Bishop
Black and His Preachers
E. Arthur Betts
When
Cliff and I were leaving for school, Mum told us the minister and his
wife were coming to supper. As usual, we received a lecture to be on
our best behaviour, to use proper manners which she stressed meant no
reaching across the table, and most important of all to remain seated
until everyone finished eating.
This fellow, who was dressed completely in black except for his white
collar, really seemed to enjoy Mum’s cooking. He took a second piece of
the Washington Pie that was smothered in whipped cream and
remarked, “This reminds me of the desserts my mother served when
I was a boy in England.”
After he left, I asked Mum, “Are all preachers made in England?”
Before she had a chance to reply, Ken said, “Ministers don’t get made,
they just decide to work for the church.”
In “Bishop Black and His Preachers”,
E. Arthur Betts devotes thirty-eight pages to biographical notes on the
Methodist ministers received into the Maritime Districts from 1786 to
1873.
Thomas Allen was born in
1841 In Leicestershire, England. In 1869, he came to Nova Scotia. After
his retirement in1905, he lived in Petitcodiac and Moncton until his
death in 1936. The Maritime Conference Archives has some of his papers.
Adam C. Avard was from
Guernsey, Channel Islands, where his father was a local preacher. He
died in Fredericton in 1821 and was buried beneath the pulpit of the
chapel.
George M. Barratt of
Shropshire, England came to New Brunswick in 1838. He died in West
Saint John in 1878.
John Ellis was born in
Donegal County, Ireland circa 1846. He migrated to Saint John and was
converted there. He died at St. Martins in 1877.
George S. Milligan was born
in Thornhill, Scotland about 1829 and was ordained in 1858.
Edwin C. Turner was born at
Baie Verte in 1850. After retirement, he lived in Debec, where he died
in 1921.
John Prince was born in
Moncton in 1820, and converted in Pointe de Bute while teaching school.
He soon proved useful in the congregation.
Humphrey Pickard was born
in Fredericton in 1813. In 1842, he was chosen as the first Principal
of the Academy at Sackville.
George B. Payson was born
in Fredericton in 1825. He excelled in visiting.
Frederick W. Harrison who
was born in Woodstock in 1834 was much beloved by his people.
Bishop William Black was
born in Huddersfield, England in 1760. He emigrated at the age of 15
and lived near Amherst. His first mission was to Petitcodiac. He
retired in 1812 and died in 1834.
A plaque to his memory is on the Point de Bute Cemetery archway: “To the glory of God and in memory of
Reverend William Black the first Methodist preacher in Canada who began
his ministry in this community in 1781."
“Bishop Black and His Preachers”
by E. Arthur Betts is available at several libraries.
The Archives of the Maritime
Conference is located in the Maritime Conference building in
Sackville, New Brunswick - adjacent to Mount Allison University - and
holds records of Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational Churches
within the region of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island,
the Gaspé peninsula of Quebec, and the island of Bermuda, prior
to 1925, and of The United Church of Canada after 1925.
Holdings include those records created by local congregations such as
registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials; historic membership
rolls and communion rolls; general membership lists; minutes of church
boards, committees, and organizations (including women's groups);
printed annual reports of local congregations; congregational
newsletters; local church histories; correspondence; photographs and
slides; audio-visual materials; and ephemera.
Approximately 280 Pastoral Charges in the Maritime Conference
(including closed congregations) have deposited some original records
in the Archives. Of this number approximately twenty-eight percent have
included registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Those registers
that pre-date 1850 are few in number. Visit their website at http://www.marconf.ca/archives.htm.
Query 1357
Graham - Marr: Seeking
information on the early Graham family who married into the Alexander
Marr (Sr.) family of Smiths Creek and Jordan Mountain, Kings County,
New Brunswick.
JIM MARR
49 McSweeney Avenue
Moncton, NB
Canada, E1C 7C6
E-mail apohaqui@nbnet.nb.ca
