in 1868, Brother Morrill was sleeping with Jesus at Ladonia,
and his spirit was rejoicing in heaven; and there was a sad
vacancy in every heart. Thus lived and died Elder David B.
Morrill, in the vigor of manhood and the full tide of useful-
ness. In his dying prayer he commended his devoted wife
and eight children to God, "and though dead he yet speaketh,"
and his sermons will live in Texas till the stars grow dim.
GOV. A. C. HORTOK
Gov. A. C. Horton, as a cavalry officer of Fannin's ill-
fated army, as a leading member of the first Texas Congress
in 1836, as a member of the Annexation Convention of 1845,
as Governor of Texas — as a man of princely wealth and hospi-
tality — as a devoted Baptist deacon — as a member of
the first Texas Baptist State Convention in 1848,
as a Trustee of Baylor University, was for thirty years a noble
co-worker of the Old Guard. Gov. Horton was a giant in
body and intellect. For native force, for clear reasoning, and
for profound penetration he had no superior. And if his
Dr. Kufus C. Burleson. 707
great brain had not been weighed down bj a vast pile of cotton
bales, and sugar barrels, and rich plantations, he would have
been the peer of Houston, VanZant, W. H. Jack and Thos. J.
Rusk. Gov. Horton was born in the grand old State of
Georgia in 1800. His father died when he was quite young,
and, like "Washington, Marion and Tryon, and so many great
men, he was brought up by a pious widowed mother on a
small but ample farm.
His noble mother, however, made one fearful mistake,
which, but for the grace of God, would have damned him for-
ever. Under the fatal plausible plea of keeping him at home,
she allowed him to acquire great skill and passion for card-
playing. This fatal knowledge and skill soon brought him
in contact with gamblers — the most hardened criminals that
ever cursed the earth. Gamblers 1854 years ago sat down on
the trembling earth, under the darkened heavens, by the
bleeding cross, and gambled for the seamless coat of the dying
Jesus, while his weeping, heart-broken mother stood beside
him and would have given her heart's blood for that garment
as a relic, as a memento, of her murdered, loving son. This
act displayed "the true inwardness" of all gamblers then and
now. The gamblers of "Waco and Dallas are just as heartless
to-day, and their occasional reckless display of their easily
gotten gains is simply a trick of their profession to cover their
heartlesness. All fathers and mothers should teach their
sons to shun cards and gamblers as they would rattlesnakes.
This the widowed mother of Gov. Horton found out when it
was too late. And if Gov. Horton's mother could speak from
the eternal world to-day, she would say: "Mothers, teach
your sons to shun cards and gamblers as deadly vipers." For
she saw her noble son goaded on by his fatal passion for gam-
bling, in spite of his own better judgment and his mother's
tears. He frequented gambling houses, and especially race
grounds, and was often a winner and oftener a loser. He wan-
dered out into the Tennessee Valley in N"orth Alabama, then
the garden spot of the South — celebrated for brave men, beau-
tiful women and fine race horses. Miss Dent, the daughter
of Deacon Dent, was the reigning belle. Her misguided
father allowed her to attend that most fatal and fascinating of
all the accursed forms of gambling — horse racing — and the
708 The Life and Writings of
accompanying balls. To the infinite disgust of Deacon Dent,
two or three dashing gamblers sought the heart and hand of
the wealthy, beautiful heiress, till in his delirium of grief the
father said : ''I do believe my poor child is doomed to marry
a gambler, and if I could iind a decent gambler, she might
marry him." Young Horton heard of this, and presented
himself at once and frankly said : "Sir, what you seek is not
on the earth; they are a race of heartless demons. I am
among them, but not one of them. If you will trust your
beautiful, angel daugher to me, I will make her happy." And
the beautiful belle became the loving bride of the young
Georgian about 1828. But neither the tears of his mother,
the prayers of Deacon Dent, nor the entreaties of his adored
bride could break that fatal fascination for gambling. But
an event occurred which none but "poor, blind men," who
have "traveled East in search of light," can ever appreciate.
He joined the Masonic Lodge at LaGrange, Alabama. Kev.
Wm. Leigh, grandfather of Leigh and Rufus Burleson, and
Mr. Segim B. Moore conferred the degree with all its power
and beauty. Young Horton wept like a child. Going out of
that lodge room he, with tears, said to Mr. Leigh : ''Oh, sir,
this night I begin a new life. In this degree I see the beauty
and eternal value of all my mother, my wife and her father
have said. I have bet my last dollar. I am raised into a
higher, holier life. I am a new man." A few days after,
"the strong grip of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah" raised
him high up into a Christian life. He was joyfully converted
and baptized by that eloquent preacher, Daniel P. Baptis, who
a short time before had married Miss Townes, the bosom friend
and reigning belle with Miss Dent. Soon afterwards the elo-
quent preacher and the reformed gambler moved with their
large wealth to Green County, Alabama. Brother Horton
was elected and served one term in the Senate of Alabama, but
he followed the star of empire in its westward flight, and in
1835 he came to Texas and bought several leagues of land on
"Old Caney," and settled at Matagorda.
In October of that same year, Santa Anna, finding the
Mexicans utterly incapable of self-government, established
the only government suited to a Catholic people — a military
despotism. He sent his brother-in-law. Gen. Cos, to estab-
Dr. Eufus C. Burleson. 709
lish the same government in Texas. The advance guard of
Gen. Cos' army was routed at Gonzales and driven into San
Antonio by the brave Texans, under Col. John H. Moore.
Gen. Cos, with his whole army, was besieged in San Antonio
from October 28th to December 9th, when he and his. whole
army, with all the military stores, surrendered to Gen. Edward
Burleson, the commander of the Texan army.
Santa Anna was enraged at the capture of his brother-in-
law, Cos, and his men. He raised an army of 8,000 picked
troops, whom he had led to victory on so many battlefields.
Also his 1,000 Guatemalean Indians — called his black angels
of death. He moved with his usual celerity on San Antonio
and captured and killed the last one of its brave defenders.
All Texas was marching to meet the invaders. Brother
Horton raised a company of cavalry, and joined the brave but
ill-fated Col. Fannin and his noble army, made up chiefly of
Georgians. One company, however, was Capt. (Doctor)
Shackleford's, made up of a noble set of young men, sons of
Gov. Hoston's old Alabama friends. As soon as the Alamo
fell. Gen. Houston, their commander-in-chief, ordered Col.
Fannin to blow up the fortification at Goliad and retreat to the
Colorado. Gov. (then Captain) Horton urged Col. Fannin
to obey Houston's order, both because it was the order of the
commander-in-chief, and because the eagle-eyed Horton
clearly foresaw that if they remained there the brave boys of
loving mothers in Alabama and Georgia would be sacrificed in
vain. But the gallant Fannin, more daring than wise, refused
to obey promptly, but lingered until his retreat was cut off, and
he and his whole army captured retreating, seventeen miles
from Goliad, on the Coleto, and led back to Goliad and shot
in cold blood on the 27th of March. Capt. Horton and his
cavalry were all of Fannin's men who escaped, and that by a.
mere accident. In setting out on the retreat from Goliad,
spies reported that cavalry from Santa Anna's army, then
moving from the Alamo to Gonzales, were seeking to cut off
Fannin's retreat, and Col. Fannin ordered Capt. Horton with
his cavalry to drive them back and scour the whole country
between Goliad and Victoria. This hazardous duty he exe-
cuted, bravely chasing Santa Anna's men many miles and
scouring the country as directed; but alas ! on hastening back
710 The Life and Writings of
to join Fannin he found he was cut off entirely, and his whole
army made prisoners.
Who can tell the grief that wrung the great heart of Hor-
ton when he saw the brave sons of his old Alabama and
Georgia friends led forth like sheep to the slaughter ! Among
them that heroic fourteen-year-old boy, Tenner, who, hearing
the dastard foe cocking their muskets behind them when they
were placed into line to be shot, cried out : "Boys, they are
going to shoot us in the back; let us turn our faces and die
like men !" And, turning around, a Mexican ball pierced
his noble heart, and he fell dead. This noble boy was a son
of Capt. Horton's old neighbor near La Grange, Ala. Capt.
Horton and his gallant company hastened back to join Gen.
Houston, and hence were fully prepared on the plains of San
Jacinto to shout, "Eemember Goliad! Kemember the
Alamo !"
As soon as independence was gained. Brother Horton
was elected to the first Texas Congress, that framed the Con-
stitution of the Eepublic of Texas. He was one of the Com-
missioners appointed by President Lamar to select and locate
the city of Austin. He was also a member of the Annexation
Committee. He was elected Lieutenant Governor with Gov.
J. Pinkney Henderson, the first Governor of Texas, in 1846.
Gov. Henderson resigned to go into the Mexican war, and Gov.
Horton succeeded him as Governor, and no man ever filled the
Governor's chair with more dignity and ability. When his
term of office expired, he followed his inclinations and retired
to his farms. His immense estates, variously estimated at
from $300,000 to $400,000, engrossed all his time.
I met him first at the organization of the Texas Baptist
State Convention, at Anderson, September 8, 1848. I served
with him on the committee to draft the constitution. My
father knew him intimately in Alabama, and often spoke of
him as a remarkable man, but his penetration and vast com-
pass of mind far excelled all my expectations, for, though
Brother E. S. Blount and I had been at work on the constitu-
tion two months, and had collated and culled from the Consti-
tutions of Virginia, Korth Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia,
and secretly written out the constitution before leaving Hous-
ton, we were both startled at the questions and wisdom of
'Dr. EuFus C. Burleson. 711
Gov. Horton, who probably never saw a constitution of a Bap-
tist State Convention. I knew him intimately afterwards as
deacon at Matagorda, and trustee and patron of Baylor Uni-
versity. JSTothing ever impressed me more than his tender and
deep interest for the comfort and religious welfare of his
slaves. He owned nearly 300 — a large number of them mem-
bers of the Baptist Church. He made a church house, built
convenient between his plantations, and employed a preacher
to preach for them. Bro. ISToah Hill, his pastor, said it was
the most touching scene he ever saw to see Gov. Horton and
his noble wife reading the Bible and praying for their serv-
ants. If the South had been full of such Christian masters
as Gov. Horton, God never would have allowed the abolition
fanatics to set the slaves free till they were christianized and
prepared for citizenship, or to return home to Africa and col-
onize and christianize "the Dark Continent." The African race
would thereby have been a blessing to both continents. When
I visited him as President of Baylor University, by his special
request, I preached for his slaves. As a deacon he was faith-
ful, tender and liberal. As a trustee, he not only gave $5,000
and a magnificent bell, but he gave our beloved sons his
prayers, and he assured me it was his purpose ultimately to
endow a professorship of not less than $50,000. But alas!
that cruel war crushed his great heart, wrecked his princely
fortune, and turned his once happy and contented slaves loose
to become homeless vagabonds, and made the richest part of
Texas little else than an African territory. Our great and
good brother, after a wonderful career, fell asleep in Jesus.
"But he being dead yet speaketh," and may his love of Texas,
his devotion to Baylor University, and his zeal for the salva-
tion of the colored race inspire us to love Texas more than life,
to endow Baylor University mth $500,000, and never cease
to pray and toil for the colored people till Ethiopia shall
stretch forth her hand, and the last one of the sons of Ham
shall be saved and sit at the feet of Jesus.
712 The Life and "Wkitings of
HON. ISAAC VANZANDT.
Even Moses needed an Aaron and a Hur to hold up and
strengthen his failing arms. Without the aid of his co-la-
borers the greatest leader and law-giver the world ever saw
could not have accomplished his grand mission. And, though
the Old Guard were heroic, self-reliant men, and every man a
statue of his owti base and altitude, yet their grand work
would not have been so well accomplished without their co-
laborers.
The name of Isaac Vanzandt, like a piu-e, unclouded
star, shines resplendent. As a patriot, a profound statesman
and diplomatist, he had few equals and no superiors. To him
Texas is largely indebted for her timely and auspicious annex-
ation in 1845 to the United States.
"When the enemies of Texas were seeking to blacken her
fame and brand her as an asylum for nmaways, thieves and
robbers, the great Vanzandt appeared at Washington City as
Charge d' Aifaires from Texas. His commanding person,
his open, frank countenance, beaming with intelligence,
attracted the attention and excited the admiration of every
beholder, while his profound statesmanship enabled him to
grapple with the mightiest diplomats of the Old and the !N"ew
World. And, like another Atlas, he bore on his shoulders
the Lone Star of Texas, fixed her forever in the galaxy of
States, no longer as the Lone Star, but the bright star of the
American Union. When he had performed this great service
for his beloved Texas, his grateful fellow-citizens, with almost
unanimous consent, desired him as their Governor. And
within a few weeks of his election he was smitten down with
that fell disease, yellow fever, and died, at the age of thirty-
eight, in Houston. He fell, like a brilliant sun, in the noon-
day of his manhood and glory.
Mr. Vanzandt was born in Franklin County, Tennesse.
His school education was cut short by feeble health, but his
strong intellect and great thirst for reading supplied so fully
the lack of scholastic training, that for general intelligence he
had few equals. He was emphatically the architect of his
own fortune. At the early age of sixteen he was converted,
Dk. Rufus C. Burleson. 713
joined the Baptist Church, and was baptized by Rev. Mr.
Wood, and through an exciting and eventful career, and
deprived often of his beloved church privileges, he never for-
got his allegiance to his Redeemer. When a leading mem-
ber of the Texas Congress, in 1842, he was invited to deliver
an address on Sunday-schools. An eminent Presbyterian
minister who heard that address pronounced it one of the
ablest pleas he ever heard for the observance of the Sabbath
and the indispensible necessity of religion as the foundation
of morals and liberty. Rev. and Hon. R, E. B. Baylor, who
knew him intimately, and roomed with him during theii*
arduous labor in framing the constitution and articles of annex-
ation, 1845, has often said to me: "I never knew a more
conscientious, upright. Christian statesman, though he was
never peraiitted to enjoy church privileges in Texas."
While a member of the Texas Congress, in 1840 and
1841, he first became acquainted with Rev. W. M. Tryon.
They at once felt that they were congenial spirits. He not
only aided in electing Brother Tryon Chaplain, but he became
his devoted friend and co-laborer in every good work.
Soon after his marriage to Miss Lipscomb, a lady fitted in
every respect to be the companion of a hero, he removed first
to Coffeeville, Miss., in 1835.
In 1839 he removed to Texas, and soon his splendid tal-
ents, his incorruptible integrity, and his affable, frank and
genial bearing gained him universal favor. He became, as we
have seen, in 1840, a Congressman of the Republic. In 1845
he received the appointment of Charge d' Affaires to the
United States, then the most responsible and difficult position
any Texan could fill. How well he discharged that trust, the
glorious results demonstrate.
But how fearfully does the unexpected death of this great
man illustrate the immortal words of the great Massillon,
standing by the coffin of the grand monarch, Louis XIV:
"Here we see there is nothing great but God ; there is nothing
pure but heaven."
After a successful campaign Texas expected to see him
soon inaugurated as Governor. He had gone to Houston as
one of the last places he would speak in the canvass.
But, alas ! he had contracted yellow fever either at Vic-
714
The Life akd Weitings of
toria or Gralveston, where that insidious epidemic was just
beginning its fatal course.
A short time before his death, Rev. Mr. Tryon asked
him: "On what are your hopes of acceptance with your
Creator and your Judge founded?" He promptly replied:
''On the merits of Christ only."
It was by such dying testimony as this, and by such elo-
quent pleas for the Sabbath-school and the strict observance
of the Lord's Day that this great Statesman became an
efficient co-laborer of the Old Guard.
Thus lived and died one of the noble founders of Texas
independence and glory and a pillar of virtue and morality.
The remains were borne to the new Baptist Church by his
Masonic brethren and an immense concourse, where his dear
old friend, Tryon, preached a sermon of great power and ten-
derness. His noble companion, a mother in Israel, his two
daughters, Mrs. Col. Clough and Mrs. Dr. Beall, and Judge
Vanzandt, the banker, all live in Fort Worth.
May the mantle of the father fall on the son, and may his
noble example inspire all the youth of Texas to deeds of piety,
patriotism and glory.
H0:N^. a. G. HAYl^ES.
A. G. HAYNES.
In a previous article on the spotless lives and noble deeds
of our dear brethren of The Old Guard, I wrote: "God's
Dk. Kufus C. Burleson. 715
mercy to Texas is eminently displayed in giving her true,
wise and iheroic leaders in CKurch and State, equally so in
the noble men and women He gave to aid them in their great
plans. And if I can do full justice to the co-laborers who
stood by the Old Guard and like Aaron and Hur, held up
their hands, the reader will doubt whether to praise God more
for the Old Guard or for their co-laborers." This sentiment
will be fully illustrated and confirmed by the noble deacon,
Hon. A. G. Haynes, whose long, zealous and eminently use-
ful life I now desire to record, as a monument to his praise
and rich legacy to his family, to Texas Baptists and the Em-
pire State he loved so well.
Bro. Albert G. Haynes was born in Green county,
Georgia, August 1, 1805, and was converted and baptized
into the Concord church in 1828. He was married to Miss
Matilda Freeman in 1831, who by her lovely, genial spirit
and unsurpassed domestic Christian virtues was eminently
fitted to be the bosom companion to so noble a husband.
After spending two years in Montgomery county, Alabama.,
and eight in Noxuby county, Mississippi, he fixed his life-
long home in a beautiful live oak grove at Independence,
Texas, where he spent twenty-nine useful, happy and honor-
able years, honored and loved by old and young, saint and
sinner, white and colored. He was ordained deacon of the
Baptist church in 1843. He was always present and a pillar
in the church and the joy and stay of his pastor. He was a
bom missionary and Judge Baylor often said, what I and
others have so often said : "Any man can preach far better
after hearing Bro. Haynes sing one of the good old songs with
his heart overflowing with love and his eyes full
of tears." He was one of the oldest members and
often the Treasurer and Moderator of the grand
old Union Association, the mother of all the Baptist Associa-
tions of Western Texas, as the Sabine Pass Association was
of all those in Eastern Texas. Bro. Haynes was one of the
leading spirits in founding and locating Baylor University
in 1845, and first trustee. He and E. W. Taylor and Brother
Eoot came to its rescue in a critical moment and by a liberal
subscription fixed the location at Independence. After the
Texas Baptist Educational Society procured the charter and
716 The Life and Writings of
the Board of Trustees, a committee was appointed to receive
bids for location. Health, location and bonus all to be care-
fully considered. The four earnest competing points were
LaGraijge, Travis, in Austin county ,Tndependence and Hunts-
ville. At the last moment Huntsville was about to receive the
much coveted location by donating a five-acre lot "with the
one story brick academy. To offset this valuable donation
Bro. Haynes and Messrs. E. E. Taylor and his partner and
brother-in-law, Mr. Koot, subscribed the two story frame
building known as "Independence Eemale Academy" which
had been sold and bought in at Sheriff's sale for $350, Brother
Haynes agreeing to pay one-half and Messrs. Koot and Taylor,
then merchants at Independence and afterwards at Houston,
the other half of the $350. At the first meeting of the
Board of Trustees ever held, appointed to meet at Independ-
ence March 1, 1845, there being no quorum they adjourned
to meet at the newly established town of Brenham March 15,
1845, when a full board met. On motion of Bro. Haynes,
Judge K. E. B. Baylor was unanimo\isly elected President,
hence he enjoyed the distinction of making the first motion
ever made in the Board of Trustees of Baylor University.
Erom 1845 to the day of his death, in 1870, and for twenty-
five years he was a faithful, liberal Trustee.
Eor fifteen years its Treasurer, and at one time President
of the Board. The meanings of the Board were often held at
his house, and there was ahvays the Independence home of
Eather Garrett, Judge Baylor, Tyrell Jackson and others;
and many of the wisest plans of the Board were matured un-
der the mde-spreading and majestic live oaks in Bro. Haynes'
yard. At the earnest and unanimous request of his fellow
citizens he served two years as Justice of the Peace, but with-
out fee or any reward except the pleasure of doing good, being
a useful citizen and a peacemaker in his community. In
1856 he was elected to the Legislature and served with ability
and eminent fidelity. He was too old to enter the army,
but volunteered to take a large number of colored men, mostly
his own, to help build the breastworks at Galveston. He,
with this force, helped to mount the cannon and was present
at that glorious Confederate victory at Galveston. His old-
est son, Thomas, was wounded in a terrible battle in Virginia.
Dr. Kufus C. Burleson. 717
and returning home on his crutches was killed in a railroad
accident near Vicksburg, Mississippi. His noble boy, Rich-
ard, was killed in the second battle of Manassas. His young-
est son, Albert G., a promising young lawyer, died in 1885.
His son living, Hon. Harry Haynes, who occupies the old
homestead, is a noble temperance orator, has been a leading
member of the Legislature and is a model citizen. The
daughters of Bro. Haynes are all model Christian mothers,
and his oldest daughter, Mary Jane, deserves a monument for
her sacrifices and success in rearing her large family so well.
Bro. Haynes was eminent for his modesty and love of retire
ment and the sanctity of home, but his fellow citizens feeling
the necessity of his incorruptible integrity and keen foresight,
often called him to fill places of trust, as Justice of the Peace,
Legislator, and Commissioner of the County Court. His
liberality and hospitality were simply unbounded. In June,
1851, I saw him entertain joyfully sixty-three persons, with
three little log rooms and four live oaks. The occasion was
the annual examination of Baylor University, and the meet-
ing of the Texas Baptist State Convention.
He was called to his glorious reward in Heaven March
22, 1870, full of years of honor and leaving the rich legacy
of a good name and a noble life to his family and to Texas for
all future time. His fellow citizens, as a token of their
high appreciation of his eminent worth, erected a beautiful
monument over the spot where he sleeps in Jesus.
March 23, 1887.