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Life of the First
Pastor Rev. Robert
McDowall and His Great Work It is proposed to
mark the One Hundredth Anniversary by Holding a Presbyterian Celebration
During the Summer – A Memorial Church Erected in honor of the Earnest and Faithful
Minister – An Interesting Biography of His Life. Thomas
W. Casey, Napanee This may be very appropriately celebrated
as the centenary year of the Presbyterian church in this section of Canada.
It was a hundred years ago, in 1798, that the Rev. Robert McDowall, a young
ordained Presbyterian minister, first reached this province as a missionary.
He planted the work then which under God has continued to grow ever since. He
organized the first Presbyterian congregations and built the first churches
in central Upper Canada, spending over forty years as an active and zealous
gospel minister, and all that was mortal of that well-known pioneer minister
lies buried in the humble churchyard in connection with the Sandhurst
Presbyterian church in South Fredericksburgh, a few miles west of the village
of Bath, on the pleasant shores of the Bay of Quinte. REV. ROBERT McDOWALL According to Prof. Gregg’s history of the
Presbyterian church in Canada, the sending of Rev. Robert McDowall was the
systematic effort to send Presbyterian ministers to Upper Canada. He was born
in Saratoga county,
New York state, July 25th, 1768; was educated at Williams’
College, Schenectady, New York and ordained a minister of the Reformed Dutch
church at Albany. “In the year 1798 the classes or presbytery of Albany sent
him to labor as a missionary in the province. He preached and organized
congregations in different places between Elizabethtown (now Brockville) and
York (now Toronto). In 1800 he accepted a call from the congregations of
Adolphustown, Ernesttown and Fredericksburgh on the Bay of Quinte and
continued to labor until his death and where his memory is still cherished as
that of an able, faithful and laborious minister of the gospel. For several
years after his settlement he was the only Presbyterian minister in the
central part of Upper Canada and as at that time Methodist ministers were not
permitted to celebrate marriages, he was frequently called upon to unite in
marriage members of Protestant churches who did not belong to the Church of
England. It is estimated that 1,100 marriages were celebrated by him previous
to 1836. There is also a similar interesting sketch of the life and labors of
this devoted pioneer in “The Scot In British North America,” a work of much interest
issued some years ago. R.J. McDowall, Princess Street, Kingston, has donated
to the library of Queen’s university an old and valuable record of the
baptisms and marriages celebrated by his grandfather. THE FIRST MINISTER Mr. McDowall was not the first
Presbyterian minister in this province, though his labors extended over a
longer time and were much more extensive than any of the others and the
results of his work appear to have been more permanent. Rev. John Bethune
appears to have been the first. He was an ordained minister of the Church of
Scotland and was chaplain of a regiment of the loyal militia in the king’s
forces in North Carolina during the American revolutionary war. He was
captured by the Americans, made prisoner and suffered much privation and
hardship. When released at the close of the war he made his way to Montreal
in 1786 in company with other U.E. Loyalists. He was appointed chaplain of
the 84th regiment, and the same year organized a Presbyterian
congregation in Montreal – probably the first of the kind in Canada. A year
or two after he moved to Glengarry county, Upper Canada, which was settled
largely by U.E. Loyalists and mostly Scotch Presbyterians. There he labored
as pastor of a congregation at Williamstown, also at Cornwall and other
surrounding places. After twenty-eight years of such faithful services he
died and was buried in the historic old Presbyterian churchyard at
Williamstown, one of the oldest and best known of its kind in this province.
It is somewhat singular that his two sons both “took orders” in the church of
England and were considered of the “high” class. They were the late bishop
Bethune, of Toronto, the immediate successor of bishop Strachan and
archdeacon Bethune, Montreal. According to Prof. Gregg, “at the time of the
separations of Lower and Upper Canada in 1791, Rev. John Bethune was the only
Presbyterian Minster settled in Upper Canada.” OTHER PIONEERS The next to come to this province appears
to have been the Rev. Jabez Collver,
a native of New Jersey, who it is said came at the solicitation of governor
J. Graves Simcoe, the first governor of this province, who was living at
Newark (now Niagara) at that time the capital of the province. Mr. Collver came in 1793 and settled in the county of
Norfolk, where governor Simcoe obtained for him a grant of a thousand acres
of land. He organized a congregation and continued to preach until the time
of his death, which occurred in 1818. Rev. Robert Dunn was the third. He came
in 1794 and his labors were confined to the immediate vicinity of Niagara. He
retired from the ministry two years later and was among those drowned with
the passengers and crew of the sailing vessel Speedy in lake Ontario. Several
court officials lost their lives at the same time. Rev. Daniel W. Eastman
appears to have been Mr. Dunn’s successor, coming in 1801 and preaching for
many years in the Niagara district until near the time of his death in 1865.
