St George's Church, Osahwa (History)

8/6/2019 St George's Church, Osahwa (History)

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PAM2 8 3. 7 1 356SAI

ABB

St .G eorge's C hu rch

Consecrated Tuesday, 12th September, 1944by The Most Reverend D. T. Owen, D.D.

Archbishop of TorontoPrimate of all Canada

Oshawa


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M c L A U G H L IN P U B L I C L IB R A R YB A G O T ST. AT CENTREOSHAWA - ONTARIO

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Archbishop of Toronto.The Most Reverend D. T. Owen,D.D.

Primate of All Canada. \l ' ' ' ' >

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REV. J . B. WORRELL1862-1869 REV. WM. BELT1869-1876 REV. H. B. OWEN1876-1880

RE V. JOHN P E NT L AND1843-1862

REV. C.R. De Pencer1910-1934'REV. J . TALBOT1890-1909

(2 )REV. J . MIDDLETON1880-1890

S t .G e o r g e 's C h u r c h1843 - 1944Day by day events seem of little or no importance, and for the mostpart go unrecord ed. Then a century later, when an effort is made to re-construct the story of a family, a district or a parish, little material is avail-able. Such is the case with the parish of St. George, Oshawa.The first white settler near Oshawa was Benjamin Wilson, who locateda little east of the Harbour, near what is now the old burial ground over-looking Lake Ontario. This was in 17781 or 17942. Other settlerscame from the south, but whether there were members of the Church amongthem and whether during the first third of the 19th century Church ofEngland services were held hereabouts is unknown.The first record of Anglican services in the Township of East Whitby,of which area Oshawa formed a part, comes from the Journal of the Rev-erend Adam Elliot, travelling missionary, who made several circuits of thewhole "Home" district as far north as Penetanguishene, 1834-35, but it isimpossible from his Journal to identify the places in the immediate vicinityof Oshawa at which his services were conducted. The first Church in thesouthern part of Ontario County, built of logs, was erected at Columbus,(English Corners) in 1835. In 1838 the parish of the whole adjacent dis-trict, the Townships of Whitby, Clarke and Darlington was organized underthe Reverend T. S. Kennedy. The Reverend John Pentland entered thediocese of Toronto 15th December, 1841, and was appointed Incumbent ofColumbus and Whitby. He was an Irishman by birth, a soldier by experi-ence and a ministe r by choice. The third son of George Pentlan d of GranbyRow, Dublin, he was born in 1804 and educated at Kilkenny, Trinity CollegeDublin, and at Cambridge. Commissioned 2nd Lieut, in His Majesty's H orseGuards, 21st Regt. in 1824, he was later promoted Captain and served inFrance, Spain and Italy. In entering the ministry he followed the footsteps

of his grandfather the Reverend John Pentland, who died at Ardberaccan,County Meath, Ireland, in 1730. Before coming to Canada Mr. Pentlandministered in Wales, France and Ireland 3.The Church in Oshawa, then known as Skae's Corners, was opened asan outstation from Whitby, and it is said that for some time services wereheld in what was known as the old Town Hall and Court House at thecorner of Centre and Athol Street s'. The first St. George's Church wasbuilt at the corner of King Street and Park Road on a site given by Mr. J. B.Warren, part of the material coming from a disused Baptist Church in thevicinity. The date of the build ing of this church is uncertain, but it wasprobably 1848. In the following year Oshawa had a population of about1,000, and is described (Smith's Canadian Gazeteer) as "a place of consider-able business"5. Until 1859 St. George's, Oshawa, was worked in conjunctionwith St. John's Port Whitby, and St. Paul's, Columbus, and from 1859 to1864 with St. John's, Port Whitby, then from 1864 to 1873 with St. Paul's,

