GOD & TEXAS: William Carroll Crawford

William Carroll Crawford was the last surviving signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence when he died at the age of 92. Amazingly, Crawford was a relative of Charles Carroll of Maryland, the last surviving signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. 

Born in North Carolina in 1804, Crawford was a tailor by trade. But as the Second Great Awakening sparked a mighty revival along the East Coast, Crawford relinquished his needle and thread to embrace the pulpit and Bible. For several years he preached throughout Alabama and Florida, before moving to Shelby County, Texas, in 1835.

In later years, Crawford recounted several unusual stories that defined his life. In 1835, he and his wife accepted an invitation to preach in Shelbyville, then known as Nashville. The location of the service was an abandoned blacksmith shop because no church facility had been built. When they arrived on that fateful Sunday morning, no one was there. But once inside, they discovered the body of a recently murdered man on the floor!

Soon, a large crowd of people arrived dragging a man in chains. The vigilantes were convinced that the man in chains had killed the victim. The local judge happened on the scene and called for a trial. A lawyer in the group offered to serve as prosecutor, but no one volunteered to serve as the advocate for the defense.  The man charged with murder begged Crawford to defend him, and the judge agreed. 

Crawford lost the case. Nevertheless, the people greatly respected him and later elected him to represent them at the Texas Constitutional Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. On March 1, 1836, Crawford joined the 59 delegates as they wrote the Texas Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. 

After the Mexican Army was defeated, Crawford returned to Shelbyville and started weekly meetings that featured singing and prayer. These meetings led to the formation of the local Methodist church. Crawford and several other ministers are credited with bringing in over 200 converts into the church within a few months.

Though he was a respected minister with a great future, Crawford decided to influence the government as a politician. He was elected postmaster in Shelbyville and later served as the Shelby County treasurer. In 1874, he moved to the town of Pittsburg in Camp County and served as their postmaster. The people knew they could trust him, and he served until 1881, when his beloved wife died. Crawford retired and lived with one of his nine children until he died in 1895. 

William Carroll Crawford cared about people. From defending the accused to structuring government policy, Crawford fulfilled the Biblical directive of Philippians 2:3-4 NIV, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” 

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