Hiram Abiff Boaz

Hiram Abiff Boaz was born in Murray, Kentucky, on December 18, 1866.[1][2] He graduated from the Sam Houston Normal Institute in 1887, and Southwestern University, from which he received a B.S. in 1893 and an M.A. in 1894.[1][2] In 1894, he married Carrie Browne, daughter of a Methodist preacher. They met while both were attending Sam Houston Normal School; the couple later had three daughters. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.[2] He became a Methodist pastor and served in Fort Worth, Abilene, and Dublin.[1][2] From 1902 to 1911, he served as the President of Polytechnic College.[1][2] In 1911, he was the Vice-President of Southern Methodist University for a brief period of time, and returned to Polytechnic College for five more years.[1][2] From 1918 to 1920, he served as the Secretary of the Methodist Board of Church Extension in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] From 1920 to 1922, he served as the second President of Southern Methodist University.[1] In 1922, he became a Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.[1] He served in the Far East, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.[1] He retired in 1938, and became a trustee of Southern Methodist University and Southwestern University.[1] Boaz was a Freemason, and later affiliated his masonic membership to Hillcrest Lodge, which at that time was located on Hillcrest Avenue across the street from SMU.[3]

• Fundamentals of Success: Or, Making the Most of Life (1923)
• The Essentials of an Effective Ministry (1937)
• Eighty-four Golden Years (1951)

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church