Rev. John Leighton Read, with his wife
Katharine Rutherford Wauchope:
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From a letter typed by Rev. J. Leighton Read to his daughter Katharine, and her husband, Rev. Frank Hughes, Jr. concerning a problem they were facing:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read was in the first graduating class of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary:
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Here is what happened to the four who graduated with J. Leighton Read:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read served as best man at the wedding of his seminary classmate, Rev. Charles F. Hancock, as reported in the Austin American-Statesman, 21 SEPT 1906:
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One of the first churches
Rev. J. Leighton Read served before entering missionary work in Indian Territory, was
First Presbyterian, Gurdon, Arkansas:
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Special Cake at the 130th Anniversary Celebration of founding of the church:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read also served Central Presbyterian Church, Little Rock, Arkansas:
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Information about Central Presbyterian Church on the Arkansas Historic Buildings Register:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read was Chairman of the Christian Endeavor Society, Little Rock, Arkansas, as reported in the "Pine Bluff Daily Graphic Newspaper" 17 OCT 1913:
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Newspaper announces Rev. J. Leighton Read leaving Central Presbyterian Church, Little Rock, Arkansas to work among the Indians in Colony, Oklahoma:
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Newspaper article, Colony Currier, Sept 6, 1917, says Rev. J. Leighton (name misspelled) Read is coming to an Indian Camp Meeting, Colony, OK, to become acquainted with where he will begin working:
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"Sasser your coffee"
I received an email from one of my Read cousins asking me if I had any stories I could relate in connection with the Read family. One is in the following PDF file:
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How the Indians cleaned their rugs before the days of Hoover:
My
mother told me that when it would snow, the Indian women would lay
their rugs out on top the snow, then take a broom and sweep the snow
lightly across the top of the rug, thus also sweeping the dirt with it.
Then, they would turn the rug over and do the same thing with that
side. With her supervising, I tried it once with one of her handmade Indian rugs and it worked.
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Another good story that continued to be told long afterward by Jim and I, involved a scorpion that stung our Grandmother Read....but it's not what you think that made it such a good story.
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On another occasion, I heard Granddaddy Read state the following poem (below). I told him I liked it very much. So he typed out a copy on a small piece of paper on his old typewriter.
I carried it in my wallet for many years:
"Hearts like doors open with ease,
With tiny, tiny, little keys,
And two of these are
'Thank you,' and 'If you please.'"
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Rev. and Mrs. J. Leighton Read wrote "Lights and Shadows on the Colony Field," (which was published), describing their experiences with Native Americans. I obtained a copy from the Oklahoma Historical Society:
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Katharine Read (Hughes) on Right; with Indian girl:
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Pictures of Indians collected by Katharine Read (Hughes) with their names written on back of each:
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While living in Indian Territory/Oklahoma, my Mother told me her father instructed her not to stray far from the Indian Mission, due to the outlaws who traversed the area and established hideouts there. The following videos courtesy of the "Oklahoma Stories" series, and Youtube, is a case in point:
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On September 1,
1893, fourteen deputy U.S. Marshals entered Ingalls, Oklahoma, to apprehend the
gang, in what would be known as the Battle of Ingalls. During the shootout that
followed, three marshals were killed, two bystanders were killed and one
wounded, three of the gang members were wounded, and gang member "Arkansas
Tom Jones" was wounded and captured. Doolin shot and killed Deputy Marshal
Richard Speed during that shootout.
The next film describes what happened:
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Rev. Hughes took this picture (seen below) in the
1950s, of Jim and Joe at the entrance to one of Jesse James' hideouts in
Oklahoma. He backed up the car to the entrance, and you could feel the cold air coming from the mouth of the cave. (Mrs. Hughes' parents and grandparents were missionaries to the
Indians in Oklahoma Territory, and the children were told to be careful and not
stray far from the Indian school or church where they ministered; that the
James Brothers did have a hideout nearby. This has been verified by other
original source material).
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This is a picture of a robbers' cave in OK, used by both outlaws, Jesse James and Belle Starr, at different times, of course! It is located in Robbers Cave State Park, Latimer County, OK.
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From a new article by Michael J. Hightower in the current "Chronicles of Oklahoma," we get this information confirming the outlaw problem in Indian Territory/Oklahoma:
"Due to its geographic isolation and rugged terrain, far southeastern Indian Territory on the eve of Oklahoma statehood in 1907, was still a sparsely settle frontier. It was ideally suited to outlaw gangs that robbed and plundered more settled regions with impunity before confounding their pursuers and vanishing along trails, or "thief runs" that crisscrossed the Choctaw Nation. Belle Starr, Frank and Jesse James, and other outlaws whose names are lost to history knew they could regroup in the Kiamichi Mountains an plan further depredations." For stories of the Starr family's and the James brothers' activities in southeastern Oklahoma, see Michael J. Hightower, "Banking in Oklahoma before Statehood" and David Fritze "Idabel."
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At the time the gangs were still operating in that area, there was a proposal to establish the State of Sequoyah:
The State of Sequoyah was the
proposed name for a state to be established in the eastern part of present-day
Oklahoma. In 1905, faced by proposals to end their tribal governments, Native
Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory proposed such a
state as a means to retain some control of their land. Their intention was to
have a state under Native American constitution and rule. The proposed state
was named in honor of Sequoyah, the Cherokee who created a writing system in
1825 for the Cherokee language.
