Early Churches and Schools—Rev. William Stewart arrives about the Fall of 1831—First Presbyterian Church in Galt—Early Missionary Visits —Rev. James Strang—St. Andrew’s Church begun in 1833—The old-fashioned Camp Meetings—Divine Service in West Dumfries—What fashionable Church-goers will be surprised to learn—“ 0 why will ye die, 0 House of Israel”—The early Schools of Galt—Mr. John Gowinlock— Glimpses of School Life forty years ago.

The want of suitable churches and schools was much felt for many years. At the present time, the minister and teacher follow closely upon the heels of settlement. Sixty years ago the case was different. It was fifteen"] years after Galt was founded before the services of a/ regularly-placed clergyman were obtained. The name of the first minister of Galt was the Rev. William Stewart, and he was sent out by the Church of Scotland as a missionary. He was lame, and delicate in health, but, to use the language of a contemporary, he possessed “a fine mind and deep piety.” It was in the fall of 1831 or spring of 1832 when he arrived.

An incident which occurred shortly after Mr. Stewart’s arrival in Galt well illustrates his pious character, as well as the loose notions regarding the observance of the Sabbath which had crept in among a few in the absence ofl religious services. Finding workmen busily engaged in loading the Arks at the wharf one Sunday morning, Mr. fctewart sent down a short note, courteously expressing the hope that they would desist from labour on the Lordy day. The reply sent back was: “Tell Mr. Stewart if he’ll mind his business, we’ll mind ours!” And the loading of the Arks went on.

Churches were then unknown luxuries, and Mr. Stewart, as well as the missionaries who had previously visited the locality, found difficulty in securing suitable places in which to gather the people together for divine service. The principal places used were the old Red store, in which Mr. Stewart held the first communion of his congregation; the storehouse of the Dumfries’ Mills ; the old rough-cast school-house at the head of Main Street; and the chair factory carried on by one Alonzo Bliss. The latter building stood on the present site of Scott’s Planing mill, and it may be mentioned, en 'passant, to the credit of the handicraft of Bliss—and as possibly not altogether without relevancy to practical religion—that some of the chairs made by him are still in possession of Mr. Thomas Rich, and are as strung as ever after fifty years’ wear and tear! Mr. Stewart soon succeeded in building up a strong congregation, saw St. Andrew’s Church begun and finished, but at the expiry of several years’ faithful service, performed often whilst suffering under much physical weakness, he accepted a call to Demarara, in the West Indies. He was attracted to these Islands by their genial climate, but his constitution was too much shattered for recovery, and he shortly afterwards died.

Although Mr. Stewart was the first regular minister in the village, it must not be supposed that the people were entirely destitute of ministerial instruction previously. Thanks to the United Presbyterian Church of North America, missionaries were sent to the settlement as early as 1822, and divine service was conducted by these devoted men for at least a portion of almost every year.

The first clergyman who ever preached in Dumfries is believed to have been the Rev. Alex. De Noon, of Caledonia, New York, to whose congregation several of the first settlers near Branch ton had belonged. A member of his church named William Forbes, had removed about 1818 to the head of Lake Ontario, where his family was attacked by what was then called lake fever— a species of fever and ague—and, sad to relate, himself, wife and nephew, all died. Mr. De Noon, accompanied by one of his elders, Mr. Donald Mackenzie, father of the late Simon Mackenzie, of Branchton, came over to Upper Canada in 1819, to look after Mr. Forbes’ property, and being within thirty miles of his former parishioners, he determined to make his way through the bush to Dumfries, and see them and their new home. He remained over one Sunday, and preached in the house of Mr. Alex. Harvie. which the handful of settlers in the neighbourhood greatly enjoyed and appreciated.

