By Mike Judd
R. C. Buckner (1833 – 1919)
ROBERT COOKE BUCKNER “Father” Buckner was born January 3, 1833 in Madisonville, Tennessee to Rev. Daniel Buckner and Mary Polly Hampton Buckner, the youngest son and the fifth of six children. Oldest brother Henry Frieland Buckner (1818-1882) was also born in Tennessee and served as a career missionary to the Creek tribe in Oklahoma where he founded the Murrow Orphan’s Home. Middle brother, Bennett Burrow Buckner (1826-1848), joined the Army in 1847 and died in Mexico City the following year while serving during the Mexican American War. R. C. Buckner attended seminary in Tennessee and college in Kentucky and was ordained as a Baptist minister at only 17.
Buckner pastored several Kentucky churches before marrying Vienna Phillips Long in 1854. While shepherding the First Baptist Church in Paris, Texas, Buckner founded a religious newspaper, the Religious Messenger, which later became the Texas Baptist and operated the publication until 1883.
In 1875, Buckner relocated to Dallas where his focus was establishing an orphanage under the sponsorship of Texas Baptists in 1879. This became the Buckner Orphan’s Home six miles east of Dallas which he operated until his death in 1919. Father Buckner was succeeded by 3 generations of his descendants and the organization is today known as Buckner International. Regarding the nickname “Father Buckner,” Reverend Buckner did not recall when it began, but it happened naturally during his service at the children’s home.
Historical Marker Text
Outstanding Baptist Minister. Born in Tennessee, he moved to Texas 1859, and became pastor of this congregation in 1861.
A new church building was erected here, and through his guidance, the congregation grew. First Baptist “Ladies Aid” group in Texas was founded here, 1861.
In 1873, Dr. Buckner resigned to edit the publication “Religious Messenger.” In 1877, he led in founding a Baptist orphans home. Under a large, shady oak, he gave the first dollar for the Dallas home, which, on the base he laid, has grown today into the well-known Buckner “Benevolences.”
Erected 1968 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 8185.)
Location: Paris, Lamar County, Texas at the intersection of South Church Street and East Kaufman Street.
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