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THE METHODIST CHURCH IN SAN MARCOS
A Methodist Church was organized in San Marcos on August 5, 1847,
with nine members. The group met in the home of General John D. Pitts.
which was located near the present site of the post office.* The
preacher in charge of the meeting, the Rev. A. B. F. Kerr of Seguin,
came at the invitation of his friend, General Pitts.
An update from Jane Moss - 07/2003
Del Brown used the Church History from the website in the
Crusaders Class this past Sunday, and a couple of us (Al and I)
noticed a little problem with it.
I see that Frank got it from the 1947 church history, which,
I'm sure, was accurate at the time it was written. But it could
be confusing to folks now!
It says that the church was organized in John D. Pitts cabin
"where the post office is now." (or words to that
effect). However, post office used to be where Frost Bank is
now! (Those palm trees in front of Frost Bank were put there
when the Post Office was in that location!) So the place where
the church was organized was where Frost Bank is -- not where
the Post Office presently is. (There's a historical marker out
near Guadalupe Street, in front of the bank parking lot.)
Al Lowman said recently, after studying old deed records,
that the Pitts cabin was "about over where Clovis Barker
parks his car." Unfortunately, I'm not sure where Clovis
parks --- I guess the point is that the Pitts cabin wasn't
actually on the corner where the bank is now, but a little
farther over. (Don't know if the streets were lined up then as
they are now, anyway.)
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For the first two years services were held in the Pitts home.
Then the growing congregation began to worship in a frame school
building which stood first at the present location of the Southwest
Texas State College and was later moved to the lot on Union Street which
is now the site of the Tom Lee home. The move was occasioned by the
feeling of danger from wild animals and hostile Indians. In its new
location the building served as a school, county court house and
community meeting place.
The nine charter members were General and Mrs. John Drayton Pitts,
Miss Eliza Pope Pitts, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gilmer McGehee, Mr. and Mrs.
William C. Pitts, Edward Hines Pitts and Michael Sessom (Sessum). This
was the first church established in San Marcos. The group became a part
of the Texas Conference of The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which
had been organized at Rutersville in 1840 under the presidency of Bishop
Beverly Waugh.
General Pitts gave the land where the church now stands, Three
buildings have stood on this site. The first, a two-story frame house
built in 1855 facing the Fredericksburg Road, was destroyed by fire in
1868. Various church groups had used it for services and the Masons, who
had laid the corner stone, had used the second floor for meetings of the
Cushney Lodge No. 128. All records seem to have been lost in the fire.
For four years thereafter, the Methodist congregation met in the
chapel of Coronal Institute. In 1872, under the pastorate of the Rev. 0.
A. Fisher, a red brick church was built on the fireswept lot, facing
Hutchison Street. In 1891 this building had to be wrecked because of
cracking walls. Again the people worshipped in the chapel of Coronal
Institute, which institution in 1875 had become the property of the
local Methodist church. vDuring the ministry of the Rev. J. M.
Alexander, in 1893, the present sanctuary was dedicated to the glory of
God. The parsonage, which is adjacent to the sanctuary and is now in use
as an educational building, was remolded to its present form in the term
of the Rev. New Harris, 1905. A church bell, which was given in 1872 by
a Captain Lawshe for use in the red brick church, later was hung in the
tower of the new building. Following several periods of disuse, the
Board of Stewards under the chairmanship of Dr. Marvin Combs, in 1934
arranged for the bell to be used again.
A group of boys and girls organized by Mrs. G. H. Talmadge into the
Society of Willing Workers, raised money to buy the pulpit, a chandelier
and the walnut altar rail.
For more than fifty years this congregation was served by those
sturdy empire builders known as circuit riders. With Bibles in their
saddle bags and hearts aflame with courage, these established churches
all along the frontiers of young Texas. In spite of the stress of war
and reconstruction days, the church grew. In 1870 San Marcos became a
station with a pastor of its own. Later it became the headquarters of
the San Marcos District, a distinction enjoyed until the realignment of
the district in 1927.
In the pastorate of the Rev. F. L. Meadow, 1939, the interior of the
sanctuary was redecorated. A fund established from the proceeds of the
sale of the Coronal Institute property was of great assistance in this
project. A part of the balcony, which had been added during the ministry
of the Rev. Cullom Booth, was removed. Twenty stained glass windows were
given as memorials to deceased loved ones. A bronze tablet bearing the
names of the charter members was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies.
