Rev. Nathan S. Johnson
Daingerfield, Morris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Virginia in 1802, Nathan Johnson spent his boyhood years near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 1824 he was licensed to preach and served as a Methodist missionary to the Cherokee Indians and others in the Tennessee Conference. Johnson brought his wife, Sarah, and five children to Texas in 1851. For the next seven years he rode the circuit in the East Texas Methodist Conference, serving towns such as Marshall, Jefferson, Clarksville, and San Augustine. During the last years of his life, Johnson served as pastor of the Daingerfield Methodist Church. He died of pneumonia in 1860.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Virginia in 1802 and raised near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Nathan Johnson was licensed to preach in 1824 and served as a Methodist missionary to the Cherokee and others. He brought his family to Texas in 1851 and rode the East Texas circuit for seven years, ministering in towns like Marshall, Jefferson, and Clarksville before ending his life as pastor at Daingerfield, where he died of pneumonia in 1860.
Why it matters
Circuit-riding preachers like Johnson carried religion and community across the raw East Texas frontier as it filled with settlers.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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