DR.
R.
Thomas
Webb,
Minister,
Williams
Memorial
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
South,
authorized
the
first
Father's
Day
Service
in
America,
at
Fairmont,
West
Virginia
on
July
5,
1908.
2
Corinthians
5:17:
The
love
of
Christ
controls
us,
because
we
are
convinced
that
one
has
died
for
all;
therefore,
all
have
died.
And
he
died
for
all
that
those
who
live
might
live
no
longer
for
themselves
but
for
him
who
for
their
sake
died
and
was
raised.
This
was
Dr.
Webb’s
favorite
passage.
Dr.
Robert
Thomas
Webb
was
the
pastor
at
Williams
Memorial
Methodist
Church
South
on
two
occasions:
1905-1908
and
1915-1918.
He
agreed
to
the
first
Father’s
Day
Service
on
the
request
of
one
of
his
parishioners,
Mrs.
Grace
Golden
Clayton
on
July
5,
1908.
Dr.
Webb
was
born
in
Louisburg,
North
Carolina
on
August
30,
1866.
He
attended
Randolph
Macon
College
in
1890
at
the
age
of
24.
He
then
attended
Vanderbilt
Seminary
where
he
graduated
in
1902.
He
married
his
childhood
sweetheart,
Mary
Adelaine
Robertson
of
Virginia
in
1898.
They
had
three
wonderful
boys,
but
they
all
died
young.
Their
first
son
Robert
died
in
infancy.
Twins
came
next,
but
one
of
them,
Ruffner,
also
died
in
infancy.
The
other
twin
Vernon
died
in
his
teens
-
from
smallpox.
After
graduation,
he
was
appointed
to
teach
at
the
Barboursville
Seminary
of
Morris
Harvey
College.
He
taught
there
in
1904
and
1905
and
made
a
salary
of
$675.00.
He
attended
church
there
where
Rev.
Fletcher
Golden
had
pastored
some
thirty-five
years
before.
When
Dr.
Webb
came
to
Fairmont
in
1905,
one
of
his
members
was
Grace
Golden
Clayton,
daughter
of
Reverend
Fletcher
Golden.
He
would
serve
three
years
at
the
Williams
Memorial
Church.
At
the
same
time,
he
was
appointed
President
of
the
Conference
Board
of
Education
and
Chairman
of
the
Morris
Harvey
College
Board
of
Trustees.
The
great
love
he
had
for
this
church
was
reflected
in
him
being
appointed
a
second
time
in
1917.
He
led
the
way
for
the
building
of
the
present
church
at
301
Fairmont
Avenue.
When
the
tragedy
of
Monogah
broke
on
December
6,
1907,
there
was
a
bond
between
the
Webb
and
Clayton
family
that
led
to
the
formation
of
the
first
Father’s
Day
Service.
First,
both
had
lost
children
in
infancy;
the
Clayton's
had
already
lost
one
child
and
would
lose
another
two
years
later.
And
many
children
had
likewise
been
killed
in
the
Monogah
Mine
Explosion.
Second,
both
had
a
compassion
for
the
situation.
Dr.
Webb
was
a
leading
supporter
among
Fairmont
area
ministers
collecting
money
for
the
families.
The
picture
on
the
left
is
an
appeal
letter
signed
by
Dr.
Webb
and
other
ministers
in
the
Monogah
and
Fairmont
area
on
January
2,
1908
for
the
miners’
families.
And
Mrs.
Clayton
would
be
quoted
in
the
September
23,
1939
newspaper
by
historian
and
author,
Glenn
Lough,
as
saying,
“It
was
partially
the
explosion
that
it
would
be
a
blessed
thing
if
fathers,
not
only
mothers,
were
given
a
day
for
remembering,
and
honoring,
that
set
me
to
think
how
important
and
loved
most
fathers
are.
All
those
lonely
children
and
those
heart-broken
wives
and
mothers,
made
orphans
and
widows
in
a
matter
of
a
few
minutes.
Oh,
how
sad
and
frightening
to
have
no
father,
no
husband,
to
turn
to
at
such
an
awful
time.”
And
third,
a
distinguished
church
member
was
Smith
Hood,
a
Sunday
School
teacher,
and
manager
of
the
Fairmont
and
Clarksburg
Electric
Railroad
Company.
Its
parent
owner,
Consolidation
Coal
Company,
was
so
impressed
with
him
that
he
was
asked
to
settle
all
the
claims
for
over
300
family
members,
and
that
lasted
5
months.
As
he
worked
first
hand
with
the
families
that
must
have
made
an
impression
on
people
who
knew
him
at
Williams
Memorial
Church.
And
so,
the
day
was
observed
on
July
5,
1908.