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Columbus. In that year St. Paul 's was joined to Brooklin and Oshawabecame an independent parish".In 1858 or 1860 came the second St. George's Church,at the cornerof Centre and John Streets, which site has been permanently marked by afine granite stone unveiled by the Archbishop of Toronto, St. George's Day,1939. The influence of Colonel S. B. Fairbanks , "a zealous churchm an"was largely responsible for the work of removal and reconstruction of thechurch at the new location".The Reverend John Pentland was succeeded in 1862 by the ReverendJ. B. Worrell, the father of two afterwards famous and revered churchmen,the one Archbishop of Nova Scotia and Primate of All Canada, the otherfor many years Chancellor of the diocese of Toronto. At this period twoimportant gifts were made to the parish. In November 1861 an area ofabout 1/2 acre of groun d was conveyed to the Chu rch Society of the dioceseof Toronto by John Crawford and-the Hon. William Allan and their wives,as "an endowment for a parso nage, the rents, issues and profits therefromto be appropriated and applied to the support of the Incumbent for thetime being". This became the site of the old Rectory, and later throughspecial permissive legislation, the site of the present church. The othergift was that of the cemetery on Park Ro ad No rth, an area of abou t 1 3/4acres, vested in the Synod of the diocese in 1864 by Mr. J. B. Warren, andconsecrated, (date unknown) by Bishop Bethune. Although the conveyancewas made in 1864, the earliest interment in the area was made in 1 841, be-tween which date and 1864, 40 known burials have been trac ed. For manyyears the cemetery caretaker was a Mr. Trigg. The Vestry, at a meetingsome years before his death, showed its appreciation of his faithful work bygranting him a free lot in the Burial ground!The Reverend Canon Belt followed Canon Worrell. Dr. Wm. Belt, ason, was Rector's Churchwarden, 1887-88, and until his death in 1938 aregu lar attend ant at the services of the church . Mrs. Lamon , wife of theRector's Warden, at the present time, is a granddaughter of Canon Belt.The Reverend H. B. Owen became Rector in 1876 and in 1880 wassucceeded by the Reverend J. Midd leton. These were still the days of smallthings by present standards. The financial statement presented to the

Easter Vestry 1882 showed total receipts of $1589.31. The Incum bent'sstipend was $800 per annum. In 1884 the Sunday School attendance aver-aged 42 boys and 51 girls, which however was probably a higher proportionof the children of the congregation than is found in the School today. Butthere was real development going on. The Sunday School building waserected in 1880, while a year later the Church was enlarged by the additionof 18 feet at the East end and a gallery at the west end. At the same timenew pews and furniture were installed. The Church was re-opened andconsecrated by the Right Reverend Arthur Sweatman, Bishop of Toronto,9th October, 1881, and special services with visiting preachers were heldeach night of the following week. The Petition for the Consecration wassigned by J. Middleton, B.A., W. J. Atkinson, and J. W. Cowan, Churchwardens; and Joseph Clark, M.D.; F. W. Glen; M. Western; and R. D.Fisher.From 1889 comes the first printed annual financial report and whichcontains the first record of givings to missions, an amount of $68.46. Dur-

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St. George's Church, 1858-1924

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ing the rectorate of the Reverend James Talbot (1890-1909) the VestryMinutes have the first mention of the Women's Guild (189 3). The W.A.was organized in 1901. The Sunday School building was enlarged by theaddition of the two rooms at the north in 1905, Mr. John Cowan generouslybearing the whole expense. It was probably about this time that a vestedchoir was introduced, for in the Vestry minutes of 1904 is mention of "thecassock committee." In 1907 a proposal was made by the Pedlar People topurchase a strip of land at the north side of the church site, the first move,which a dozen years later was to result in the sale of the whole propertyand the building of the present Church.The Reverend Canon de Pencier came to the parish in 1910 and aperiod of rapid growth was entered upon. Soon after his arriva l, St.George's Mission, Sunnyside, was opened to provide for the growing English

Church population in the South Ward of the city. Then came World War 1and building matters necessarily were left in abeyance, although the decisionto erect a new church had been taken in 1912. Follow ing the war thepopulation of Oshawa rapidly increased and the need for a larger churchwas pressing. After many negotiations and much hard work in collectingfunds, on June 12, 1919, the then Governor General of Canada, the Duke ofDevonshire, turned the first sod for the foundations of the present building,St. George's Memorial Church. The Corner Stone was "well and trulylaid" by Major General J. H. McBrien on Saturday, October 7, 1922. Inthe Corner Stone is deposited a parchment inscribed as follows:

ST. GEORGE

MEMORIAL CHURCH

Erected in the Year of our Lord 1922"In memory of a band of soldier boys who, hearing the clear call to duty,cheerfully yet resolutely severed home ties and went overseas to "fight agood fight" in the interests of Truth and Justice for King and Country andfor the Honour and Glory of the Empire, in numbers Three hundred andeighty-seven and all members or adherents of St. George's Church

ALSOIn special hallowed memory of those who fell on the field of battle and withdauntless courage made the last great Sacrifice, sleeping now the sleep ofthe dreamless on Foreign Soil, Until the Day break and the Shadows fleeaway"

Rector C. R. dePencier, M.A.Rector's Warden E. J. McDowellPeople's Warden H. S. Smith

Deposited in this stone this 7th of October 1922".

The Reverend David M. Rose, B.S.A.,Rector.

Rural Dean of East York.


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The new church was opened for Divine service on Sunday 11th May, 1924,by the Right Reverend James Sweeney, Bishop of Toronto . Canon de Penciercontinued as Rector until 1934 when he was succeeded by the present In-cumbent the Reverend David M. Rose.A very large number of individuals subscribed according to their meansto the Building Fund. Paroch ial organizations too were active in the samecause. The entire cost of the chancel and its furnishings was contributed byMr. F. W. Cowan. Mr. and Mrs. Houston of Cincinatti were the donors ofthe Tower and its Carillon of 15 bells. Mr. and Mrs. Cowan had previously(1923) presented the Rectory to th e. parish. It is interesting to knowthat this was Mr. Cowan's birthplace, later the home of Mrs. Cowan'sparents and the place of the marriage of its donors. In 1929 Mr. and Mrs.Cowan added to their benefactions to the parish by the gift of the fine3 manual Cassavant organ. The former instrument, which had done good

service in the old church and was used for a time in the new was given toHoly Trinity Church. This name was given to St. George's Mission whenthe latter with the new mission of Christ Church in the north end of thecity were separated from St. George's in 1928. In Holy Trinity Church isalso the East Window from the old St. George's. The furniture of itsSanctuary arid some of the old pews are in use in the Chapel of the new.Church.The Building Committee presented its final report to the Vestry at theAnnual meeting 1926, as follows _

Subscriptions by individuals and parochial organizations $170,812.31Sale of Old Church and materials, Bank interest -.: | 14,055.99Mortgage . ... ; ...'.. ....'... '... 25,000.0 0

$209,868.27Expended on Building, including value of Rectory and grounds .. $205,626.18Donation to St. Alban's Cathedral Building Fund , 1,000-00Repaid on Mortgage ., 3,000.00Balance on Hand , , , ...... ' 242.09

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every member of the parish for their unceasing work, for clearing the wayfor further enterprise in the parish and for its better effort for God throughHis Church.The past century has been a period of tremendous growth in Canada.A colony has become the first Dominion of the British Commonwealth,hamlets have grown to great industrial cities,the Canadian Church hasenlarged and expanded and accepted responsibilities at home and overseasimpossible to have been forseen when John Pentland rode his horse alongmuddy tracks between Columbus, Whitby and Oshawa. St. George's hasgrown from the parish of a hamlet to the second largest in the diocese out-side Toronto City. One hundred years from now the Canadian scene willprobably be as different as the present is from the past. But barring somegreat calamity, the present Memorial Church of St. George will still stand"set apart from all profane and common uses", dedicated "to Almighty God

for the ministration of His Holy Word and Sacraments and for PublicWorship", a witness to the faith of past generations of Churchmen andwomen, a sanctuary from which will go forth humble, willing workers forthe world wide spread of the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.References

1Short Notes as to the Early History and Progress of Ontario County. J. E.Farewell.2Historic Sketches of Oshawa. T. E. Kaiser 1921.375th Anniversary of St. John's Church, Port W hitby, pamphlet. J. H. Pogson., *Toronto Telegram March 8, 1924. .5Mr. John Cowan's notes re St. George's Cemetery.9Notes from Rev. Canon R. W. Allen. Historiographer, diocese of Toronto.,> Other material from Minutes of St. George's Vestry meetings, 1881 to date.Compilation by the Rev. D. M. Rose.

