Holdenville (OK) Methodist Church Pastors

The first Methodist work in the area of Holdenville, Hughes Co., Oklahoma is thought to have begun in 1896.  That is when it is thought the first church was organized in that community. 

According to Turner’s History of the Methodist Church in Holdenville, 1897-1952, the first church organized in Holdenville was the Methodist Episcopal (1896-1910).  A retrospective article in the Holdenville Times of Jan.23,1903 indicated that in March of 1896 they first met in the Choctaw Depot (Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad)  in service with a Rev. King or Fling.  They were formally organized in the same place a year later with a Rev. Woodson. Charter members were listed as the family (wife and daughter) of J. Smith, Mrs. Joe Northrup, Mrs. Frank Lowe, and Mrs. D. Lowe.

A wooden frame building on East 8th Street was dedicated in February of 1897.  In 1913 the building was sold to the Episcopal Church (see photos here) as the Methodist Episcopal Church withdrew its work in Holdenville. The 'northern' church did so with sadness as they had desire to do so much work in the state but were hindered by lack of resources.  The so-called Methodist Episcopal North would come back into the area in 1921.

 

In 1923, however, the two Methodist groups proactively decided to unite with some joining the other Methodist church and some deciding to go elsewhere. This merger reflected the  groundswell desires among many Oklahoma Methodists that there should be just one church. It was a feeling not to be reflected in denominational structures until 1939 when the three largest Methodist groups in America were the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.), the Methodist Episcopal, South (M.E.,S) and the Protestant (M.P.) united to form the new Methodist Episcopal Church (M.E.C.).

 

Names Found for the Methodist Episcopal Church:

Founded: March 1896

1896 - Rev. King or Fling

1896 -Rev. Woodson

1897 (ca.)- Rev. Weems

1921 - J.A. Lanning

? - R.A. Bingham

Names Found for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South:

Founded: Spring 1897

1897 - A.S.J. Haygood [Charter members are believed to be: James L. Adair, L.B. Henderson and family, Mrs. Robert (Ida Barnard) McFarlin, Mrs. W.J. Red, Mrs. Thomas E. (Laura Larue) Neal, and Mrs. C.W. Polk]

1898-S.M. Bryce

1899- T.O. Shanks

1901- A.C. Pickens

1902 - J.H. Granville or Glanville

1903 - J.I. Bray [In 1903 Trustees rec'd patent for parts of lots 1-6 in Block 44 to build a church. The paperwork was filed in Muskogee, I.T. according to Turner's work. Names included James L. Adair, James B. Lusk, Harry D. Holman, Samuel Checote, and Motie (sic) Tiger]

1904- Robert Hodgson

1905 -C.F. Mitchell

1906 - E.L. Massey

1907 - T.I. Mellon

1908- C.S. Walker

1911- R.K. Triplett

1913 - E.T. Campbell

1914-Luther Roberts

1915- Luther Roberts

1915-L.B. Ellis

1916-D.H. Aston

1919-1921 - Sidney H. Babcock

1922 -J.E. McConnell

1923- J.C. Curry

1926 -W.S. Vanderpool

1928 - Hugh Kelso

1930- T.R. Morehead

1931-1934 - Sidney Babcock

1936-1939 - John D. Salter

1940-1943- John A. Callan

1944- C.L. Crippin

1945-1947 - H.H. Cody

1948- 1950- W.L. Blackburn

1951- 1954- J.C. Harris

1955 -N. Grady Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARTNERS IN THE PARSONAGE: Identifying Clergy Spouses

Wesley UMC in Oklahoma City begins the project with a list of their clergy spouses as identified from church records and other sources. Like so many churches, for much of Wesley's history the spouses of the senior pastor were obscured in the customs of the day.  Through the 1970's it was still customary for a married woman to be referred to only in light of her relationship as a wife.  Thus she was "Mrs. John Doe" and her first name often lost. As customs changed the church now has also seen the addition of the clergy husband.  Some of the same issues may be found in attempting to adapt to this changing clergy spouse profile. 

Some records (conference, census newspaper, and church) simply cannot supply the names of the person who shared their live with the clergy of Wesley.  Here, however, are some of the names discovered.  They may be incorrect in spelling and other factors, but this is the best available list at this time.  Please leave a comment if you have corrections or additions.

1. 1910/11 - Frank A. Colwell (1860-1937); Mary
2. 1911/12 - Dr. Harry Claude Case (1873-1921)
3. 1912/13-  Samuel E. Betts - Emma C.
4. 1913 - Thomas Pingry (1848 - 1916) ; Nancy
5. 1914-  E.R. Houck ; Ruth, son Matthew
6. 1915/17 - John W. Cater
7. 1916/18- C.C. Smith (Charles Clark?)
8. 1919/22 - Dean C. Dutton (1871-1954); Katherine Burg; children: Helen and Adena
9. 1923- J.C. Waldron
10. 1924- Glenn A. Baldwin (or J.A.)
11. 1925/28- E.V. (Edgar V.) Dubois; Gertrude P.; children: Robert K.
12. 1925/28- Dr. William Forney Hovis; Aimee A. Parry; children, Wm F. and Keith
13. 1929/32 - George H. Zentz; Ethel G.; children: Nellie, Franklin, George
14. 1933/34- A.G. (Aaron G.) Williamson; Denice Anna
15. 1935/36- Matthew L. Simpson
16. 1937/41- Hugh B. Fouke ; Ruth
17. 1941/43 - James A. Leach
18. 1943/56- Nuell Crain ( - 1997); Catherine
19. 1956/58 - John R. Webb (1906-1974) ; Marguerite K.; children: Robert, Margaret
20. 1958/63- Earl S. Walker ; Doris
21. 1963/64- Dr. Jack S. Wilkes (1917-  ) ; Annette
22. 1964/67 - Charles R.Thigpen (1913-1967); Mary E.
23. 1967-  Fisher Blanton (  );  Mary Ellen Bell
24. 1974/77- Lonzo Battles (1922-2009) ; Barbara Nell Amdall
25. 1977/81- J.C. (James C.) Curry Jr. (1926-2009)
26. 1981/95- Robert L. Allen (1946-2004); Madalyn
27. 1996/02- John T. Ogden (1935-2004) ; Jane
28. 2002/06- T. Scott Keneda ; Angie
29. 2007 - Bishop Bennie Warner
30. 2007/13 - Diana Cox-Crawford (First female senior pastor); Bob
31. 2013 - Dr. Marvin J. Hudson ; Marilyn A.

United Methodist Churches are invited to submit their own lists of pastors with accompanying names of their spouses. This is an ongoing project and will be shared with the Oklahoma UMC Historical Society and Conference archives.

Anadarko Methodist Church

This image is courtesy of the Anadarko Heritage Museum and used by permission.

"Flood in Anadarko in 1902. South side of Anadarko. The church is the First Methodist and parsonage."

 

 

In 1887, Rev. J.J. Methvin of the Methodist Church South established a mission school in 1890 and later a church in Anadarko.  According to Oklahoma Methodism in the Twentieth Century by Clegg and Oden, Methvin closed his work in Indian Territory with the "Five Civilized Tribes" and moved into west inhabited with various plains tribes often labeled at the time "the wild tribes."  Leaving his work at the Seminole Female Academy he made his headquarters at Anadarko and began to work in the community. Two years later he had 15 students and they were largely supported by various Woman's Home Missionary Society work (pg. 34). A more detailed account of his ministry is found in the history by Oklahoma Methodist history book by Babcock and Bryce and articles by Methvin in The Chronicles of Oklahoma.

History of One Church Via Its Buildings: Wesley in OKC

Various church published histories of this congregation established in 1910 always list three versions of the church: the first wooden structure, affectionately called the "Cow Shed", at NW 32 and Classen; the second, and larger, structure at NW 25th and Douglas (just off of Classen) in 1911. That structure redesigned and augmented the building materials of the first structure in order to make more room.  Not as well documented was the third incarnation of the church, what was lovingly called the "Dutton Tabernacle" improved while Dr. Dean C. Dutton was pastor (1919-1923).  Here, for the first time, is more accurate chronology of the phases of development for this Methodist Episcopal Church (north). The church was expressed in four distinct phases: a) "The Cow Shed", b) "The Sheep Shed", c) "The Dutton Tabernacle" and d) The Gothic Sanctuary.

First service here was Sunday, Dec. 25, 1910 with Bishop William Quayle preaching and Rev. Frank A. Colwell as pastor. Members were accepted that day and children baptized. Bishop Quayle also gave the first $100 to a building fund begun that day. The above building was built using a $300 mission grant from the M.E. North Oklahoma Conference in October 1910. The church formally organized on Nov. 10, 1910.