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I asked my Mother what was in the "panhandle" section of Oklahoma. She said that when she lived in Oklahoma as a child, she was told that that area was considered a "no man's land" and used mostly as hideouts by outlaws. (She said that the name "Panhandle" comes from the similarity of its shape to the handle of a cooking pan.) It is 166 miles long and 34 miles wide. Beaver county encompassed the panhandle area from 1890 until OK statehood. The panhandle was then divided into 3 counties: Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron. Several Western movies and TV programs feature this area commonly called "Cimarron" or "Cimarron Strip." It definitely was used for hideouts by outlaws, including the notorious "Robbers Roost." In the map below, it is called the "Neutral Strip."
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Sons of the
Pioneers song "Cherokee Strip" from the 1940 Movie, "The Durango
Kid."
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Robber's Roost was a rock
fortress with stone walls 30 inches thick that was built by a band of outlaws
led by 'Captain' William Coe in No Man's Land in the late 1860's. It had one door
and instead of windows had 27 tall, narrow portholes. This region near the
Black Mesa was left unclaimed in 1850 when Congress established the boundaries
for Texas, Kansas and New Mexico. Therefore, Congress declared it
"neutral" or "No Man's Land" and soon forgot about it. The
result was a region without any kind of government or law where outlaws and
thieves began congregating because of the security the area offered them.
Coe had around 50 followers that
were known for stealing livestock from the Army and settlers in the area.
Because of the nature of the structure known as Robber's Roost, the Army
brought in a cannon to fire on the fortress to rid the area of the outlaws.
The painting, below, is of Robbers' Roost, by Wayne Cooper of Depew, OK, and hangs in the OK Statehouse.
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Things were so bad in the Panhandle of Indian Territory, even Hollywood made a B&W movie about it. The "Panhandle" in this film refers to the Oklahoma Panhandle. There was another film Starrett starred in called "Outlaws of the Texas Panhandle."
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There were multiple gangs of outlaws roaming through Indian Territory as indicated by these signs (some now advertising "tourist traps"):
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Up in the Arbuckle Mountains, just a few miles north of the Red River, across the Texas border, in Oklahoma, is the site of the Turner Falls, named after Mazeppa Thomas Turner, a farmer who discovered the falls in 1878. Now a park operated by the city of Davis, OK, it covers 1,500 acres, but at one time was home to outlaws in that region.
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The following article from the Wichita Beacon (Kansas) for August 25, 1898, tells us what it was like in Indian Territory (I.T.):
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A few more stories our Mother told us...........................
Jim and I also heard stories from Mother, about the frugal times she lived in, about the people who suffered in the "Dustbowl"area, and the lack of money for the basic necessities. Oklahoma suffered from a depression in the 1880s, long before the Great Depression of 1929.
She told me one striking story that has always stayed with me: that on one occasion, money was so tight, her mother, Katharine R. Read, had to pawn her wedding ring in order to get money to have the children's teeth fixed. During the Great Depression, she told how she and her grandmother (Lillah Porter Read, who lived with Rev. J. Leighton Read until 1940) had to learn to drink coffee, without sugar or cream; and how to bake without using much sugar. She was a good cook, and said that she had learned it mostly from working in the kitchen with her mother, while growing up. She said that her husband's mother complimented her on her cooking, and she felt that was high praise from her mother-in-law! She would then tell how all she had learned in cooking had come from her own mother, Mrs. Read.
And from what I can remember of those August summer vacations in Norman, OK, I remember the wonderfully prepared meals by my Grandmother Read, with my Mother assisting. I learned to love tomatoes during those visits. It was at her breakfast table that I first discovered what a poached egg was and how it was made. And then after supper, Granddaddy Read would show Jim and I how to work his hand-cranked ice cream maker, out on the back porch. I remember the excitement it created when my cousin David Saunders would discover what we were doing and came out to watch and wait!
Jim and I once asked Mother about playing cards; were they OK to use? She said "No." And then told us that her Mother, Grandmother Read, once discovered someone had brought some into their house, and she wouldn't touch them with her hands. She used tongs from the kitchen and tossed them into the fire!
Mother also told us two other sayings her mother had: "If it's doubtful, it's dirty" (in reference to clean clothes); and "Study to be quiet."
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While out one summer
visiting our grandparents in Norman, our family took a side trip to the Dog Iron Ranch, Oologah, OK, birthplace
of Will Rogers, to see his house. (Mother said that it was spelled "Oolagah" before Oklahoma became a state; and amazed Jim and I because she could pronounce all the Indian place names with no trouble.) So I asked mother if she
had ever seen Will Rogers. She said that she had seen him perform in an
outdoor rodeo arena. The picture, on the left, is how she would have remembered him. (Photo courtesy of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore, OK.)
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Mother said that Grandmother Read, before she was married, attended a summer session at Union Seminary in New York City, which is the oldest independent seminary in the United States, founded in 1836, by members of the Presbyterian Church in the USA:
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Mother said that she was told by her mother, that during a summer in New York City while attending Union Seminary, she attended a "student matinee" performance of Verdi's "Aida," because she couldn't afford to go to one at night, at the old Metropolitan Opera House, located at 1411 Broadway, occupying the whole block between West 39th St and West 40th St on the west side of the street in the Garment District of Midtown Manhattan; and believe me those blocks in NYC are not your typical city blocks; they are long! (Yes, I didn't know how to pronounce the name, and Mother had to teach us how it was pronounced:
Aida (Italian: [aˈiːda]).
Here are scenes from the Old Met Opera House, including the stage with it's gold damask curtain (the opera house is now located in Lincoln Center), as it would have looked when Grandmother attended a performance:
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The stage is set for "Aida" Act 2, Scene 1, as Grandmother Read would have seen it:
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It was during the Saturday matinee performances, Milton Cross would describe to radio listeners background commentary to the opera. Here he is in 1941, during a live radio broadcast describing Act I of Aida, as Grandmother would have experienced it in person:
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Now, here is an excerpt from the same opera, as performed in the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center, NYC:
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Our Mother also told us that one summer, Grandmother Read, before she was married, took a trip to Pikes Peak, Colorado, and climbed up to the top where she signed a book, indicating she had been there. (Pikes Peak is named for Zebulon Montgomery Pike, an early explorer of the Southwest). Some modern pictures:
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From
the “The Free Lance,” (Fredericksburg, VA.) June 10, 1905:
Miss
Katharine Rutherford Wauchope, future wife of Dr. J. Leighton Read, graduates
from Fredericksburg College, with a degree in Music:
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Upon her graduation from Fredericksburg College, Katherine Rutherford Wauchope taught school at the Presbyterian College, Durant, Oklahoma.
(More pictures of the college):
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Here is Miss Wauchope in the faculty listings, taken from a doctoral dissertation by Anne Semple.
In 1910-1911: she taught Latin and French:
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In 1911-1912: she taught Latin and French:
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In 1912-1913, she taught Latin and German:
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J.J. Read (Rev. John Jeremiah Read) is listed below, as a "pioneer missionary," and as one of the founding trustees of Calvin Institute (which later became Oklahoma Presbyterian College):
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THE BUILDING OPENED IN 1910 AS THE OKLAHOMA
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE FOR GIRLS AND OPERATED UNTIL 1966. THE COLLEGE HAD ITS
ROOTS IN THE PRESBYTERIAN HOME MISSION, WHICH ESTABLISHED THE CALVIN INSTITUTE
IN DURANT IN 1894. THE BUILDING REFLECTS THE CLASSICAL REVIVAL STYLE. LISTED IN
NATIONAL REGISTER 12/12/76.
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Calvin
Institute, near Durant. begun by Rev. C.U.
Ralston and named after his son, Calvin, who drowned. On the Board were
Rev. R.K. Moseley, head of the school; Rev. J.J. Read, W.J.B. Loyd, Dr. Robert
A. Lively. It was later supervised by Mrs. Mary Semple HOTCHKIN and her son
Ebenezer in 1896. She secured tribal funds in 1900 for Indian boys and girls
could attend. Later the city of Durant and Dr. Thornton R. SAMPSON led a fund
drive and the name was changed to Durant College. Became a girls' school
in1907 and after it was relocated to a new site opened in 1910, as Oklahoma
Presbyterian College for Girls, where Katherine Rutherford Wauchope would teach.
Rev. J.J. Read served on it's board of trustees.
Durant
is situated at the intersection of U.S. Highways 69/75 and 70, fifty-two miles
east of Ardmore and seventy-six miles southwest of McAlester. Occupation of the
townsite began in November 1872, when a wheelless boxcar was placed on the east
side of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway tracks. In 1873, Dixon Durant
erected the town's first building, a wooden store, on the east side of the
boxcar. Named "Durant Station" for his family, it was shortened to
Durant in 1882. Since the first settlers came to the area, agriculture
has remained the town's economic base. The primary commercial crops were
peanuts, cotton, wheat, and cattle. By 1902, there were eight churches, sixteen
groceries, sixteen physicians, five hotels, fifteen attorneys, an ice plant,
and numerous other businesses. Growth continued rapidly, due to a rapid influx
of mixed-blood Choctaws and whites. Very few full-bloods lived in Bryan County
at the time. In 1894 the Presbyterian Church opened the Calvin Institute, which
evolved into Durant Presbyterian College and closed in 1966, as the Oklahoma
Presbyterian College. On March 6, 1909, the Oklahoma Legislature approved the
establishment of Southeastern State Normal School at Durant. In 1921, the
institution became Southeastern State Teachers College and in 1974, Southeastern
Oklahoma State University. In 1999 the state legislature proclaimed Durant
"the Magnolia Capital of Oklahoma," and the town annually hosts a
Magnolia Festival the weekend following Memorial Day. Oklahoma Gov. Robert L.
Williams resided in Durant. In 1975, Chief David Gardner located the
headquarters of the Choctaw Nation in the former Oklahoma Presbyterian College
buildings. At the beginning of the twenty-first century Durant continued to
grow with wholesale, retail, and light manufacturing businesses supported by
one of the top-ranked public school systems in the state. The 1890 census did
not include Durant in its list of important towns. In 1900 the population was
2,969, and 5,330 in 1910, rising to 12,823 in 1990 and to 13,549 in 2000.
Source: The History of Bryan County,
Oklahoma (Durant, Okla.: Bryan County Heritage Association, 1983).
Other Sources Used: Bryan County Democrat
(Durant, Oklahoma) , 18 December 1924. Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), 9
November 1992 and 31 January 1999. Ellis Freeny, Peter Freeny and His
Descendants in America (Oklahoma City: Ellis Freeny, 1995). The History of
Bryan County, Oklahoma (Durant, Okla.: Bryan County Heritage Association, Inc.,
1983). Amy Sanders, "Fifth-Generation Rancher Sets New Goals For
Oklahoma's Oldest Family Ranch," Cattleman 83 (August 1996).
