On Nov. 10, 1867, he was licensed and in 1869, ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry, by the A. M. E. church of Texas. After 41 years of faithful service in that church, which included a term as presiding elder, in 1908 he located within the Presbytery of Kiamichi, Okla., and, becoming a member of it, was placed in charge of the Presbyterian church at Shawneetown. Bethany and Pleasant Hill have since been added to his field. He has made a good record and is still doing splendid work at 73.
OAK HILL PIONEERS
| Henry Crittenden, | 1830-1894. |
| Teena Crittenden | 1831-1898. |
| John Ross Shoals | 1849-1885. |
| Hattie Crittenden Shoals, | 1850-1909. |
Henry Crittenden and Teena Crittenden his wife, John Ross Shoals, his son-in-law and Hattie C. Shoals, his wife, all of whom were buried in the Crittenden Burying Ground near the old Crittenden pioneer home east of Valliant, were four of the six original members of the Oak Hill church in 1869.
During the last years of the slavery period, they lived in the neighborhood of Doaksville, and there enjoyed the occasional privilege of attending Sabbath afternoon meetings for the colored people, in the Choctaw Presbyterian church. These meetings were at first conducted, by Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury and Mrs. Charles Stewart, wife of the storekeeper, and later by Parson Stewart. The instruction, given by the parson, consisted principally in reading selections from the Bible and shorter catechism. The rest of the time was spent in singing familiar hymns and giving testimonies. They became Presbyterians and formed a part of Parson Stewart's first congregation at that place.
When they were accorded their freedom about the year 1865, they chose their permanent location in the Oak Hill neighborhood, about fifteen miles eastward. Parson Stewart followed them, and began to hold occasional services at the home of Henry Crittenden. He became the first elder of the Oak Hill church, when it was organized in 1869, and during the remaining 25 years of his life rendered a zealous and faithful service.
Henry Crittenden enjoyed the reputation of being a "master mechanic." During the slavery period, he was trained as a blacksmith, tinsmith and carpenter, and later acquired the art of repairing jewelry. Soon after he located on the Crittenden land, he built a shop. His intelligence and skill as a workman enabled him to attract customers from long distances. He was industrious and economical, and accumulated savings more rapidly than any of his neighbors.
He was a firm believer in the Bible and a regular attendant at church. He encouraged the establishment of the Oak Hill Sunday school, of which J. Ross Shoals, his son-in-law in 1875, became the first teacher. He furnished most of the materials for the first frame school house in the Oak Hill district in 1878, and in 1887, when it was used in the erection of a larger building near the "Old Log House" and since known as Oak Hill Academy, he covered the deficit on the building estimated at $100.00.
HENRY CRITTENDEN