Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. We also have the last two finding aids completed by the Archival Collections and Museums class that worked on archival processing projects with us here at The Texas Collection last spring. Here’s the scoop for August:
Pamphlet with articles on fundraising for Texas Baptist universities, including Baylor University, Wayland Baptist University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. BU records: Endowment-Enlargement Program #BU/86, box 1, folder 3.
Waco Chapter of Hadassah records, 1928-2009 (#3716): Consists of board minutes, yearbooks, and membership newsletters generated by the volunteer organization, part of the national Women’s Zionist Organization of America. (Archives class)
Murray and Greta Watson Jr. papers, 1956-1972, undated (#3785): The political materials of politician Murray Watson, who was involved with education, environmental regulation, and agriculture initiatives while in the Texas House and Senate from 1957-1973.
Murray and Greta Watson with daughter Milicent at the festivities for Watson’s prestigious Governor for a Day ceremony in July 1969. Murray and Greta Watson, Jr. papers #3785, box 279, folder 10.
By Julie Holcomb, Assistant Professor & Graduate Program Director of Museum Studies
Harboring Unionist sentiments, Richard N. Goode appears an unlikely candidate to serve as mayor of Waco, Texas, during the Civil War. A lawyer and a judge, Goode served as the fourth mayor of Waco from June 1862 to May 1865. Clearly, Goode’s pro-Union sentiments did not prevent him from serving the people of Waco, and his family’s papers document this aspect as well as other interesting tidbits on his life.
Letter from Mayor Richard N. Goode to his daughter, Mary Virginia, Thompson, describing the family’s embrace of spiritualism, or talking to the dead. Mayor Goode’s deceased daughter Calidonia “comes and converses with us frequently.” Goode-Thompson family papers, box 1, folder 3.
Goode moved to Waco in 1859. He and his wife Elizabeth Mallory Goode were married in Hinds County, Mississippi, in November 1837. The couple had at least eight children: Mary Virginia, Richard, James, Robert, Ivonanna, Olivia, Ursula, and Blanche. A ninth child, Calidonia, likely died in childhood.
The only reference to Calidonia in the historical record comes from Judge Goode’s letters to his daughter, Mary Virginia. During the Civil War, the Goode family participated in spiritualism, or talking to the dead, using various means of communication including seances and rappings. In his letters, Goode describes communications from Calidonia, Mary Virginia’s sister, even telling Mary Virginia at one point that Calidonia wished to send her a letter! Goode also consulted the spirits regarding the outcome of the war. The Goodes were not unusual in seeking guidance from the spirit world. Thousands, if not millions, of Americans participated in spiritualism in the late nineteenth century.
Letter from Mayor Richard N. Goode to his daughter, Mary Virginia Thompson, reporting on the outcome of a recent murder trial and the progress of the Confederate war effort. Goode-Thompson family papers, box 1, folder 3.
Judge Goode’s letters also include references to his court cases, including a murder trial, the progress of the Confederate war effort, and the presence of wartime refugees in Waco. Judge Goode also described the hardships of war, asking his daughter to send goods from her home in Mexico.
In addition to his legal and mayoral careers, Judge Goode owned land just above the mouth of Barron’s Branch on the west bank of the Brazos River. In March 1872, John T. Flint, president of the Waco Bridge Company, tried unsuccessfully to convince Goode to close the ford, which was used to avoid paying the toll on the Waco Suspension Bridge. Finally, in 1877, four years after Judge Goode’s death, the Waco Bridge Company succeeded in purchasing the land from Elizabeth Goode for $350. Soon after, the company began a piling project to close off the ford.
Poetry written by William Carson Stewart Thompson sometime after the death of his father, Dr. — John Thompson. Goode-Thompson family papers, box 1, folder 5.
The Goode and Thompson families merged in July 1859, when Mary Virginia Goode, Judge Goode’s eldest daughter, married William Carson Stewart Thompson, son of Dr. John and Isabella Thompson. In 1864 and 1865, William and Mary Virginia resided in Mexico. There is no evidence that William Thompson served in either the Confederate or Union military during the Civil War. William and Mary Virginia had two sons: Edward Everett Thompson, born in Matamoras, Mexico, in 1865 and Rufus N. Thompson born in Waco, Texas, in 1868. Mary Virginia Thompson died of consumption in 1876.
Three of the Thompson brothers (from left to right): Rufus Andrew Thompson, William Carson Stewart Thompson, and Nathaniel John Thompson. Taken in 1889, the caption on the back of the photograph reads: “Three Brothers after a Separation of 35 years.” Goode-Thompson family papers, box 1, folder 7.
In 1889, William Thompson and his younger brothers, Rufus and Nathaniel, were reunited after a 35-year separation. The Thompson brothers were born in Ohio in the 1820s and 1830s. William had moved with his parents to Texas in the 1850s while Rufus and Nathaniel remained in Ohio. At the time of their reunion, William resided in Waco, Rufus in Illinois, and Nathaniel in Colorado. William Carson Stewart Thompson died in Waco in 1895.Richard N. and Elizabeth Goode as well as Mary Virginia and William Thompson and their sons Edward Everett and Rufus N. and their spouses are all buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Waco.
Although a small collection, the Goode-Thompson family papers provide an important glimpse into life on the Texas homefront during the Civil War.
Grace Noll Crowell reading with her sons, Dean, Reid, and Norton, Sioux City, Iowa, 1914 or 1915. Grace Noll Crowell papers #3359, box 4, folder 14.
Grace Noll Crowell, a beloved American poet of the early twentieth century, created a loyal following for herself among homemakers, Christians, mothers, poets, and fellow Texans by writing about anything from gardening to religious holidays. Her legacy continues through the Grace Noll Crowell papers at The Texas Collection, which may be useful for anyone interested in twentieth century religious poetry, women poets, and the religious home in this era.
Born in Inland, Iowa in 1877, Crowell earned a BA from German-English College in 1901. She married Norman Crowell the same year and they had three children, Dean, Reid, and Norton. The Crowell family moved to Wichita Falls in 1917 and again to Dallas in 1919, where she spent the rest of her life.
Crowell often wrote poems illustrating various points of life, including homemaking, motherhood, family, and religious holidays and themes. She was well received by contemporaries, and often published poems in newspapers and magazines.
Crowell won many awards for her poetry during her reign as a popular Texas poet. She was named Poet Laureate of Texas in 1935 and won the Golden Scroll Medal of Honor in 1938 as National Honor Poet. Baylor University also awarded Crowell with an honorary doctorate in 1940. Overall, she published more than thirty-five books of poems and stories, including her first poetry book in 1925, White Fire, as well as Songs for Courage (1935) and Songs of Hope (1938). Eighteen of her publications are available in BearCat.
Crowell’s scrapbooks form the largest series in the collection and include her poetry and news releases about her work, as well as others’ poems and even an open letter to Joseph Stalin from 1948! The collection also contains a number of folders of photographs of her family and her colleagues at German-English College. A series of personal papers is also included within the collection, containing a manuscript of “The Glowing Word,” legal documents, invitations and booklets, and a Storm Lake, Iowa, newspaper with a publication by Crowell’s husband. In total, the Grace Noll Crowell papers span four boxes and cover her writing career and life from 1904-1958.
Crowell spent her life mothering her children and writing about her life’s experiences, joyful and painful alike. Motherhood led her to be chosen for yet another award, American Mother of the Year, by the Golden Rule Foundation in 1938. And indeed, at least one of her children followed in artistic pursuits—her son, Reid, became a painter, and his portrait of his mother is located at The Texas Collection.
Grace with her husband, Norman H. Crowell, undated. Grace Noll Crowell papers #3359, box 4, folder 14.
Just as Grace Noll Crowell brought inspiration, courage, and hope to contemporary Americans in the early twentieth century, her collection and poetry are now preserved to inspire a new generation.
Amanda Mylin processed the Crowell papers as a student in Dr. Julie Holcomb’s 2014 Archival Collections and Museums class. Mylin has a B.A. in History from Messiah College in Pennsylvania and will begin her second year in the History masters program at Baylor in Fall 2014. This summer she was the Sue Margaret Hughes Intern in the Central Libraries at Baylor. Amanda will begin working as a Graduate Assistant at The Texas Collection in the fall.
Wade Hill Pool earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1887 and very shortly thereafter was elected the Tarrant County superintendent of public schools. He returned to Baylor to lead its Academy in 1892. Wade Hill Pool papers #76, box 1, folder 2
Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. This month’s finding aids include several produced by the Archival Collections and Museum class from spring 2014. Topics include the papers of a Paul Quinn College professor, a Texas lawyer involved with the Nazi war trials right after World War II, and a committee that considered moving Baylor University from Waco to Dallas, Texas. Here are July’s finding aids:
John Thomas Harrington papers, 1884-1947 (#728): The John Thomas Harrington Papers consists of correspondence, financial papers, medical practice materials, and other literary documents from Harrington’s life in Waco, Texas. (Archives class)
John H. Talton papers, 1914-1968, undated (#3082): Includes letters and ledger books related to the life of John H. Talton, a history professor at Paul Quinn College when it was located in Waco, Texas.
By Becca Reynolds, Museum Studies master’s student
Dr. Harrington’s papers documenting his early twentieth-century medical practice include paperwork tracking his orders of morphine and other painkillers–we imagine this would look familiar to modern doctors! John T. Harrington papers #728, box 1, folder 9.
If you lived in Waco in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, chances are you would have known Dr. Harrington. A well-known figure in the area, John Thomas Harrington, Jr. was not only a dedicated physician but also lived a very accomplished life. He dabbled in a variety of vocations, including oil, gold, and dairy. He also took part in founding colleges and serving on trustee boards (including the Baylor University board, on which he was one of the longest serving members).
His dedication to his medical career is quite evident in his papers, more than any of his other interests. The majority of the John Thomas Harrington papers are made up of medical practice materials that span his many years in the field.
Born in Mississippi in 1858, Harrington began his medical career with an education at Louisville Medical College. However, one medical school was not enough and he went on to both the Medical School of St. Louis and the New York Polyclinic Medical College.
Dr. Harrington’s suggestions for a healthy (though not terribly exciting) diet. John T. Harrington papers #728, box 1, folder 9.
After he moved to Texas he began building a reputation for himself as a doctor, serving as president of the board of health at El Paso and the director of the epileptic colony at Abilene. In 1897 he moved to Waco, where his list of achievements continued to grow. Here, he worked on staff at both hospitals in town, organized the McLennan County Medical Association, co-founded Baylor Medical College, and served as the city physician.
As a physician, Dr. Harrington worked out of a home office where he saw patients regularly. Some of these patients even included Baylor presidents. And if you head down Eighth Street today, you can still see his home (currently owned by Baylor University).
But medicine wasn’t everything to Dr. Harrington; he was also a family man. Harrington married his wife, Genoa Cole, in 1884, and together they had two daughters, Genoa and Jessie. Through journals, academic notebooks, correspondence and notes, we are able to get a small glimpse into the life of the Harrington family.
Even the good doctor incurred a few tickets in his day–here, we have a parking infraction downtown in 1930. John T. Harrington papers #728, box 1, folder 6.
More of Dr. Harrington’s family and friends may also be seen in the numerous photographs included in this collection. Some of the photos have identifications or captions giving some insight into the individuals in the picture. Others are blank, leaving many unknowns. Despite the blanks left by these unidentified photos, they are still quite fascinating and could be of great research value. (We welcome assistance from researchers who might be able to help identify people in these early Waco/Texas photos!)
These documents and photographs that make up the Harrington papers are a testimony to the impact he made in Waco throughout his lifetime. Through his position as city physician, he made a great contribution to the public, and the greeting cards, invitations, and programs included in his papers illustrate his high level of involvement with the community.
The Texas Collection has the privilege of preserving Dr. Harrington’s documented life, and for all those interested in studying a noteworthy physician of Waco, this collection would be an excellent resource.
Guest blogger Becca Reynolds processed the Harrington papers as a student in Dr. Julie Holcomb’s spring 2014 Archival Collections and Museums class. Reynolds, who holds a B.A. in History from Azusa Pacific University in California, will begin her second year in Baylor’s Museum Studies master’s program in fall 2014. She is currently working as a summer intern for the education department of the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott and will continue working as a Graduate Assistant in Education at the Mayborn Museum Complex throughout the fall semester.
Title page, George Wilkins Kendall’s Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, 1844
Texas has always attracted the adventurous, but few had the opportunity, combined with the skill, to write at any length about their experiences. That’s what makes George Wilkins Kendall’s 1844 Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition so special. As an experienced newsman, Kendall’s words bring to life an exciting narrative against the backdrop of the Republic of Texas.
Before Kendall came to Texas, he had already achieved success in the highly competitive newspaper business. After extensive travel throughout the United States as a young man and writing for newspapers in Boston and Washington, D.C., Kendall landed in New Orleans, where he co-founded the New Orleans Picayune in 1837. Kendall was not slowed by his success, and his interest began to turn to the Republic of Texas.