At the meeting of the Synod of the United Presbyterian Church, held at Pittsburg, in May, 1822, the Synod appointed the Rev. Thomas Beveridge, the Rev. Mr. Hanna, and the Rev. Alex. Bullions, “to itinerate in Canada three months or thereabout, the expenses incurred by said Mission to be defrayed by the Synod.” This Mission was a somewhat memorable one. Thirty-seven years afterwards (in 1859) Mr. Beveridge gave an interesting account in the Evangelical Repository, of the journeyings of Dr. Hanna and himself through the wilds of Upper Canada, all of which was done on horseback, except in such places as they had to dismount in order to get themselves and their horses through. After describing their travels on horseback from Philadelphia, their visit to Stamford, near Niagara Falls, and the difficulty of finding settlements in Upper Canada with sufficient people to preach to, Mr. Beveridge describes at some length his experience in Dumfries, and the narrative throws such a flood of light on the condition of the settlement in 1822, that the following extract therefrom will be appreciated: “So it was at last arranged that Mr. Hanna would remain at Stamford, where he occupied the pulpit on the ensuing Sabbath, while I would endeavour to hunt up the people at Dumfries. This was a settlement consisting chiefly of Scotch Highlanders, and about eighty miles from Stamford. My route lay through Ancaster and Dundas. So far I had no difficulty in finding my way. After this I had to depend on what information I could get along the road, both about the road and the people. As I drew near to the settlement, I found that there was among them an aged Scotch gentleman by the name of Harvie, who had removed from Caledonia, New York, and was regarded as rather the leading man in the settlement. I accordingly obtained directions to his house. On my arrival I knocked at the door, and heard some one in a somewhat gruff voice invite me to come in. As I entered, the old gentleman was engaged either in making or mending shoes with his back towards the door. He never looked round to see who was there, but continued busy at his work. After I had stood in silence for a few moments, he called out to me without getting up, ‘What’s your wull, sir?’ As he appeared somewhat blunt in his manner, I replied in somewhat of the same style, by asking, ‘ Do you want any preaching here ? ’ He immediately dropped both shoes and tools, and springing to his feet, exclaimed in accents which I shall never forget—‘Oh, yes!’

“He and his neighbours had commenced a settlement in the forest about five years before, and had never had a sermon preached among them all that time. The nearest approach to it had been by a Unitarian, or Christian, who had once preached in their neighbourhood; but that was a kind of preaching on which they felt no disposition to attend. Here, then, was an opportunity never before enjoyed by me, to build where no other had laid a foundation since the beginning of time. Another singularity in my situation was, to be upon the very verge of the inhabited world. One of the families in which I spent a night, told me that they knew of no inhabitant between them and the North Pole.

“Mr. Harvie had been an elder in the Associate Reformed Church of Caledonia. Some of the Highlanders, if I recollect rightly, were members of the church of which Mr. DeNoon, of Caledonia County, was pastor. But neither he nor they were disposed to be very fastidious about my ecclesiastical connexion. It is un-doubtedly wrong to disregard any principle or usage which pertains to true religion; b\it long destitution of the Gospel by those who love it, tends to lessen very much the alienation which too often exists between different evangelical denominations. Mr. Harvie did not wait to ask me if I were a minister of the Associate Reformed Church, nor did the Highlanders first enquire whether I belonged to the same church with Mr. De Noon or the Establishment of Scotland, to which they had formerly belonged, but they were all ready to take me into their arms as a minister of Jesus Christ.

“My time here was chiefly spent at the house of Mr. Harvie. An incident occurred the first night of my sojourn with him, which, though not of importance, afforded me some amusement. His cabin consisted of two apartments: the larger one for general purposes, the smaller one affording barely room for a bed on the one side, and a loom on the other, with a very narrow passage between them. This was my sleeping apartment. It was hardly to be expected that in such a new country feather beds would be very plenty. I think it not improbable that I slept on the only one in the settlement. It was not, however, as copiously filled as a straw bed beneath it. This latter was so completely stuffed that it had fairly assumed a round figure, and the feathers very naturally divided themselves in the centre, and lay over the straw like a pair of saddlebags upon a horse. When I went to bed I poised myself as well as I could upon the centre, but with a good deal of doubt about my ability to retain my position. My fears were not groundless, for no sooner had I closed my eyes in sleep, than down I rolled upon the floor. There I lay for a little, reflecting upon my whereabouts. After going over the history of my life for some time past, and pursuing it up to the time when 1 had gone to bed, I came to the conclusion that I must have landed somewhere between the bed and Mrs. Harvie’s loom. So I picked myself up, fixed the bed in a flatter form, and slept very comfortably for the rest of the night. This little affair afforded some amusement to the family and me in the morning.

