The Rev. William M. Tryon

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Reverend William M. Tryon, and friend, this is one worth slowing down for. William Milton Tryon came into this world on March 10, 1809, in New York City.

He lost his father when he was nine years old. By seventeen, he had been baptized, and something in him had clearly caught fire. He and his mother moved to Georgia in 1832, and that's where William was licensed to preach.

He attended the Mercer Institute, and in 1836 he was ordained as a minister. Down in Alabama, he became pastor of five churches, and in 1840 he married Louisa Higgins. Then came 1841, and William Tryon made a decision that would write his name into Texas history.

He volunteered, volunteered, to go to Texas for the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Texas at that moment was still a republic, rough around every edge, and Tryon rode out into it as a circuit rider working southeast Texas, reviving the church at Washington-on-the-Brazos, beginning the first of five terms as moderator of the Union Baptist Association. He wasn't just riding and preaching, either.

He suggested the formation of the Texas Baptist Education Society. And with Robert E. B.

Baylor, he drafted the charter for a Texas Baptist college. He served as chaplain of the Texas Senate from 1843 to 1845. In 1845, he became the first president of the Baylor University Board of Trustees.

Then, on July 21, 1845, Tryon became the second missionary pastor of the First Baptist Church of Houston, and soon after, its first resident pastor. Now, here's the thing about that congregation. Twelve members.

No church building. Twelve souls meeting without so much as four walls to call their own. Tryon set about changing that.

He raised the money. He oversaw the erection of a brick edifice on donated land at the corner of Travis Street and Texas Avenue. The completed structure was dedicated in May of 1847.

By the end of that summer, sixty-nine new members had joined the congregation. And then the story turns. William M.

Tryon died of yellow fever in November 1847. He was born on March 10, 1809. He died on November 16, 1847.

He was interred in the churchyard of the very church he had built, on the land where the brick walls he had raised still stood. Years later, when that property was sold, his remains were transferred to Glenwood Cemetery. The man volunteered to ride into a rough republic.

He helped charter a university, shepherded a congregation of twelve into a congregation with a brick building on a real corner in a real city, and then the fever took him the same year the church was dedicated. He never got to watch it grow much beyond that summer of sixty-nine new members. Some legacies are built slow.

William Tryon's was built fast, and hard, and it outlasted him by a long stretch.

What the marker says

(March 10, 1809 - November 16, 1847) William Milton Tryon of New York City lost his father at the age of 9. At 17, young William was baptized. He and his mother moved to Georgia in 1832 where William was licensed to preach. He attended the Mercer Institute and was ordained as a minister in 1836. Tryon was pastor of five churches in Alabama and married Louisa Higgins in 1840. In 1841 the Rev. Mr. Tryon volunteered to go to Texas for the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Tryon became a circuit rider in southeast Texas, reviving the church at Washington-on-the-Brazos. He was instrumental in Texas Baptist affairs, beginning the first of five terms as moderator of the Union Baptist Association in Texas. He suggested the formation of the Texas Baptist Education Society and, with Robert E. B. Baylor, drafted the charter for a Texas Baptist college. Tryon served as chaplain of the Texas Senate from 1843-1845, and became the first president of the Baylor University Board of Trustees in 1845. On July 21, 1845, Tryon became the second missionary pastor of the First Baptist Church of Houston and was soon its first resident pastor. The membership, which had no church building, numbered only twelve. Tryon raised the money to erect a brick edifice on donated land at the corner of Travis Street and Texas Avenue. The completed structure was dedicated in May 1847. By the end of the summer sixty-nine new members had joined the congregation. William M. Tryon died of yellow fever in November 1847. He was interred in the churchyard. Years later, when the property was sold, his remains were transferred to Glenwood Cemetery. (1998) Incise on back: Project Sponsored by the New Covenant Department, First Baptist Church