The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 85, July 1981 - April, 1982 Page: 106

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

Church was "organized in 1839 by Elder Thomas Sprague of Missis-
sippi" (p. 6). We also learn the names of the present-day minister,
elders, and deacons of University Avenue Church of Christ in Austin.
Notables of Texas history mingle in these pages with church leaders
of only local repute. Anecdotes and reminiscences, many of them
humorous, are introduced liberally and provide interesting diversions
from the more sober data of the narrative.
Although its mission transcends time, a church lives within time.
One of the strongest impressions the book leaves is that an historic
church has seen many changes. Begun, more often than not, by pio-
neers from another state or country, it passes through a formative
stage in improvised circumstances. After a while it acquires a perma-
nent building. Time renders this inadequate, and a finer structure,
perhaps the one we see today, is erected. A pastor may serve for many
years, but in due course he must leave. Thus generations of leaders
and of the faithful come and go. Locations, too, may change with time
and with the growth of the community.
Historical and biographical information for Historic Churches has
been drawn from many sources. Some churches have carefully kept
archives. A fairly large number of them have written histories. Many
of them have at least anniversary booklets and have been the subjects
of newspaper articles. Denominational histories of state-wide scope
were helpful in some cases. Of great help, obviously, were interviews
with pastors and others who knew a good amount of local history and
tradition.
All in all, Historic Churches is engaging and even fascinating for
anyone interested in Texas church history. The good impression its
text and pictures make is, I am bound to say, somewhat marred by a
number of typographical errors, misspellings, and unpolished sen-
tences. But then there are some of those in the typed draft I am doing
of this review.
St. Edward's University WILLIAM H. DUNN, C.S.C.
Ho for California! Women's Overland Diaries from the Huntington
Library. Edited by Sandra L. Myres. (San Marino, Calif.: Henry
E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, 1980. Pp. xv+315. Illus-
trations, bibliography, index. $2o.)
This collection of five women's diaries written between the years
1849 and 1870, all of them in the Huntington Library, adds to our

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 85, July 1981 - April, 1982, periodical, 1981/1982; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101208/m1/126/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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