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Thursday, April 07, 2005
Old Dacus 1872 The Old Dacus-Bethel community seemed to produce more than its share of circuit riding preachers. All of those men were ministers and missionaries who worked hand-in-hand with their citizen charges to keep their spiritual life and care above average. Dacus-Bethel has another thing to be proud of perhaps because of the "Vigilance to duty" by the ministers, no record has ever been found of a saloon or place where spirits of any kind could be bought. Montgomery was the nearest town and it had the reputation of having a saloon in every other building in the town. Even David Lipscomb, the Church of Christ minister when traveling through Texas described the town of Montgomery as "a small and lifeless body of disciples. The very capable brethren have allowed their ministers to be taken up with other things to the loss of interest in the church," Drinking? Gambling? Politics? Certainly politics were of great concern and interest in old community. Those members served on Juries, served as Road Commissioners, filled county seats and served as teachers and school trustees. There was much interest in political speakings and the candidates. The Bethel Church site was a popular spot for political speaking. One such gathering in 1878 was described by a Mr. Renfro, a barbecue was held, during the speech of a very unpopular candidate guns were drawn, knives were flashed but the speaker was allowed to leave still alive. By all accounts the second goal of the community was education for every child, the best they could obtain. In researching County records, it was shown that although all the inhabitants were not invited in the Baptist religion but written accounts of individual families shows a solid joining of minds as to education. One such account reads: Clinton W. Nugent was born on a farm six miles N.W. of Montgomery (Old Dacus) on 9-15-1865. He attended the county school for 18 months taught mainly by his father and lived there until twenty years old 1885. He was the main support of a large family. He married into the Carson family, large planters and stock farmers of Montgomery. Nugent departed from the "norm" of Old Dacus being a Methodist among Baptist. This account of C.W. Nugent and his early life in Old Dacus as written by a member of his family certainly shows that there was more than one school there. The general rule was to try to have some sort of teaching every three miles, about the distance a first grader was able to walk. The age of the beginner was different then and the first grader had to be seven years old before the first of January. The Uzzell clan, two brothers and their families moved just south of where the Goodin Store would be built in the future, both men playing a very prominent part in all aspects of the life in Old Dacus. James Price sent me a copy of the County Court records for the year 1847 when the leading citizens of the town of Montgomery acting on the provisions of an act of Congress of the Republic of Texas, organized a church and school association. James H. Price, great grandfather of our local James Price was elected president. Old Dacus was too far to effect the community at the time and were still having to hold school in their homes. Reading accounts left us, about the effects of the Civil War, education both private and public had to be put on hold, but not our never-say-die Bethel-Dacus leaders. These twin communities kept on keeping on and later demanded recognition as public schools. |
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©Montgomery
County News, 2004 |
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