This Week in Texas Methodist History May 15 Meethodist Church Sponsofrs Fund Raising for Orphan’s Home, May 17-20, 1870 The Methodist Church (MECS) in Houston sponored a fund raiser for the Bayland Orphange on four weeknights during the middle week of May, 1870. The speaker was Professor Westmoreland from Brenham who brought his apparatus, presumably magic lantern slides for the four nights. The orpahange began as the Confederate Orphan’s home in 1866 and was located near Morgan’s Point on Galveston Bay, near what later became the Goose Creek Oil Field. While researcing Robert and Eliza Alexander, I found they lived in the same census tract as the home, and the US Census of 1870 lists the names of the residents. Although the charter was nonsectarian, it received a great deal of its support from Methodists. The founding director, Henry Gillette, was well known in Houston where he operated a school as early as 1840, having come to Texas from Connecticut. His cousin was Ashbel Smith another distinguished citizen of the Republic of Texas. Like most orphanges of the era, the institution had acres of farmland upon which the residents were expected to work thereby providing for themselves and learning agricultural skills. After the regular packet service between Houston and Galveston was replaced by rail connections, the orphanage was moved to Houston. The name was changed to Bayland Orphan’s Home. In 1888 Mrs. Kezia Payne Depelchin was named Matron and the connection to Houston Methodism was reinforced as Mrs. Depelchin was a faithful member of Shearn Methodist Church for years. Tickets to the fundraiser were sold by Sunday School classes of the various churches, and there was a special prize for the class that sold the most tickets---a T. S. Arthur library. Few of you would know the name of T. S. Arthur, (1809-1885), but he was one of the best selling novelists of the era. The novels presented the evil of alcoholic beverages in great detail. The best know works were Ten Nights in a Bar-Room, and What I Saw There and After the Storm. He reached an even wider audience with his short stories which were publiced in periodicals such as Godey’s Lady’s Book.