Oldal 41 [41]
OCR
in the biographical sketch, which, with his portrait, will be found in the chapter devoted to Kitley. On the 21st of June, 1817, the General Conference was held at the Elizabethtown Meeting-house (Lyn). Twenty-two preachers from the wilds of Canada, and sixty from the State of New York, assembled, all being entertained in a most hospitable manner by the Halleck’s, Boyce’s, Row’s, Coleman s, Caswell’s, Brown’s, and many other equally amiable settlers. | During the Conference, the flame of revival burst The old chapel was filled from eight in the morning until late at forth and swept over the Province. night, the meeting being known for many years as the “ Revival Conference.” Among the converted were Miss Hallock (daughter of the Rev. William Hallock), she subsequently becoming the wife of Wyatt Chamberlayne, and Miss Caswell, who afterwards became afhanced to a preacher. tinued from the itinerant work, but in 1829, again entered the field as Presiding Elder of the Rideau Circuit. Ninian Holmes, of Irish descent, is believed to have been converted in Elizabethtown, where he resided during the war of 1812. His memory is held in veneration by the old people of the Ottawa and Augusta Circuits. Having served in the army, he had the appearance of a cavalry man, fully accoutred. Several of his descendants reside in the County of Leeds. Among the ministers in charge of the Oswegatchie District were the following, want of space preventing any extended notice: Joseph Jewell, James Herron, William Anson, James Aikins, S. Crowell, N. U. Tompkins, Luther Bishop, Thomas Madden, Nathan Bangs, Gershom Pearce, J. B. Smith, C. Hulbert, William Snow, Edward Cooper, Elias Pattie, John Rhodes, E. Cooper, S. Hopkins, Israel Chamberlain, John Arnold, Andrew Prindle, Peter Jones, Thomas McGee, Wyatt Chamberlayne, Robt. Jeffers, C. N. Flint, T. Goodwin, T. Demorest, R. M. K. Smith, G. Farr, Philander Smith, William Jones, William K. Williams, Ezra Healey, Joseph Castle, C. Wood, and others. PRESBYTERIANS. The Rev. John Bethune, a native of Scotland, came to America before the Rebellion; being a Loyalist, he was stripped of all his property. Joining the force in Canada, he was appointed Chaplain of the Eightieth Regiment. He settled at Cornwall, where he resided for many years, breathing his last at Williamstown, September 23rd, 1815. In 1795, the Presbyterians of Dundas received a grant of seventy acres of land in Williamsburg, securing the same year the services of the Rev. John Eudewig Broeffle, who officiated exclusively in the German language. His stipend never exceeded one hundred dollars per annum. At the age of seventy-six, he walked fifteen miles to preach, but never recovered from the over-exertion. He died at Williamsburg, in 1815, having labored unremittingly for twenty years for a niggardly pittance. The early history of the United Counties is intimately connected with the life of the Rev. William Smart. He was one of the pioneers of religion, and no man did more for the moral and religious interests of the people than Mr. Smart. In Augusta, Yonge, and Elizabethtown, the want was long felt and loudly expressed, that a pastor be obtained for the establishment of a Presbyterian Church. After several unsuccessful calls, they obtained the services of Mr. Smart. This was in the year 1811. Mr. Smart was at the time persuing his studies at the Theological Seminary of Gosport, England, intending to go to India as a missionary. Accepting the call to Canada, he was ordained a minister, at the Scotch Church, Swallow Street, London. He arrived in Elizabethtown on the 7th of October, 1811, and immediately commenced his work in various parts of the county, his field of labor extending from Gananoque to Cornwall, and from the St. Lawrence to Perth His task was one of no ordinary character: roads there were none, while his work was of the most exhausting description. He was never a robust man, still his health seldom failed him; with truth may it be said, he went about doing his Masters work with cheerfulness. We cannot conclude this brief and incomplete sketch without bearing testimony to the worth of the deceased. He was simple and childlike, and yet earnest in his sacred work. So long as the children of the original settlers maintain their memories, the name of the Rev. William Smart will be held dear by them. Mr. Smart was scarcely inducted into his new office when war was declared between England and the United States. This was a sad blow to the progress of the country, both in a moral and religious point of view. Men were compelled to leave their homes to take up the sword. Yet to the credit of the parties who had been instrumental in bringing Mr. Smart to Canada, they carried out their pledges to support him as a minister, paying him a yearly stipend of $600. It may be of interest to know the
