THE BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTERIANS IN SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS

***************************************************************** 
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm

Submitted by Estelle Corder - txcorder@aol.com
*****************************************************************

THE BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTERIANS IN SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS

(Written by William Nathaniel Dickey before his death in 1905. He was 
one of the organizing pastors for the First Presbyterian Church in 
Tyler, Texas.)

Tyler, County town of Smith Co., was then a small but lively and 
promising place. The only man that I met who had any knowledge of 
Tyler in respect to Religion was Rev. W. K. Marshall. Some years 
before this he had been there and preached in passing. He gave me 
the name of one Presbyterian family living about 1 1/2 miles from 
the Court House. Taking no memorandum of the name of the family, I 
had no one to whom I could send an appointment. But I heard of a man, 
Carrol Rogers, there who had once been a member of the C. P. Church 
and to him sent a letter asking him to publish the appointment if 
the way be clear. In due time I set out for my first visit to this 
place, the chief arena of my labor.

I got there in the latter part of Saturday afternoon and at once began 
to hunt up the man to whom I had sent the appointment. After some time 
he was pointed out to me on the street talking with a gentleman who 
proved to be a brother-in-law and Supt. of the Methodist S.S. I 
introduced myself and was quickly informed that he had not even 
attempted to publish my appointment. The reason assigned was that 
there were no Presbyterians there at all, that he was the only C.P 
and that he had at one time made a move to get his church a start and 
had been so utterly discouraged that he thought it best not to make a 
move that must end in discouraging failure. He emphasized the 
statement that there was not a Presbyterian in or about Tyler. I 
then told him of the information I had from Dr. Marshall of a family 
of Presbyterians living one and a half miles from the Court House. 
The two men took their memories to task and finally after naming over 
some others named Niblack. At once I said I thought that was the 
name. "Yes" said they, "perhaps they are Presbyterians." They then 
directed me to his house. Before parting with them, John Neal the 
Supt. of the Methodist S. S. cordially invited me around? to the 
S. S. next morning and assured me he would introduce me to their 
preacher. "He will perhaps give you a showing," he added - a new way 
to put it as it seemed to me.

I went to Niblack's and was gladly received. He was from Georgia and 
had been living on that place 18 years. His was, he said, the only 
Presbyterian family in or about Tyler. During the evening and next 
morning he ran over in his mind all his acquaintances and said he 
thought of three others that were probably Presbyterian. One of these 
we called on going to the Meth. church. Found the old lady sick in
 bed. She was the real master of the house. She said she had once 
been a member of the Pres. Church, but was not anything now. Bitter!! 
Bitter against the church against society and against everything 
else. She vowed she would never go inside a church door again. 
(Afterwards, however, I saw her in church once.) This was not 
encouraging.

At the Meth. church I was introduced to the Meth. Preacher, dined 
with him, preached for him that night and agreed to preach in that 
house two Sabbaths in the month, Tyler being a half station in the 
Methodist work.

Next morning I called on the other two families named by Mr. Niblack. 
One of them had never been Presbyterians. The other people proved to 
be Presbyterians but felt very little interest in the work. Nobody 
that I found gave me any hope of success. I could do no less than push 
on till Presbytery anyhow, dark as the prospect seemed. Twice a month 
I visited the place till Presbytery met on the 4th Sabbath of Oct.

Nobody to advise me and nobody to encourage me. At every visit I 
diligently enquired for Presbyterians. This I did the more eagerly 
because I soon found nobody had cared and nobody had enquired and 
consequently nobody knew anything. At every visit I heard of some one 
that I had not heard of before. Generally when I searched out parties 
I found that my information was not good or there was little
encouragement in it.

