The Establishment of Our Work in the Southwestern Union Conference
By E. W. Crawford
IN 1875 Elders J. N. Loughborough and M. E. Cornell went West, from Battle Creek, Mich., and after giving a course of lectures in San Francisco and Oakland, Cal., separated, and in October Elder Cornell came to Dallas, Tex., at which place I was running a store. There he made arrangements for the holding of a course of lectures in the — church, about three blocks from my store. Of course I attended, as I was always interested in anything new, and really I had become disgusted with the popular religion of the day. The handbills advertising such subjects as “The Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan,” “The Earth Made New,” “The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar,” appealed to me in a very personal way. As the meetings continued, five of us became deeply interested. However, Elder Cornell was soon denied the use of the church. Leaving one of our company to tell the people where he had gone, we walked to the courthouse, eight or ten blocks away. I introduced Brother Cornell to the sheriff, and in consultation with the judge, it was decided to let us hold our services there. But the next night the sheriff told us that no religious services could be held in the courthouse, but he gave Brother Cornell permission to speak a few words to the people assembled. He told them he was determined to give them a series of Bible studies, and that he would let them know where he would hold the studies as soon as he could secure a place. The next morning he found a hall 80 by 30 feet, which he could rent for $20. In talking it over with the five of us, he said, “I will pay ten dollars, for I want to bring my wife here, and we will make our home in the hall. I am a carpenter, and if we can get the lumber I will make the seats, and curtain off the back end for our rooms.” We made up the rest between us, each paying two dollars. Then we went across the street to a lumberyard and told the proprietor what we wanted. He donated some lumber, which we carried to the hall. Then with some borrowed tools we all turned in and helped what we could in making the seats. In the meantime Brother Cornell got out some handbills giving the time and place of the next meeting, and stating that services would be continued for at least a month, and longer if there was sufficient interest. As a result of these meetings eight or ten of us were established in present truth, and covenanted together to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Our little company continued to meet from Sabbath to Sabbath, though Elder Cornell had to go away at the end of the month. Several Adventist families moving in from the North joined us. We made a strong appeal to the General Conference for help, and Elder James White, then president, sent a minister to organize us into a church. He came, and we built an arbor. After a few sermons on baptism and organization, eleven were baptized, myself included, and a church of seventeen members was organized. Then the minister left us. We set about to secure a regular minister, and it was arranged for Elder R. M. Kilgore to make Texas his field of labor. He came the following spring, and the General Conference sent a large tent and a family tent with him. We pitched the large tent about two hundred yards from the arbor where our church was organized. Brother Kilgore gave us some good instruction on church government and how to carry forward our work, and then went to Cleburne, near which the Keene Academy is situated, to hold meetings. We bought two lumber wagons and suitable material for seats, and putting tents, feed for our teams, and provisions for a week’s outing into Brother Alfred Rust’s wagon, we started. I took Brother Kilgore and his family in my carriage. We left Dallas on Sunday morning, and reached our destination Wednesday. All took hold, and soon we had the tents up and the seats placed. Brother Kilgore and I went to the printing office and ordered handbills stating that meetings would begin Friday night. Brother Rust and I distributed these through the town, and I never have seen people more interested. They came in crowds, and the tent was filled to overflowing the first night. The attendance continued good throughout the entire series of lectures. When Brother Kilgore went to hold meetings in Peoria, he left an organized church of fourteen members in Cleburne. He took a short rest, and then began lectures in Terrell, thirty miles east of Dallas, having organized a church of about twenty members in Peoria. Thirteen embraced the truth in Terrell, and Elder Kilgore moved on to hold meetings in Rockwall, sending word to all the churches in Texas that he would organize a conference at the close of his lectures in that place. After organizing a small company at Rockwall, he appointed a date for the conference to convene, and requested the members of the churches to attend in person as far as possible. I well remember my journey to that meeting, for I walked the twenty-eight miles from Dallas, as my wife wished to use the team to go on a visit. I have forgotten the dates on which sister conferences united with the union, but I know that Texas was the first, and Oklahoma, Mexico, and Arkansas came in later. E. W. CRAWFORD.