Memorials › John Monroe Gaines

John Monroe Gaines

20 Nov 1830 – 3 Mar 1876

Birth20 Nov 1830
Death3 Mar 1876
CemeteryProvidence Cemetery
Paris , Lamar County , Texas , USA
Added byLady Russ on 17 Oct 2014
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14086221

Bio

THE PARIS NEWS, Sun., Nov. 26, 1944 MOUNT PLEASANT-PROVIDENCE SETTLERS FORMED ONE OF FIRST TEMPERANCE GROUPS IN LAMAR CO.- By Joe B. Caldwell On a cool, windswept hill, about five miles northeast of Paris, stand three stately cedars, lofty sentinels that were planted by loving hands a century ago to mark the burying place of pioneer dead. In early days the hillside was covered with great old oaks but a woodchopper, apparently unmindful of the vigil these sturdy oaks were keeping over that sacred ground, chopped them down, and in the process of falling the trees or from age and erosion many of the tombstones are flattened out. This is the old Crane burying ground, and nearby once stood a church called Mount Pleasant. This first church community was established and the Mount Pleasant Church was built by Matthew Reed- who came to Texas in 1844- John Gaines, Bill Stephens, and Jasper Crane, Elby Crane, who was buried there in 1853 and John Crane Sr. buried there in 1867 at the age of 89, no doubt supervised the building of this pioneer church, as both were becoming aged when the church was built. Others of this early community were the Baileys, Guthries, Garrets, Russells and Wilsons and doubtless a few more early families whose names are lost in the passing of time. Although the early Mount Pleasant Church was a Baptist, many other denominations worshiped there, James 'Daddy' Graham, who established a school in Paris that still bears his name, preached at Old Mount Pleasant, although he was a Methodist. The old church was of logs and like others of its time, could not accommodate the large crowds that attended the services, as here came frontier folk for miles around for spiritual comfort and social contacts denied them except at rare intervals, and a large brush arbor was constructed beside the church from time to time where great revivals were held, revivals that built foundation of Christian fellowship that exists to this day- 100 years later. NEW CHURCH BUILT- In the early 1870's this first log church was replaced by a new church building constructed about half a mile west of the original site and this second church was renamed Providence. This church founded on the faith of its forefathers, and of such sound material construction, stands today and accommodates many progeny of the original settlers of the community; truly a fitting monument to those old pathfinders. Active in the building of the new church were the Gains, Landers, Givens and Mullins families and the later church was built on land contributed by Uncle Joe Givens as also was the cemetery alongside. Others who settled round about the Providence-Mount Pleasant community as the years went by, but prior to 1900, were the following: Ingram, Meeks, Rhodes, Rose, Coldwell, Barnett, Goode, Bartee, Grubbs, Rosson, Parchman, Whitten, Hoffman, Franklin, Sisson, Taylor, Crane, Pike, Herron, Nowell, Freeman, Upton, Barber, Bullard, Hice, Moore, Madding, Stuart, Nance, Saffold, Francis, Fletcher, Dulaney, Tibbs, Tyler, Morris, Nixon, Coker, Neel, DeWitt, Smith, Hickman, Walton, Saylors, Messenger, Adams, Stone, Goff, Strickland, Burke, Yeats, Holland, Perrin, Bybee, Patterson, Scarborough, Carroll, Baker, Woolsey, Peace, Keith, Long, Casey, Harris, Holmes, Burnett, Luck, Walters, Hightowers, Mathews, Brandon, Jumper, and Morgan. Early pastors were the Reverends John, Jerry and Sam Crane, J.O. Sisson, Harden, Hunter and Buckner. The Reverend Sisson preached for 15 years and during one of his revivals held in a brush arbor alongside the church there were 54 conversions. The Reverend Buckner often walked from Paris out to the church to preach; he later established Buckner's Orphan Home at Dallas, a world famous institution. He is also mentioned in connection with other early churches in Lamar County. There were seven of the Crane boys, son of Jasper Crane, and five of them were preachers. They too preached in many of the other early churches of Lamar County. Here was established in the early days one of the first temperance groups in Lamar county. The society was called 'Friends of Temperance' and the following charter was granted them under date of Aug. 27, 1872: 'Friends of Temperance, State Council of the State of Texas. Know ye, that the State Council of the Friends of Temperance have granted and do grant unto J.M. Gaines, W.H. Nowell, T. Mullins, J. Schencke, J. Cromwell, Jos. Proctor, Henry Clark, Robert Givens, Frank [Francis O.] Reed, Miles Wilson, W.A. Rice and James Irvin, a charter to Providence Council No. 244, located in the Providence Church.' This charter, a well printed and dignified appearing document, is signed by Wm. Carey Crane, president, and J.E. Porter, secretary. HELP MAKE COUNTY DRY Other church and social groups joined with Providence in the temperance movement and succeeded in making Lamar County dry the latter part of the 19th century, and the sentiment of the county remained preponderantly in favor of prohibiting the legalized sale of liquor ever since. The good wife of one of the early preachers, Mrs. J.O. Sisson, still pert and chipper despite her 81 years, lives in Paris. Mrs. Sisson vividly recalls the early history surrounding the church community at Providence. And all though some 60 years have elapsed since her wedding to the Rev. Sisson, she recalls with a chuckle that on her wedding day, three other suitors beside her bridegroom took dinner at her home. Yes, some of those early-day belles cut quite a swath. All of the real old-timers who settles the early church community of old Mount Pleasant have long since passed on, and most of the earliest settlers who established the church at Providence are likewise at rest in the peaceful cemetery nearby, but many of their offspring still live in the vicinity and there is hardly a family in Lamar County who does not bear blood or marriage relationship to some of them. Yes, they founded well, spiritually and physically, and the results of that firm foundation are exemplified in the lives of their people in Lamar County and throughout the Nation.

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