$209,868.27The Women's Guild of the parish having already raised some $17,000for the Building Fund undertook the liquidation of the $22,000 mortgage.For eighteen years they worked faithfully and persistently with courage andfaith, which ten years of "depression" did nothing to daunt. The Women'sGuild thus has the honour of making possible the Consecration of the Churchby the Most Reverend D. T. Owen, Archbishop of Toronto and Primate of allCanada on Tuesday, 12th September, 1944. They have the gratitude of

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"In the name of our God we will set up our banners"

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O N THE WALLS OF THE CHANCELBanners droop within the chancel,Standards loved in peace and w ar;Colours, King's and RegimentalCalling back from days of yoreHallowed memories.Honoured trophiesRest in Peace here evermore.

Suitably displayed in the chancel, are four groups of colours of theCounty Regim ent, seven flags in all. The single one farthest from the con-gregation on the lefthand side of the Altar, is all that remains of the firstset of colours, presented to the Regiment two years after its official foundingas the 34th Ontario Volunteers. The ceremony took place at the Countytown of Whitby, on July 1st, 1868, Canada's first Dominion Day, and thepresentation was made by one of Oshawa's leading ladies, the late Mrs. T. N.Gibbs. An account of her address and other details of the occasion aremain tained in Regimen tal records. In a hollow at the head of the staff hasbeen inserted a short reference to this flag. The next two colours, that onthe right of the Altar the King's colour and on the left, the Regimentalcolour, were presented to the Regiment,now known as the 34th OntarioCounty Regimen t, by the ladies of Whitby in 1898. Whitby was at thattime the headquarters of the Regiment. Coming nearer to the view of thecongregation, the next two colours are those of the 116th Battalion of theCanadian Expeditionary Force, a battalion formed out of the County Regi-ment and which fought and served with distinction in France and Belgium.These colours were presented to the 116th Bn. by the ladies of Uxbridge,Ont., the temporary headquarters of the battalion in the early part of 1916,.They were taken overseas by the unit and on the eve of leaving for Francewere ceremon ially deposited for safekeeping in Westmin ster Abbey. There,for the duration of the war, they rested upon Wolfe's tomb, a link of morethan ordina ry historical interest with Canad a. In the summer of 1919 theywere removed from the Abbey, under escort and accompanied the battalionback to Canada . After being marched throu gh Oshawa, they were taken toCannington, Ont., which was at that time considered regimental headquarters,and deposited in All Saints Church. In 1920, regimental headq uarterswere finally established at Oshawa, and later, the present building of St.George's Church having been completed, all the colours thus far mentionedin these paragraphs, were gathered at the Oshawa Armouries. On Saturday,November 11th, 1927, the five colours were borne under escort to AlexandraPark . There they were ceremonia lly trooped for the last time before a fullparade of the Regiment and veterans of the County, to many of whom thevarious colours were a familiar and precious memory. Following the troop-ing, they were marched by the Regiment through the streets of the City tothe Church and finally deposited in the chancel where they now rest. Thecolours immediately facing the congregation are the most recent addition.These were presented to the Regiment at Alexandra Park in August,

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1932 by a member of the congregation and admirer of the regiment, inthe person of Mrs. Alice Houston. Embroidered on the regimental colourare battle honours officially awarded the regiment, through the116th batta-lion andother overseas units mobilized out of the 34th Ontario Regiment.In September 1939, the regiment, nowknown as Ontario Regiment (Tank)was again mobilized for active service. Prior to the departure of the 1stBattalion for Camp Borden, the colours were escorted to the Church andthere, in the presence of theRegiment andleading City andCounty officials,were deposited for safekeeping on Sunday, 12thMay, 1940.

* Oldcoloursand tradition's lore,Proclaim toall, who these observe,The Regiment's historyanda corpsOf gallant soldierswhostill serve.

Contributed by Colonel Frank Chappell,a former Officer Commanding theRegiment.

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CHURCHWARDENSNOTE.Vestry minutes prior to 1881have been lost. I

Rector's Warden People's Warden I1881-1882 .,.:.. WM. THOS. ATKINSON JOHN COWAN1882-1883 J N. MOTHERSILL W.T.ATKINSON

! 1883-1884 ... "...'. W. F. COWAN M. WESTERN1884-1885 R. D. FISHER LYMAN ENGLISHHy. Carswell1885-1887 . . . . . . . . . W. H. HOLLAND W. T. ATKINSON1887-1888 WM. B E L T W . H . H O L L A N D1888-1890 . W. H. HOLLAND A. HINDES1890-1891 : . JN .A. CARSWELL A. HINDES 11891-1894 ... A. HINDES , C. W. SCOTT1894-1895 A. HINDES H. G. CARSWELL J1895-1903. A. HINDES ; F. W.COWAN

. 1903-1905 E. J. MCDOWELL M. F. SMITH1905-1908 ,.. R. C. BABBITT M. F. SMITH1908-1909 J . P . O W E N S T . B . M I T C H E L L j1909-1911 F. W. COWAN T. B. MITCHELL [1911-1914 E. J. MCDOWELL M. F. SMITH |

B , j l 1914-1915 WM.HOLLAND H. T. CARSWELL , )1915-1918 WM.MERRITT W. D. MUCKLER1918-1919 R. J. PYE W. J. HOLLAND I1920-1921 F. W. COWAN M. F. SMITH1922-1923 ........... E. J. MCDOWELL H. S. SMITH

W M . MERRITT1924 ' WM .MERRITT. . . H. S. SMITH ' I1925 WM.MERRITT C. A. MASON

1926-1927 : F. L. FOWKE ALEX . BROWNE1928-1931 :.... F. L. FOWKE T. H. CAMPBELL1932-1933 ALEX. BROWNE W. D. MUCKLER

1934 ALEX. BROWNE W. D. MUCKLER IFRANK CHAPPELL T. B. MITCHELL

1935-1938 '..-.. FRANK CHAPPELL . T. B. MITCHELL .1939-1941 FRANK CHAPPELL CHAS. A. LAMON1941-1944 CHAS. A. LAMON GEORGE HART


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MEMORIALS AND BENEFACTIONSTo the Glory of God and to the memory of departed Members of theParish the following gifts have been made.The Tower and Carillon of fifteen bells erected by T. Edgar and AliceHouston in memory of Edward and Rebecca Carswell who were among theoriginal members of St. George's Church.The Chancel was erected and its furnishings given by Frederick W.Cowan in memory of his parents William Frederick and Susan Cowan.The Rectory and Grounds, for many years the home of Mr. and Mrs.T. H. McMillan, were given in their memory by their daughter and son-in-law, Lily M. and Fred W. Cowan.Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Cowan are the donors also of the 3 manualCassavant Organ.The Stained Glass Windows of the Church are memorials as follows,The East Window to William Frederick Cowan, Susan Groves, his wife;John Cowan and Richard James Cowan; given by Frederick W- Cowan.South Transept Window, (The Resurrection) to John Hyland, one ofthe founders of the Church, died March 9, 1884.South Aisle, (Gabriel) to Edwin James McDowell died June 10, 1923.South Aisle (St. John) to Harry Shipman Smith, Warden 1922-1923,died November 1928.South Aisle (Ruth) to Violet May McMillan, born December 25, 1881,died October 6, 1929.Baptistry (Jesus and little children and two Saints) in memory ofthe Rev. James Talbot, born September 6, 1849, died December 11, 1915.Rector of the Parish 1890-1909.West Window, (St. George) in appreciation of the works and ministry

