urn:taro:utexas.cah.01754 A Guide to the Peter W. Gravis Papers, 1828-1892, 1968 Original EAD encoding by Jessi Fishman according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. July 2010 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Gravis, Peter W. Gravis, Peter W. Papers 1828-1892, 1968 Materials are written in English. 69-012 2 items Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Reverend Peter W. Gravis was a Methodist clergyman, missionary to Texas in the mid-1800s, and the author of Twenty-Five Years on the Outside Row of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference, an autobiography included in the papers. Biographical Sketch

Reverend Peter W. Gravis (1828-1902) was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Thomas F. Gravis, and moved to Texas in 1838, part of Robertson’s Colony. Peter Gravis was a Methodist clergyman and missionary to Texas in the mid-1800s. His autobiography, Twenty-Five Years on the Outside Row of the Northwest Texas Annual Conference, written and published in 1892, was republished in 1966. He served as a circuit rider in the Panhandle of Texas for twenty-five years, including as minister in Comanche, Texas, ca. 1868, and at the Iredell First United Methodist Church in Iredell, 1869-mid 1870s. His wife Mary died in 1895. They had one daughter, Ellen.

Sources: Bosque County Collection. Official State Historical Markers in Bosque County. http://www.bosquecountycollection.org/markers.shtml (accessed July 14, 2010).

Lone Star Almond Company. Texas Stories. http://lonestaralmondcompany.com/ezine/texas_results.php?cat=27 (accessed July 14, 2010).

Peter W. Gravis Papers, 1828-1892, 1968, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Scope and Contents

Letters and an autobiography comprise the Peter W. Gravis Papers, 1828-1892, 1968. The papers relate to Gravis’ experience as a circuit rider in the Panhandle area of Texas and narrow escapes from American Indians. Also within the papers is Memories Recollected of the Rev. Peter W. Gravis, a newspaper article by Margaret Waring from the Comanche Chief, March 1, 1968.

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Unrestricted access.

 Use Restrictions

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 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Gravis, Peter W., 1828-1902--Archives. Waring, Margaret Montgomery, G. W. (George Washington), 1804-1841 Subjects (Organizations) Methodist Church--Texas--Clergy--Biography Subjects Autobiographies--Texas Places Comanche (Tex.) Houston (Tex.) Zephyr (Tex.) Preferred Citation

Peter W. Gravis Papers, 1828-1892, 1968, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

This collection was processed by W. H. Richter, June 1968.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2R5 Photostat of autobiography, 1892 2R5 Newspaper article, 1968