Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

William Henry Sweet was born on July 14, 1843 in Brown County, Ohio to Benjamin F. and Jane Robinson Sweet. He studied at Goshen Academy, 1865-1866; South West Normal (Lebanon, Ohio), 1866-1867; and Ohio Wesleyan University, A.B. 1872 and A.M. 1875. Chaddock College in Quincy, Illinois granted Sweet an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1885.

In 1875, Rev. Sweet married Rose A. Williams, a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, class of 1871. They raised five children. One son, William Warren Sweet, became a Methodist minister and noted church historian.

After serving in the American Civil War, William Henry Sweet began his career as a school teacher in Nebraska, 1867-1868. From 1872 until 1877 he worked as a mathematics instructor at Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas. In 1873 Sweet also began serving pastoral appointments in the Kansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Merrill in 1875 and Elder by Bishop Simpson in 1877.

Rev. Sweet served as president of Baker University from 1879 to 1886, then as professor of psychology and ethics at Kansas Wesleyan University, 1886-1888. Sweet was appointed Presiding Elder of the Salina District, 1892-1898. He retired from teaching and the ministry in 1915.

Both William Henry Sweet and Rose A. Williams Sweet died in January of 1919. Dr. Sweet’s memoirs, A History of Methodism in Northwest Kansas, were published posthumously in 1920.

William Warren Sweet and Louise M. Neill married in 1906. Their children were W. W. Sweet, Jr., Paul R. Sweet, Richard W. Sweet, Elizabeth Louise Hix, and Esther Neill Lewis. Additional biographical information on William Warren Sweet and his family is presented in the finding aid for Bridwell Library’s William Warren Sweet papers (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00180/smu-00180.html).

Sources:

Cutler, William G., and A. T. Andreas. History of the State of Kansas, Containing a Full Account of Its Growth from an Uninhabited Territory to a Wealthy and Important State. Chicago: A.T. Andreas, 1883.

Harmon, Nolan B., Ed. The Encyclopedia of World Methodism. Nashville: United Methodist Pub. House, 1974. Sweet, William Henry, by Ina Turner Gray.

Price, Carl F. Who's Who in American Methodism. New York: E.B. Treat & Co., 1916.

Joe J. Perkins was born in Brookston, Texas in 1874. He was a successful businessman, operating several mercantile stores, and also invested in coal mining, ranching, and oil development. Lois Craddock Perkins, a native of China Springs, Texas attended Southwestern University from 1908 to 1911. She became a teacher and moved to Wichita Falls in 1913. The two were married in 1918.

The Perkins family’s interest in Southern Methodist University dates back to the school’s founding. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins were among the newly-chartered university’s earliest supporters in 1913. Over the years, their contributions made possible the construction of the Perkins administration building, the Joe Perkins Gymnasium, and enlarged resources for the university libraries. A series of generous donations led to the construction of new School of Theology facilities and an enhanced endowment. In honor of their support of SMU, the Board of Trustees renamed the School as the Perkins School of Theology.

Joe Perkins served on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, as well as the SMU Board of Trustees (on which he sat for over thirty years). He was inducted into the Methodist Hall of Fame for his philanthropy, which extended to various other Methodist causes in Texas, including Dallas Methodist Hospital, the Waco Methodist Home, and the North Texas Conference Pension Fund. He died in 1960 and was buried in Wichita Falls.

Perkins School of Theology became the first school within SMU to admit black students in the early 1950s, due in no small part to Lois Perkins’s advocacy. Mrs. Perkins’ generosity also extended to her alma mater, Southwestern University. She donated money for a new university chapel named in her honor, which was dedicated in 1950. She also served on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, and was elected to the Methodist Hall of Fame. In 1970, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Southwestern University in recognition of her many philanthropic pursuits. Lois Perkins died on November 30, 1983, and was buried in Wichita Falls.

Their daughter, Elizabeth Perkins Prothro, was born in Dallas, Texas on September 7, 1919. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia before coming to SMU, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939. She married Charles Nelson Prothro, a Wichita Falls oilman, in 1938. The couple had three sons, Joe, Mark, and Charles Vincent Prothro, and a daughter, Kay Prothro Yeager.

Charles and Elizabeth Prothro continued the philanthropic work of her parents. Together, they made several contributions to Southwestern University. Elizabeth Prothro sat on the Board of Regents at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. She also gave her time to Sweet Briar College, her alma mater, as well as to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the University of Texas, and religious and civic organizations in Wichita Falls.

At SMU, Elizabeth Prothro not only made financial contributions to the improvement of the Perkins School of Theology, but also served as a member of several university groups and governing bodies. A donation totaling $7 million made by Mr. and Mrs. Prothro in 1997 provided for theology scholarships and the renovation of Perkins Chapel. In 2009, SMU completed construction of the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall. The new facility, as part of a broader building program for the School, was made possible with an initial $6 million gift from the Perkins-Prothro Foundation.

Mrs. Prothro, a collector of rare Bibles since 1963, donated her collection to Bridwell Library in 1996. The collection consists of nearly five hundred volumes, in almost one hundred languages, spanning eight centuries.

Like her parents, Elizabeth Prothro was recognized for the many educational enhancements she fostered. Among the awards she received were the Southwestern University Medal in 2006, the SMU Mustang Award (which was also awarded to Mr. Prothro), two honorary doctorates (Southwestern and SMU), and the Medallion of Merit from the Texas Methodist Foundation in 2004.

Charles Prothro died in 2001. Elizabeth Perkins Prothro died in Wichita Falls on May 23, 2009.

Sources:

Elizabeth Perkins Prothro. Times Record News, May 25, 2009: http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/may/25/elizabeth-perkins-prothro/. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall and Renovated Buildings Dedicated. SMU News & Communications, September 11, 2009: http://www.smu.edu/News/2009/prothro-dedication-11sept2009.aspx#video. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Lois Perkins Chapel. Southwestern University Virtual Tour: http://www.southwestern.edu/visit/virtual/chapel.php. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Longtime Benefactor Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Dies. SMU News & Communications, May 23, 2009: http://www.smu.edu/News/2008/elizabeth-prothro-23may2009.aspx. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Longtime Southwestern Supporter Dies. Southwestern University News, June 1, 2009: http://www.southwestern.edu/newsroom/story.php?id=1249. Accessed June 14, 2011.

McCann, Ian. Elizabeth Perkins Prothro: Philanthropist, Dedicated Supporter of SMU. Dallas Morning News, August 15, 2009: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/64565962.html. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Perkins School of Theology records finding aid. Southern Methodist University DeGolyer Library: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00117/smu-00117.html. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Vernon, Walter N. Joe J. Perkins, in Handbook of Texas Online: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpe35. Accessed June 14, 2011.

Vernon, Walter N. Lois Craddock Perkins, in Handbook of Texas Online: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpe67. Accessed June 14, 2011.