Samuel Fisher Tenney
Crockett, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(March 26, 1840 -- July 2, 1926) Civil War veteran Samuel Fisher Tenney, a Georgia native, graduated from the University of Georgia and from a South Carolina seminary in 1868. He moved to Crockett two years later, following a pastorate in Marshall, Texas. For 54 years Tenney served here as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Instrumental in the development of area educational facilities for blacks, he also started a mission in 1880 for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians in Polk County. Recorded - 1980
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Georgia native and Civil War veteran, Samuel Fisher Tenney (1840-1926) graduated from the University of Georgia and a South Carolina seminary before settling in Crockett in 1870. For 54 years he served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, while also helping build educational facilities for Black residents and starting a mission in 1880 for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians in Polk County. His long ministry left a deep mark on the region.
Why it matters
Tenney's decades of work across racial and cultural lines in Reconstruction-era Texas reflect the reach of church-led education and mission efforts among freed African Americans and Native communities alike.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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