dallas ; Job M. Baker to Dangerfield ; Daniel Shook, to Fort Sherman, and Wil- liam K. Wilson, to Kingsborough. A chapel, called Webb's Chapel, was built this year on Farmer's Branch, in Dallas County, said to have been the first house of worship erected in Peter's Colony. The next year Messrs. Joab H. Biggs and M. F. Cole were on the Bonham and Dallas work, and succeeded in organizing a number of large societies.
In the Texas Conference there were three cities upon the frontier put down as stations in the minutes, simply be- cause, at that time, we had no money to establish missions. H. S. Thrall was sent to Austin ; John W. De Vilbiss, to San Antonio, and John Haynie, to Corpus Christi.
The small class formed in Austin in 1840 had been dissolved when the members of the State government and citizens generally fled from the city in 1842. When Mr. Thrall arrived in Austin, he found no Church organiza- tion of any kind in the city. He procured the hall of the house of Representatives for preaching, and here he organ- ized a Sunday-school. It being difficult to obtain lodgings, the preacher slept for weeks on the floor, in a lawyer's office. (The lawyer, Mr. Rowan Hardin, of Kentucky, had once been a member of the Church.) Mr. Thrall obtained his meals at different boarding-houses in the city. After the adjournment of the Legislature, Mr. Thrall opened a school in the Capitol building, to make money to defray his personal expenses. Being returned a second year to Austin, on the 17th of April, 1847, the quarterly Conference ap- pointed a board of trustees ; a lot was secured, and meas- ures taken to build a church. The preacher, besides teach- ing school, was building committee, collector, paymaster,'
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and general manager of the new building. The new church was dedicated December 19, 1847. In 1853 that building was sold to the Christian denomination who still use it as a house of worship.
Mr. De Vilbiss found things in an equally disorganized and unpromising condition in San Antonio. This is the oldest, and at that time it was the most populous, city in Texas. But its early settlers were all Catholics, and the American and English proportion of the population was comparatively small. To secure a place to preach, Mr. De Vilbiss rented a hackal .* In this he taught a Sunday- school, and held preaching on Sundays, and taught a day- school in the week. By persevering effort Mr. De Vilbiss succeeded in organizing a small class, which has continued to grow to the present time. One of the stewards of the society was a Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans had a daughter, who attended Mr. De Vilbiss's school. The young lady was Miss Augusta Evans, who, as an authoress, has obtained a world-wide reputation. At the end of two years, Mr. Wil- liam Young succeeded Mr. De Vilbiss as pastor of the San Antonio church.
Strange that men, Jonah-like, will attempt to flee the presence of duty ! but so it is. James M. Follansbee was in San Antonio to engage in the medical profession, for which he had been educated. A native of Washington City, a Methodist, a graduate of Dickinson College, Pa., he left home feeling, perhaps, that he ought to preach, and hoping to rid himself of the unwelcome impression, had floated to the very outskirts of civilization. But he made
* A hackal is a Mexican house, constructed by setting up Mes- quit poles endways in the ground, and covering with a kind of thatch.
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as unsuccessful a move as Jonah did when he went down to Joppa, and paid his fare to Tarshish.
In San Antonio, the Doctor's impression that he ought to preach ripened into a profound conviction. In the sum- mer of 1848 he received his license, and immediately started a round with Mordecai Yell, on the San Antonio district, to be initiated into the mysteries of the itinerancy in Texas.
During Mr. Young's pastorate, Rev. John McCullough was pastor of the Presbyterian church in San Antonio. The two were intimate friends, and occupied the same room. A desperado had fallen out with Mr. Mccullough and rode up to the door, and, through mistake, fired at Mr. Young, but fortunately missed him ; seeing his mis- take, he next fired two shots at Mr. Mccullough, both balls passing through his hat. Such were some of the incidents that gave spice to ministerial life in an early day in Texas. "Through the labors of Messrs. De Vilbliss, Bel- vin, and L. B. Whipple, Colonel A. Mitchell and others, the church in San Antonio continued to grow, and in 1853 a substantial church-building was erected upon Solidad Street, with a basement for Sunday-school purposes.
Corpus Christi is upon the southeast bank of the Neue- ces River, and, up to the time of the Texas revolution, was in the State of Cohuila. As Texas claimed the Rio Grande as her western boundary, General Taylor's army crossed the Neueces into Corpus Christi, and by that act settled the boundary of Texas.
Mr. Haynie started for his new field of labor, leaving his family at his home in Rutersville. At Goliad he was informed it would be unsafe to proceed without a guard, and Captain Price, commanding a company of Texas Rang-
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ers, furnished a guard .* Corpus Christi was an army sta- tion, and crowded with a floating population. It was diffi- cult for Mr. Haynie to find board, lodgings, or a place to preach. Finally, he found a place to get his meals, and, after a labored effort, he obtained permission to sleep in a storehouse " on three bags of shelled corn." He procured one of the theatres to preach in on Sunday morning, but at night there were theatrical performances in the same room.
Owing to the breaking out of the Mexican War, and the removal of the army, the town was nearly depopulated, and Mr. Haynie returned to his home.
