Red Oak First Presbyterian Church [Article from Waxahachie Daily Light, May 1960] When Erma Rockett was painting in the church, she shared this information about its history. This church is about 85 years old and was moved about 1894  to Rockett from Vernon (a community then located between Red Oak and Ovilla - now long gone).  Erma gives the location of Vernon as near the Oacar Chapman and Jim Davis farms and Mr and Mrs. Chapman were married there in the church. For the move to Red Oak, the building was dismantled, each board was marked, and the church was reconstructed according to the original plan on a lot donated by Robert Goodloe. If there were records of the church's earliest sessions, they have been lost.  According to the minutes of a session in 1890, the oldest now available, W. M. Bunch was moderator and B. C. Lancaster was clerk. The first recorded elders were J. T. Sullivan, B. C. Lancaster, W. H. Benson, E. H. Goodloe, W. R. Wilson and Oscar Chapman. The first register of deacons included W. A. Chapman, W. H. Coffin, A. G. Beecham, Joel Hails, J. F. Davis, George Vicker and a Mr. Vickery. A list of early communicants  (believed to be the charter members includes the names of Kesiah C. Davis, Martha E. Rockett, Malissa Chapman, Mozanna E. Lancaster, Elizabeth Davis, Wm. A. Chapman, Rebecca Daniel, Oscar H. Chapman, John C. Gibbons, Elizabeth Gibbons, Robert Daniel, Rebecca Sullivan, James T. Sullivan, Low Duncan, and J. O. Childers. Reference: Texas Ellis County Genealogical Records, Vol. XIV, pp. 186-7; Comp by Rebecca Boyce Chapter D.A. R. Waxahachie, Texas.   Copyright © 2004-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:16:11 MDT