Rev. G.R. Ross Tells Story of Organization of De Leon Baptist Church in 1876, First Named Liberty De Leon’s first Baptist church was first called Liberty. It was founded by Eld. J.R. NORTHCUTT, grandfather of R.L. NORTHCUTT and Eld. Wm. BARKER, father of Marcelaus BARKER, in the year 1876. The location was about four miles east of town, a short distance west of where the Chas. DRY home now stands. Early members were the NORTHCUTTS, the BARKERS, MORRISON, FAGLEE and BRUMBELOW families. These all came out of the Round Grove church that had been founded by Rev. R.D. ROSS, father of Rev. G.R. ROSS, in 1872. In 1882 the Liberty church moved to De Leon and the name Liberty was dropped. At that time some of the members who found it inconvenient to come to De Leon organized the Live Oak church over in the edge of Erath County. J.H. HUMPHREYS, father of Miss Viola HUMPHREYS, formed the church at Live Oak. The first church building in De Leon was a combination church, school and Masonic lodge. It was located near where Dr. INZER’s home now stands. A windstorm blew the building down in the early 8-s. Then the Baptists moved up to the corner of the block opposite Higginbotham’s dry goods store and built a “city church,” as Uncle George ROSS described it. It was too tall and of too light timbers to withstand the high winds. This church, also, was wrecked by a storm. Then the congregation built a sturdy wood structure on that corner which remained there for many years. The Baptist congregation later built a commodious frame church building on the lot now occupied which served their need until about three years ago when they completed a splendid new brick structure, constructed along the most approved lines of the denomination at a cost of $25,000. All the money was subscribed and paid in before the church was built. Pastors who have served the De Leon church and approximate duration of pastorate are as follows: Wm. BARKER, probably one year; Rev. HALL, probably 18 months; Rev. R.D. ROSS, one year; Rev. R.M. ROSS, cousin of G.R. ROSS, 18 months; Rev. G. R. ROSS, 10 years; Rev. J.H. VINSON, two years; Rev. G.R. ROSS again, 2 years; Rev. George W. SMITH, probably eight years; Rev. W.T. SHERROD, probably two years; Rev. Ben GRIFFITH, a few months; Rev. R.E. SMITH, five years, Rev. W.D. BOSWELL, three years; Rev. W.T. HAMOR, four years; Rev. J.N. CAMPBELL, four years. The following have served the church as Sunday School Superintendents: J.L. KIRK, B.T. HIGGINBOTHAM, Rev. DILLARD, P.H. MILLER, Rev. L.B. OWEN, Dr. Sterling PRICE, Eugene WELCH, R.R. HARVEY and B.C. CHAMBERS. Of these, R.R. HARVEY served the longest, a period of twenty-four years. George R. ROSS, who furnished the above data, was born Feb. 11, 1850 in Alabama. When but two years of age he was brought by his parents to Arkansas, coming thence to Jefferson, Texas in 1862 and to Armstrong creek near Round Grove in 1865. His father, Reuben D. ROSS was born in Alabama back in the 20s. Reuben ROSS died at the home he settled, at the age of 83, his death occurring some years ago. A volume could be written of the life and works of Rev. Reuben ROSS, the old pioneer preacher, who received calls to pastor the churches at Stephenville, Dublin, and Comanche soon after coming to this section. There was not a house between his home and Comanche, none between his home and Dublin, and none to Stephenville until one came to the edge of the village. His trips to these appointments were fraught with danger of savages, and he wore a gun buckled by his side when he went out to preach. There was a settlement road to Dublin and thence to Stephenville, but G.R. ROSS says his father often struck across the open country because of fear of the Indians. And he often made his trips in the night to avoid the same danger. During these years of pioneer life, George ROSS, then about 15 years of age, was left at home to guard the family. And it was no idle matter, for Indians might at any time appear and threaten the lives of the little family in the cabin, far away from neighbors or other human aid. He said he never saw an Indian but he knew on two different occasions that they were near the home for he heard them and later saw the tracks made by their moccasins in the sand. George ROSS tells of a thrilling incident in which his father and a man named J.T. BELL, captured an Indian in the late ‘60s. The Indian had entered