This Week in Texas Methodist History May 11
Robert
Josselyn Reviews Thrall’s New History of
Methodism in Texas, May 11, 1872
The
first book length history of Methodism in Texas was Homer Thrall’s, History of Methodism in Texas, Houston,
Cushing and Co. , 1872. There had been previously published snippets
of Texas Methodist history including portions of books by Abel Stevens, W. P.
Strickland, Henderson Yoakum, and a few
other writers, both Methodist and secular.
All the bishops who came to Texas
during the Republic Era published their travel accounts in various editions of
the Advocate, and one of them, Bishop
Morris, included his account in his Miscellany: Consisting of Essays, Biographical Sketches,
and notes of Travel by Rev. T. A. Morris, D. D., one of the bishops of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, 1854.
Once the Texas Christian Advocate
began, old timers contributed letters to the editor which told about their
experiences. Most notable of these
memoirists was David Ayres who lived in Galveston
where the Advocate was published and
acted as financial agent for the publication.
His frequent contributions helped shape the historical narrative about
early Texas Methodist history and put himself into a favorable light in that
history.
In 1872 Homer Thrall produced his first volume about Texas history, and that book provided the
framework for all succeeding Texas Methodist historiography. Thrall was one of the Ohio preachers Fowler had recruited in
1842. Thrall transferred to Texas and embraced his
new home state enthusiastically. He
sought out the acquaintances of prominent public figures, served appointments
in the Texas and then West Texas Conferences and devoted a great deal of his
time to writing.
Robert Josselyn obtained a copy of his 1872 work and printed a front page
review of the book in the Dallas Herald
of which he was editor. History of
Methodism in Texas had been published by the
editor of the Houston
newspaper, E. H. Cushing so Josselyn probably obtained the copy through the
profession courtesy of newspaper editors.
The reviewer takes pains not to insult members of other denominations in
his review but he accepts Thrall’s thesis that Methodism’s success in Texas and
the other “:new states” was due to their itinerant system of circuit riders
which allowed them to penetrate into newly settled areas more rapidly than
other denominations.
Josselyn also includes an excerpt to give readers a sample of the
book. His choice of which passage to
include is curious. He chose the account
of the 1867 yellow fever epidemic that killed hundreds of Texans including
several preachers. The epidemic did have
large consequences. It led to the
closing of Methodist schools in Chappell Hill and Huntsville, but the purpose of the excerpt is
to highlight the courage of the pastors in ministering to sick and dying.
1872 marked another publishing milestone in the religious history of Texas. In that same year Z. N. Morrell published his
Flowers and Fruits in the Wilderness. Morrell was a Baptist preacher who also
served during the Republic era. His
Flowers is the best preacher memoir of the era.
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