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More information discovered about Calvin Institute:
Oklahoma
Presbyterian College
Durant,
Oklahoma
1894-1966
The OPC building is on the
National Register and the application contains a history of the school as well
as a description of the building. Ancestry.com has the 1914 Ithanna,
the school yearbook. Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder is a history
of the powerful OPC basketball teams of the 1930’s. Ruth Ann Semple’s
thesis, Origin and Development of Oklahoma Presbyterian College is
online.
History
OPC is an outgrowth of
Presbyterian mission work among the Choctaw Indian nation. The first
school, called Calvin Institute, opened in 1894. Its success led to its
being closed and reopened as a larger school called Durant Presbyterian College
in 1901.
Durant Presbyterian College
offered standard college courses. But with a peak enrollment of 315, it
needed more space, and the newly created Southeastern Normal College needed a
home. So DPC sold its campus to the state and used the money to build a larger
building and reorganize the school.
This reorganization brought
Oklahoma Presbyterian College for Girls, which opened in the fall of
1910. Semple notes that the school offered three degrees—Bachelor of
Arts, Bachelor of Literature, and Bachelor of Science. There was also a
preparatory division. Dust Bowl Girls says that the college
girls—mostly whites—were required to sit at lunch with younger students—many of
whom were Indians—to help with table manners.
The 1914 Ithanna
shows a student body of around 100—more than half in the college. (One student,
a Jewish girl, was murdered in November of 1913.) The curriculum was heavily
weighted toward the liberal arts. The fourteen-member faculty included
four piano teachers—including Edward Baxter Perry from Leipzig, who had studied
under Franz Liszt. One faculty member taught voice, one taught art, and
four taught languages and expression. Bible classes were required.
Thirty-nine students were listed as members of the Utopian Literary
Society and 61 were members of the competing Phi Delta Sigma Society.
Most Students were members of the YWCA or the Miriam Society –for younger
girls.
The calendar shows a school
year filled with parties, teas, luncheons, dramatic performances, recitals, and
class competitions in athletics and academics. Students apparently had
some social interactions with those from Southeastern Normal School.
By 1935 the financially
strapped OPC entered into a relationship with Southeastern Normal.
According to Semple, all instruction except for music and Bible was
“surrendered” to Southeastern Normal. In 1955 OPC again became
co-educational. But by 1966, financial problems caused the campus to
close.
Bricks
and Mortar
The new OPC building was
located at 601 North 16th Street. Measuring 160 feet by 50 feet, it was
built of red brick with white stone trim at a cost of $100,000. The
basement and main floor contained classrooms. The upper floor served as a
dormitory. Until 1941, a partial fourth floor—called the “Buzzard’s
Roost”—contained a half-gymnasium. After a fire damaged the building, the
fourth floor was removed. In 1918 a second building was added immediately
south of the main building.
In 1975 the campus became
the home for the Red River Valley Historical Society. It was placed on
the National Register in 1976.
NEXT PHOTO: The main building prior to the 1941
fire. Note the Buzzard's Roost. Image from Burke Library Archives
of Columbia University.
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Sports
Team name: Cardinals
Colors: Garnet and Grey
College
Football Data Warehouse shows
a football game in 1904—a 34-0 loss to Austin College.
Ithanna says that the girls basketball teams
were forbidden to compete against other schools.
OPC’s real sports history
began in 1929 when Sam Babb was hired as basketball coach. The OPC
teams—made up of Oklahoma farm girls—began a run of 88 consecutive wins from
December 1931 to December 1934. Most games were against post-college age
AAU teams. Despite having only the “Buzzard’s Roost” of their own and the use of
the SNS gymnasium 4-6 a.m., the OPC Cardinals won the AAU national
championship in 1932 and 1933, defeating the Dallas Golden Cyclones both
years. In 1933 the Cardinals went on to defeat the Edmondton (BC) Grads
in Edmondton for the championship of North America, playing two games using
men’s rules.
Semple notes that under “independent
sponsorship” the team toured Europe in 1934. The Tulsa World says that
the Presbyterian board withdrew support for the team and that they all enrolled
at Oklahoma City University.
NEXT PHOTO:
Six members of the 1932 national champions.
All-america guard Doll Harris is to the left. Image from Truby
Studio of Durant.
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Oklahoma Presbyterian College update:
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The following Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, 1890, will give you insight into the work of Rev. J.J.Read and his colleagues:
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Miss Katherine Wauchope is listed as Superintendent of Christian Endeavor Society:
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Wauchope Family
Church Membership Records:
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Katharine Rutherford Wauchope Read
Baptism Record:
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Katharine Rutherford Read was baptized
by Rev. Frank Hall Wright, D.D. who was born in Boggy Depot.
The following information is provided which gives insight into the mission work which the Wright and Read families were involved in:
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A Pipe Organ was purchased by the Oklahoma Presbyterian College, Durant, Oklahoma, and dedicated to the memory of Rev. Frank Hall Wright:
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From the Tulsa Tribune, Sept 20, 1928:
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NEW on the “Wauchope Family Story” web page:
Session Minutes covering the ministry
of Rev. William C. Wauchope, Rev. Roe Wauchope, Rev. J.H. Baxter, Rev.