By the meeting of Presbytery I had found in and around Tyler 10 
families that were more or less distinctly Presbyterians. I had not 
found one to encourage or advise. "I wish you may succeed" was as far 
as it went.  I couldn't say that I had developed a congregation to 
hear me preach. I could not with any certainty count on any person 
to hear me preach. I had fairly good audiences however. Nothing but 
the promise of God pointed to an organization out of these "dry bones." 
At Presbytery I reported, was ordained and encouraged to continue the 
work in that field. Before Pres. met four persons in Tyler met on the 
street one day and agreed to give $25.00 each towards my support.  
Pres. and Larissa church came to my help so that I could see dimly 
and vaguely a hope of living. I continued after Pres. to preach 
statedly at Tyler two Sabbaths per month.

For days  preceding the  first  Sab.  of Dec.  it rained incessantly. 
That Sabbath was a bitter cold day. Of course the congregation was 
small. In it were two little shivering girls* who were there by the 
direction of their parent to take me to their house to dinner. About 
the time I took the text I saw to strangers, an old man and a young 
one, come in and take back seats and listen attentively. When the 
congregation was dismissed they came forward, the young man 
introduced himself and then the old man, Mr. Shelby, his 
father-in-law. There was no time for a long interview, with those 
shivering little girls* holding my hand, but a few words from the 
old man were as good as a volume. He told me he and his family had 
arrived from Ala. in the rain five miles from Tyler the evening 
before and that he had ridden in that morning to hunt up the Pres. 
Church of Tyler, - that he and his family had their letters to the 
Tyler Pres. Church. I could not wait to talk and he was in haste. I 
found out exactly where he was camped. That night after preaching I 
went to Niblacks and told the news. It had been like a medicine to 
me, inspiring me with the first clearly defined hope of eventual 
success. It had the same effect on Mr. Niblack and family, but not 
to the same extent.

Next morning I set out homeward but not directly - went a roundabout 
road to visit Shelby's camp. Before I got to the place he had 
designated I met some movers wagons and after passing them I met 
Shelby himself and found the wagons contains his family. I talked 
with him only long enough to learn that there were eight names on 
the letter, that he was an Elder and that he seemed full of quiet 
faith and zeal. I went on with very different feelings from any other 
visit to Tyler.

The question was no longer "can we ever open the way for an organized 
work in Tyler" but it now was "when and under what circumstances will 
we organize." I continued the work through the winter. The Pres. of 
East Texas stood adjourned to meet in Tyler in April and I was glad 
to look forward to the coming of the brethren to advise with me as 
to organization. I could see 12 or 15 who ought to enroll in an 
organization but I was by no means sure there would more than half 
that number appear. Pres. met in due time and when the matter was 
spread before it two brethren, Rev. S. F. Tenny and Elder Brooks of 
Palestine, were appointed with me to organize if the way appeared 
clear. We took all possible pains to get together those interested. 
We met in a corner of the Meth. Church - eight only of the Pres. were 
present. There were at last persuaded to organize and with fear and 
trembling it was done. One Elder, J. W. Shelby was installed. I was 
glad and yet staggered at the holding back of these who ought to be 
there. The little band was dismissed at noon and I hastened to fill 
an engagement for dinner that I had made for that hour with Mrs. Dr. 
Park, a good Meth. lady. At the table she asked if we had organized 
and I replied in the affirmative. She then said "I was sorry for Mrs. 
Jones. She has been looking forward so eagerly to the organization and 
wanted to be in with the first, and today it turned out she could not 
possibly attend church. I am sorry for her." "Mrs. Jones! What Mrs. 
Jones?" I asked in open mouth wonder. "Why Mrs. Dan Jones" she 
answered in amazement at me. "What do you mean? I ask at last; "she 
is a Meth. is she not?" With a hearty laugh she told me that Mrs. 
Jones was not Meth. but a zealous Pres. to be sure I was surprised. 
I could not understand it, for I had been often at her house, 
frequently put up there, for the invitation was cordial from her and 
her husband, an Englishman who was keeping a livery stable. I finished 
my dinner and as soon as courtesy would permit, asked to be excused, 
mounted my horse and went directly to Mrs. Jones. She was much 
surprised that I had been mistaken all the whole, but solved the 
riddle. When I first visited Tyler, Mr. Jones was absent on a visit 
to England and the Meth. preacher and his wife (they had no children) 
boarded with Mrs. Jones. I had without inquiry assumed that her 
interest in my work arose from her general goodness of heart.