He learned that the President of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, was planning an expedition to Santa Fe in 1841. For years Santa Fe was a trading hub for all of western North America, making it a center of wealth. Lamar and many in Texas argued that Santa Fe was on the Texas side of the Rio Grande and therefore a part of Texas. The main goal of the Santa Fe Expedition was to open trade. However, if the military company found residents of Santa Fe wishing to be part of Texas, the expedition was to secure the region for the Republic.
“Texas and Part of Mexico and the United States Showing the Route of the First Santa Fe Expedition,” by William Kemble, printed in Kendall’s Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, 1844
Kendall jumped at the chance to join the expedition, first traveling to Texas, then leaving for Santa Fe with the large party in June 1841. After becoming lost, the expedition was soon captured in New Mexico by the Mexican Army. The prisoners were marched to Mexico City, and Kendall chronicles severe treatment during the journey southward. Following months of imprisonment and illness, Kendall secured his release in April 1842.
Upon his return to the United States, Kendall wrote about Texas and his experiences in Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, which became a popular book throughout the United States and Europe. After further adventures covering the Mexican-American War and the 1848 revolutions in Europe, Kendall returned to Texas. In 1856 he moved with his family to land he purchased near New Braunfels. He raised sheep and continued to write—achieving further successes in both fields. Kendall lived the rest of his life in Texas.
This plate, “A Scamper Among the Buffalo,” by J. G. Chapman, appears in the front of the 1844 edition of the Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition; it was chosen to highlight Kendall’s experiences during the expedition, when hunting in the open spaces of Texas was a common sight.
The popularity of Kendall’s Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition is both a testament to Kendall’s writing and to the growing interest in Texas in the 1840s. As the annexation of Texas to the United States became a major political topic and settlers continued to come to Texas, Kendall’s book was widely read. Demand for the text remained consistent through the decades after the first copy was printed in 1844. Other editions were printed in 1845, 1856, and well into the 20th century, with new editions coming out in 1929 and 1935. The 1844 editions found at The Texas Collection are small and worn, but remarkable artifacts that can directly connect any reader to the days of the Republic of Texas.
Bibliography:
Kendall, George Wilkins. Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. New York: Harper Brothers, 1844.
Kendall, George Wilkins. Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. Edited by Gerald D. Saxon and William B. Taylor. Dallas, TX: William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University, 2004.
“Print Peeks” is a regular feature highlighting select items from our print collection.
View of wreckage of the Liberty Building Explosion on Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas. Acree family papers, box 2G13, folder 6.
The fall of 1936 proved to be a devastating season for the city of Waco. In September, one of the city’s worst recorded floods devastated the town. The Brazos River submerged Elm Street, and water rushed approximately two feet below the suspension, Washington Avenue, and railroad bridges near downtown. The end results of this natural disaster were estimated at $1.5 million in damage to McLennan County.
The F.W. Woolworth Co. fire, 605-607 Austin Avenue, Waco Texas. Acree family papers, box 2G13, folder 6.
A disaster of a different type was soon to follow just weeks later on October 4. The Liberty Building on Austin Avenue and Sixth Street exploded, fatally wounding 65-year-old janitor Warren Moore and causing an estimated $290,000 in damages to the structure, as well as those adjoining and nearby. Fortunately it happened on an early Sunday morning without the usual hustle and bustle of the busy Waco downtown area, or else casualties could have been much higher. Businesses affected by the incident included the F.W. Woolworth Co., Law Offices of Sleeper, Boynton, and Kendall, Walgreens Drug Store, Pipkin Drug Store, and Goldstein-Migel department store. Other businesses suffered minor damage, and isolated injuries to people were reported.
The Law Offices of Sleeper, Boynton, and Kendall. The firm’s law library was its major loss in the Liberty Building explosion. Acree family papers, box 2G13, folder 6.
The Liberty Building’s damages are detailed in a Waco News-Tribune article from October 5, 1936: “With its first three office floors converted into single rooms by force of the explosion Sunday morning, Liberty building showed destruction from its basement to its roof.” The structure next door, F.W. Woolworth Co., suffered an estimated $75,000 in losses due to fire. The law office was located on the fourth floor of the Liberty Building and sustained serious damage. Its law library, including several thousand volumes of books, was its greatest loss. Located on the first floor of the Liberty, Pipkin Drug Store was completely destroyed, and the nearby Walgreens Drug Store suffered heavy damage to its storefront and interior. The images in this post and the slide show below (from the Acree family papers) illustrate the devastation of the blast.
