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was young Smith Ragsdale, who married McKenzie's daughter, Martha, better known in the early days by the nickname, "Patsy". Ragsdale and his wife both began teaching in the McKenzie College, beginning their work a few days after their marriage in 1859 when the bride was fifteen years of age and her husband just a few weeks her senior.

All church and school grounds in the City of Clarksville, of whatever religious faith the church or school might have been, were always freely donated by that famous old pioneer woman of Texas, Mrs. Isabella H. Gordon, formerly Mrs. Isabella H. Clark. An old community church building was erected in the 1830's just south of what is now the Catholic Cemetery, and in this building Gilbert Clark, a Presbyterian, preached. The First Presbytery of Texas, in 1842, received Gilbert Clark and ordained him as a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. It was while here that he applied to the Presbyterian organization for ordination. Gilbert Clark was the brother of James Clark, the founder of Clarksville. The following is a sketch written upon request of the Presbyterian ministers of Dallas:

THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS*

"The Rev. Milton Estill, perhaps the father of Presbyterianism in Texas, organized the Cumberland
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*This is taken from a paper prepared and read by Rev. S. M. Templeton before the Synod of Texas, U. S. and U. S. A., in Fort Worth, September 23, 1931.


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The History of Clarksville and Old Red River County
Pat B. Clark   1937