George Washington, Howard Hughes, and Taylor Texas

This church in Taylor, Texas has a link to Howard Hughes, and maybe even George Washington!

How so?

Well, on December 9, 1877, twenty-two families met in the Odd Fellows Hall in Taylor and organized First Christian Church with the help of Rev. Richard Montgomery Gano. Over the next seven days, Gano preached daily and another twenty families joined the fledgling congregation.

Gano was born in 1830 in Kentucky. His father was Disciples of Christ (Restoration Movement) pastor, and his great-grandfather served as a chaplain in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Initially, Gano went a different route; he practiced medicine for several years before moving to Texas in 1859. After Texas seceded from the Union in 1861, he served in the Confederate army, and by the end of the war, he had reached the rank of Brigadier General.

In 1866, he traveled back to Texas to follow in the footsteps of his father and great-grandfather, and he was ordained as a Disciples of Christ pastor. During his ministry, he helped organize a number of Christian churches in and out of Texas.

So what about those links to Hughes and Washington?

Well, Gano’s granddaughter, Allene Stone (Gano) Hughes was Howard Hughes’ mother.
And some believe that Gano’s great-grandfather, Rev. John Gano, who served as a chaplain in the Continental Army, was George Washington’s chaplain and that he baptized Washington.

Gano Chapel at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri is named after Rev. John Gano, and a painting of Gano baptizing Washington is on display there.

You can learn more about Rev. Richard Montgomery Gano here:https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fga14

You can read about Rev. John Gano’s alleged baptism of George Washington here:https://www.therestorationmovement.com/_states/kentucky/gano,john.htm