0.13 3.3 the administration of fannie b. davis, 1880-95  (Page 2/6)

Her ability and desire to travel, both within and outside Texas, gave her the dimensions of a denominational worker as well as a "church worker." She attended SBC meetings all over the South, the American Centennial in Philadelphia in 1876, and the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. The latter two trips, indicative of the extent of her travels even as an older woman, were proudly related by her granddaughters, who remembered souvenirs she bought. Probably the fact that she was a mature married woman lent an aura of respectability to her journeys around the state on behalf of women's work, although even with her capital of good will, she met resistance—at times, "strenuous opposition.” BS, December 14, 1911, p. 15.

During Fannie Davis's tenure as president of WMU and BWMW, particularly the first decade, the confederation remained weak and its organization primitive, but it kept alive the ideal of Baptist women working in concert and focused some attention on the financial contributions of women to denominational causes. Groups of women continued to form in a growing number of churches, but they adopted a variety of names and projects and were slow to affiliate with WMU, probably attributable more to lack of communication and precedent than to principled resistance. "Anne Luther Societies" proliferated after Miss Luther's appointment to the mission field and pledged to supply her annual support of $600. Anne Breaker Court, member of such a society in Houston, recalled their holding ice cream parties and oyster suppers and piecing a quilt, charging ten cents for each name embroidered on a square, to make up their $5 monthly share of that amount. Mrs. W. J. J. Smith, p. 156. The popularity of Anne Luther's cause was probably more a result of her association with Baylor College than of the formation of WMU. The former institution's influence was much greater than the latter during the 1880s. Other areas of mission focus were Indians (to a limited degree) and Mexicans. In 1883 the WMU report indicates that $600 was given to build a chapel in San Antonio, $2000 to build a church in Laredo, and over $500 to support two women who worked among women and children in Mexico. Ibid., p. 40. But extending into the 1890s women's groups generally lacked a missionary focus and gave both their money and attention to local efforts. The BWMW annual report for 1888 makes that fact quite explicit: $6,634 of the $9,700 reported went for "local church work." Annual Report of the BWMW of Texas, 1388, p. 40. Specifically, that included such items as retiring a church debt, painting the building, buying new lamps, paying a sexton, and contributing to charitable causes.

During this period the reported contributions of the Texas Baptist women's organization rose from $35 in 1880 to over $6,000 in 1883, $7,000 in 1884, and $9,700 in 1888. These high figures reflected the diligence of Fannie Davis or a competent corresponding secretary and the selection of a central location for the annual meeting; in contrast, there are no records of cash contributions in 1885 or 1886 when Mrs. Davis was reportedly in Mexico. Mrs. W. J. J. Smith, p. 182. These figures are also evidence of the fact that reporting methods were poor, that the office of corresponding secretary was undefined and undeveloped, and that Mrs. Davis personally held the organization together. As an energetic self-starter attempting to lead a loosely formed alliance of often-timid members, she tended to fill every role in matriarchal style. She carried on handwritten correspondence with participating societies, canvassed the state on behalf of particular causes, and served as liaison with missionaries and with the SBC, as well as convening and presiding over annual meetings. Her authoritative style was encouraged by the fact that the women initially attracted to the movement, including Anne Luther and others who formed the first state mission committee, were of her daughter's generation rather than her own. As her successor expressed it, "[t]he president, Mrs. Davis, loved the work like a mother loves her child. She appeared to feel the whole burden was on her." Ibid., p. 138, quoting Mrs. W. L. Williams.