Kellie Alford of Denham Springs, La., wrote in January to share some poetry written by her great-great grandfather, C.F. Pearce.
Claude Fountain  Pearce, one of 10 children, was born in 1872 in Lizton, Ind. As a boy, he traveled by covered wagon with his family to homestead in Coffey County, Kan. The family was dedicated to Biblical study and promoting the Gospel story. Three of the sons became ministers, and two of the daughters married ministers.

C.F. married Orrie Anna Hart in 1892 and they had four surviving children.

In 1911, the State Board of Missions for the Christian Church asked the now-Reverend Pearce, age 41 and a minister in Graham, to go to Port Arthur and lead in the construction of a church building. The Pearce Quartet — comprising Mrs. Pearce and their three daughters — accompanied Rev. Pearce to locations where he preached. They always drew a crowd. And notably, the quartet performed at the laying of the cornerstone at TCU in 1911.

In subsequent years, the Pearce family lived in Enid, Okla., Alamogordo, N.M., Bryan, Ohio, and Sheridan, Ark. In 1951 Rev. Pearce moved Hillsboro to be near family. There he was named Minister Emeritus of Central Christian Church. Several years later he moved to Fort Worth, where at 94 he became a member of the Fort Worth Ministerial Alliance. He continued to write poetry until his death at age 95 in 1967.
We know of several family members who  became Frogs: Roy E. Curtis, who married Pearce’s daughter Ethel, was the director of the Living Endowment program in 1947; grandson William Claude Pearce ’48 (BDiv ’51), and his wife Margarett Simmons ’62; and grandson Howard L. Pearce ’52.

Information from website “The Portal to Texas History,” in the book Ministers of the First Christian Church, Port Arthur, Texas. Find it at texashistory.unt.edu.