H.A.Vanderwank, and Rev. J. Leighton Read, at the Columbia Memorial Presbyterian
Church,
Colony, Oklahoma. {Includes listing of Wauchope/Read children
baptism(s).}
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A recently discovered picture taken by Rev. Hughes of Rev. J. Leighton Read with his eldest daughter (Mrs. Frank Hughes, Jr.) He had just arrived at the airport for a visit to our home in South Norfolk, Virginia, after his wife had already passed.
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J. Leighton Read and Katharine Rutherford Wauchope marriage license:
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Newspaper announces the marriage of Rev. J. Leighton Read and
Miss Katharine Rutherford Wauchope:
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While at Austin College, Sherman, Texas, John Leighton Read, Age 20, roomed with William Scott. 1900 Census:
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The
college was founded on October 13, 1849, in Huntsville, Texas, by the
Hampden–Sydney and Princeton-educated missionary Dr. Daniel Baker. Signed by
Texas Governor George Wood, the charter of Austin College was modeled after those
of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Baker
named the school for the Texas historical figure Stephen F. Austin after the
original land on which it was built was donated by the Austin family. Two other
important figures in Texas history, Sam Houston and Anson Jones, served on the
original board of trustees for the college, and the former site in Huntsville
later became today's Sam Houston State University.
Austin
College's founding president was Irish-born Presbyterian minister Samuel
McKinney, who served as the school's president a second time from 1862 to 1871.
Under the tenure of the fourth president of Austin College, Reverend Samuel
Magoffin Luckett, Austin College suffered several yellow fever
epidemics and complications related to the Civil War. Texas Synod of the
Presbyterian Church decided the college would be relocated to Sherman in 1876.
Construction
of the new campus in north Texas came in the form of "Old Main," a
two-story, red brick structure, which occurred between 1876 and 1878. Struggling
with the Long Depression. Austin College saw little improvement to its building
or grounds during the late 1870s; as such, Samuel Luckett resigned his position
as president. From 1878 to 1885, the college continued to struggle from the
aftershocks of economic depression; with an increasing debt and shrinking
student body, the college turned to its 7th president, Reverend Donald
MacGregor. A shrewd and well connected businessman, President MacGregor
relieved a great deal of the college's debt and returned operations to
normalcy. After MacGregor's death in 1887, the college welcomed President
Luckett back to the campus. Throughout his second term as president, Samuel
Luckett adopted a military program, grew the student body, introduced a YMCA
chapter, established intercollegiate athletics and Greek fraternities, and
added two wings to Old Main.
One
of the school's most iconic presidents came in the form of Reverend Thomas
Stone Clyce, who served as the Austin College president from 1900 to 1931;
Reverend Clyce's presidency would become, and remains, the longest tenure in
Austin College history.
On
January 21 of 1913, Old Main was set ablaze and burnt to the ground in a matter
of hours. A professor of Austin College, Davis Foute Eagleton described the incident:
"Austin
College on fire and every particle of wood reduced to ashes--and walls rendered
totally unfit for use. Oh, dies irae, dies irae! - The dear old building in
which I have laboured for twenty-four years, gone! What traditions, memories,
griefs, joys, were associated with it! The carpenters were approaching the
completion of their work. The new English room was completed, the library room
was soon to be ready. The literary societies lost everything. I lost all books,
or, [those] in my class room. The laboratories were almost a total loss.
Fortunately, the library, records, and office furniture were all in the new
Y.M.C.A. building. Before the fire had begun to die out, the Senior class
called the student body together and they pledged themselves by classes in
writing to stand by the Faculty and the College, and that no one would leave.
The Faculty also met shortly after and unanimously decided to continue college
work the next day as usual, meeting their classes in places designated.
Probably not another institution in the State could have done this. But the old
College building is gone forever!!!"
Following
the fire, the citizens of Sherman raised $50,000 to help the college rebuild.
Now one of the oldest buildings on the Austin College campus, Sherman Hall
housed administrative offices, an auditorium-chapel, and a library. Now the
home of the humanities division, Sherman Hall boasted such guests as Harry
Houdini, Harry Blackstone Sr., Madame Schumann-Heink, William Howard Taft, and
George H.W. Bush.
To
this day, the Austin College administration rarely cancels classes for weather
or minor incidents in honor of the great commitment students and faculty made
to continue on with regular coursework following the fire.
Austin
College became co-educational in 1918, merging in 1930 with the all-female
Texas Presbyterian College.
The
Great Depression severely limited campus growth and educational expansion,
however the college quickly regained momentum in the mid-1930s with the
introduction of many courses, ground breaking on new facilities, and growth of
previously established programs. Throughout 1942, Austin College trained some
300 men and women in engineering, science and management courses as part of the
United States Office of Education's war efforts. The following year, Austin
College undertook a Cadet nurses training program and hosted Naval Reserves,
Texas Home Guard, Army-air trainees and Air Corps Cadets.
On
September 20, 1973, the musician Jim Croce died in a plane crash in
Natchitoches, Louisiana, on his way to perform the next night at Austin
College. Six people died in the crash.
In
1994, Dr. Oscar Page joined the community as its 14th president. Under his
tenure, 1994-2009, Dr. Page increased the school's endowment by nearly 80%, due
in large part to his dedicated fundraising efforts as evidenced by the success
of the "Campaign for the New Era;" a total of $120 million were
raised and the campaign was heralded as the largest fundraiser in Austin
College's history. Dr. Page orchestrated the construction of Jordan Family
Language House, Jerry E. Apple Stadium, the Robert J. and Mary Wright Campus Center,
the Robert M. and Joyce A. Johnson ’Roo Suites, and the Betsy Dennis Forster
Art Studio Complex; as well as the renovation of the David E. and Cassie L.