Walgreens Drug Store, located at 601-603 Austin Avenue, suffered major damages from the explosion, even though it was not located in the Liberty Building. Acree family papers, box 2G13, folder 6.
In the aftermath of the explosion, investigators wasted little time searching for the cause of such a devastating accident. One initial theory was that the recent Brazos flood a few weeks before had caused a massive buildup of water that overburdened the city’s sewage system. But it was found that the Liberty Building’s location on Sixth and Austin proved to be too much of a distance from the most affected areas closer to the river and across on the east side.
After almost two years of thorough investigation, it was determined by engineers that the explosion was caused by a gas leak from a loose coupling device on a two-inch pipe in the Liberty Building’s basement. Records from gas companies show a surge in pressure around the time of the explosion. Based on some of Warren Moore’s statements before his death, it is believed that a spark from a light switch ignited the gas leak as the janitor turned out lights before seeking assistance with the sudden gaseous odor. Unfortunately, that well-intentioned move cost him his life. (If you smell gas, don’t use or touch anything electrical, and leave windows and doors open or closed as they were—just get out, then get help.)
The building ultimately was renovated, and its neighbors relocated or made the necessary repairs, but these images remain as a reminder of Waco’s disastrous fall 1936.
Click the “play” arrow in our Flickr set below to see more images of the aftermath of the Liberty Building explosion. (Use the crosshairs that will appear in the bottom right corner to enlarge the slideshow.)
Works Consulted:
“Explosion Fire Loss Estimated at $290,000.” The Waco News-Tribune (Waco, TX), Oct. 5, 1936.
“Janitor Dies of Injuries.” Waco Times-Herald (Waco, TX), Oct. 5, 1936.
“Coupling of Gas Lines in Liberty Taken From Vault.” Waco News-Tribune (Waco, TX), Jan. 14, 1938.
“Explosion Legal Fight is Hardly Started in Week.” Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), Jan. 16, 1938.
“Bartlett to Hear Motion in Recent Explosion Action.” Waco News-Tribune (Waco, TX), Mar. 2, 1938.
Acree family papers, Accession 2986, box 2G13, folder 6, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. This month, all of our new finding aids are products of the Archival Collections and Museums class that worked on archival processing projects with us here at The Texas Collection…and there will be still more of this student work in upcoming months! Here’s the scoop for June:
Excerpt from Maudie Fielder’s notes on serving as a missionary in Asia. (Click on the image to see a transcription of the page.) Maudie Ethel Albritton Fielder papers #2241, box 2, folder 11.
Grace Noll Crowell papers, 1904-1958, undated (#3359): Crowell was the third poet laureate of Texas (from 1936-1939). Scrapbooks, correspondence, and photographs document Crowell’s family and her career as a poet. (Archives class)
Goode-Thompson family papers, 1837-1993 (#2794): Correspondence, a diary, and other records documenting the history of the Richard N. Goode and John Thompson families in Waco, Texas, with the bulk of the materials dating to the Civil War era. (Archives class)
Meusebach-Marschall family papers, 1847-1986 (#277): Correspondence, research materials, and notes for the publication John O. Meusebach: German Colonizer in Texas. The collection also contains other correspondence and collected materials related to Marschall family members (including Irene Marschall King and Cornelia Marschall Smith). (Archives class)
Before there could be a Cameron Park Zoo, the people of Waco had to support it! Waco Parks and Recreation Commission collection #2871, box 1, folder 8.
W.A. Holt Company records, 1925-1949 (#159): Holt’s was one of the largest sporting goods stores in Texas when it was sold in 1968; its records consist of several business record printing requisition orders, various sporting and academic ribbon printing orders, and approximately 60 Holt’s sports catalogs. (Archives class)
Waco Parks and Recreation Commission collection, 1987-1992, undated (#2871): Administrative documents collected by Georgette Covo Browder Goble during her service on the Commission from 1987-1992. Includes information on many important decisions that were made during Goble’s tenure, such as the construction of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial and the early planning of the Cameron Park Zoo. (Archives class)
Full-page woodcut map of the world, as it was understood in around 44 C.E.
