I received an e-mail from the Aubrey Methodist church’s music director this week explaining that there are three youth directors from the University of North Texas Methodist Ministry coming to work with the youth and new pastor that is coming on June 15. They will lead the Aubrey youth in conjunction with the Pilot Point youth and alternate meetings between the two churches.

I have mentioned before that the Methodist Church was organized during 1858, and was one of only a few churches in the Denton County region. When the church began in a log cabin, it was used as a school the other days of the week.

Methodism had already started its ministry in the southern states about 100 years earlier with the help of John and Charles Wesley.

Our present pastor at the Aubrey Methodist church for the past nine years, Rev. Linwood John Roberson, is retiring. A retirement celebration will he held on June 8, one week before the new pastor, Lyle Bensen, assumes the duties of the 145-year ministry in Aubrey, which dates back to the Onega settlement. It was during this time that the settlers were of Cherokee heritage, who had been forcibly removed from the southern states where the tribe had its nation’s headquarters. Many of these early day settlers, as a part of this removal were changing their identity and discarding their Cherokee heritage. The changing of their identities was an acceptable way for these people to escape the horrors of the Civil War.

In many instances these people disappeared, and the blame for their disappearance was that the Indians had made a surprise attack and had to be killed. This theory was not always an accurate assumption.

I really appreciate the friends of The Town Charter and its readers when they come and make comments on my references to our local history. This is old news and is very definitely news that has never been recorded as a portion of our heritage. I remember from my childhood that I was not supposed to discuss anything for or against the Native American community. I never could understand why, until my grandmother swore me to secrecy not to discuss such a dirty subject. She explained that I would discover some things that I would not like. And now to this day, I am so appreciative of her saving all of her historical documents which have helped me to occupy the position as Texas Cherokee tribe historian, an honor that I accepted with great appreciation.

The photo for this week was made during 1938. The photo is of members of the Aubrey Assembly of God Church during its early day ministry in the community. I can identify about ten of the ladies in this photo. If anyone can identify any of the ladies in this photo, please contact me so that I can document who these people are. I believe that Herbert Johnson was the pastor of the church at this time, because his wife is seated by Lillian Jones, wife of Manuel Jones.