George L. Crocket (1861-1936)
George L. Crocket enjoyed sketching in his free time. He often drew the scenery around him. Today, many of his drawings are at the East Texas Research Center and some are digitized. [1]
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George Louis Crocket was born on June 3, 1861, in San Augustine, Texas, to George L. and Louisa Alexander Crocket. He attended the University of the South and the Theological Seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, and in 1866, Crocket received a Bachelor of Letters and a Bachelor of Divinity. Afterward, he worked in ministry until his retirement in 1929. After his 1866 ordainment as a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church, he served as rector of Christ Church Episcopal, in San Augustine, Texas. He helped found several churches in East Texas including St. Cyprian's Church, in Lufkin. [2]
After his retirement in 1929, Crocket went on to Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (now Stephen F. Austin State University) as a professor of history emeritus and dean of students. Crocket was a lover of history, and in 1932, he published Two Centuries in East Texas. He also founded the first East Texas Historical Association and the Boy Scouts of America troop in San Augustine. Through his work as a minister and historian, Crockett earned the respect of people from the Nacogdoches and San Augustine communities, which led to him being known as the “Grand Old Man of East Texas.” [2 & 3] The George Crocket statue is located on the grounds of the Christ Episcopal Church in Nacogdoches (1430 N Mound Street). Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc. sponsored the bronze statue sculpted by Harry Weber of Bronze Fox Studio in Wright City, Missouri, and the dedication was on August 20, 2016. [3] |
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