“Like McDowall he was authorized to celebrate marriages and is said to have
married 3,000 couples.” It will be seen he did not come to Canada until after
Mr. McDowall. Rev. John Ludwig Broeffle, of the
Dutch Reformed Church came to this province in 1795 and labored as a
missionary among the U.E. Loyalist settlers in Stormont and Dundas counties,
principally north of Prescott and Morrisburg. These
were mostly Germans and he appears to have confined his labors to them,
preaching to them in their own language. MR. McDOWALL’S
LABORS It will be seen from the foregoing sketch
that there was no Presbyterian missionary in the province between Prescott
and Niagara at the time Mr. McDowall was sent. According to Dr. Canniff’s
history of the U.E. Loyalists he probably came at the desire of Major
VanAlstine, the leader of the Adolphustown U.E. Loyalists, who was a Dutch
Presbyterian. The Pruyn family who lived on the bay
shore in Fredericksburgh, were also descended from a prominent Dutch
Presbyterian family about Kinderhook, on the Hudson river below Albany.
Others of the then pioneers were no doubt similarly descended. To the end of
his active days Mr. McDowall was constantly finding out, visiting and
preaching to those who were Presbyterians before they came to Canada. An aged
resident in the vicinity of Sandhurst informs the writer that at one time nearly
all the residents of that locality were Presbyterians. MINISTERIAL LABORS The extent of Mr. McDowall’s ministerial
labors for years would seem all but incredible to men of today. Kingston was
regularly visited, so was nearly every section of Lennox and Addington,
Prince Edward and the South portions of Hastings county. A single such round
would involve a couple of hundred miles travel and there were no easy methods
of travel in those days. On horseback was the easiest and most luxurious
method. In many sections the trips were made on foot. Many of the rivers had
to be swam or forded. All kinds of weather had to be faced; all kinds of
shelter, or even no shelter at all, had to be accepted; all kinds of food and
sometimes a very scanty supply at least, had to be thankfully received. Yet
all these and many other discouragements were braved, for forty years.
Sometimes his trips were extended as far east as Brockville and west to the
head of the lake, where the city of Hamilton now stands. Those were the
“heroic saddle bag days” of which some write about yet but few
experience. He appears to have been instrumental in having churches
built at Sandhurst, McIntyre’s, back of Bath, Wilton and possibly some other
parts of the county, at Demorestville, the “Fifth Town,” the Carrying Place
and some other sections of Prince Edward and Hastings county. The foundations
were thus laid for much of the successful work in connection with the
Presbyterian church ever since. Scarcely a family of the denomination within fifty
miles that he did not diligently seek out. To all such his efforts were to be
a spiritual father. The sick were visited, the dead buried, the wanderers
brought back, the children baptised and catechised, the young people married
and the old people comforted in their old age. It seems a pity that more
detailed reports have not been kept of the life and labors of such a Canadian
pioneer minister. It ought to serve as an inspiration and example to the
younger men. HIS FAMILY RELATIONS Mr. McDowall was married to Miss Hannah
Washburn, a member of one of the leading pioneer families on the bay. Her
father, Ebenezer Washburn, was an officer in the Loyal Rangers during the
revolution and came to Canada with the other refugees. He is said to have
been the government storekeeper for the provisions supplied to the settlers
by the British government during the first two years they were here. He lived
in Fredericksburgh, a few miles west of Bath. After marriage he secured a
farm of 400 acres a couple of miles west of where the Sandhurst church now
stands and there they lived and died. They reared quite a large family, all
of whom are now dead. There was but one daughter, Sarah, who married a James
Carpenter, who lived and died at Demorestville. She died a couple of years
ago, the last of the family. The sons were John, Ebenezer, James, Daniel and
Robert. John, the oldest died somewhere in New York state and probably was
never married. Ebenezer was, we believe, a minister and lived and died in the
states. In Dr. Canniff’s history it is said that “one of the sons removed to
New York and there established a Magdalene asylum.” That was probably Ebenezer. James was for
years a well-known business man in Kingston, a furrier and was well known to
many readers of the “Whig.” His son is now a well known music dealer here.
