The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994 Page: 6
754 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
sociation of Dallas organized in 1886 to create a women's home "for the
friendless," while Galveston women founded the Letitia Rosenberg
Women's Home. The depression of the 189os spurred the opening of
more women's homes by Methodist women in Dallas and by the wives of
Houston ministers and businessmen. The number of such homes
reached eleven by the beginning of the twentieth century. Women's
groups remained active through the twentieth century, with growing in-
terdenominational cooperation among the church organizations.12
In the late nineteenth century some Texans began to envision a
broader concept of community in which permanent and even national
organizations could better address the diverse problems of the growing
towns. These citizens turned to the Young Men's Christian Association,
which had developed from evangelical Protestant ideas and had spread
to the United States from Britain in 1851. Efforts to form local associa-
tions in Houston and Galveston in the 185os remained isolated and
were probably disrupted by the Civil War. National YMCA efforts to re-
vive interest in the postwar South became more urgent with the 187os
depression. In March 1876 Texas members of the YMCA met at Hous-
ton with delegates, mostly ministers and businessmen, from eleven
towns. They debated ways of helping young men face "the dangers and
temptations ... incident to city life." Solutions ranged from camp meet-
ing-style religious services to short-term lodging and medical care. By
the 189os the YMCA movement in Texas had grown to include twenty
associations in towns and fourteen more for college students with at
least 3,500 members. Programs varied from gyms and reading rooms to
social events and jail visitations."
When another depression struck in the 189os, the Salvation Army
joined the YMCA in efforts to provide some aid to men of all ages as well
as women and children. In December 1893 a Galveston merchant assert-
ed that "There are more trades men out of employment in this city at
1 F. E. Butterfield and C. M. Rundlett, Directory of the City ofDallas ... for the Year 1875 (Dallas:
Butterfield and Rundlett, 1875); Worley's Directory of the City of Dallas, 1898, 53; Morrison and
Fourmy's General Directory of the City of Galveston, 1898 (Galveston: Morrison and Fourmy, 1898),
273-274; Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8 (quotation), Oct. 25, 1886; U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Benevolent Institutions, 19o4, 292; Galveston Daily News, Nov. 12, 13, 18, 19, 1896; B. H. Carroll
(ed ), Standard Hstory of Houston, Texas: From a Study of the Original Sources (Knoxville: H. W. Crew
and Co., 191 2), go; John Patrick McDowell, The Socal Gospel in the South: The Woman's Home Ms-
sion Movement in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1886-1939 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1982), 7-12, 25; Walter N. Vernon et al., The Methodist Excitement in Texas: A
History (Dallas: Texas United Methodist Historical Society, 1984), 243; Letitia Rosenberg
Women's Home, Records (Rosenberg Library, Galveston).
"* C. Howard Hopkins, History of the Y.M.C.A. in North America (New York: Association Press,
1951), 6, 22-23; Galveston Directory for 1859-60, 50; Galveston Weekly News, Apr. 5, 1859; Galve-
ston Daily News, Mar. 23 (quotation), 24-26, 1876,Jan. 24, 1893, Apr. 15-17, 1898; Dallas Week-
ly Herald, Feb. io, 24, 1887; Dallas Morning News, Nov. 19, 20, 28, Dec. 1, 1885; Houston Post,
Mar. 21, 1893.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 97, July 1993 - April, 1994, periodical, 1994; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117154/m1/34/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.