Ward
Downs,
a
prominent
member
of
the
church,
wrote
this
letter
to
then
State
Congressman
Arch
Moore
on
August
10,
1972
when
Congress
was
deciding
on
a
date
to
nationalize
Father’s
Day.
Congressman
Moore
never
responded.
"It
has
recently
come
to
my
attention
of
a
movement
establishing
a
Father’s
Day
by
an
act
of
Congress
to
be
observed
the
same
as
Mother’s
Day.
It
was
my
privilege
to
have
attended
the
first
Father’s
Day
Service
July
5,
1908,
at
the
Williams
Memorial
M.
E.
Church,
South,
now
the
Central
United
Methodist
Church,
Fairmont,
WV.
The
sermon
was
preached
by
Dr.
R.
T.
Webb
at
the
request
of
Mrs.
Charles
Clayton,
a
member
of
that
congregation,
and
daughter
of
a
Methodist
minister.
I
recall
the
occasion
very
distinctly
as
the
pulpit
was
decorated
by
having
ripened
sheaves
of
wheat
placed
about
it.
Many
favorable
comments
by
the
individuals
and
the
press
were
made
concerning
the
service
at
that
time.
Any
assistance
you
can
give
this
movement
will
be
very
much
appreciated
by
me
and
all
the
Methodists
in
this
part
of
the
country.”
There
were
three
reasons
why
Fairmont
was
never
considered
as
the
birthplace
for
Father’s
Day.
First,
July
4,
1908
was
the
largest
celebration
in
Fairmont
history.
Over
12,000
people
saw
dare
devil
acts,
including
a
man
roll
atop
a
ball
to
the
top
of
the
adjacent
Bank
Building
on
a
spiral
stairway.
There
was
also
a
hot
air
balloon
show,
and
a
day
of
games
and
eats
that
made
headlines
over
the
next
few
days.
Second,
on
Saturday
evening,
July
4,
Miss
Lucy
Billingslea,
only
16
years
old,
died
of
Typhoid
Fever
after
being
ill
for
3
weeks.
This
wonderful
adopted
and
only
child
of
Colonel
Morgan
and
Mrs.
Billingslea,
died
at
her
house.
When
people
arrived
on
Sunday
July
5,
they
were
shocked
to
learn
about
the
death
while
thinking
of
the
July
4
celebration.
On
Tuesday,
July
6,
the
newspaper
carried
the
obituary
and
the
sermon
of
the
funeral.
17
carriages
lined
up
in
front
of
the
church.
So
exhausted
was
Dr.
Webb
that
he
took
a
fishing
and
hunting
trip
with
fellow
friends
the
next
day.
Therefore
the
church,
city,
or
county
never
thought
about
promoting
this
event
at
all.
In
fact,
the
church,
for
many
years,
didn’t
even
observe
the
day.
And
third,
Grace
Clayton
was
very
quiet
and
unassuming
person.
She
never
publicly
spoke
about
the
event,
wrote
any
letters
to
family
or
friends,
or,
as
far
as
is
known,
even
discussed
it
with
any
one
else.
Following
his
first
ministry
in
Fairmont
in
1908
he
would
return
to
Charleston
to
First
Church;
then
the
Barboursville
Church
in
1912,
back
to
Fairmont
from
1915-1918
and
St.
Paul’s
in
Parkersburg
until
1920.
Then
he
became
Conference
Secretary
of
Education
and
Teacher
at
Morris
Harvey
and
in
1922
he
became
the
fifth
President
of
Morris
Harvey.
President-elect
Vaughn
resigned
before
starting
due
to
the
financial
difficulty
of
a
$3,500
operating
deficit.
However,
by
the
end
of
the
first
year
Morris
Harvey
had
a
cash
balance
of
$4,400
under
President
Webb.
Frank
Krebs’
book,
Where
There
Is
Faith:
The
Morris
Harvey
Story,
1888-1970,
describes
his
tenure.
In
1925
he
went
to
Clarksburg
but
returned
to
Morris
Harvey
in
1929
until
1931.
He
then
went
to
Pikeville,
Kentucky.
In
both
1926
and
1930
he
was
elected
to
General
Conference.
Dr.
Webb
would
retire
to
Petersburg,
Virginia
and
die
there
in
1939,
the
same
year
much
of
the
branches
of
Methodist
came
together.
This
information
from
a
Sermon
preached
by
Reverend
D.
D.
Meighen,
July
6,
2003,
on
the
Ninety-Fifth
Anniversary
of
the
first
Father's
Day
Service
in
America.
Since
no
relatives
remain,
information
comes
from
newspapers
years
ago,
the
Holston
and
Western
Virginia
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
South
Journals,
and
the
Archives
at
West
Virginia
Wesleyan
College
in
Buckhannon.
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