The beginning of Catholicism in Cass County

The story of how the first Catholic and the first Catholic church came to be in Cass County, Texas begins with two unrelated events, but when these two events meet Catholicism in the county had its beginning.

The first event was when Colonel William Blue Lambert who was a Protestant came to Cass County in 1851 and settled in the community that he would name Red Hill.

The other event was the birth of the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothing’s had their beginning in the 1830-1840 period. This was a nativist movement that began as a response to the large number of new immigrants coming to America. These immigrants were primarily from Ireland, Germany, and the central European countries. Most had one characteristic in common, their religion was Catholic.

To be a member of the Know-Nothing movement, listed as the American Party on voting ballots, one had to be native born and Protestant. Its major concerns were papal influence in America and that these new immigrants were more united and were demanding better working conditions and salaries in the many factory sweatshops where they toiled twelve hours a day for either six or even seven days a week.

William Blue Lambert was born in the year 1815, in Jasper County, Georgia. Lambert had earned the rank of colonel while serving in the 53rd Regiment , Georgia Militia while fighting in the Creek Indian Wars. Colonel Lambert was 31 years old when he married Caroline Blackwell in Forest City, St. Francis County, Arkansas in 1846. Colonel Lambert was an attorney and according to some of his descendants was also an avid reader, subscribing to many newspapers from various cities back east.

Five years into his marriage at the age of 36, Colonel Lambert moved to Texas in 1851. Making the trip with him was David Blackwell, a brother to Colonel Lambert’s wife. Also in the caravan of covered wagons was his wife’s widowed mother. Another family, the William B. Henderson’s made the trip also. They all settled south of Frazier’s Creek in the area Colonel Lambert named Red Hill.

During the 1850’s, the number of German and Irish Catholics coming to America continued to grow. The Irish generally arriving first settled in the eastern industrial cities but when the German’s immigrated many moved west because of the vast amount of cheap land and became farmers.

In response to the growing number of new immigrants with the majority being Catholics, the Know-Nothing Party began to grow. Membership, as previously stated, was limited to white middle class men. When asked what they believed, members were instructed to say, “I know nothing”, hence came their label. Their party platform may have been secret but their actions clearly revealed what they stood for.

For example, in Philadelphia two Catholic churches as well as a school were burned by mobs. The cathedral in New York was about to be burned by mob action but Bishop Hughes had it surrounded by Catholic men with weapons and the mob disbursed. The priests that were serving in areas where there were few Catholics suffered the most. Many were forced to leave for their own safety and at least on one occasion a priest was actually tarred and feathered.

The Know-Nothings were divided over the slavery issue and when the Civil War came the movement dissolved. However, the Know-Nothings were strongest in America in the decade leading up to the Civil War. They were at the peak of their influence between 1854-1856. In 1856 they ran a former president Millard Fillmore for president under the banner of the American Party. Fillmore was not in the United States when he was nominated nor was he even a member of the Know-Nothing Party.

These historical events lead me to believe that between 1855-1856 was when Colonel Lambert became a Catholic. When the Know-Nothing Party sent members into Cass County to campaign for their presidential candidate and spread their fear against Catholics, this would have been the time Colonel Lambert would have said that he knew very little about Catholicism and would need to study the religion before he could be against it.

As related to me by Mr. Joe Lambert, Colonel Lambert began reading a debate that was published in one of the newspapers the Colonel subscribed. The debate was between a Methodist bishop from Memphis and a Catholic bishop from New Orleans. This seemed to be a civil debate with each bishop explaining their theological views of both Protestantism and Catholicism. As Colonel Lambert read both bishop’s writings, he felt drawn to the Catholic faith.

Realizing, to become a Catholic, he would need informed instruction, to be sure he understood its tenets, the colonel had to locate a priest. The closes priest he could find was the Rev. John C. Narez from Nacogdoches over 250 miles away. (Father Nerez would later become bishop of San Antonio). Father Narez probably made the trip on horse back or buggy coming up the Trammel Trace. The Trace was nothing more than a path through the terrain in East Texas, running north from Nacogdoches to a point in northern Cass County where it split with one branch turning east to Fulton, Arkansas and the other continuing north toward Clarksville. Father Nerez more than likely took the Trace as far north as Jefferson where would have turned east toward Linden and then on to Red Hill.

After receiving instruction in the faith Colonel Lambert, his wife, and children were confirmed to the Catholic faith.

From this beginning, the Catholic faith continued to grow in the Red Hill community. With no priest, no church building and no regular masses, the full story of how the faith grew may be lost in time. One important clue was related to me by

Rose Mary Fielder. She told me that in the beginning a traveling priest would come and live with the Lambert’s for a period of three to four weeks and would give religious instructions each year. No doubt, there would have been home masses also. Because there are no official records available, it seems this type of instruction continued until 1912, when St. William’s was established.

In Willa Cather’s classic book, Death Comes to the Archbishop, you can get an idea of how Catholic’s, without a church or priest near, kept their faith in areas where there were sparsely populated or very few Catholics.