One of the oldest items in the collection might surprise you, and perhaps raise a few questions such as how and why The Texas Collection became the possessor of this unique volume. Pomponius Mela’s Cosmographia Geographia is often referred to by historians as sive De situ orbis (a description of the known world) due to its falling somewhere between a topography and a geography. Mela works around the Mediterranean Sea, which he calls “our sea,” and while he does not give exact locations as with modern geographies, he does include interesting anecdotes about locals and some of their customs.
First page of text in the Cosmographia Geographia. Note the use of color and beautifully illuminated initials.
We can date the volume to late 43 or early 44 C.E., as indicated by Mela’s reference to Emperor Claudius’ then recent victory in Great Britain. The text is considered the earliest, still existing geographical work in Latin, and is the only Roman treatise of the classical period devoted entirely to the subject. This was such a groundbreaking piece that it continued to be used well into the Age of Exploration (which starts in the 1400s) and was reprinted numerous times in various methodologies.
The Texas Collection’s copy of this important work was published in Venice in July 1482 by Erhard Ratdolt, a renowned German printer from Augsberg. This would have been just 32 short years after the invention of the printing press. Ratdolt was in Venice from 1476 to 1486 and during that time, he pioneered several firsts in the world of printing, such as the first book using more than two colors, the first full title page, and from what we can discern, the first scientific and mathematic works.
Provenance note with descriptive bibliographic information about our particular volume of the Cosmographia Geographia.
So what does this have to do with Texas? Not much, unless you were to link it to the early Spanish explorers, supposing some of their conceptions were most likely rooted in this work. So why is The Texas Collection in possession of this landmark geography? Tracy McGregor established the McGregor Plan in 1932 to assist smaller universities in acquiring rare volumes, and The Texas Collection was one of the libraries selected to participate. This exquisite volume was purchased and remains available to patrons for examination thanks to Tracy McGregor’s generosity.
“Print Peeks” is a regular feature highlighting select items from our print collection.
Hosea Garrett painting, undated. This painting is part of our Fine Arts collection.
One of the most important early supporters of Baylor University is also one of the lesser-known figures in university history. He has no building named in his memory, and his story is given only brief attention in resources about early Texas and Baylor history. Despite the lack of attention, Baptist minister and wealthy landowner Hosea Garrett was one of the longest-serving trustees in Baylor history and was a major donor of both his time and resources for more than 40 years.
Not much is known of Garrett’s early years. Born in South Carolina in 1800, he married his first cousin Mary Garrett in 1819 and was ordained as a Baptist minister around 1835. The Garrett family came to Texas in 1841, and settled in Chappell Hill, Washington County. Over time, Hosea Garrett became one of the richest plantation owners in Washington County.
Almost immediately upon arriving in Texas, Garrett began doing what he could to encourage Baptist churches throughout Texas. Although he spent the bulk of his time preaching in Washington County, Garrett was also involved on the state level with Baptist churches. Just prior to the American Civil War, he became president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Hosea Garrett’s subscription book, 1853, used to keep track of financial donations from people Garrett knew. Can you find Sam Houston’s name and donation amount? Hosea Garrett papers #3874, box 1, folder 5
Garrett must have become involved with Baylor University shortly upon arriving in Texas. His home of Chappell Hill (about 20 miles southeast of Independence) was one of a few towns that submitted bids for Baylor to make its home there—perhaps he was involved with that town’s offer. Garrett was first elected to the Board of Trustees (today the Board of Regents) in 1848, became president of the board that same year, and gave generously of his administrative talents while serving until 1868. But his service was not yet done—in 1870 he became president of the board again, serving until 1888. A notable change in the university during his tenure was the move from Independence to Waco in 1886, which he helped to oversee. His combined 38 years as president of the board still ranks as the record for the longest-serving leader of the board.
Page from the minutes of the Baylor Historical Society, 1953. Mentioned at the bottom is the oak grove memorial to Hosea Garrett. BU Records: Baylor Historical Society BU/28, box 19, folder 7.
Hosea Garrett passed away in 1888, at his home in Chappell Hill. However, that is not the end of his story. In the 1950s, when Baylor supporters were active in securing the original site of the university in Independence, Texas, descendants of Garrett named an oak grove on the property in his memory. The exact location of the grove is now lost to history—there are many oaks in Independence! However, the oak tree is known for its strength and endurance, and surely some of the descendants of that grove survive as a fitting memorial to a man who helped establish a firm foundation for Baylor University.
Did you find Sam Houston’s donation of $20 to Baylor in the subscription book? That $20 in 1853 would be about $550 today, according to inflation calculators.
