Ira and Clara Wolfe were charter members of the University City Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida in 1907 (see list at bottom, persons 32-34, 40)
(Copied from: http://www.afn.org/~uccc/centennialhistory.html)
Centenial History of UCCCChronicles of University City Church of Christ 1897 - 1997
Centennial History Committee.
Marvin Brooker, Jr., Barney Colson, Jr., Nadine Hackler, Vernon Hendricks, Chairman, Paula Welch.
University City Church of Christ, 4626 N.W. 8th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32605.
Chronicles of University City Church of Christ.
The American restoration movement that began in the latter part of the eighteenth century was initially centered in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, and Ohio. The movement had a strong appeal to many who were introduced to its purpose and goal. Serving God and worshipping him according to the instructions found in the holy scriptures, without additions or subtractions, appealed to honest and sincere men and women whose only desire was to follow God's authority and carry out his will. Many readily accepted this call for restoration to the original way and changed their worship to conform to the pattern prescribed in the scriptures. Many Churches of Christ had their beginning from this plea to return to the Bible as the only authority for worship.
Although the original restoration movement has run its course, the endeavor to hold true to its tenets is still a challenge in Churches of Christ today. The plea to worship our Lord within the boundaries of the scriptures is one of the major concerns at the present time.
Many of the converts that came out of the restoration movement became astute Bible students and scholars. Converts of the restoration movement began to disperse throughout the country and carried the "word" with them, attracting new converts and establishing Churches of Christ. Pioneer preachers made forays into all parts of the country proclaiming God's word, converting new Christians and establishing local congregations.
The first Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida, originated from converts of the restoration movement and descendants of those who had been a part of the early movement. The University Avenue Church of Christ did not have its official beginning until 1897. However, prior to that time a number of individuals had already begun to work and set in motion the events that would result in the planting of the church in Gainesville, Florida. During the latter part of the 1880s, Florida was a frontier state, unsettled, except for a few regions in the northern part of the state and sparsely populated. Because of its favorable weather and seemingly good opportunity for development, many people began to settle in the state. Some lost their possessions in land speculation, some failed at farming, but many became successful and went on to make good fortunes. Gainesville in the 1870s was an active and growing little town. It was the county seat of Alachua County where a courthouse was constructed and served as the center for community affairs. Mrs. Anna Pearce, as far as is known, was the only member of the Church of Christ in Gainesville at that time. She and her family were pioneer settlers of Gainesville. Anna's sister was married to George P. Young, who was a pupil of T. B. Larimore at Mars Hill in Alabama. T. B. Larimore was baptized by Alexander Campbell, a key figure in the restoration movement. It was through the influence of her brother-in-law that Anna Pearce became a Christian. The book Larimore and His Boys recounts: George P. Young of Lauderdale County Alabama, finished a thorough course in English, Latin, Mathematics and Bible at Mars Hill in 1876. After leaving Mars Hill George P. Young located at Starke, Florida to preach and teach. In 1879 he moved to Texas, but returned a year later to resume his work and to oversee Orange College in Starke.
Daisy Pearce, who was Anna's daughter, and later married to a Mr. Downing, taught with George Young at Orange College. In a meeting held there by a brother Sanders, she and twelve others were baptized in Crosby Lake. The brother of George Young also preached in the Starke area and would on occasions come to Gainesville to preach in the courthouse. Dr. Mason of Trenton, Florida, was also . known to come to Gainesville and to preach at the courthouse during this period.
Mrs. Harris in Atlanta, Georgia, sent a preacher named McNamara to preach in Gainesville about 1879. He drove a horse and buggy all the way from Atlanta which was an arduous trip of many days. McNamara held meetings and preached in the courthouse and other places. He was not well received and later joined the Baptists. While in Gainesville he and his horse were boarded by the Pearce family.
In 1886 James K. Harding, a renowned evangelist from Winchester, Kentucky and for whom Harding College was named, held a meeting in Ocala, Florida. There were several members of the church in Ocala at that time, among them Dr. J. Page Parker, an osteopathic physician who had come from Paducah, Kentucky. He and his wife, Ankie Green Parker, moved to Gainesville in 1897 and purchased a home at the northeast corner of what is now N.E. 1st Street and N.E. 6th Avenue intersection. Mrs. Parker was a talented and well known musician. She began a school of music in the Gainesville area. Dr. Parker was a Bible scholar and an excellent teacher. Seven Christians began meeting in the Parker home each Lord's day including Dr. and Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Anna P. Pearce, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Coffey, Mrs. Nannie Mitchell, and Miss Sabina Colson. Sabina was a pupil in Mrs. Parker's music school and boarded in the Parker home. Mrs. Coffey was a public school teacher originally from Kentucky. This small group of seven people represents the beginning of the Church of Christ in Gainesville, later to become the University Avenue Church of Christ and now the University City Church of Christ.
