This is the story of how one man, Samuel Augustus Hayden, almost 
destroyed the newly organized Baptist General Convention of Texas 
(BGCT) before it could take root. In the final decades of the nineteenth 
century, Hayden caused such unrest among Texas Baptists that after 
a failed attempt to take over the BGCT, he was expelled from the state 
body. In turn, he created a rival organization, the Baptist Missionary 
Association (BMA), which continued to fight perceived oppression by 
the BGCT.

    Hayden, through his newspaper, accused his enemies of 
embezzlement, heresy, arson, and strong-arm tactics. His high-profile 
opponents included George Washington Truett, Benajah Harvey 
Carroll, and James Britton Cranfill, who asserted through their 
newspapers that Hayden was insane, a liar, and a heretic. Baptists in 
Texas were forced to take sides in the struggle, which came to a 
dramatic conclusion on a train bound for the Southern Baptist 
Convention, when Cranfill and Hayden scuffled over a pistol.

_________________________________________________________

JOSEPH E. EARLY, JR., is assistant professor of religion at 
Cumberland College, Williamsburg, Kentucky, and the author of A 
Texas Baptist History Sourcebook, also published by the University of 
North Texas Press. JOHN W. STOREY, who wrote the foreword, is 
professor of history at Lamar University.



What people are saying about this book

"A fine addition to the study of Texas Baptists and of Texas life in the late 
nineteenth century."—Michael E. Williams, Dallas Baptist University