The "Sheep Shed" at NW 25 and Douglas, just off Classen Blvd.
An addition buts out on the right side for some fifteen feet (ca. 1911/15.).  They moved in the spring of 1911 to this location due to an influx of members with the closing of  Epworth University. The property was purchased for $600.00.  Members recounted tales of the way the tarpaper would whip and rustle in the high Oklahoma winds and remain cold in winter and warm in the summer. In the summer they brought in blocks of ice and set up fans to blow over the congregants to keep them cool. Pastors in these years : Frank A. Colwell (1910-1911); H.C. Betts (1913); Thomas Pingrey (1913); E.R. Houck (1914-1915); J.W. Cater (1915-1916); Charles Clark Smith (1916-1918).

 

"The Dutton Tabernacle" 1920; You can see the 'bones' of the other structures if you look closely. Aggressive growth, diverse program and strong membership participation saw the church grow to nearly 1,000. Dr. Dean C. Dutton (Ph.D.) was there from 1919-1922.

 

In 1923 the pastor was J.W. Waldron, in 1914 J.A. Baldwin (1924) and in 1925 Dr. William Forney Hovis arrived. In 1924/26, F.A. Colwell, first pastor and now a contractor was responsible for tearing down the Dutton Tabernacle to make room for the new sanctuary; a building across NW 25 was used for classes and events. In 1928 the above sanctuary was completed and dedicated. Later, the house was used as a youth and education building, Hadduck Hall. It was torn down in the 1970's.

---Appreciation to Wesley United Methodist Church for use of these photos from their archives collection

"Asbury Manual Labor School": by Linda Morgan Clark

Asbury Manual Labor School, North Fork Town, Creek Nation, Indian Territory (1848-1887)

 Three years after the formation of the Indian Mission Conference (IMC), and the division of the church into North and South Churches, in November 1847, while at Annual Conference in Doaksville, IT, the IMC made plans for re-establishing Asbury Manual Labor School in the Creek Nation, IT. Bishop William Capers (who had organized the *school with the same name in Alabama) appointed the Rev. Thomas B. Ruble to select a site and supervise the construction of the school buildings. He secured the help of Colonel Logan, the U.S. Indian Agent for the Creek Nation, and Colonel Rutherford, superintendent of the Western Territory.

The site chosen in 1848 for the school was an 80-acre farm at North Fork Town, near what is now Eufaula, OK. About 30 acres was fenced. Included on the property was a 20 square foot house with porch and kitchen, a stable, chicken house and a few fruit trees. The site and these improvements cost $300.

The first classes were held in the log house on August 8, 1848, with the Reverend W. S. Cobb as teacher. The classes continued in the log house until the new buildings were ready to use in 1850. A stone and brick building 110 feet long, 34 feet wide and three stories high was built with materials shipped by boat from Louisville, via the Arkansas River, then overland to the site by ox-drawn wagons. The cornerstone was laid July 19, 1848. The U.S. Government paid $5,000 from the funds appropriated for the Creeks under a treaty in 1845, and the balance of the total cost of $9,169 was paid by the Board of Missions of the M. E. Church, South. The building contained 21 rooms, large halls and would accommodate 100 students and the faculty. It was the largest school in the IMC. In 1848 the annual report to the IMC records that there were 30 Creek students, one local preacher, 24 white teachers and staff and a small balance of $6.75 on hand. The school continued to be maintained by the Creek’s appropriated funds.

From 1848 to the beginning of hostilities between the North and South, not much of note is recorded in the annuals of Methodism in the Creek Nation. Of course, the white missionaries changed locations, retired, or died. But the work went on primarily through education by separating many Creek children of school age from their families and sending them to Asbury Manual Labor School where they were schooled in subjects designed to “civilize” them, i.e., the boys were to work with different tools and cultivate a farm, while the girls were to learn to cook, knit, spin, sew, and do all sorts of housework.

The Civil War and Reconstruction was devastating to the Indian tribes in IT. Rev. Thomas Bertholf was appointed Superintendent of Asbury school that had been destroyed in the war. Through Creek Chief, Samuel Checote, he secured an appropriation of $6,000 from the U.S. government for the task of rebuilding and reopening the school. Bertholf did not live long enough to accomplish the task. John Harell was then appointed superintendent of the Mission. In 1868 the main building was destroyed by fire. Using his considerable influence with the Creeks and government officials, Rev. Harrell had new buildings built and the school reopened in 1870.

