This Week in Texas Methodist History  October 27,

The Texas Council of Methodist Missionary Women Holds Organizational Meeting in Waco, October 1938

One of the often overlooked pan-Texas Methodist organizations is the Texas Council of Methodist Missionary Women, founded in Waco in October 1938.  The organizational meeting attracted the President, Secretary, and Christian Social Relationship Superintendent from  the Texas, West Texas, Central Texas, North Texas, and North West Texas Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. 

Methodist women in Texas had been instrumental for decades in lifting up progressive causes and urging more involvement in social action in both foreign and domestic missions.   They educated themselves and the rest of the denomination on a wide variety of issues.  Among their emphases were industrial safety, maternal and neonatal health, anti-lynching, rural poverty, public health, and social services to migrant workers.   The overwhelming issue, though, was the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages,  The “white ribbon” campaign had been the defining issue for a generation of women progressives in the denomination. 

By 1938 a younger cadre of leadership was expanding the vision of social action to a greater emphasis on race relations.  The Dry faction had been successful in imposing national prohibition of alcoholic beverages, but that victory had proved short-lived.  In Texas the battle over alcohol after repeal had turned into hundreds of local option battles rather than a state wide crusade. 

Armed with decades of lobbying experience on the issue of alcohol, the women now created a state wide organization to build on that experience and start lobbying to improve the status of African Americans in Texas. 

Eventually the organization turned its attention to providing equal funding for African American and white schools in Texas and for supplying the same textbooks to schools of both races.   The practice of the era was to buy new textbooks for the white students and giving the outdated texts to the African Americans.

At the organizational meeting in October 1938 they took a more cautious first step.  Their first lobbying effort was for the state to subsidize African American Texans who were forced to leave the state for medical, dental, or law school.  

African American Texans were denied admission to all the state owned professional schools.  If an African American Texan wanted to become a doctor, dentist, of lawyer, he or she had to go out of state.  Going out of state to such an institution as Meharry Medical School in Nashville involved considerable expensive even for the most talented student.  

The TCMMW began a lobbying campaign to get the Texas Legislature to appropriate funds so that African American Texans could get the professional education so badly needed in Texas.   The amount needed for such a noble purpose would be a small part of the state budget, but would pay such huge dividends. 

The TCMMW was an effective organization and laid the foundation for continuing involvement in lobbying for social issues.  United Methodist Women from all the conferences in Texas still go to Austin every legislative session to lift up Christian social concerns. 

This Week in Texas Methodist History October 20

Centenary Camp Meeting Begins, October 24, 1839

In 1839 Texas Methodists were still part of the Mississippi Conference, and operated on the far western edge of European-American settlement, but they still participated in the celebration of the centennial of Methodism.  1839 was chosen because the first Methodist classes were formed in England in 1739.  In 1884 they celebrated another centennial, that one of the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784.  

Joseph Sneed gives the following description

Thursday, Oct. 24, 1839, Our Centenary Meeting began at New Year’s Creek Camp Ground, About eight miles south of Independence, half a mile below the road to San Felipe, on the west side of the creek, at a fine spring in the edge of the prairie, within a half mile of the old camp ground, the first meeting of the kind, I believe, ever held in western Texas.   

Lide gives the names of the preachers as Robert Alexander, Robert Hill, William Medford, Joseph Sneed, John Wesley Kenney, and Amos Roark.  All were Methodists except for Roark who was Cumberland Presbyterian.   Lide also contradicts Sneed and says that the meeting was on Caney Creek rather than New Year’s Creek.

The author has spent hours trying to reconcile the accounts.  Sneed was a participant so he should know.  His detailed location, “eight miles south of Independence, half a mile below the road to San Felipe, on the west side of the creek.. “ is compelling evidence that the creek was New Year’s Creek.  The problem is that Sneed then states “within a half mile of the first meeting of the kind I believe ever held in Western Texas.’

The first meeting, referred to by Sneed was on Caney Creek.  Which creek was it?  I have concluded that it was New Year’s Creek.  The Caney Creek Camp Meeting (actually held on a small tributary of Caney Creek rather than the main channel) site had fallen into disuse by 1839 after having hosted meetings in 1834, 1835, and 1837.   Robert Alexander, the main preacher in the area, had moved to Rutersville to help found the Methodist College which would open January 1840.  He would later move back to Caney Creek and establish his home of Cottage Hill on the Camp Ground, but in 1839, he was living in Rutersville.   There were two other Methodist sites near Caney Creek in October 1839, Centre Hill, about 3 miles away, the home of David Ayres, and the home of William Medford on Piney Creek about 5 miles south of  Centre Hill.  

The Centennial Camp Ground on New Year’s Creek was soon overshadowed by Felder’s Campground near it. 

This Week in Texas Methodist History  October 13

Sterling Fisher Steps Down As West Texas Conference Secretary, October 19, 1937

The West Texas Conference of the MECS met at Travis Park Methodist Church in San Antonio on October 19, 1937.  The Secretary, Sterling Fisher, called the roll.  The conference then elected his nephew, J. Fisher Simpson, Secretary and named Sterling Fisher Secretary Emeritus for life.   Fisher had been Conference Secretary for 47 years and a preacher for 55 years.  The three assistant secretaries included Olin Nail, Charles T. Hardt, and O. C. Crow. 

Sterling Fisher  (1864-1943) was the son of Orceneth Asbury Fisher (1831-1884) and the grandson of Orceneth Fisher ((1803-1880).  It is difficult to find a family that has served Texas Methodism over a longer time span.

Sterling Fisher was born in Texana in Jackson County, which was an early stronghold of Methodism.  A group of Alabamians had come to the region during the Mexican period of Texas history.  They brought their Methodist affiliation with them.  

Fisher  received his education at Coronal Institute in San Marcos and later returned to be president of that school.   He was a General Conference delegate in 1898, 1902, 1906, 1922, and the special session of 1924.  In 1898 he also attended the Ecumenical Conference at Toronto. In 1920 Southwestern University presented him with an honorary doctorate. 

During his 47 years as Secretary of the West Texas Conference, he served with 20 different presiding bishops and signed hundreds of ordination certificates.  He died on Easter Sunday, 1943. 

 In doing research for this blog I looked at his death certificate.  It was signed by his attending physician, Dr. Pat Ireland Nixon---a name well known in both Texas Methodist history and Texas medical history circles. Nixon also is also part of my extended genealogy.  He had a brother and sister who married a brother and sister of my great grandfather. 

A Reminder of Two Celebrations Coming Up


Texas Methodists will have two opportunities to celebrate their heritage this weekend.

Saturday, October 12, is McMahan's Chapel Day.   The morning worship service will be followed by a covered dish lunch and lot of good fellowship.  McMahan's Chapel day celebrates the oldest Methodist church in Texas that has been in continuous operation since before the Texas Revolution. 

The attractive modern building replaced earlier wooden structures and is noteworthy because  Littleton Fowler (d. 1846) is interred under the pulpit.  Fowler was one of the first three Methodist missionaries commissioned by the Methodist Episcopal Church to come to Texas.   He arrived in 1837 and eventually settled near McMahan's Chapel. 

On Sunday October 13 Bishop Scott Jones will help Brenham FUMC celebrate its 175th anniversary.  Worship services will start at 9:30 and will include the dedication of a marker naming Brenham FUMC as a UMC Historic Site.  The children's sermon will include objects from the 1840's, including an appearance by a circuit rider.  The choir will debut an anthem commissioned for the event. 

This Week in Texas Methodist History  October 6

Methodists Host Royal Air Force Cadets in Terrell, October 1942

As World War II was raging in Europe, thousands of Royal Air Force personnel were trained in the much safer skies of the United States.  The first and largest training facility was located at Terrell.   Chaplains were not assigned to the Field, but that did not stop the officers from having a “Church Parade.”  A church parade was military code for compulsory attendance at worship services.  Members of the Church of England attended the Episcopal Church, Roman Catholics the Roman Catholic Church, and all others (characterized as O. D.) attended the Methodist Church.  The O. D. contingent numbered more than one third of the cadets. 

Church members were impressed with the cadets, some of whom had musical talents they shared with the congregation.  

The Methodist church also provided Wednesday night entertainment for the cadets.  One such party had cowboy theme because the British aviator trainees complained that they had come to Texas but hadn’t seen a cowboy.  The WSCS took care of that by inviting young women of the city to dress in cowgirl outfits and come to the party.  

The Rev. and Mrs. Pete Throne invited cadets to the parsonage on Sunday afternoons for refreshments.  Other residents provided lodging for the cadets. 

The facility was in operation from 1941 to 1945 as part of the Lend Lease program.  The first cadets received 20 weeks of instruction, but that was later increased to 32 weeks. 

The air field began as grass, but  improvements made to the air field included a 5000 foot asphalt runway.  At the conclusion of the war, the facility was converted to civilian uses.  A museum on site provides interpretation of this episode of the Lend Lease.