The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-12-19
HF COULD NEVER.
AMOUNT TO MUCH
College Professor Tried to
Discourage Graduate
From Coming
Rejected GOOD OFFER
ponca City Church Has Grown
From Humble Beginning
70 Pretentious Size
By c. M.CAELliET.

pONCA CITY. Dec. Is Discour-
.osment hy the armload was handed
pny A. j. MacGillivsav. Just then
g,aduatinv from Princeton. whom he
s,nounccd that he was turning down
= call ~ a Presbyterian church In
Missouri To accept one instead at
Ionca CITY In the territory of OKLA
I'M, 4 member OF tho faculty.
,ho was also interim modera .or at
,hc time of tho princeton district,
IA NaoCillivraV IN expressing dis-
snnointmcnt at mis- decision to locate
a. ponca city: "in my opinion
oslahom1 will never amour. 20
nnrh." That was back In 1894, not
/ year after the opening Of the
cherokee strip To settlement and
orlor 70 ponca city celebrating her
ars birthday anniversary
The fact tha; Oklahoma. now
ranks 9lst in population in the ma
lion, is Nell up among the first in
,,tsl wealth. and ranked tenth in
,he tota! value Of all crops grown
In 1919. IL "A sufficient answer to-
dav TO the Princeton faculty mcm-
her. who, however, failed to dis
courage young MacGillivray. I'm
mcdlatply following graduation and
,ls, his marriage the young PreYpy-
,erisn divine arrived here on June
% 1894. He was given an cnthusi-
,s.ic farewell by Ais classmates who
considered him in the role of hero
because of his decision to locate in
Oklahoma.
Another answer 20 the Princeton
faculty member is the fact that the
presbytcr!an church OF Ponca City
ukcd frs. among the Presbyterian
nurchcs of oklahoma In point OF
,dditions TO me mbership, the past
year and was fifth in the entire
United states. The old frame
church, that was built during 1894
under the supervision OF Reverend
MacGillivray, at cost of $2.5O0. is
row being replaced by an $4,000
structure for which the corner stone
was lard with impressive ceremonies
Sunday. The total membership Of
this church Is now 322. the additions
being lGs the past year. There have
Teen 40 members since the church
was organized here. DR.. MacGilliv-
ray now. by the way. is pastor of the
Knox Presbyterian church at
Guelph. Ontario.
Circuit Riders" nt Start.
While the Presbytcrians, during
the pioneer days in any community.
nay not have designated th"ir min
isters as circuit riders" still those
words easily describe the type of
men who were the first to carry
the burden and preach tho gospel
throughout tho Cherokee strip coun-
Try and perhaps in all other por-
;iors 81 Oklshoma as well. II was
Reverend Duncan. who had home
steaded a claim near Perry. who was
the first Pres byterian to preach in
ponca City and other towns of the
strip. and another OF the first day
clergyman OF that faith was Rev
erend Myers. then located at Perry,
who evidently. according to church
history. alternated with Reverend
Duncan aud also with Reverend
King then located at Guthrie. Rev
erend Myers died only a few years
ago at Perry, where he had contin-
ued 10 live. These men, because of
their determination TO preach among
The new communities In the strip,
might well be designated as Circuit
r!ders."
Reverend Duncan. 1t develops. had
an ambition to build a Presbyterian
college on his homestead near Perry
el; continued Ill health prevented
DIS ATTEMPTING it, and he died "A few