Temple Center for Teaching and Learning at Thompson House and of Wortham
Center, and creation of the John A. and Katherine G. Jackson Technology Center,
the Margaret Binkley Collins and William W. Collins, Jr., Alumni Center, and
the College Green in Honor of John D. and Sara Bernice Moseley and
Distinguished Faculty.
In
the latter part of Austin College's history, the school would see
de-segregation, welcome its first full-time black faculty member, first female
head of a department, and, employ its first female president.
Dr.
Marjorie Hass joined the campus in 2009 as both its first female and Jewish
faith president. Since the start of her leadership, the college has seen the
construction of the IDEA Center and two new housing complexes, the Flats at
Brockett Court and the Village on Grand. Home to 103,000 square feet of
multi-disciplinary and multi-purpose classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls
and the largest telescope in the region found in Adams Observatory, the IDEA
Center is a LEED Gold certified facility.
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Cadets and their sponsors, 1890s:
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Grandmother Read would go out in her Norman, Oklahoma neighborhood and invite the children into her home and teach Bible stories with flannel graphs, and sing songs while she played the piano.
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"He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills"
(Words and Music by John W. Peterson)
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
The wealth in every mine;
He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,
The sun and stars that shine.
Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell -
He is my Father so they're mine as well;
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills -
I know that He will care for me.
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Rev. J. Leighton Read (center of picture in suit) seen here in Lawton, OK, with his wife Katharine (seated at the pump organ) ministering to Indians.
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An August 1958 visit to Virginia
with Rev. and Mrs. J. Leighton Read
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During one summer, Rev. and Mrs. J. Leighton Read visited us in South Norfolk, Virginia. Here is a picture Dad took of us down at Nags Head, N.C. on the beach. From L to R: Joe, Mrs. Read, Rev. Read (in white shirt and tie) and Jim, sitting behind him playing in the sand. (Apologies for the small picture size; they were taken with a Kodak "Brownie" Camera.)
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Rev. Read took this picture of us at Colonial Williamsburg. From L to R: Joe (being held by Dad), Rev. and Mrs. Hughes, Jim standing in front of Mrs. Read.
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Jim, Rev. Read, Mrs. Hughes, Joe, Mrs. Read at Williamsburg
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Joe and Jim at Williamsburg
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Joe, Rev. Hughes, and Jim at Williamsburg
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Pictures from a family reunion at Rev. and Mrs. Read's home, Norman, OK:
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Front Row, L-R: Jim, David Saunders (making a face), Joe
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Pictures of Read family with identification page written by
Mrs. Katharine Read Hughes:
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Read, Dillon, Hughes family members visit
Rev. and Mrs. Read (Some photos were duplicated/enlarged)
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Back row, L-R: Mother, Granddaddy Read, Aunt Mary Saunders, Grandmother Read.Front row, L-R: unknown, Jim, unknown, David Saunders, Joe.
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David Saunders on tricycle, Cheryl Saunders, Joe and Jim in wagon:
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Cheryl Saunders standing, David Saunders on tricycle, Joe and Jim in wagon:
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John Leighton Read, Jr. in WW2 uniform:
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John L. Read, Jr. at Oklahoma University, Norman, 1948:
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John was a member of Kappa Alpha:
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John was a member of the IFC:
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Katharine Anne Read at University of Oklahoma in 1934, was a member of Pi Epsilon Alpha, a religious organization:
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Elizabeth Louise Read marriage
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Grandmother Read holds Judy January while
Edward Bruce January holds camera:
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Edward Bruce January holds Judy January:
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Identified: L to R: Joe & Jim Hughes with cousins in Oklahoma:
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The following 3 pictures were on the same roll as the previous ones taken in Norman, OK. If any of my Read cousins knows where they were taken, please contact Joe.
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At the Read's Norman, OK house, June 1954:
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Nancy Dillon celebrates her first birthday, as Rev. Read looks on at the right.
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Nancy and Ellen Dillon sisters:
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Dr. Robert Morris Dillon, who married Elizabeth Read:
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When our family visited the Dillon's in Oklahoma, Jim, who had already started taking trombone lessons at school, talked with his Uncle Robert about his music. He gave Jim a copy of some music he had written and a recording of the Bethany High School Band.
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Rare Diary and Bible Study Notes of Katharine Wauchope Read, found in the effects of her daughter, Katharine Anne Read:
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Picture of my Aunt Teeny while visiting her sister Katharine Read, one summer, in Sulpher Springs, OK:
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Betty, Mary, Cheryl, and Teeny:
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My Aunt Teeny and Uncle Dan
Wedding Photos (Notations of who is in each picture
by Katharine Read.)
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Rice being thrown on the couple, as they leave
Rev. and Mrs. Read's house in Norman, OK:
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Hughes family visited the D'Antoni family in New Orleans, here on "The President" paddlewheeler:
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L to R: unidentified, Katharine, Teenie, Joe, Jim, one of the D'Antoni sons.
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READ Children School Enrollment Card,
January 30, 1930. (Note the name misspelled: "Cathirene ann Read"
which should be: "Katharine Anne Read."
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Read Children School Enrollment Cards: 1927, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1934:
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Read Children School Enrollment forms in PDF format:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read receives
Doctor of Divinity Degree.