The school burned in 1881 and again for the final time in 1887, never to reopen. Rev. Thomas Bertholf, and Rev. John Harrell, both of whom died during their administrations, were buried on the school grounds. When the present day Lake Eufaula was built the cemetery was relocated to Eufaula’s Greenwood Cemetery and the old school site and cemetery disappeared under the waters of the new lake. A memorial stone structure created from the original hand-hewn stones of the school and saved before the clearing of the land for the lake, was erected in the cemetery. It was designed by the pastor of Eufaula’s First Methodist Church (founded by Rev. Theodore Frelinhuysen Brewer in 1879) and marked with aluminum lettering and a bronze tablet. The memorial stone was dedicated May 30, 1964. 

---Excerpted from a work by Linda Morgan Clark, "Roots and Branches of Muskogee Methodism"


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*  http:/www.gcah.org/research/travelers-guide/asbury-manual-labor-school-and-mission

UNIQUE WINDOW

All of the glass windows of Wesley UMC in Oklahoma City feature scenes from the life of Christ rather than more traditional scenes from throughout the Bible.  The exception is one small window along the south cloister.

 

The window, added in 1928, is called "The Tie Around the World" and was dedicated "For God, Home, and Every Land." by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, of which many members called Wesley home. 

 

A more correct title would be the "White Ribbon Around the World" as the white ribbon was the symbol of the WCTU. It symbolized  a pledge that members of the WCTU made to pray for members around the world each day at noon. In this way they kept their concerns always before God. The WCTU was specifically concerned about the devastation resulting from alcohol abuse in homes and society. They campaigned to educate youth, change laws, and influence their society. Their zeal stemmed from a strong conviction that the promotion of temperance was a part of their response to the Great Commission.

 

Is this the only window its kind?  Attempts to locate and identify similar memorial windows has been unsuccessful so far.

Early Trustees Holdenville

It is in often dry and hard to read entries in legal records that some fascinating nuggets of history can be mined. Mrs. John E.Turner in her small volume, History of the Methodist Church in Holdenville (1956), notes that a group of trustees had received a patent from the Townsite Company of Holdenville for parts of lot, 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 in Block 44 of the official town plat. On this site they would build the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The papers duly filed in Muskogee, Indian Territory in September of 1903 held the names of those representing the church. The names were: James L. Adair, James B Lusk, Harry D. Holman, Samuel Checote and Motie (sic)Tiger.

 

Turner's volume expressed little knowledge as to who some of these individuals were. There was a question as who Checote and Tiger were and the role they played in the process. There are two potential sources for the Checote name on the document (which has not been seen by this writer). It is surmised, however, that the Samuel Checote listed is most probably the grandson of the noted Samuel Checote based on the date of death.  Chief Samuel Checote was a noted preacher, soldier and statesman who had been born in Alabama, was licensed to preach in 1852 and commanded a regiment as Lieutenant Colonel during the Civil War. He was elected Principal Chief of the Creek Nation in 1869,1972, and 1879 ( Clegg, pg. 27-28). He died in Okmulgee in 1884. His grave is marked by a historical monument erected by the Oklahoma Methodist Historical Society and the state has set a historical marker as well. He is recognized by the State of Oklahoma as a significant individual in state history and American history.  The second possibility is his grandson, Samuel J. Checote, born 1867 and died 1950, who was reared by his grandfather and attended Carlisle Military Academy in Pennsylvania and returned to Oklahoma were the legacy of leadership and service was continued through the younger generation. He was licensed to preach and is mentioned as pastor in the Honey Creek Circuit, Holdenville District, 1903-1904. He was a member of the East Oklahoma Conference and, as was a custom, also member of the New Town Church near Okmulgee where he also served on the centennial committee (Clegg, 173-174). He may be the signer functioning in an official capacity representing the interests of the Indian Missionary Conference or the Creek Nation.

 

Moty Tiger was a Supreme Judge of the Creek Nation and served as Chief for many years. This may be the capacity in which his signature was added to the document. He was a Christian and so may have also played additional, yet to be identified, role in the process of founding the M.E., South work in Holdenville. He was a minister in the early days of eastern Oklahoma. His son, Johnson Tiger was a noted leader and minister, graduate of Bacone College with a B.S. and Dennison Commercial College (TX) before entering the ministry in 1903 (see Clegg, pg. 65-67).

 

Adair was known as a charter member, and Holman a longtime active member of the subsequent church (his wife may have been another charter member). Lusk was an area attorney and possibly an early member as well.