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Title
Date(s)
- 1904 (Creation)
Extent
1-10000
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Administrative history
The Wesleyan Methodist Church of America emerged in response to the Methodist Episcopal Church's support of slavery and its centralized, authoritarian governance. In November 1842, leaders O. Scott, J. Horton, and L. R. Sunderland withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church and launched The True Wesleyan, a weekly publication explaining their reasons for separation. In December, Luther Lee and L. C. Matlack also withdrew, marking the formal beginning of the Wesleyan movement. Although earlier separations had occurred—particularly in Michigan, where a conference was established—these events laid the foundation for the official organization. The first church of the new denomination was founded in Providence, Rhode Island. In February 1843, a preliminary convention was held in Andover, Massachusetts, which led to a General Convention in Utica, New York, on May 31, 1843. There, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was officially organized and adopted a governing Discipline. The first General Conference convened in October 1844 to revise this Discipline, followed by a second in October 1848, which produced a more comprehensive and clearly organized version.
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Scope and content
This series comprises records from the Oklahoma conference. They capture the district’s role as a vital regional hub within the wider church. The materials include minutes from district conferences, correspondence between local pastors and district leaders, reports from area churches, pastoral appointments, membership and financial statistics, and policy documents specific to the region.
These records reveal how the district guided and supported local congregations and clergy, implemented denominational policies on a regional level, and fostered church growth and ministry within the community.
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General note
The first Wesleyan Methodist church organized in what would become the state of Oklahoma was established through the efforts of Rev. H. S. Abbott. He had claimed a 160-acre homestead in the Indian Territory. On January 1, 1891, Rev. Abbott began holding revival meetings in a schoolhouse about five miles from Purcell, Indian Territory. The meeting at which this conference was organized met in the Carwile Wesleyan Methodist Church in Woods County, Oklahoma, September 7, 1904. Four churches were reported, with a membership of 117.
The conference also expanded into other states. In 1935, the Texas Conference was found to be impractical to maintain and was discontinued. From that point on, the work in Texas was overseen by the Oklahoma Conference. During the 1950s, new churches were established in Arkansas. In 1962, Louisiana was added to the conference, and by 1968, a church was under construction in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
By 1968, the Oklahoma Conference, classified as a mission conference, had eighteen organized churches and 872 total membership.
General note
Oklahoma Conference Presidents:
Eber Teter, 1904-09
A. 8. Bissey, 1909-12, 1913-15, 1919-23
Mrs. Iva E. Crofford, 1912, 1915-19
E. V. Potter, 1912-13
Oliver G. Wilson, 1923-26, 1926-29
W. J. Kuntz, 1926
Paul H. Hodge, 1929-40
Roy S. Nicholson, 1940-41
I. Leslie Conley, 1941-44
Glenn C. Cockrell, 1944-50
W. C. Brannon, 1950-51
Dudley 0. Dorr, 1951-60
Joe C. Sawyer, 1960-68