The 1900s.
Although many individuals made a contribution to the establishment of the first Church of Christ in Gainesville, we will always be indebted to these faithful seven who exercised their faith by serving and worshipping their Lord. One name of special interest in this original group of seven is that of Sabina Colson. She was the daughter of Perry M. Colson who moved to Gainesville in 1900 and was followed by his younger brother, Barney R. Colson, Sr., in 1901. The Colson name has been on the church rolls for the first hundred years of its existence, first represented by Sabina Colson and presently by Barney R. Colson, Jr., who serves as one of the church elders. We owe a debt of gratitude to members of the Colson family and others who have maintained their faith over this century. Their contributions have resulted in what is now a vibrant University City Church of Christ. The present members should strive to ensure that over the next hundred years the Church of Christ in Gainesville will remain viable, faithful, active and will grow and prosper. In September of 1900 brother Perry M. Colson moved to Gainesville from Bronson, Florida. He was followed a year later by his younger brother Barney R. Colson, Sr. who had just graduated from the South Florida Military Institute in Bartow, Florida which later became a part of the University of Florida when it was moved to Gainesville from Lake City in 1906. The Colson brothers were active and excellent workers in the church and began plans to construct a building in which to worship..
Like the first century Christians, members continued to meet "from house to house" for worship on the Lord's day. In 1904 Barney R. Colson married Eddie Sue Bowers of Bartow and in 1906 her parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. M. D. Bowers, also of Bartow, moved to Gainesville.
The Anna Pearce home, a large white three story frame structure two blocks east of the courthouse square, also served as a rooming house. Lyde Bowers, the sister of Eddie Sue Bowers Colson and Harry Pearce, the son of Anna Pearce, who lived next door to each other were married. Mr. G. M. D. Bowers bought the east half of the Pearce property, built a home next to the Pearce home and reserved a fifty by seventy foot lot on the corner for a church building. Although small the lot was large enough for the congregation at that time. This property is just west of the post office mall on East University Avenue. The lot was later deeded to Perry M. Colson who in turn had it deeded to the trustees of the Church of Christ. Anna Pearce's husband died, and she married Mr. Robert Wixson. Plans were then implemented to put up a church building. The Colson brothers, G. M. D. Bowers, and Mrs. Susie Wilson of Henning, Tennessee, a sister to G. M. D. Bowers, all gave liberally to raise the funds for the construction of the original meeting house.
The building was first used in the winter of 1907, even though it was not fully completed until 1908. It was constructed from pebble rock and had two small Sunday school rooms on the east and west sides of the baptistry. Inside walls were plastered and the auditorium had an inclined wood floor. Heating was provided by a large round, black wood or coal burning stove. Cooling from the hot summer heat required regular fanning with palmetto fans. Funeral homes provided fans in those days as a means of advertising.
For over thirty years Barney R. Colson, Sr. started the fire and opened the building for worship. Mrs. Barney R. Colson, Sr. made the communion bread and maintained the linen cloth that was used to cover the communion table. The Warranty Deed dated March 9, 1907, from Perry M. Colson to G. M. D. Bowers, W. W. Colson and B. R. Colson, says in part:.
Whereas the undersigned is desirous of promoting and furthering the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed and made known to the world in the New Testament..the parties of the second part, their successors and assigns, shall hold the said property hereby conveyed for the purpose of affording a place of worship for the officers, members and adherents of the church of Christ, a church which takes the word of God as its only and all sufficient rule of faith and practice, which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being its chief corner stone, as is revealed and made known to the world in the New Testament, of which said church the parties are members. It is expressly understood..as a part of the trust imposed by this conveyance that in the worship of God and the services which may be held in the property herein described no instrumental music shall be used, and all worship and services in this church shall be conducted in accordance with the Spirit and Letter of God's Will as revealed in the New Testament scriptures, and using or teaching nothing for doctrine which can not be plainly proven by the New Testament scriptures, as required by the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it is further understood..that no auxiliary society or organization shall be used in carrying out the religious work of the church in the service of God, the Church itself being all sufficient to this end.
The original building remained in use until 1955 when the University Avenue building, now the location for the Salvation Army, was completed. The old building was torn down and a private office constructed in its place. The colored glass, cathedral shaped windows, as well as the front doors are now in the Fort Clarke Baptist Church building located on Newberry Road just west of Interstate 75.
The first gospel meeting held in Gainesville began Friday night May 10, 1907, and closed Sunday night May 19, 1907. The speaker was brother J. B. Nelson of Grand View, Texas. Because the new building was not completed, services were held in a building known as the "Tabernacle" owned by the Gainesville Bible Conference. It was located on the lot presently owned by the Matheson Center on East University Avenue. The song service was led by Claude W. Colson of the Cherry Sink congregation near Trenton, Florida. The Cherry Sink congregation is thought to be older than our own congregation. The first meeting resulted in the addition of two members to the family and the sowing of good seed in the community. By 1908 the church had grown from the original seven members in 1897 to 42 as shown on the church roll. Ten of those members were Colsons and eight were Bowers.
Gospel meetings or revivals as they were sometimes called, were a common event among the churches at this time and into the 1950s. Usually a spring and fall meeting was held. Most meetings lasted from two to three weeks and often day and night services were held. Speakers were ministers from other congregations and faculty members at Christian schools. The University Avenue congregation was fortunate to have some of the outstanding men in the brotherhood for their meetings. Services were long, often exceeding well over an hour, in buildings that lacked the modern conveniences of heating and air conditioning. The purpose of gospel meetings was to spread the gospel and revive the congregation spiritually. They were usually well attended but, as the years passed, attendance declined and they were held less often, if at all.
The first resident minister for the church was T. B. Larimore. He was as well-known in the brotherhood as the Baptist church's Billy Graham is today. Brother Larimore came to Gainesville in the first part of 1912 and stayed for eighteen months. He and his wife, Emma, lived with the G. M. D. Bowers family. The Larimores fell in love with Gainesville and wanted to establish a Bible college here. The Bowers and Colsons purchased a 200 acre tract of land northwest of Gainesville for the school. This area extended from what is presently N.W. 13th Street to N.W. 23rd Street, and N.W. 8th Avenue almost to N.W. 16th Avenue. Plans never materialized for the school, which was to become Dixieland College. Brother Larimore depended upon his many friends to support his effort to build the school but, due in part to a rumor that this was just another "Florida Land Swindle," which was not true, the money was not raised and the school never became a reality.
During the period from 1913 following Larimore's departure, the church was without a resident minister until the summer of 1919. Men of the congregation conducted the services. Some services consisted of a single Bible class for all ages, a short talk by one of the men and the communion service. The church will always remain alive and productive when good Christian men and women are willing to step forward and see that the Lord's work is carried on when the need is there.
History to 1990 is deleted..
Appendices.
Charter members of the congregation.
for the years 1907 and 1908.
1. Mrs. Melvina R. Colson.
2. Perry M. Colson.
3. Laura J. Colson (Mrs. Perry M. Colson).
4. Pearl Colson (later Mrs. Frank Hartsfield).
5. Sabina Colson Baker (Mrs. W. E. Baker).
6. Barney R. Colson.
7. Eddie Sue Colson (Mrs. Barney R. Colson).
8. Willis W. Colson.
9. Avie A. Colson (Mrs. Willis W. Colson).
10. J. P. Prevatt.
11. G. M. D. Bowers.
12. Frances Edmonia Bowers (Mrs. G. M. D. Bowers).
13. Robert C. Bowers.
14. Lyde Bowers (later Mrs. Harry L. Pearce).
15. Richard Dallas Bowers.
16. Robert Wixson.
17. Anna P. Wixson (Mrs. Robert Wixson).
18. G. D. Folks.
19. Dr. J. Page Parker.
20. Fred Powell.
21. Clinard.
22. Mrs. Ida Hall.
23. J. B. Van Ness.
24. Mrs. J. B. Van Ness.
25. M. I. Jones.
26. W. P. Coffey.
27. Cora Coffey (Mrs. W. P. Coffey).
28. Mrs. Mary Shawls.
29. Minnie Shawls.
30. Edith Shawls.
31. R. G. Lanier.
32. Ira G. Wolfe.
33. Clara Wolfe (Mrs. Ira G. Wolfe).
34. Grace Wolfe.
35. W. H. Gunz.
36. Prof. T. F. McBeath.
37. Luther Taylor.
38. Dr. Harry L. Pearce.
39. Laurie Colson (later Mrs. Ray Driver).
40. Homer Wolfe.
41. Fred Brown.
42. Mrs. Fred A. Brown.
Other appendices deleted..
Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy