Hugh Wilson (Presbyterian minister)
Hugh Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 16, 1794 North Carolina |
| Died | March 8, 1868 (aged 73) Lee County, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Princeton University Princeton Theological Seminary Austin College |
| Occupation | Clergyman |
| Spouses |
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Hugh Wilson (1794–1868) was an American Presbyterian missionary and minister. He founded some of the first Presbyterian churches in Texas.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Hugh Wilson was born on March 16, 1794, in North Carolina.[1] He graduated from Princeton University and received a master's degree from the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.[1] He later received a Doctor of Divinity from Austin College in Huntsville, Texas.[1]
Career[edit]
From 1822 to 1832, he served as a Presbyterian missionary to the Chickasaws.[1] He then served as a Presbyterian minister in Tennessee from 1832 to 1837.[1] In the summer of 1837, he visited Texas for the first time. Shortly after, in the spring of 1838, he moved to San Augustine, Texas.[1] On June 2, 1838, he founded Bethel Presbyterian Church, four miles west of San Augustine.[1][2] It is now known as the Memorial Presbyterian Church and has been relocated to San Augustine.[3] From 1838 to 1840, he taught and served as an administrator at Independence Female Academy, a women's college in Independence, Texas.[1]
In 1839, he founded the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church in what was then known as Chriesman Settlement (later known as Gay Hill, Washington County, Texas).[1][4] It was the second oldest Presbyterian church in Texas.[4] He also helped organize the Brazos Presbytery the following year, inviting Presbyterians from all over the country to convene in Chriesman Settlement.[4]
When the Texas House of Representatives met in Washington-on-Brazos in 1844, he served as its chaplain.[1] Two years later, in 1846, he served as a Presbyterian minister in four several churches, within a radius of 100 miles.[1] Meanwhile, he also helped establish Austin College, first located in Huntsville, Texas (it later moved to Sherman, Texas).[1]
In 1850, he moved to Lee County, Texas.[1] Two years later, in 1852, he founded the String Prairie Church, where he served as the pastor until his death.[1]
Personal life[edit]
He married Ethalinda Hall on June 12, 1822.[1] She died in 1856. Later that year, he got remarried to Elizabeth Loughridge Reid.[1] He had four daughters.[1]
Death[edit]
He died on March 8, 1868, in Lee County, Texas.[1] He was buried near Tanglewood in Lee County, Texas.[1]
Secondary source[edit]
- Edward M. Browder. A Pioneer Presbyterian Preacher in Texas, the Rev. Hugh Wilson. The Texas Presbyterian. 1916.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Louise Kelly, "WILSON, HUGH," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi52), accessed June 15, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- ^ A Guide to the Presbyterian Church Records, 1839-1925, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
- ^ "Visit San Augustine: Historic churches: Memorial Presbyterian Church". Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
- ^ a b c Carole E. Christian, "GAY HILL, TX (WASHINGTON COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlg11), accessed June 14, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- ^ Google Books