of the Reverend C. R. de Pencier, erected by the congregation in the 21styear of his ministry in the parish, 1931.North Aisle (The Blessed Virgin Mary) to Ada McMillan, died 1941and Harry McMillan, died 1922, erected by their sister, Mrs. F. W. Cowan.North Aisle (Christ and Little Children) to Francis Henry, son ofEdward and Rebecca Carswell, 1857-1923.North Aisle (St. Christopher) to Anne Robinson wife of John Mother-sill 1824-1911; John Mothersill 1823-1912; Marion Mothersill, 1867-1929.North Transept (Presentation of Christ in the Temple) to Walter Gil-lette, died March 25, 1893 and his wife, Emily Arkland Gillette, died March26, 1913.The Processional Cross to Florence Carswell, 1861-1938, eldest daughterof Edward and Rebecca Carswell, the gift of her sisters.

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The Litany Desk, in Thankful Remembrance of Henry Carswell 1825-1895, who all his life worshipped God in St. George's Church.The Lectern in memory of William Warren and his family given byF. W. and Qharles Warren.The Lectern Bible was the gift of John Cowan, June 12, 1900.The Clergy Desk Prayer Book was given by Mrs. E. Bryant Ross inmemory of her mother Jane Bryant, August 8, 1926.The Altar Service Book in Memory of John Tunnicliffe was the gift ofhis widow, 1942.The Chalice inscribed "In honorem Dei, Johannes Pearson 1894" wasprobably the gift of Mrs. Talbot in memory of her father,one time Rector

of Holy Trinity Church, Toronto.The Cruets were given in memory of Ida Walker and of Ellen Falknerby the W.A. and Guild in 1942.Inset into the south wall of the Chancel near the Lectern is a piece ofstone1 from Westminster Abbey, the gift of the Dean and Chapter.

INVESTED FUNDSBequest by Miss Ada McM illan to the "Charity Fund " . . $1,000.00Bequest by Mrs. F. W. Warren to the Sunday School 500.00Gift by Mrs. A. Houston, the interest upon which is to be appliedto maintenance of the Tower and Carillon 1,320.00Bequest for Altar Flowers in memory of M. Western and hiswife 100.00Bequest by Mr. Josiah Kett for the work of the Choir. Estate

not yet closed.Bequests for u pkeep of Cem ete ry .'. 700.00

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ORGANIZATIONS AND OFFICERS, 1944RECTOR

THE REVEREND DAVID M . R O S E , B.S.A.Rural Dean of East YorkCHURCH WARDENSMr. C. A. |Lamon, Mr. George Hart .

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LAY REPRESENTATIVES TO SYNODMessrs. F. W. Cowan, George Hart, W. J. Holland.THE PARISH COUNCILThe Rector, Church Wardens, Lay Representatives.Messrs. Geo. Puckett, W. E. Baker, W. W. Floyd, E. Higgins, H. Suddard,S. Wotton, A. Woodward; Mesdames Colpus, Richardson, Wotton.

Chairman Envelope CommitteeEnvelope Secretary and AccountantChairman of SidesmenPresident of the Choir

Mr. W. W. FloydMr. George PuckettMr. W. BakerMr. A. Woodward

THE WOMEN'S GUILD IPresident, Mrs. F. J. Rundle - Secretary, Mrs. E. FarrowTreasurer, Mrs. E. Green.

Afternoon BranchEvening BranchJuniors

SuperintendentSecretary-Treasurer

THE WOMAN'S AUXILIARY- - President, Mrs. S. Wotten- - - President, Mrs. S. Sharpies- Superintendent, Mrs. W. Hooper

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL Mr. A. BullMr. T. H, CampbellPresident Altar Guild -Convener Red Cross Chapter7th Oshawa Scouts rPresident, St. George's Tennis ClubBellringer - - -Sexton - - - -

- Miss D. MillerMrs. E. GreenScoutmaster, Mr. B. LeytonCubmaster, Mrs. P. Campbell

Miss Nesta ChappellMr. J . Smart- Mr. E. Drage)

OSHAWAPUBLIC LIBRARY

REFERENCE


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St George's Church, Osahwa (History)