Vice-President of the U.S. is the guest speaker:
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Thomas R. Marshall Vice-President
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Full newspaper story in two (2) parts:
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Rev. J. Leighton Read was involved in the Child Evangelism Fellowship. An article from The Oklahoman, June 6, 1941:
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Recent Research (2019) on the Read
"family tree"
Early immigrant: James Read, Soldier and Blacksmith, 1607, Jamestown Colony (Source: National Park Service, Jamestown, VA.)
One of the first immigrants: Peter Read, from Kent, England, to Charles City, VA. He came to America by 1654 indentured to Walter Brooks; transported to Charles City by Walter Barker and sons William Brookes, age 17, along with Steven Read, age 24, and a Richard Young, age 31. They came from London by certificate from Minister to Gravesend. This can be found in Public Record's Office E157/20.
Peter was born in 1634 in Kent, England. With his wife Ann, they had a daughter, also named Ann, who died in 1685. She married Dorrill Young and they had 4 children.
Peter and Ann also had a son, Henry, born 1660 in Prince George, VA; died Oct 7, 1712 in the same place. Henry married Elizabeth Hancock and had 3 sons and 4 daughters between 1690 and 1705.
On April 3, 1688, Peter's wife also named Ann, was granted the administration of her late husband's estate. This record can be found at Westover 10/02/1688, page 135, "Ann Read, admin., of Peter Read, dec'd, James Wallis and Edmund Irby to inventory estate."
Son: Henry, born, 1698, Virginia.
Son: Harmon, born 1698, Prince George, Virginia.
Son: Moses, born 1744, Isle of Wight, Virginia.
Son: William, born 1771, North Carolina
Son: John, born 1794, North Carolina
Son: John, born 1794, Mississippi.
Son: William Frances, born 1817, Tennessee.
Son: John Jeremiah, born 1842, Mississippi.
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Henry Read, son of Peter Read
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Harmon Read, son of Henry Read
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Moses Read, son of Harmon Read
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William Read, son of Moses Read
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John Read, son of William Read
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William Francis Read, son of John Read
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William Francis Read died on Sunday morning, July 6, 1850, of typhoid fever. He received some treatment from a Dr. A.B. Caldwell. He was buried in a Protestant cemetery northeast of Nevada City, California, close to Downieville, California.
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We find out want happened to William F. Read when he went to the gold field where he died, from Hewitt Clarke, in this excerpt from his book, "He Saw the Elephant":
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My mother once told me that her father indicated a family connection between the Read family and George Read of Delaware, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. We are currently researching that connection.
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James Read in Jamestown, 1607
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James [Jamestown Settler, May 1607] READ
Birth: 1565 in Kent,
England
Death: 13 MAR 1622
Immigration: 13 MAY 1607
Jamestown Settlement, Colony of Virginia;
First Landing; on the ?Susan Constant?
Occupation: Original Jamestown
Settler (1st Landing); blacksmith and soldier
Alias/AKA: READE
Jamestown Expedition: After setting sail on December 20, 1606, this famous
expedition finally reached Virginia in April 1607 after enduring a lengthy
voyage of over four months in three tiny ships (?Discovery?, ?Susan Constant?,
and ?Godspeed?). The Susan Constant, at 120 tons, was the largest of the three
ships led by Capt. Christopher Newport. She carried 71 passengers and was about
116 feet long. The Godspeed, led by Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, carried 39
passengers and 13 sailors. She was a 40 ton brigantine about 68 feet long. The
Discovery, under Capt. John Ratcliffe, was was a 20-ton ?fly boat? and carried
21 persons.
After exploring several sites along the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the
colonists, fearing pirates and Spanish competition, decided to explore further
inland. Jamestown, because of its deeper off-shore waters allowing close
mooring for the ships, was chosen instead. On May 13, 1607 the settlers landed
at Jamestown ready to begin the task of surviving in a new environment.
Of the 105 survivors that established the town of Jamestown, over 50 would die
in the 'sickly season' or 'seasoning period' of July to September.
James Read, blacksmith, was one of the original 104 Jamestown settlers and the
only blacksmith. Below is a letter, translated into modern English, he wrote to
his mother just 4 months after their arrival.
25 Sept. 1607
Dear Mom,
We finally made it to Jamestown. My job as a blacksmith is very important to
our community. I have to make farming tools and pots and pans for people. I
always have a fire going in my shop. It is nice in the winter but hot in the
summer. I have to work many long hours.
We have built a 3-sided fort to protect us from the Indians. All of our homes
and stores and the church tower are inside the fort. We also grow crops. Our
houses all have thatched roofs. Every day is a lot of hard work. Besides
working in the shop. We spend a lot of time caring for animals and fixing
meals.
Our leader is named John Smith. The Indians once captured him but he is now
making us a stronger colony. Because of his strong leadership we all survived.
He made some rules one was "who does not work does not eat"
I miss you but don?t worry
Love, James Read
He survived the first few frightening months of colonial life in good health.
But the blacksmith almost lost his life another way. In September 1607, during
one of Smith?s absences on the river, the 2nd President, John Ratcliffe (aka
Sicklemore), beat James Read, the blacksmith. Captain Edward Wingfield says the
Council were continually beating men for their pleasure. Read struck back. For
this he was condemned to be hanged. His life was spared in a last minute
bargain, mostly because "killing the man who mends your guns, makes your nails,
repairs your chisels, and fixes your locks, not to mention the shoes of your
horses might not be the wisest." (Hume 162 -163).
