An undated handwritten history of the church states that it was established in 1879 by Greenleaf Surber. I have searched through the U.S. Federal Censuses from 1850 to 1940 and can find no one named Greenleaf Surber. There are men named Greenleaf (think of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier), but none of them have a surname resembling Surber.
On June 20, 1883, one G. L. Surber officiated at the wedding of Mary Mattie Caldwell and John R. Storms. This is doubtless the man we seek. It seems to be the only Kerr County wedding he officiated at.
I think the "G. L." stands for Green Lee Surber (or possibly Greenville Lee), not Greenleaf Surber.
G. L. Surber was born near Somerset, Kentucky, August 13, 1837, to Adam and Jemima Mercer Surber. Jemima died 1875 and Adam 1879 in Center Point. They are buried in Center Point Cemetery.
At the age of 15 G. L. became a Christian and began to prepare for ministry. He was educated at Transylvania University. After ordination he went as a missionary to Australia, serving six years near Melbourne. In 1872 he returned to America and took a pastorship in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. There he met his wife, Jennie Givens. Their two children, Hattie and Lee Elwood, were born in Kentucky, Hattie in Sept. 1876, and Lee in Nov. 1878. I believe the reason he went to Texas was the death of his father. Adam Surber, along with much of his extended family, had left Kentucky for Texas in 1873. Adam died March 3, 1879, and was buried in the Center Point Cemetery. I think G. L. came to help take care of things and ended up staying a while, seeing a need for a church in Center Point and elsewhere in Texas. According to his obituary, "He labored six years in Texas and strengthened the cause both at Waco and Dallas building a church at the latter place." I found in a Google book snippet that he was preaching at a church in Dallas in 1881. Whether it was a regular pulpit or a special event I can't tell. We do know he was in Texas in 1879 or early1880 when photos was taken of children Hattie and Lee (which can be seen on ancestry.com), and when he performed the wedding of Mary Mattie Caldwell and John R. Storms in 1883. My best guess is that he was in Texas from 1879 to 1885.
From Texas he returned to Harrodsburg, Kentucky (for about three years), then spent eight years in Lexington. From there he went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he superintended the Southern Christian College for two years. In 1898 he, his wife, and children moved to Payette, Idaho, where he spent the rest of his life.
Based on the evidence, I think it is very probable that G. L. Surber established (or re-established) the Center Point Church. He had a missionary heart and had established other churches. I don't, however, think he was here full time. Or if he was, he didn't stay long.
There is then a twenty year gap. They may have been served by lay preachers.
The next pastor on record is Kilby Ferguson in 1904. The Christian Evangelist newspaper for July 7, 1904 reported "Kilby Ferguson is now the minister of the church at Centerpoint, Kerr Co., Texas, having removed from Louisiana." And in the Oct 29, 1904, Kerrville Mountain Sun was the following item: "Elder Kilby Ferguson, minister of the Christian Church at Center Point, called on our office Monday. Mr. Ferguson is to preach in Kerrville hereafter on each fourth Sunday at the Union Church. He preached here last Sunday and is evidently hopeful."
After that was Brother Jonathan M. Streeter/Streater/Streator, who served from 1905 to 1914. In the July 15, 1905, Mountain Sun he was referred to as the new pastor of the Christian church, and in the July 29 edition he was described as "an earnest and forceful talker and is sustaining his former reputation as one of the ablest preachers of West Virginia".
Rev. V. R. Stapp is the next preacher I find record of--in 1915. I don't know how long he served. After that was Brother Perry E. Hawkins, who was the pastor at the Kerrville Church beginning in June 1924 but also "filled his regular appointment at Center Point" from June 1924-1926, possible longer; T. W. Storms 1929-?; and H. Ellis Thomas, 1938. Beginning in 1940 the records are much more complete.
I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can add to the record of these early pastors.
Again, their names and probable dates of service are:
G. L. Surber 1879-1885 (on and off)
?? 1885-1903
Kilby Ferguson, 1904-05
Jonathan M. Streetor, 1905-1914
R. V. Stapp 1915-??
Perry E. Hawkins, 1924-26 (possibly longer)
T. W. Storms 1929-??
H. Ellis Thomas 1938 (possibly later, but no later than 1939)
Levi and Carrie were married in 1904......not what I previously posted
ReplyDelete