I wrote the following several years ago, when I was thinking about the need for a true Texas Baptist Historical Society, one that was not geared toward a particular flavor of Baptists. Now that I am doing a microcosm of that with my Rusk County Baptist history, I thought it would be could to republish this (slightly edited) before writing about my work in the county.
The history of Texas Baptists is one of the great loves of my life. I do not remember exactly when it happened, but it is an ongoing affair of about fifty years. In 2019, I focused on the history of the Sabine Baptist Association, the earliest Baptist association in our area (organized 1843). I found a treasure trove of information at Baylor University’s archives (oh, sure, I wish for more).[i] As I began to understand what is there, a sad wonderment struck my mind. How long has this information lain dormant there? How many historians who mention the Sabine Baptist Association ever bothered to check these primary documents? I would love to see a new history of Texas Baptists refocused on primary documents that have previously been undiscovered or ignored. Perhaps we have long had the big picture, but the devil is in the details.
Previous histories are too partisan in outlook. What is labeled “a history of Texas Baptists” is most often “a history of my Texas Baptists.” Don’t get me wrong.
There is a place and need for denominational histories. The Free Will Baptists write theirs, Missionary Baptists write theirs, the National Baptists write theirs, Primitive Baptists write theirs, Southern Baptists write theirs, and so on.[ii] The plus side includes access to records not easily obtained, and that they offer their own unique perspective and understanding of themselves, things frequently missed by “outsiders.” The minus side is that they often fail to assimilate their story into the whole of the history of Texas Baptists (and miss the insight of “outsiders”). Even the large tomes of Carroll and McBeth, in my opinion, only make meager mention of the
existence of other Baptists after they move on from the earliest years.
Previous histories are too narrow in research. Hand in hand
with the partisanship in history writing is its narrowness. For example, to many historians, Daniel Parker
is a wart on the nose of Texas Baptists. Mention him we must, but let’s move on.
Quickly![iii] However,
those who bother to check might find that Asa
Wright labored in the west in the late 1830s with “missionary” Z.
N. Morrell and in the east in the early 1840s with “anti-missionary” Daniel
Parker – then later hooked up with “missionary” Lemuel Herrin and “anti-missionary”
Isaac Reed to form the Sabine Baptist Association. Or, that Thomas Hanks was a
member of the “Separate” Union Baptist Church near Nacogdoches before he was a
member (and later pastor) of the “Regular” Pilgrim Baptist Church of near
Elkhart.[iv]
Through this narrowness, historians fail to branch out and learn all they
might about the vagaries of even their own partisans.
Previous histories are too predictable in narration. Too often the same sources are used repetitively without seeking for other
available and overlooked primary sources. I know one person will never find them all. Nevertheless, I can’t express how mind-numbing it has been to see the same story about the Sabine Baptist Association repeated over and over,
when the writers kept checking the same old source, apparently never bothering
to check the Sabine’s own sources – their minutes. This must be true (unless they were afraid or dishonest). Had they
checked the available Sabine Association minutes, reporting accurately and honestly, they would not have repeated the
same old sad story of the association .[v] Leon McBeth writes, “Any
history of Texas Baptists must begin with Z. N. ‘Wildcat’ Morrell…”[vi] I
have no particular quarrel with that. Morrell’s book is a wonderful record of
one who lived the early history of Texas Baptists, from when he arrived in December
1835. On the other hand, Morrell is the source of the some of the errors on the
Sabine Baptist Association. I find no evidence that he ever attended its
sessions.[vii] His information is second-hand. Should not those who attended and recorded their
sessions receive some priority of testimony?
What to do? Southern Baptists have written the
majority of the history of the Baptists of Texas. I don’t fault them. They are
the majority of Baptists in Texas. They may have the “training and necessary leisure.” However, they have frequently been sectarian while
at the same time blaming sectarianism on their foes. Smaller Baptist sub-denominations then rebut with their own clannishness, and ultimately we fail to read the whole story. Future writers could learn
a lesson from Albert W. Wardin in his Tennessee Baptists: A Comprehensive History,
1779-1999. The bulk of the book is about the majority party, but Wardin
clearly takes an interest in all the Baptists of Tennessee. Further exacerbating the Texas problem, in my opinion, is that the main (if not only) Baptist historical society (if it even still exists) is connected to and funded by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Even though they don’t/didn’t restrict their membership to BGCT
folks, others often feel restricted by the integral connection. Creating an historical society not connected to or dependent upon a particular association, conference, or convention might reflect the greater diversity of
Baptists in the state, create greater buy-in of Baptists across the state, and promote
the kind of research that sees the connectivity of early Texas Baptists of various “stripes.” Such a society would allow historical corroboration without compromising denominational connections. I have no problems wrestling with you over faith and practice while uniting with you to better understand our history. What about you?
Maybe one day we will have an integrated account of all Texas Baptists.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
[i] The Texas
Collection “is Baylor University’s oldest special collections
library.”
[ii]
Some Texas Baptist denominational histories include A History of Texas Baptists: Comprising a Detailed Account of Their
Activities, Their Progress and Their Achievements, James
Milton Carroll, Dallas, TX: Baptist Standard Publishing Co., 1923; A History of the Primitive Baptists of
Texas, Oklahoma and Indian Territories, Joseph
Sylvester Newman, Tioga, TX: Baptist Trumpet, 1906; From the Red to the Rio Grande: a History of
the Free Will Baptist in Texas, 1876 to 2014, Thurmon
Murphy, Columbus, OH: FWB Publications, 2017; History of the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas, William
Henry Parks, Cleburne, TX: [n.d., before 1916], Missionary Baptists in Texas, 1820-1998, Oran
Heaton Griffith, Henderson, TX: History & Archives Committee of
the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas, 1999; Texas Baptists: a Sesquicentennial History, Harry
Leon McBeth, Dallas, TX: Baptistway Press, 1998.
[iii]
As does Baker in The Blossoming Desert, p. 26.
[iv]
And Deacon William Sparks was a member of the “Regular” Hopewell Baptist Church
in Cooks Settlement (Nacogdoches County) before he was a member of the “Separate”
Union Baptist Church.
[v]
This is not to say that they got it all wrong, but that the minutes would have corrected what they did have wrong.
[vi] Texas Baptists: a Sesquicentennial History,
p. 495
[vii] Z. N. Morrell does not say he did, neither is he mentioned in any of the existing minutes. On the other hand, Morrell does say he was informed on the subject by David Lewis (pp. 263-264). Though Morrell probably did not know, we have enough information today to know that Lewis was both a scoundrel and a primary cause of dissension in the association.
