Continuation of; THE PROMISED LAND - A HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY, TEXAS by James C. White (33) Preachers Were Early Day Leaders It is a noteworthy fact that a great many of the men who aided in the development of Brown County during the frontier and pioneer period were ministers of the gospel. These hardy evangelists of the message of peace and good will toward all men did not think it either inconsistent or unchristian to carry both a Bible and a gun as they went about their routine tasks; or to preach one day and chase Indians the next. Henry Ford, in one of the series of invaluable little booklets which he wrote and published forty years ago called attention to this fact. The sustaining power of Christianity and Christian example was not lacking on the frontier in the days of its early settlements, he wrote. The message of peace and the story of the Cross was told and retold, sometimes under the shade of the trees, other times at the home of some settler to which the neighborhood gathered, and at other times at camp meetings, by such men as Elisha Childress, George Vest, Wm. Mayberry, John Hanna, Robinson, Coker, Monk, W. P. Gravis, and some others, ministers of the gospel, who were loved and respected not alone for their religious zeal, but for0 their sterling manhood as well. These were men of strong, native ability, whose preaching, always of the practical kind, was listened to with an eagerness that told plainer than words that even frontier vicissitudes did not lessen the ever-pervading human desire in the hearts of men for life beyond the grave. Camp meetings were looked forward to with a great deal of interest and were enjoyable religious feasts for these people, and the ‘old-time religion is good enough for me was certainly applicable to these gatherings. An interesting commentary upon the music of the frontier as compared with that of the period in which Mr. Fords last years was spent is contained in the little book; The old songs, rendered by voices rich in tone and volume, and so full of pathos, was an impressive feature of the frontier camp meeting, he wrote. While this is being written, we are wondering as to the impression one of our modern solos, with its entangling wordless labyrinth of fantastical musical intricacies, would have made at a frontier camp meeting. Time has certainly proven that there was no inhospitality on the part of these people against practical innovations in any of their settled customs, but we imagine that had one of our modern solos been suddenly thrust upon one of these camp meetings the congregation would have concluded that the country was about to receive immigration from a newly discovered planet. Mr. Ford himself would have been amazed, in all likelihood, if he had heard some of the present day swing or popular music, or seen some of the present-day fashions in dress or witnessed some of the current customs in social procedure. After the frontier period had ended and the Promised Land was rapidly settling down to a steady development that has continued to this day, a great many ministers of the gospel came here, some of them have already been mentioned in this series of stories. Among the number was the Rev. Hiram Thomas Savage, who came here in February, 1876, and with the exception of a few years remained to the end of his days, January 21, 1918. The Rev. Mr. Savage was ordained as a minister of the Baptist church after he reached Brown County, in 1881; and he devoted many years to preaching and general missionary work, including a great deal of campaigning in behalf of Howard Payne college in the early years of that institutions history. He educated all his nine children in Howard Payne, and had the satisfaction of seeing all of them enter upon successful careers in their mature years. The Rev. Mr. Savage was born in Dade County, Missouri, December 21, 1843, son of James Robbins Savage and Louise Jameson Savage. His forebears were frontiersmen in America, his grandfather, William Savage, having been a Revolutionary soldier. The family moved to Texas in 1845, stopping first near McKinney and later moving to Bells, Grayson County. Mr. Savage was a Confederate soldier, in Troop B. 13th Texas Dismounted Cavalry. He was married to Susan Catherine Roberts of Savoy, December 25, 1871, and after three children had been born the family moved here in 1876 and settled in what is now known as the Weedon community west of Lake Brownwood. He helped organize the Pecan Valley Baptist association and was its treasurer for many years. He preached and organized churches all over this section, and was instrumental in the establishment of Howard Payne College here, contributing generously to the school at its inception. Of his nine children two live in Brownwood now. They are George Benton Savage, past president of the Brown County Pioneers Association, a former state official of Oklahoma and a practicing attorney; and Mrs. Edna Savage Saunders, widely known musician and business woman. Other children are James J. Savage, Hollis, Oklahoma; William T. Savage, Dallas; past grand master of the I.O.O.F. and former Legislator; John B. Savage, Roswell, N. M.; Edgar Savage, in the U. S. postal service in Los Angeles, California; Ernest Samuel Savage, Elida, N. M.; Carroll Otto Savage, Abilene; Mrs. R. C. (Maye Savage) Nipper, San Antonio. A contemporary of the Rev. Mr. Savage, who is remembered by many old-timers here, was the Rev. B. A. Norrell, a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He came here in either the seventies or eighties, reared a large family of children, and established friendships all over this part of the state. In addition to his work as a missionary preacher, in which he established many churches and Sunday schools, Mr. Norrell was one of the first colporters(1) in this part of the state. He used to drive a team of little mules, and no weather or road was too bad for him. Rev. A. R. Watson was one of the several ministers of the gospel who came here during the seventies, and has labored in this vicinity most of the time since moving to the Promised Land. He was born in 1855, and came to Texas from Arkansas in 1873, settling in Brown County in 1875. He was ordained as a minister of the Baptist church at the Cottonwood church, then in Brown County but now in Mills County, in October, 1879. Still vigorous despite his advanced age, Mr. Watson is one of the leading spirits in the Brown County Pioneers Association and has served as its chaplain for the past three or four years. He is still engaged in pastoral work much of the time. W. 0. Turner, who was 87 years old last June 17, recalls the first cotton press he ever saw. It was used by Colonel Bradford in Fannin County as late as 1875. The first gin Mr. Turner ever saw was in 1867, and was a crude affair operated by horsepower. He has lived in Brown County a long time, and it is interesting to note that due to the decline in cotton production here during the past two or three decades cotton gins are becoming almost as rare here as they were sixty years ago. The McMinn brothers, John and Ed, were among the arrivals in Brownwood in the seventies, reaching here in 1871. John McMinn lived here the remainder of his life, dying in 1926, but his brother moved away and died in California. The McMinn brothers came here first with wagonloads of apples, their home being in Missouri. Then they decided to go in to business here, and tor many years operated a general store under the firm name of John and Ed McMinn. After selling the business in the eighties they engaged in cattle-raising for some years. John McMinn served the community as mayor, and it was under his administration that the first sewer system was constructed and the first fire wagon was bought. Going from the sublime to the ridiculous, no record of the first half century of Brownwoods community life would be complete without at least a mention of the badger fights which were staged at intervals for the benefit of the northern and eastern drummers who came into this territory to sell their wares. It was a form of initiation for new-comers, and most of the business men of the town entered into the fun like boys at a picnic. Everybody, as a rule, enjoyed the fights except the hapless victims of the pranks. Most of them were able to understand that it was a gesture of hospitality and good will, and invited the assemblage to the nearest saloon for a round of drinks. Sometimes an obstreperous individual had his feelings hurt, but nothing else was hurt so everybody had a good time. The custom was continued until well into this century. (1) Colporter—one who travels about selling and distributing religious tracts and books. -CR
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 02:58:48 +0000
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