the home of one C.C. BLAIR not a great distance northeast of De Leon, on Armstrong. He sat down by the fire and was sitting there when a little boy came and pushed one of the doors of the cabin open and seeing the intruder, ran away and told the neighbors that “a negro was sitting by the fire.” The elder ROSS and BELL knew that it was no negro. They approached the BLAIR cabin, Mrs. BLAIR accompanying them, and the woman and BELL approached one door and ROSS the other. They pushed the doors open at about the same time with guns leveled at the savage. The Indian got up from the chair and extended his hand as if to shake hands. ROSS motioned him back and pointed to his belt to which was attached a revolver. The Indian removed the belt and laid it across his and handed it to Reuben ROSS. Not being able to speak English, the Indian could not tell why he was there. But after he was disarmed and the voice of their friends was heard in the cabin, two young girls, daughters of the BLAIRs, crawled out, one from between the mattresses and another from under the bed, their hair standing on end with fright. Just in this connection the Free Press pauses to say that both these girls, now elderly women, are expected to attend the Anniversary meeting at Round Grove church, the second Sunday in July. They are Mesdames UPSHAW and REEVES. The settlers kept the Indian captive for a time, then took him to Fort Griffin near Albany, and there through an interpreter they learned why he had entered the settler’s home. He said he had been watching the cabin for two days and nights in order to catch the men-folks away from home. He had heard that if an Indian entered a settler’s home while only women were present, and did not harm them, the settlers would not kill him. He was turned over to the government and was never heard of again. While savage red men were dreaded by the early white settlers, there was a day when a class of low-bred thieving whites were a greater danger than the Indians. The cutthroats stole cattle and horses and robbed travelers and settlers until in 1872 the citizens tempers had reached white heat. It was about this time that a wave of mob law swept over the state. The courts had been resorted to. But the cattle rustlers were organized. They banded together, proving alibi for accused members of their bands and made the courts a laughing stock. The mobs appeared out of the wilderness, caught up the offenders red-handed and hung them up to trees. In a very short time cattle and horse thieves in Texas were remarkable scarce. Shortly after the hanging of Joe Brady McDOWELL, Noble HARDIN and Jim LATHAM in Coryell county, when the feeling over developments was running high, and the lines of mob and anti-mob were tightly drawn, two men, TURNBOW and KEITH, had a falling out over some matter not connected with the action of the mob. But with that feeling of tenseness in the background, each threatened the other with “his side.” One thing led to another and finally the men had enlisted quite a small army of sympathizers. They met at Alarm Creek, down east of Dublin, to fight it out. There were perhaps 150 men drawn up on each side of the creek in battle line, waiting for the first shot to be fired. Finally the TURNBOW sympathizers sent Buck BARRY and another man under a flag of truce out between the lines. The KEITH sympathizers sent Rev. Reuben ROSS and Little Bill KEITH and possibly Calvin MARRTIN, to talk with them. The men succeeded in reaching an agreement and settled the difficulty without bloodshed. The lines were drawn up in a day and a half and a single shot from either side would have precipitated a bloody spot in Texas history. Mention is made also of the hanging of McDOWELL, HARDIN, and LATHAM. The first two were hanged. But LATHAM “cheated the mob.” He turned his head sufficiently to catch the rope in his teeth, in the meantime working his hands loose. When they drove from under him, he hung by his teeth, feigning death, until the mob went away. Then, with his hand freed, he untied the rope and got away. He reported the men who attempted to hang him. Gov. E.J. DAVIS sent about twenty state troops out to quell the mob. They were negroes and whites. The negroes went to Stephenville and arrested many white men. But nothing came of it. None of them were ever brought to trial.
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 15:26:12 +0000