Jeremy Counseller, Dean of the Baylor Law School, to be speaker at annual fall meeting of T. Whitfield Davidson Foundation
Jeremy Counseller, Dean of the Baylor Law School, will be the speaker at the annual fall meeting of the T. Whitfield Davidson Foundation held at the Josephine Davidson Memorial Chapel in the piney woods near Harleton, a part of one of the most unique events in Harrison County. This event begins at 11a.m. on Saturday, September 21st, 2024, and following Dean Counseller’s appearance, all those in attendance are invited to remain and enjoy a complimentary catered lunch on the chapel grounds.
Dean Jeremy Counseller is a native of Humble, Texas. In addition to being Dean of the Baylor Law School, he is a tenured professor of law holding the Abner V. McCall Chair of Evidence at Baylor Law School. Dean Counseller earned his BA degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, subsequently earning an MBA degree from the Baylor School of Business and his Juris Doctor degree from Baylor Law School, where he graduated with honors in 2000. After law school, he served a law clerk to Judge Reynaldo G. Garza on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He then joined the firm of Bracewell & Patterson in Houston. From there he transitioned to the faculty of Baylor Law School where he has taught for the past 23 years. He has twice been honored by Baylor University as an Outstanding Teacher. Dean Counseller and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Waco and they are the proud parents of three children: Jack a second-year medical student; Brett an undergraduate (junior) at Baylor University, and Kate a 11th grade high school student. Jeremy Counseller is a man whose speaking and leadership skills will be both inviting and compelling. The public is urged to attend.
Situated on a country road between Harleton and Gilmer, the Josephine Davidson Memorial Chapel was constructed to honor the mother 
of one of Harrison County’s most outstanding jurists and political figures. Judge T. Whitfield Davidson was self-educated having “read the law” he then passed the Texas Bar Exam. He served as City Attorney in Marshall, Texas State Senator, Lt. Governor and ran for Governor of Texas in 1924 on a platform attacking the Ku Klux Klan which was then attempting to take over many state offices. Though he failed to win the governor’s chair, he was appointed United States District Judge by F.D.R. and continued his battle against vigilante justice until he was in his 90s.
Childless, in 1955 Davidson decided to use his resources to honor his mother by building a stone chapel in her name on the farm where he was born. He intended it to last forever, he said, and was buried there in 1974, two years shy of his 100th birthday.
When he established the Davidson Foundation, he gave its Trustees two
Tasks: 1. maintaining the chapel and 2. holding two public gatherings each year. One gathering was to be in the fall (third Saturday in September) where someone “learned in the Constitution and laws of the land” would speak and one in the spring (third Saturday in May) for a celebration of “the faith of our fathers.”
Reflecting, perhaps, on his own memories of arduous trips to town from the country, he made sure the guests at each gathering would be fed before they left the grounds.
To reach the chapel from Marshall, travel north on S.H. 154 to Harleton, from there turn onto FM 450 North and follow it northward (toward Ore City) until it meets the Davidson Road (a TxDOT sign marks the turn) then turn left from FM 450 onto Davidson Road and follow it until it intersects the entrance to the Chapel property, which is marked with a sign for the entrance. From Gilmer take S.H. 154 south to Harleton and follow the same directions. From Longview, take Alpine Road (FM 2208) north to SH 154 at Harleton and then follow the same instructions.
The Foundation’s Trustees invite the public to enjoy this unique East Texas tradition in one of our area’s most picturesque settings.