This church has had an honorable part in the history of Methodism in
this section of the Southwest. Numerous sessions of the annual
conference have been held here. The Coronal Institute sent many young
men and women into the pulpits, homes and communities of Texas
Methodism, trained and endowed with a love for the Church.
Because San Marcos is a school town, this congregation has had the
privilege of fellowship with a procession of students and faculty from
the Southwest Texas State College and the San Marcos Academy.
In the one hundred years since the founding of our church, the little
band of nine has grown by the grace of God through the faith of men into
a congregation of more than nine hundred.
In keeping with the title, "A Century of Growth," one focus
of attention in this centennial year is the plan for a new educational
plant of two units. This, we trust, will be but the first phase of a
continuous growth to meet an increasing opportunity in an enlarging
community.
THE MEMORIAL WINDOWS
On the ninety-first anniversary of the organization of this church,
memorial windows were placed in the sanctuary and foyer by individuals
and families in loving memory of faithful departed members. Two windows
are in appreciation of Coronal Institute and The Church School.
| West Side |
East Side |
In Foyer |
| Coronal Institute, 1869-1918 |
George Walter Donalson
Virginia Carmony Donalson
John Buckhout Syers |
Gideon Gabriel Johnson
Sarah Nance Johnson |
Thomas Gilmer McGehee
Minerva Hunt McGehee |
In Memoriam
John Edward Pritchet |
James Henry Combs
Frances Dailey Combs |
Samuel Reid Kone
Rebecca Pitts Kone |
Daniel McKie
Laura Malone McKie |
Thomas Chambless Johnson
Lucy Connally Johnson |
| Isaac Henry Harrison |
James L. Malone
Eliza Pope Malone |
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Sterling Fisher
Martha Hancock Fisher |
I.B.Rylander
Glen Malone Rylander |
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Henry Ward Davis
Lucinda Malone Davis |
James Jackson Waldrip
Mary Parlea Walrdip |
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| Clara Rylander Wren 1892-1934 |
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Garrett
Friendship Class |
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| The Church School 1938 |
Dora Tadlock Saunders |
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1881
Missionary Society
1938 |
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THE CHARTER MEMBERS
GENERAL AND MRS. JOHN DRAYTON PITTS
John Drayton Pitts, born August 26, 1798, on the Atlantic Ocean, was one
month old when his parents landed in Charleston, South Carolina. Eliza
Permelia Daves, born January 1, 1802, in Georgia, married John D. Pitts,
April 1, 1819. They had eleven children.
Mr. Pitts served Georgia Legislature as Representative in 1841. He
moved his family to the Republic of Texas in 1842, settling in Austin
County, later in Grimes. He was Engrossing Clerk in the first and second
Legislature, riding horseback from Grimes County to Austin, Texas.
The family moved to San Marcos in 1847. The Methodist Church was
organized in their home, with nine charter members, four from his
household. Services were held monthly in this home for two years. Mr.
and Mrs. Pitts gave all the land where the present church stands,
contributing to the first building, a two-story structure; the lower
floor was used for church and the Masons used the second floor. The
corner stone was laid by the Masons, June 23, 1855. This building burned
in 1868, all records were lost. In 1854 Mr. Pitts, with five other
citizens, organized Cushney Lodge No. 128.
John D. Pitts, appointed Adjutant General under George T. Wood,
second Governor of Texas, served two years. In 1850 he bought General
Edward Burleson's San Jacinto land grant 41/2 miles west of San Marcos.
General and Mrs. Pitts built the first house in Stringtown, they erected
on their land a log house for a school and church.
Eliza P. Pitts, the first person to be buried in Stringtown, died May
12, 1851. John D. Pitts died February 5, 1861, and is buried beside her.
- ELIZA POPE PITTS
Eliza Pope Pitts, born in Macon, Georgia, March 28, 1832, at the age
of ten moved with her parents to Texas.
She and her cousin, Sarah Pitts, made the first Texas flag to fly
over San Marcos, July 4, 1847. When the Methodist Church was
organized in her parents' home, she was one of the charter members.
She remained faithful and contributed to it seventy-six years
Eliza P. Pitts married James L. Malone, March 14, 1850. Sixteen
children were born to them. She contributed tireless efforts in
spinning, sewing and knitting for soldiers through three wars-Civil,
Spanish and World War I.
She had descendents in all three.
She passed away February 6, 1923, aged ninety-one years, and is
buried in City Cemetery, San Marcos, Texas.
- THOMAS GILMER McGEHEE
Thomas Gilmer McGehee was born in Madison County, Alabama, September
27, 1810. He was married to Miss Minerva Hunt, October 9, 1832, and
moved with his family to Bastrop, Texas in 1835. He joined the Texas
Army and was in command of a Company of Scouts between the San
Marcos and Guadalupe rivers when the Alamo fell. He with his wife
helped to organize and became charter members of the first Methodist
church, organized by Dr. Ruter in Bastrop in 1840. In 1846 he moved
with his family to his head right league of land on the San Marcos
and Blanco rivers, and put into cultivation the first farm in what
is now Hays County.
In 1847 he and his wife helped to organize the first Methodist
church in Hays County at San Marcos and became charter members of
this church. He was also a charter member of the Cushney Lodge No.
128, Free Masons. He died in San Marcos November 13, 1890 and is
buried here. Members of his family have been through the years and
still are intimately connected with this Church.
- MRS. MINERVA HUNT McGEHEE
Mrs. Minerva Hunt McGehee, wife of Thomas Gilmer McGeheee, was Miss
Minerva Hunt of Alabama and it was for her father that the town of
Huntsville, Alabama was named. She came with her husband to Bastrop
Texas in 1835, and shared with him all the privations and perils of
this extreme frontier. They reared a family of nine children. She,
with her husband, helped to form the first Methodist Church in
Bastrop and were active members of this church until they moved to
San Marcos where they again were active in organizing the first
Methodist Church in this community. She also helped to form the
first Methodist Woman's Society and Temperance Lodge in Hays County.
She was active in all good works and her home was a resting place
for the toil worn itinerant preacher. She was one of those noble
women of whom the Wise Man said, "Her children rise up and call
her blessed." She died July 9, 1877 and is buried in San
Marcos.
- MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM CURTIS PITTS
William Curtis Pitts, born in Sumter County, South Carolina,
February 12, 1803. Moved to Washington County, Georgia when about
ten years old. Professed religion October 22, 1823 and united with
the Methodist Church. Mrs. Ann C. Armstrong Pitts, born December 12,
1809, in Georgia. Married William Curtis Pitts, October 19, 1828.
They moved to Alabama in 1840; to Grimes County, Texas, in 1846. On
April 9, 1847, they with John D. Pitts, William Bagley and their
families forded the San Marcos River where the bridge stands above
Riverside Park. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Pitts had seven children,
six of whom lived to establish families in this and neighboring
communities.
According to records William C. Pitts had an active part in
building the new settlement. He and his wife exerted a strong
religious influence in the community. He was a noted class leader
and served the church in other capacities. After living to be almost
85 years old, both Mr. and Mrs. Pitts died here in the home of their
son-in-law and daughter, Major and Mrs. J. H. Bishop. Mr. Pitts died
July 18, 1887, and Mrs. Pitts May 14, 1894. They are buried in the
City Cemetery, San Marcos, Texas.
- EDWARD HINES PITTS
Edward Hines Pitts, born in Georgia January 23, 1813, came to Texas
in 1842. A bachelor, he lived in his brother's home and was the
fourth member of the household to become a charter member of the
Methodist Church organized in the Pitts home. Joining the Meir
Expedition in 1842, Edward was taken prisoner and was one of the
fortunate persons to draw the white bean. Cruel treatment and slave
labor imposed on the prisoners broke his health. After many weary
weeks, Edward returned to his brother's home where he died January
1854. He is buried in the Pitts Cemetery, Stringtown, San Marcos,
Texas.
- MICHAEL SESSOM (SESSUM)
Our earliest records (1845) show Michael and Elizabeth Sessom as
having built one of the two first log cabins in San Marcos. By trade
he was a blacksmith-an important business in those days when horses
and oxen were our only means of transportation. Many deeds and land
transfers indicate his efforts were successful.
The school rolls for 1849 list David, Julia, John, Mary and
Amanda Sessom, indicating that their father was ambitious for his
children. The fact that he pioneered on dangerous frontiers and
helped build a church in a wilderness community indicates that he
was a man of religion and of courage.
In spite of a diligent search by the Committee on History, no
further data could be found regarding this charter member.
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