Daniel was in the mercantile business in Demorestville, Prince Edward County,
where he died a young man, leaving no family. Robert lived for many years on
the old homestead and was well known. He suffered business reverses and
finally died in Montreal. Nearly all the family lie
buried in the churchyard at Sandhurst, near their birthplace. SOME PECULARITIES Mr.
McDowall was a man of a good deal of marked individuality and some of the
oldest settlers have yet some pleasant remembrances of these. Mrs. Conrad
Sills, now nearing her eightieth year, was born and always lived in the
immediate vicinity and has an excellent remembrance of the whole family. Her
youngest son was the last child he baptised. She remembers him as being so
thoroughly engrossed in his many mission duties and journeys as to know
little of business affairs at home. These were attended to by the family.
Coming home once he noticed a lot of strange cattle in his pasture fields and
turned them out and drove them off. Some one asked
him why he was doing that and he said he did not want them around there.
“Why, they are your own cattle!” was the response and sure enough it turned
out so. He was a strong Calvinist in creed and doctrinal controversies were
much indulged in those days. He was in the habit of regularly crossing a
ferry from High Shore in Prince Edward and Adolphustown. The ferryman, Owen Wessels, was a strong Methodist and many a warm
controversy they had in the ferryboat. Once, in such an argument, Mr.
McDowall urged that everything we do was pre-ordained. “I fully believe it
was the Lord’s fore-ordination you should take me across to that shore
today,” said the minister. “Well, we’ll see about that,” replied the ferryman
and he suddenly turned his boat round and pulled back to their starting
place. However, after much coaxing and pleading, he relented and took his
passenger where he wanted to go. Doubtless the arguer saw in all this nothing, in the long run to upset his own
theories, Rev. G.F. Playter, in his history of Methodism in Canada, relates
that in the year 1800 Mr. McDowall was preaching one day in the court house
in Adolphustown and challenged to argue the point of unconditional election
with any who disbelieved. Rufus Coate was the
Methodist preacher on the circuit at that time, and he was urged to accept
the challenge. The challenge was finally accepted. Playter says” “The time
set and the place chosen. As both ministers were well known and highly
respected, great interest was felt. On the appointed day Presbyterians,
Baptists and other Calvinists came from all parts of the Bay of Quinte
country, even from Thurlow and Sidney. The Methodists gathered from the same
region. The place of meeting was in Ernesttown (at the McIntyre’s Corners
church), about three miles from Bath, at a place where four roads met. The
assemblage was so large that the church could not contain the people. So the
discussion was held outside. First, the Presbyterian minister mounting a
wagon, occupied half the day. Then the Methodist began; he continued about
two hours when the Presbyterian party, headed by their minister, left the
ground. But Coate continued his discourse until
evening.” Of course the ending was as in most such controversies, that each
party was more firmly convinced than before. A MEMORIAL CHURCH Just when the Presbyterian church at
Sandhurst was erected by Mr. McDowall is not now known. About ten years ago
it fell into decay a good deal and it was proposed to enlarge and renovate it
and make it a memorial church in memory of the pioneer preacher. It was
remodelled and much improved, the Rev. Mr. Cumberland, Amherst Island, taking
a very active part in the work. It is now a neat and comfortable country
church. The writer visited it a few days ago. On the front of the tower is a
neat marble tablet with the inscription: McDowall Memorial. 1798-1887. These dates refer to the missionary’s
arrival and the time of renovation. On the inside, to the left of the pulpit,
is a brass memorial tablet with these words:
Outside are modest white marble headstones
for the minister, his wife and several of their children. There are eight
very neat and handsome memorial windows to the church, all presented by some
well known men. Among the donors are Sir Oliver Mowat, Sir John A. Macdonald,
Sir Richard Cartwright, Mr. Sloan, John D. Murphy and others. A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION Arrangements are now being made to have a
large Presbyterian centennial celebration at the church some time during the
summer. The time and arrangements are not definitely fixed yet, but the
expectation now is for Wednesday, July 6th, the day following a
meeting of the synod at Kingston when it will be convenient for as many
ministers as possible to attend. Steamboat excursions may be arranged from
Kingston and all points between, from Belleville, Picton and other points, to
land at a dock handy by. Large canvass tents will be provided on the ground
where dinner can be served to all comers and a day pleasantly and appropriately
spent. Rev. Mr. Cumberland has had the arrangements in hand and, no doubt,
proper and ample notice will be given through the “Whig” and otherwise. Such
an event should be made a successful one. Our Canadian pioneers deserve all honor. Our history should be made familiar to those now
rising up. Our churches should duly honor those who in God’s hands laid such
broad foundations for the great things we to-day enjoy. |
