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September 20. 1908

January 17, 1960, Hami= lton Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church opened its doors to the community.____The name of the church was renamed in m= emory of Bro. Ike Hamilton

36 years la= ter

February 11= , 1996 Hamilton Memorial moved into its third new building.
THE HISTORY OF
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CHURCH<= /b>
In 1908, Brother=
Ike
Hamilton felt that there was a great need for an AME church in <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">
The St. Matthew's African Methodist Episc=
opal
Church was organized in 1908. The first pastor was the Rev. J. E.
Roy and the Presiding Elder was the Rev. C. W. Sims. The fi=
rst
sanctuary was a brush arbor. The brush arbor consisted of a =
pile
of cut brush and bushes, which was stacked upon poles.
The members felt that it was time to erec=
t a
proper sanctuary. In order to build enthusiasm within the
membership, Bro. Hamilton purchased the first load of lumber to build the n=
ew
church. The first church was erected on the corner of Jones and
On September 20,
1908, St. Matthews African Methodist Episcopal Church was dedicated. It was=
the
first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the
As the years
passed, the wooden structure began to deteriorate. Worshippers could find
themselves being pelted by rain that fell through holes in the roof. The ch=
urch
had to be propped up with wooden beams to keep the walls intact. The members
were in search of a minister with the spiritual insight to build a new chur=
ch.
In 1959, Rev. Hercules Miles was assigned to the charge.=
Under the leader=
ship
of Rev. Miles plans for a new St. Matthew's were under way. Oscar
and Ethel Shepherd donated the property for the new church.
A local businessman, John Jay Jones, Sr. financed a loan of $12,000 =
for
the church.
On January 17, 1960, Hamilton Memorial
opened its doors to the community. The name of the church was changed in me=
mory
of Bro. I. H. (Ike)
Over the years, Hamilt=
on
Memorial continued to grow and prosper. The church purchased a parsonage un=
der
the leadership of Rev. George Brent Bailey. The parsonage was paid for duri=
ng
the tenure of Rev. S. J. Garrett. After the sudden death of Rev. Garrett, o=
nce
again the church found themselves in search of a new minister.<=
/span>
In 1978, Rev. John Henry Holmes, Jr. was
assigned to the charge. Under Rev. Holmes' leadership, the church
grew spiritually, numerically, and financially. The church
was remodeled, and it was to be paid off in seven years, but the spiritual
insight of Pastor Holmes and the dedicated members of the church took on the
challenge of paying the note for remodeling the church in a shorter time sp=
an.
The mortgage was for $22,500. In the two years of Pastor Holmes'
charge it was paid down to $4,000. Property was also purchased =
for
a parking lot and it was paid for in cash.
In 1980 Rev. Wa=
lter
L. Coffey, Jr. was assigned to the charge and the church mortgage was burned
during his tenure. Bishop Henry Murphy performed the ceremony =
for
the mortgage burning.
In 1983 Rev. Ho=
lmes
was assigned to Hamilton Memorial for the second time, and again the church
grew spiritually, numerically, and financially. In 1985,
Rev. S. L. Green was assigned to the church. Hamilton Memorial continued
its upward climb. Pastor Green and his wife
In 1989, the Rev. Louis Cornelius Hammond
took the reins of leadership at Hamilton Memorial. In 1993 under his leader=
ship
the parsonage was paid for. In 1994, Rev. Hammond had a vision f=
or the
"New Hamilton Memorial." With God as our gu=
ide,
the task was accomplished.
On February 11, 1996
Hamilton Memorial moved into its third new building. =
In
September of that year the first Annual Conference was held =
at Hamilton
Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church since
1960. On December 20, 1997 the Lord called Rev. Hammond to
glory.
Again, on Febru=
ary
22, 1998, for the third time in his ministry, Rev. John Holmes,
Jr., the pastor that served as secretary for the <=
span
style=3D'font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#202020;letter-spacing:-.=
35pt'>Sherman-Denison
District fifteen years under Presiding Elder A. L. Holmes
was assigned to Hamilton
Memorial with a greater charge of responsibility of leading =
span>the
church into the Twenty-first Century.
Since his thi=
rd return,
Hamilton Memorial has paid off
the organ, concreted the parking lot in front of the church,
landscaped the church grounds, purchased
two sets of drums for the music department, and purchased and
paid for a fifteen-passenger van. The original
mortgage note for the new church
was set to be paid off in fifteen =
years.
With Rev. Holmes' leadership the note
has been reduced to twelve years.
In 1999, Rev. Holmes was elected as the
President of the Greater Texarkana Christian
Fellowship and Ministerial Alliance. He served and worked=
diligently
in that office for two years.
Hamilton Memorial
was host to the 124th Northeast Texas Annual =
Conference
in September 2002. We were the first to host an annual conference
since Bishop Young rearranged the conference settings to
be hosted within a hotel. We set the standards of =
how
God can transform anything to Holy
ground.
In 2004, the
Conferences in the 10th Episcopal District (
Hamilton Memorial
serves as a meeting place for a new
community group, Project Community Vision, which was organized
in February 2002. The group was formed to help
the Grandview Community as well as the communities o=
f voting
areas of Wards 1 & 2
with issues and concerns of t=
he people.
With God's blessings, we will cont=
inue
to grow in word and deed. We would like to=
say
again, since Pastor Holmes third return,
Hamilton Memorial has truly grown
spiritually, numerically and financially. The
Moreover, =
span>the spirit filled members of Hamilton Memorial, =
a people who have a mind to work for the kingdom building on earth =
span>for the Lord stepped out on faith. Lead by Bro. W. A. Griffin Hamilt=
on
purchased a new resident for the pas=
tor
and transformed the former
residence into an
The
On September 16,
2007
The
Pastor and members of in
Philippians 4:13 <=
span
style=3D'font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;letter-spacing:-.15=
pt'>"I
can do all things
through Christ which strengthen=
eth
me."

