Another tid bit of info on Thomas and Priscilla Scarborough Ward
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In reply to:
Re: THOMAS WOOD WARD b. 1790 m. PRISCILLA SCARBOROUGH b. 1790
C. McDaniel 12/02/11
They came to Texas for large land grants. When they came they found out to get these land grants they had to join the Catholic Church first. This Ward family did and today are still Catholic, although at a later date the Methodists missionaries came to change the situation.
FROM AUSTIN COLONY PIONEER P 43
CHAPPELL Hill, in Washington County, was originally what was known as Cedar Creek community.
On October 19, 1843, a bunch of pioneer Methodist ministers “missionarying” in Austin’s colonies and among people who were handicapped in the beginning by being forced to declare themselves Catholics in religion in order to take up lands, went to the hear of this settlement to hold a camp meeting. No less that eleven of these preachers “ganged up” in this enterprise and according to Mr. Richardson, Robert Alexander, Parson Haynie, Fisher, Whipple, de Vilbis, and Homer Threll. It would appear from the records that almost if not all, of the Cedar Creek residents, who were not already converts to the doctrines of Methodism, became such before the meeting ended. From that time forward Cedar Creek, shortly afterwards having been changed to Chappell Hill, became virtually the capital of Methodism in Texas. Mr. Phelan in his “History of Early Methodism in Texas”. P.331, says: