CHAPTER 14
NEW HOPE: 1881-1882
On September 4, 1881, the day before the commencement of the New Hope school-year, Rev. Shapard dedicated the church at Oak Grove on the Poteau Circuit.
The 36th Annual Indian Mission Conference was held at Caddo, Choctaw Nation, on October 5-9, 1881. Rev. Shapard was almost prevented from attending the Conference due to the ill health of his youngest son, Edwin, Jr., who had been very sick since late September. As a result, Rev. Shapard was not in attendance the first day of the Conference. When his son showed signs of improvement, Rev. Shapard decided to attend Conference, arriving late, yet, was present for the second day of the meeting on October 6, 1881. Consequently, J.F. Thompson was nominated and elected, the first day, as the Secretary of the Conference and J.S. Chapman as the Assistant Secretary. On October 6, 1881, J.F. Thompson resigned his position as Conference Recording Secretary and was appointed as the Statistical Secretary. Upon motion, E.R. Shapard was then elected as Conference Recording Secretary. At the end of Conference, he was appointed By Bishop G.F. Pierce as the Presiding Elder of the Choctaw District and as the Superintendent of New Hope Seminary.
On October 7, 1881, the four delegates, representing the Indian Mission Conference, were voted upon to attend the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which was to be held in May of 1882, in Nashville, Tennessee. Rev. Young Ewing and Rev. J.H. Walker were elected by the members of the Conference as the Clerical Delegates; and G.B. Hester and B.L. Leflore were elected by the members as the Lay Representatives to the General Conference. At some point, between October 9, 1881, and May 1, 1882, Rev. J.H. Walker could not attend the General Conference and Rev. E.R. Shapard was elected to take his place as a Clerical Delegate. Rev. E.R. Shapard and Rev. Young Ewing traveled together and attended the 1882 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. While in Nashville, Edwin resided at “Cousin Lizzie’s” house. He attended the Conference events and still had much time for visiting old friends and family. Over the course of the month he was there, he was able to travel to his old hometowns of Murfreesboro and Shelbyville. He sent a little chair to Edwin, Jr. from Nashville, and Edwin, Jr. was old enough to know it was from his “Papa”.
On April 10, 1882, Mrs. Jennie Shapard wrote to her sister, Hattie, in Tennessee, that she was going to Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Tuesday, for a wedding held on Wednesday, and then would return to New Hope on Thursday. She was going to wear a new black cashmere and an overskirt of black lace point which she had made. Rev. Shapard was going to stay at New Hope as he didn’t like for both of them to be away from their children. Jennie remarked that she was very self-conscious about entering the fashionable society of Fort Smith, having become accustomed to the ways of Indian Territory. She would have declined to go to the wedding, however, her teeth had been aching and Fort Smith was also the location of the nearest dentist. She reported that Lizzie was learning piano and that Sumner, despite his young age, was a very good learner, yet, periodically had to be spanked as motivation to attend school.
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