Making History Today: Presbyterians, Mark Twain, Willie Nelson, and "I'm My Own Grandpa"

Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest

James S. Currie, Executive Secretary

Originally, this column was going to focus on the reunion in 1983 between the northern and southern branches of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA and PCUS) and the role union presbyteries played, particularly in what is now the Synod of the Sun. That plan was stalled when consideration was given to the various splits, unions, and reunions that have taken place over the years. We’ll come back to this momentarily.

In 1947 Lonzo and Oscar recorded a song called “I’m My Own Grandpa”. According to Wikipedia, a songwriter, Dwight Latham, discovered that Mark Twain “proved it would be possible for a man to become his own grandfather”. Latham and Moe Jaffe, another songwriter, collaborated in writing this song. The story goes that “a man who, through an unlikely (but legal) combination of marriages, becomes stepfather to his own stepmother. By dropping the step- modifiers, he becomes his own grandfather”. In 2001 Willie Nelson also recorded this song on his album The Rainbow Connection.  

Back to the Presbyterian Church. The late James Smylie of Union Seminary in Richmond put together a family tree of the entire Presbyterian Church in the United States. Here’s a list of only one side of various splits, unions, and reunions over the years: 

1706 – First presbytery formed in Philadelphia

1741 – Old Side/New Side split (out of the Great Awakening)

1758 – Old Side/New Side reunion 

1810 – Cumberland Presbyterian Church formed

1828 – Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church formed

1837 – Old School/New School split (out of Second Great Awakening)

1847 – Free Presbyterians formed 

1861 – North/South split (PCUSA/PCUS)

1869 – Old School/New School reunion 

1869 – Second Cumberland Presbyterian Church formed

1906 – Many Cumberland churches join PCUSA 

1920 – Welsh Calvinist Methodists join PCUSA

1936 –Orthodox Presbyterian Church formed (leaving PCUSA)

1938 – Bible Presbyterian Church formed (split with Orthodox Pres. Ch.)

1956 – Evangelical Presbyterian Church formed 

1958 – United Presbyterian Church of North America unites with PCUSA

1973 – Presbyterian Church in America formed (leaving PCUS)

1981 – Evangelical Presbyterian Church in America formed 

1983 – PCUS and UPCUSA reunion 

2012 – ECO formed (leaving PCUSA) 

According to Smylie’s family tree, this is only one side of the “family”. The other side begins with the organization of a Reformed Presbytery in 1774. It was out of this side of the tree that the United Presbyterian Church in North America emerged and eventually united with the PCUSA in 1958. 

While, no doubt, the issues that led to many of the splits, unions, reunions, and more splits have been serious ones, somehow we still seem to be related in one way or another. Perhaps one can see how “I’m My Own Grandpa” comes to mind. The role of union presbyteries in the southwest that led to the 1983 reunion will be examined in this space in the not too distant future. 

Please note: The annual meeting of the PHSSW will be Friday evening and Saturday morning, March 20 and 21, at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. There’s a lineup of four outstanding presenters: Dr. Angel Gallardo, Mr. David Angulo, Dr. Margaret Talbot, and Dr. Henrietta Harris. While there’s no charge for admission, it would be very helpful to know if you are planning to be there, especially for the Friday evening dinner. Many thanks.

The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to: 

PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.