On October 7, 1841, at a meeting in Fayette County, Union Baptist Association Members organized the Texas Baptist Educational Society to coordinate various educational programs. R.E.B. Baylor (1791-1873), the first society president, and William M. Tryon (1809-1847) secured a charter in 1845 for the formation of Baylor College at Independence. The female branch, now called the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, moved to Belton in 1886. Active in student assistance programs, the society was consolidated in 1886 with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. (1980)