Reuben Gaylord
| Reuben Gaylord | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 28, 1812 Norfolk, Connecticut |
| Died | January 10, 1880 Fontanelle, Nebraska |
| Resting place | Prospect Hill Cemetery |
| Residence | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Minister |
| Employer | Congregationalist Church |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Burton; Mary N. Welles |
| Children | Sarah Abia Gaylord By the second marriage Ralph Emerson Gaylord Georgia B. Gaylord Joseph Deming Gaylord Mary Louisa Gaylord |
Reuben Gaylord (April 28, 1812 – January 10, 1880) was the recognized leader of the missionary pioneers in the Nebraska Territory, and has been called the "father of Congregationalism in Nebraska." Writing in memory of Gaylord in the early 1900s, fellow Omaha pioneer George L. Miller said, "It was Reuben Gaylord, the brave Christian soldier who brought Sunday into Omaha and the Trans-Missouri country.
Born in Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Reuben Curtis Gaylord was one of eight children of Reuben Gaylord and Mary Curtis who were of Congregational heritage. Gaylord committed himself to Christianity when he was fourteen years old. He attended Yale University in 1830 and graduated in 1834, when delivered the graduating oration. After he graduated Gaylord worked at the Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. There he taught and studied theology with Dr. Edward Beecher, president of the college and a son of Dr. Lyman Beecher, Yale 1797. In 1837 he returned to Yale Theological Seminary and graduated in 1838.
Gaylord belonged to a band of pioneer ministers well known in the history of Congregationalism who came west after they graduated from the Yale Divinity School in 1838 to established churches in Iowa. He was ordained at Plymouth, Connecticut in August 1839. His first daughter was born on October 13, 1839. His 23-year-old wife died on September 23, 1840.
Soon after graduation Gaylord was commissioned by the American Home Missionary Society of Yale College to work in Henry County, Iowa. He was the second Congregational minister in that state, preaching at the Mount Pleasant and Danville, Iowa churches, and eventually became the permanent minister at the Danville Congregational Church. While there he became a founding member of the board of trustees of Iowa College at Grinell, now known as Grinnell College.
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