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Virginia Point Methodist Church Sherman Democrat July 4, 1976 The organization of the Methodist church, located three miles north of Savoy, Fannin Co., began in the 1830s; although church records prior to 1860 were destroyed, the history has been passed down by word of mouth. The history of the church begins with the history of Daniel and Catherine Dugan. The following is taken from church records, letters and memoirs of people associated with Virginia Point: Shortly after crossing into Texas, Jim, the 3-year-old son of Daniel and Catherine, died. Catherine was disturbed that her child would be buried without a Christian burial in this unsettled area, so she prayed for a minister to appear. As they were about to bury their son, a Methodist minister came by on horseback and performed the rites to bury the child. He also promised to have Peter Cartwright send a minister to the area to minster to the Dugan family and other settlers. The Dugans settled near the current town of Bells in Grayson County and were soon joined by several families in the 1840s, among who were the Hunter, Johnson, Kitching, Montague, Williams, Bell and Whiting families. These families held the first prayer meetings in their homes. Several years past before the families from Virginia began to arrive. When a preacher could be found, services were held in the log building. In 1846 Rev. Patterson was sent to Virginia Point by Peter Cartwright, honoring the Dugans request of several years earlier. G.D.F. Whiting was the first person to be baptized in 1846. The first church house was built in 1848 by the men of the area on top of a small sand hill that had been cleared. Prior to 1860 the log church burned. Lumber was hauled from Jefferson by R.T. Fleming and Riley Chaffin and others with ox teams. Peter Turner, a carpenter living in the community, did the work to build the new church building while the members of the church assisted him. While awaiting the arrival of lumber from Jefferson, hewed the logs for the church's foundation and shingles were hand made. The original log foundation exists today (1976). Andy B. Young and wife, Athaliah Youree, donated two acres of land for the church on August 27, 1861; the land was not far from the previous setting for the church but now would sit in a grove of oak trees. The building committee consisted of E.H. Holland, H.A. Henry, B.F. Williams, John Gilliam, J.D. Pritchett, William Youree and Rev. S.J. Spotts. At the time of its construction, Virginia Point Methodist church was the only Methodist Church between Bonham and Sherman. The Illinois school house was located three miles west of the new church building and 1863-1865 after the school was deliberately burnd to prevernt the spread of smallpox, the church building served as both school and church. Pastors were, after the Civil War: Rev. Blair Rev. Buchannan Rev. Robins Rev. W.F. Clark Rev. Proctor (served as pastor for one year) Rev. Robins (returned in 1882 and served through at least 1884) The first and only presiding elder during this time period was J.M. Binkley. Rev. J.F. Archer, 1895 - 1898 Rev. W.A. Fleming Rev. D.F. Fuller Rev. L.E. Smith, 1976 Many of the early members were buried at the old Youree cemetery, located about half mile east of the church. The first person to be buried in the Virginia Point Cemetery, adjacent to the church, was James M. Patten, 1872. At the annual conference held in Savoy in 1878m $500 was designated for the preacher in charge at Virginia Point. Just two years later, in 1880, a cyclone destroyed nearby Savoy. "Attendance was unusually low today due to the members riding over to survey the damage done at Savoy." In 1962 the Annex was added and a complete remodeling was done which included the adding of a kitchen, bathrooms, dining area and classrooms. Sourece : Collins-Jaynes, June. "Settlers Build a Log Church." Sherman Democrat, July 4, 1976 Virginia Point Methodist Church History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |