Descendants of Captain Henry WOODWARD

Notes

629. Samuel Herschel Christian BURGIN

   Dr Samuel H. C. BURGIN, 72, noted Methodist church man and native of Harrison Co., has died of Pneumonia at McKinney, TX., in which state he long had been prominent.
   At the time of this death Dr. BURGIN was retired from his long church activities, during which he had served as pastor of large churches at Kansas City, Butte, MT., Miami, FL., Atlanta, GA., Corpus Christi, San Antonio, & Dallas, TX.  He was pastor at McKinney and superintendent of the McKinney district from 1940 until 1942, the year of his retirement.
   Born at old Lorraine, Dr BURGIN was a son of Henry S. BURGIN & Mrs. Sarah E. M. BURGIN.  He was educated in public, private and church schools, and was later given an honorary D.D. degree by southwestern university, Georgetown and a L.D. by Southern College, Lakeland, FL.
   Dr BURGIN was long a public figure at Dallas, to which city he went in 1914 to become pastor of the old Trinity Methodist church before it was merged with the First church to form a large downtown congregation.
    He became pastor of the First church when the merger took place and served as it's Pastor until 1920, when he was called to Louisville KY., to serve as general secretary of the general board of church extension.  He held that Position two years and declined re-election.

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  He returned to Dallas in 1934 as presiding elder, a position now known as district superintendent and held that office until 1938.  The maximum permitted under by-laws.  He also had been presiding elder of the Jacksonville, FL., district.  He was pastor of the First Methodist church at Corpus Christi from 1938 until he went to McKinney.
  Dr BURGIN had been delegate to several general conferences of his church, and was member of it's hospital board.  He as active in civic and social affairs, and also a Masonic leader, being a past grand orator and past grand chaplain of the Texas lodge.
  Surviving are his wife, a daughter, Mrs. James T. BRITT, Kansas City, two sons; the Rev. Herschel S. Burgin, Ft. Worth, TX., and Capt. Miller S. BURGIN FT. Williams, Main and two sisters; Mrs Sam STOLL, Liberty, and Mrs. Ernest THRELKELD, Detroit.


            Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri, February

Church To Be A Landlord:  The Rev. S.H.C. BURGIN Building a Sky Scraper in San Antonio.

  A Pastorate Paying $4,000 a Year given up by the Ex-Kansas citizen For a Position Paying Only $1,200.

  San Antonio, TX., Feb. 24 - A 10 story building to be used as a church building is the monument the Rev. S.H.C. BURGIN, formerly of Kansas City is erecting for himself.  It will go up on the lots now occupied by the Park Methodist Church and Harmony Hall a Jewish social club. The land has already been acquired and the plans for the building prepared.
  To erect this building the Rev. Mr Burgin made a sacrifice few men, even ministers would have made.  He was pastor of the Travis Park Methodist Church at a salary of $4,000 a year.  He asked the conference to transfer him to the position of presiding elder which pays only $1,200.  The change was made in order that he would have more time to devote to securing funds for the new "business church building", as it has been termed.  It will be erected at the cost of 3/4 million dollars and will be the finest in the South.
    The lots acquired for the new church are only one block from the heart of the business center and just across the street from the St. Anthony Hotel, the largest in the city.  It will be within easy reach of the rushed business man and of the stranger with in gates.
   The idea of the Rev. Mr. BURGIN is to make the church self-supporting.  The basement and two lower floors will be devoted to religious work.  On the lower floor will be the church and Sunday school rooms.  In the basement will be the nursery, a girl's lunch room, restroom, Ect.  The second floor will have clubrooms for the Epworth League, women's missionary societies and other like organizations.
   The other eight stories will be rented out as offices.  In this manner, it is believed the church will be self-supporting.
   The is the first project of it's kind ever started in the South and when completed will be one of the largest and most costly churches in the United States.  The stock for the new building is being subscribed rapidly, and the architect expects to have the plans completed in the near future    
    The Rev. S.H.C. BURGIN is a graduate of the Central High School of Kansas City and began his ministry here.  His father H.S. BURGIN, Kansas city real estate man, died last fall.