In a sermon appearing in a collection under the title, The Undoing of Death, Episcopalian priest Fleming Rutledge refers to a statement by David H. C. Read, pastor at one time of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Read’s comment to his congregation was, “One of the reasons I believe in the Resurrection is that my mother told me. And to this day a strong element in my belief is the number and quality of the people who told me” (p. 306).
It seems to me that hearing the witness of others, whether directly or indirectly, is how we discover, with gratitude, not only the events that contributed to who we are, but the persons who inspired and shaped those events. We are either told about them or we read about them. As Presbyterians we might think of Ernest Trice Thompson whose three volume Presbyterians in the South is the gold standard for those of us who grew up in the Southern Presbyterian Church. If you’re from the Cumberland stream of Presbyterians, Thomas H. Campbell is the go-to historian on their history.
One of the persons who has reminded us of our own Presbyterian heritage here in the Southwest is Presbyterian through-and-through, but came from the north. Born in Youngstown, Ohio to Scottish immigrant parents, Doug Brackenridge was raised in the Presbyterian church, graduated from a Presbyterian college (Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio where astronaut and Presbyterian John Glenn also matriculated), earned his divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and his doctorate from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He was ordained to the ministry in the Presbyterian church in Washington, Pennsylvania.
So, how did he come to San Antonio, Texas where he would spend 40 years on the faculty of Trinity University? Upon earning his Ph.D. in Scotland, he sought teaching positions through the United Presbyterian Church’s Board of Christian Education. While interested in living and working in the north and northeast, Brackenridge says that the only position available at a Presbyterian school was Trinity University in San Antonio. He was offered a one-year appointment on the faculty of the Department of Religion with the possibility of more to follow. In a phone conversation Brackenridge says that Guy Ranson, the chair of the department at the time, insisted that that department have the highest academic standards whose faculty members would all hold Ph.D. degrees.
Brackenridge contributed to Ranson’s goal. In addition to teaching hundreds, if not thousands, of students over his 40-year career, he authored or co-authored at least nine books, along with numerous articles, on a wide variety of subjects. He wrote biographies – Eugene Carson Blake (stated clerk of the United Presbyterian Church) and James Laurie (19-year president of Trinity University); institutional histories – Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Trinity University in San Antonio, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation on its 200th anniversary, and a history of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Texas; co-authored (with Francisco O. García-Treto) a history of Presbyterians and Mexican Americans in the Southwest; and co-authored (with Lois Boyd) a book on Presbyterian Women in America as well as a volume on Presbyterians and pensions.
Brackenridge’s vocation went beyond the academic world. He served Presbyterian churches in central Texas in a variety of ways – as interim pastor, as a Sunday school teacher (for 17 years at one church), preaching occasionally, and worshiping regularly when not otherwise engaged. In addition to serving on the board of the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, he, along with Pete Hendrick, was instrumental in organizing the Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest in February of 1979.
At 93 years young Brackenridge continues to live in San Antonio. Through his ministry, his teaching, and his publications, he has served as a memory keeper to the rest of us. Like David H. C. Read, much of who we know, who we are, and what we believe is due to efforts of persons like Doug Brackenridge. And we are grateful.
The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to:
PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.