CHRONICLE OF BISHOPS
IN THE
STATE OF
JabezP.
James A. Shorte=
r - 1868-1872=
span>
John M. Brown -
1872-1876
Thomas H.D. War=
d -
1876-1880
Richard H. Cain- 1880-1884
Alexander W. Wayman<=
/span>-
=
1884-1888
Abram Grant - 1888-1892=
span>
Benjamin F. Lee=
-
1892-1896
Josiah Armstrong - 189=
6-1898
Moses B. Salte=
r- 1898-1904
Evans Tyree -
1904-1912
Charles S. Smit=
h - 1912-1916
Joshua H. Jones=
-
1916-1920
William D. John=
son -
1920-1928
William =
S.
George <=
span
style=3D'font-size:13.0pt;color:#202020;letter-spacing:-.3pt'>B. - 1934-1948
Henry Y. Tookes- 1948
John A. Gregg- =
1948
Joseph Gomez - =
1948-1956
Howard Thomas =
Primm - 1956-1960
William F. Ball, =
Sr. - 1960-1964=
Odie Lee Sherman - 1964-1972=
span>
John Hurst =
span>
Henry =
Wendell Murph - 1980-1984
Rembert E. Stokes-1984-1988
James Haskell =
Mayo
-1988-1989
Robert Lee Prui=
tt -
1989-1991
John R. Bryant - 1991-=
2000
McKinley Young -
2000- 2004
Gregory G.M. Ingram - 2004 - Present
PRESIDING ELDER=
S
&n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp; 1. Rev. C. W. Sims  =
; 5.
J.W. Franklin
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; 2. Rev. Burl Simpson 6.=
span> Rev. A. L. Bro=
wn
(Sherman-Denison District)
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; 3. Rev. Warren McGrew 7. Rev. Albert Moore, Jr. (North
District)
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:13.0pt;color:#202020;letter-spacing:-.35pt'> &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; =
4.
Rev. L. B. Prince. &nbs=
p; 8.
Rev. W. C. Ervin, III- (
=
=
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 9. Rev. James W. Ford Present (
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
1.
Rev. J. E. Roy  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; ll. Rev. Herc=
ules Miles
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; 2. Rev. Turner =
&nb=
sp; =
=
span>12. Rev. W. M. <=
/span>Harris
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; 3. Rev. W. S. Bush  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp; 13. Rev. G. B. Bailey
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
4. Rev. Carrington =
&nb=
sp; 14. Rev. S. J. =
Garrett<=
span
style=3D'font-size:13.0pt'>
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; 5. Rev. J. A. Rhodes &nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; 15.
Rev. J. H. Holmes, Jr. 1978-1980=
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; 6. Rev. J. W. Jefferson &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; 16. Rev. W. L. Cof=
fey 1980-1983
&n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp; 7. Rev. Brown &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 17.
Rev. J.
H. Holmes,
Jr.
1983-1985
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; 8. Rev. Baker =
&nb=
sp; =
18. Rev. S. L. Gre=
en 1985-1989
=
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp; =
9. Rev. J. W. Williams &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 19. Rev. L. C. Hammond 1989-1997
&n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; &n=
bsp;  =
; 10. Rev. J. C. Rodgers &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; 20. Rev. J. H. =
span>Holmes, Jr.
1998-Present