This Week in Texas Methodist History November 7 Bishop Matthew Clair Presides over Texas Conference of the MEC in Palestine, November 1922 Texas Methodists with an interest in history are almost certainly familiar with Bishop Robert E. Jones, often identified as the first African American bishop of the MEC. His prominence as editor of the edition of the Christian Advocate published in New Orleans for the benefit of the African American conferences of the MEC is one reason for his prominence. The other is that his memory is preserved in the name of Jones Memorial UMC in Houston, a thriving congregation highly visible from State Highway 288. Historians are famous for qualifying statements, and we do need to qualify some of the aspects of the Jones story. Jones was actually the first elected African American bishop of the MEC with jurisdiction in the United States. The denomination created a position called Missionary Bishop mainly to serve the Liberia Conference. Another qualification was that another African American was elected bishop along with Bishop Jones in 1920. He was Matthew Clair (1865-1943). Born in Union, West Virginia, Clair was licensed and sent to his first pastorate, Harper’s Ferry. He rose quickly in the ministerial ranks and became famous in the denomination for building Asbury Church in Washington, D. C., a building that could hold 1800 worshippers. Asbury UMC dates to 1836 and was instrumental in founding several other Methodist churches in the District of Columbia. The church building erected during Rev. Clair’s pastorate is still in use and on the National Register of Historic Places. Upon his election, Clair was assigned to the Liberia Conference, but also maintained a home in Birmingham, Alabama. It was from that home that he came to St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Palestine, Texas in November, 1922 to preside over the Texas Annual Conference of the MEC. The Conference was thriving. It had district seats in Beaumont, Houston, Marshall, Navasota, Palestine, and Paris. The conference had within its boundaries, Wiley College in Marshall, one of the outstanding historically Black institutions of higher education in the US. Wiley’s president, Dr. Dogan, was a member of the conference and frequent delegate to General Conference. Much of the pride of the conference was finally having an African American presiding officer. Since its founding in Houston fifty seven years ago, the presiding officer of the conference was white. Bishop Clair died in 1943 and is buried in Washington, D. C.