We have before us the " Plan " of Washington circuit, made out by William C. Lewis, and handed to his successor, H. S. Thrall, in 1847. This circuit embraced the section of country in which Mr. Kinney settled and organized his first societies, and that in which Mr. Alexander married and settled. Messrs. Alexander, Kinney, Fisher, Sneed, and Wells, travelling preachers, lived on this *circuit ; local preachers, Thomas Woldridge, Thomas R. Nunn, and A. C. Delaplaine; exhorters, B. L. Peel, A. T. Kerr, H. O. Campbell (since deceased), Cyrus Campbell, and J. C. Harrison. (Mr. Harrison became distinguished as a statesman ; he died in Austin in 1855, while representing Cherokee County in the Legislature.) The following, who were class-leaders, have since died: N. Chambliss, E. D. Tarver, Adolphus Hope, James Gray, John Atkinson, and Thomas Bell. Among the stewards, Fletcher W. Hubert, William Dever, and William Kessee are dead; the fol-
* A short time before this a son of Rev, J. W. Kinney was mur- dered at the reefs, near Corpus Christi, by the Indians.
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lowing still live : J. D. Giddings, William P. Kerr, William Chappell, B. F. Reavill, John M. Brown, Amos Gates, and Rufus E. Campbell. The plan contains 14 appointments, and 254 white and 55 colored members are reported. At the close of Mr. Thrall's second year, the circuit was divided and sub-divided into several pastoral charges, and Wash- ington circuit, as such, disappeared from the minutes. Before Mr. Thrall took charge of the circuit, it had been travelled successively by J. W. Kinney, R. Alexander, Abel Stevens, Jesse Hord, O. Fisher; Mr. Kinney again with R. B. Wells, Joseph P. Sneed, and William C. Lewis.
SECTION II.
Methodism in Galveston, Houston, Chappell Hill, Matagorda, Clarksville district, Gilmer, Brownsville, Springfield district, and Waxahachie- U. S. Census Report of Churches in Texas in 1850.
WE have several times mentioned Galveston, but have given no account of the church organization in that city. Mr. Fountaine organized the first class in Galveston in 1840 .*
The Galveston City Company donated lots on Twenty- second Street, and in 1842 Mr. Summers succeeded in erecting a church. Rev. Mr. Ryland, of Washington City, gave $1,800 toward its construction, and the church was named Ryland Chapel. In the Spring of 1843 Mr. Sum- mers, assisted by Rev. Mr. Henderson, Presbyterian, dedi-
* List of names of the original class : J. W. Rice, John B. Jones, Ann N. Jones, J. L. Briggs, F. A. Smith, Gabriella N. Maynard, J. Cole, Mary Savage, J. A. Jones, G. Uffington, Keziah Payne, Wm C. Brashear, John Price, J. Taylor, Lucy M. Taylor, Elizabeth Cocke, and Lucy Love.
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cated the new church, and it was used for a house of worship until February, 1871.
While Mr. Alexander was pastor of the church in 1846- 1847, a parsonage was built, and during Mr. Thrall's pas- torate in 1850-1851, Ryland Chapel was greatly enlarged and improved, and a church built on Broadway for the colored people.
The first permanent class organized in Houston was by T. O. Summers in 1841 .*
Mr. Fowler, in 1837, had secured lots in the city for a church. At a quarterly meeting, held by R. Alexander, on the 2d of March, 1842, a committee was appointed, of which C. Shearn was chairman, to take preliminary steps for the erection of a church. Mr. Summers was very active in collecting funds. On the 2d of March, 1843, the seventh anniversary of Texas Independence, the cor- ner-stone of the new building, which was to be of brick, was laid with appropriate ceremonies. The Masons, Odd- Fellows, and a military company participated in the cere- monies. Col. James Riley delivered an eloquent address.
In 1845-6 J. W. Whipple was pastor of the Houston church; he was succeeded in 1847 by O. Fisher. There was still a debt hanging over the house. Mr. Fisher took a trip through some of the Southern States, and col- lected money to liquidate the debt. He had a gracious revival under his administration. But the year closed
* We have been unable to find a complete list of the church- members in Houston. Among these early members were C. Shearn, D. Gregg, A. H. Sharp, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Winn, Mrs. Mixon, E. D. Johnson, John H. Walton, Mosley Baker, Dr. John L. Bryan, Mrs. Bryan, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McGowan, H. Tracy, A. Craw- ford, Francis Moore, McCrea, C. Dikeman, G. S. Hardcastle.
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sadly, as an epidemic broke out in the city. The church lost many valuable members, including Ex-Mayor J. H. Walton. Mr. Fisher buried his wife and a most promising son. In 1848 R. H. Belvin was pastor. The church in Houston was this year very much agitated on the subject of Spiritualism. Mosley Baker and some others had been strangely fascinated with this new ism. Mr. Baker was a man of fine talent. He had been a captain in the battle of San Jacinto, and had represented his district in Con- gress. After his conversion he became a zealous local preacher ; but he was a natural enthusiast and became entangled in the meshes of animal magnetism. He started a paper, the True Evangelist, as an exponent of the new doctrine. In his paper he published the observations of Abijah Alley, who professed to have been several weeks literally and locally in heaven. We concede that Mr. Baker was honest, and that he had a right to prefer Mr. Alley's revelations to those of the table-tippers; but while we concede honesty to these men, others equally honest think modern Spiritualism a dangerous delusion. In 1848 Mr. Baker died of yellow fever, and on his death-bed pro- fessed an undying faith in the Saviour's merits.
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