With little delay she and a few others enrolled. When Pres. adjourned, 
Rev. A. P. Silliman remained to assist in a protracted meeting. The 
meeting was blessed though conducted under many discouragements. 
Several additions were made. Later Rev. Robert Nall, D.D. of Tuskegee, 
Ala. assisted in a meeting and other additions were made. When in the 
spring of 1871 I gave up the work to accept the pastorate of the Rusk 
church the membership was between 25 to 30 with two elders and one 
deacon.

In 1888 the synod of Texas met in the Pres. church of Tyler and I was 
made moderator. It met in a large, new, commodious brick building, 
just ready to be dedicated. On the windows were the names of many of 
those who were actors in those "days of small things." Most of them 
had passed away. Some were there to look back and say "what hath God 
wrought". Some who were then children I found now officers in the 
church.

In my work in and around Tyler some incidents are very distinctly 
impressed on my mind. Some have been given. Here is another. About 
the time of my first visit to Tyler one of the elders of the Larissa 
church proposed to me to visit a friend of his, a Presbyterian, who 
lived 8 or 10 miles from Tyler. I consented readily. He furnished the 
horses and went up on Friday expecting to return on Monday. We got 
to our journeys end after dark. But the elders voice was at one 
recognized by friend though they had bee separated for years. I was 
of course introduced but simply by my name. These friends had much 
of interest to talk about and I was only in it as much as hospitality 
demanded. Soon after supper was announced and we sat down. The elder 
took occasion at table to refer to church and religion and Mr. L. 
said he had been thinking that he had gone so far away that he would 
never see another minister or be at a Pres. church and he expressed 
great sorrow for it. "Well, that need not be. What would you think if 
I would bring a preacher into your house?" said the elder. Mr. L. 
instantly took in the situation and spring to his feet, but as no word 
was spoken or movement made he glanced at us in bewilderment. Then the 
elder introduced me to him and his wife as Rev. Mr. Dickey, a 
Presbyterian minister. To say that they were rejoiced puts it mildly. 
Next day it was learned that an appointment was out for another 
stranger at the neighboring schoolhouse. We all attended and I heard 
then and there the first C. P. sermon of my life. Mr. L. and family 
joined the Tyler church and afterward moved to Lynndale and helped 
organize the Pres. church at that place.

In 13 July 1979 the Secretary of the First Presbyterian Church in
Tyler, Texas wrote the late Mr. J. B. Frizzell, Comfort, Texas the 
following letter:

"I am enclosing a copy of a paper which recently came into our
hands here at First Presbyterian Church, Tyler. It was written by
Rev. Wm. N. Dickey who was the organizing pastor of this church in
1870. It has some interesting comments about the SHELBY family, and
I knew you would like to have a copy.

A young man from our church here in Tyler is a Presbyterian minister 
in Virginia now. He is acquainted with a minister who is a relative 
of Rev. Wm. N. DICKEY, and he secured this from him and mailed it to 
us"

In the history of the Presbyterian Church in Athens Texas, a short 
history of Shelby Chapel church can be found.

"Shelby Chapel, located about 3 miles northeast of Athens, was 
closely associated with the First Presbyterian Church in Athens. 
It was organized in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Horn in 1891. 
Services were held there until 1895.

James Madison Shelby and his wife, Amanda Ann Henderson, came to 
Smith County, Texas from Perry Co., AL shortly after the Civil War. 
Later the family moved into Henderson County and established the 
Morrison Chapel Presbyterian Church (which was located in the 
middle of Morrison Chapel/LaRue Cemetery."

Submitted by Estelle Corder