Hugh Wilson (1794–1868) was an American Presbyterian missionary and minister. He founded some of the first Presbyterian churches in
Texas.
Biography
Early life
Hugh Wilson was born on March 16, 1794, in
North Carolina.
[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.] He graduated from
Princeton University and received a master's degree from the
Princeton Theological Seminary in
Princeton, New Jersey.
He later received a
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
from
Austin College in
Huntsville, Texas.
Career
From 1822 to 1832, he served as a Presbyterian missionary to the
Chickasaws.
He then served as a Presbyterian minister in
Tennessee from 1832 to 1837.
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
San Augustine is the county seat city of San Augustine County, Texas, in East Texas, United States. The population was at the 2020 census.
History
The first European settlement in the area began in 1717 with the establishment of Mission Nuestra ...
.
On June 2, 1838, he founded Bethel Presbyterian Church, four miles west of San Augustine.
It is now known as the
Memorial Presbyterian Church
__NOTOC__
The Memorial Presbyterian Church is a historic church constructed in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1889 by American industrialist Henry Flagler, Henry Morrison Flagler. It is located at 32 Sevilla Street. It was dedicated to the memory of h ...
and has been relocated to San Augustine. From 1838 to 1840, he taught and served as an administrator at
Independence Female Academy, a women's college in
Independence, Texas.
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
Gay Hill is an unincorporated area and a ghost town in Washington County, Texas.
Location
Gay Hill is located on Farm to Market Road 390, twelve miles North-West of Brenham in Washington County.
History
The settlement was first known as the Chri ...
).
[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.] It was the second oldest Presbyterian church in Texas.
He also helped organize the Brazos Presbytery the following year, inviting Presbyterians from all over the country to convene in Chriesman Settlement.
When the
Texas House of Representatives met in
Washington-on-Brazos in 1844, he served as its chaplain.
Two years later, in 1846, he served as a Presbyterian minister in four several churches, within a radius of 100 miles.
Meanwhile, he also helped establish
Austin College, first located in
Huntsville, Texas (it later moved to
Sherman, Texas).
In 1850, he moved to
Lee County, Texas
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,478. Its county seat is Giddings. The county is named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee and has many Confederate memorials and monument ...
.
Two years later, in 1852, he founded the String Prairie Church, where he served as the pastor until his death.
Personal life
He married Ethalinda Hall on June 12, 1822.
She died in 1856. Later that year, he got remarried to Elizabeth Loughridge Reid.
He had four daughters.
Death
He died on March 8, 1868, in Lee County, Texas.
He was buried near
Tanglewood in Lee County, Texas.
Secondary source
*Edward M. Browder. ''A Pioneer Presbyterian Preacher in Texas, the Rev. Hugh Wilson''. The Texas Presbyterian. 1916.
Google Books
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Hugh
1794 births
1868 deaths
Religious leaders from North Carolina
People from Lee County, Texas
Princeton University alumni
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
American Presbyterians