This Week in Texas Methodist History  January 12

Bishop DuBose Dies in Nashville, January 15, 1941

Before 1939 Methodist bishops were elected by the quadrennial General Conferences.  Since then they have been elected by Jurisdictional Conferences.  A main key to election has always been gaining recognition in more than one conference.  There have been three main ways to gain such recognition.  The first was the presidency of one of the denominational colleges.  The second was a staff person for one of the Boards or editor of one of the denominational publications.  The third was transferring to several conferences. 

Horace M. Dubose is a perfect example of someone who employed two of those routes. 

He was born in Alabama in 1858.  He moved to Mississippi as a child.   He entered the Mississippi Conference in 1877 and served three years before transferring to the Texas Conference.  He served Galveston, St. James, Huntsville, and Houston Shearn (today’s First Houston).  He then transferred to Marvin in Tyler which was in the East Texas Conference.  He served there from 1885-88 and transferred again.  This time he went to the Los Angeles Conference and Trinity Methodist in Los Angeles.  While there, he was editor of the Pacific Advocate (1890-94.

He came back to Marvin in 1895 and 1896, but then returned to the Mississippi Conference and First Methodist in Jackson.  In 1898 he was elected Secretary of the Epworth League and moved to Nashville.  His new job included editing the Epworth Era.  He held that position for 12 years and left it for St. John’s in Augusta, Georgia in the North Georgia Conference.  He then went to Atlanta First Methodist and in 1915 with the passing of Dr. Gross, back to Nashville as Book Editor and Editor of the Methodist Review. 

He was elected bishop in 1918 and retired in 1934. 

In addition to his editorial and pastoral duties, he was also an author. The most useful of his books is his biography of Bishop Joshua Soule.  He was one of the most prominent advocates for unification and prohibition.