From the account of Edward Maria Wingfield, first President
of the Colony, in his “Discourse on Virginia,” we learn the truth of the James
Read incident:
"The36 . . . daie of37 . . . the President did beat James Read
> , the Smyth (Blacksmith).
38 The Smythe (Blacksmith, i.e., James Read) stroake him againe. For
this he was condempned to be hanged; but, before he was turned of the lather,
he desired to speak with the President in private, to whome he accused Mr
Kendall of a mutiny, and so escaped himself.39 What indictment Mr Recorder
framed against the Smyth, I knowe not; but I knowe it is familiar for the
President, Counsellors, and other officers, to beate men at their pleasures.
One lyeth sick till death, another walketh lame, the third cryeth out of all
his boanes; wch myseryes they doe take vpon their consciences to come to them
by this their alms of beating. Wear this whipping, lawing, beating, and
hanging, in Virginia, knowne in England, I fear it would driue many well
affected myndes from this honoble action of Virginia.
This Smyth comyng aboord the pynnasse wth some others,
aboute some busines, 2 or 3 dayes before his arraignemt, brought me comendacons
from Mr Pearsye, Mr Waller,40 Mr Kendall, and some others, saieing they would
be glad to see me on shoare. I answered him, they were honest gent., and had
carryed themselues very obediently to their gounors. I prayed God that they did
not think of any ill thing vnworthie themselues. I added further, that vpon
Sundaie, if the weathiar were faire, I would be at the sermon. Lastly, I said
that I was so sickly, starued, lame, and did lye so could and wett in the
pynnasse, as I would be dragged thithere before I would goe thither any more.
Sundaie proued not faire: I went not to the sermon."
"The41 . . . daie of42 . . ., Mr Kendall was executed; being
shott to death for a mutiny. In th' arrest of his judgmt, he alleaged to Mr
President yt his name was Sicklemore, not Ratcliff;43 & so had no authority
to pnounce judgmt. Then Mr Martyn pnounced judgmt.“
Historically, blacksmiths had been very important on the frontier. In addition
to accompanying Captain John Smith on expeditions in June and December 1608,
during which time Read had a point of land named after him. James Read survived
to work as a blacksmith in Jamestown for 15 years.
Records by John Smith indicate that Read was one of several men who built a house for Chief Powhatan in advance of his coming to talk with Smith.
Records of the Virginia Company dated
March 13, 1622, reveal that Joan, the daughter of James Read (Reade), and her
mother Isabelle) stood to inherit her late father?s goods, which were in the
possession of Captain John Martin of Martin?s Brandon (59). Joan was then in
England (VCR 1:618).
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New PBS Drama "Jamestown" features James Read played by a British actor.
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Matt Stokoe plays a leading role as James Read in the new PBS "Jamestown" series. He is cast, appropriately, as the blacksmith in Jamestown.
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Rev. John Jeremiah Read
(Photo dated: May 1872)
(Courtesy of Presbyterian Heritage Center, Montreat, NC)
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J.J. Read's father died when he was 7 years old and he spent most of his boyhood days on his father's plantation, attending a fine academy, where he was grounded in the rudiments of an English education, From there at age 15, he entered business at Raymond, Mississippi, spending 3 years as a clerk in a store.
It was after his time spent in the Confederate Army that he first wanted to become a professional teacher and wanted to seek a college education toward that end.
It was under the influence of his pastor, Rev. I.J. Daniel, that he was convinced of his duty to enter the ministry. This led to his enrollment at Oakland College, the Presbyterian college of Mississippi in that day.
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Here is the 1860 Census for Raymond, Mississippi, which shows him living there, working as a clerk in a store. His name is on line 38, and boarding with the Gibbs family, age 17:
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Before attending seminary, J.J.Read attended Oakland College in Mississippi:
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The Literary Society Building, built in 1850:
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Oakland College Curriculum
contributed by Charles Dawkins from the
original document in the MS Department of Archives & History, Jackson, MS:
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Additional information on
Oakland College:
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After attending Oakland College,
John J. Read attended
Columbia Presbyterian Seminary.
The seminary that he attended was located in Columbia, South Carolina, not Decatur, Georgia, as some information states. According to the Presbyterian Historical Center, Montreat, N.C., the seminary was actually started in 1828 in Lexington, Georgia, then it was moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1830, which is the campus he would have attended. It was not moved to Decatur, Georgia until 1927.
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In 1830, Columbia, South
Carolina, became the first permanent location of the seminary. The school
became popularly known as Columbia Theological Seminary, and the name was
formally accepted in 1925. The building was designed by architect Robert Mills
as the Robert Mills/Ainsley Hall House. As
seen abandoned, circa 1920's:
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It was in 1823, that Columbia merchant Ainsley Hall and his wife Sarah
hired Robert Mills to plan this stylish Classical Revival townhouse, one of few
private residences he ever designed. Ainsley Hall died before the house was
finished, and Sarah sold the mansion to the Presbyterian Synod of South
Carolina and Georgia, which established a seminary there in 1831 and opened the
educational chapter of the property’s history.
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This
small building was removed from Columbia, SC to Rock Hill, SC in 1936, as the
most important landmark of Winthrop College' history on the campus. The college began
in this converted carriage house in 1886, when Winthrop Founder and First
President, David Bancroft Johnson, then superintendent of Columbia’s public
schools, received permission from the Columbia Theological Seminary to use the
building for a teacher training classroom.
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