“The people in the settlement consisted of about twelve families. With the exception of Mr. Harvie and an aged Highlander, they were young, married persons, having generally families of two or three small children. Several things respecting them were very encouraging. Although without any access to public ordinances, they had formed themselves into a society for prayer and conference, which met regularly on the Sabbath, and was well attended. Whether they had any meetings on the common days of the week, I am not now able to say. Worship was also observed in their families; and their general character, so far as I could learn, was unexceptionable.

“They were exceedingly grateful to the Associate Synod for having sent them a missionary; and though none of them had belonged to this branch of the Church, they were anxious to be connected with it. This, with them, was one of the most powerful arguments, that this church alone had sought them out, and taken compassion on their destitute condition. As it was doubtful whether the synod would prosecute a mission for which there seemed so little encouragement, I dissuaded them from forming a connexion with us. But the more I urged them against it the more intent they became. Accordingly, after preaching to them on the Sabbath, I appointed a day on which I would meet with them for conference and for sermon. At this meeting I explained to them, as fully as I could, the principles of the Associate Church, the testimony of which they had not seen. The aged Highlander above mentioned, after listening to me a while, would address himself to the younger members of the society in their native Gaelic, giving his views of what had been said. The result was that they gave their assent to the standards of the Associate Church, so far as they were acquainted with them, and were received into communion. After sermon, somewhere about twenty children were baptized, most of the families having two or three to present for that ordinance. This was the beginning of the large and flourishing congregation of Galt, as it is now called, for many years under the ministry of the late Rev. James Strang and now of the Rev. Robert Acheson. Dr. Hanna having arrived from Stamford, we set out together from Dumfries for Esquesing, where we had heard there was another settlement of Scotch people who might be desirous of preaching.

Two years after the visit of Mr. Beveridge, his colleague, the Rev. Alex. Bullions, visited the settlement, having previously been prevented from doing his share of the mission work in Upper Canada. Before starting out, he said to Mr. Beveridge, “You have planted the seed and I want to see how it grows!” This gentleman, afterwards well known throughout the United States as Dr. Bullions, preached for some time with great acceptance, although the services had frequently to be held in barns—and these not the warm, handsome, frame structures of the present day, but the genuine, old-fashioned article, between whose logs the day-light streamed on all sides. Two missionaries named Goodwillie—who were brothers—also one named Campbell,1 were subsequently sent to Dumfries by the United Presbyterian Church, who preached in Galt in the Dumfries’ Mills and other places already mentioned.

The result of the labours of these missionaries was the erection of the first church in Galt, the credit of which belongs to the United Presbyterian body, although others . of the villagers contributed something to the expense incurred in its construction. The building was begun in 1830, on the site of the existing church belonging to that body.

The first regular pastor was the Rev. James Strang, who came to Galt within a year after the Rev. Mr. Stewart began his labours. Mr. Strang was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, in 1793, and emigrated to the United States in the month of May, 1832. He was shortly afterwards sent over as supply to Galt by the Presbytery of Albany, and was called and ordained Minister of the-church in July, 1833. The first regular precentor of the church was Mr. Duncan Shepherd, who officiated in that capacity for ten years—gratuitously. The practice of sacred song must surely be productive of longevity, for Mr. Archibald Hunter and Mr. Stephen Moffatt, who officiated to oblige the congregation before Mr. Shepherd’s selection, continue to enjoy, in company with the latter gentleman, a green old age.

Mr. Strang was a man rather under the medium height; dark-complexioned, with a well-formed head and face. He was quiet in speech and manner, but possessed great earnestness of purpose, and strong opinions on political as well as religious subjects. He soon became a warm sympathizer with the movements going on throughout the Province in favour of Responsible Government and Religious equality, and though too zealous as a minister of Christ to allow anything to interfere with his usefulness, the impress of his opinions on affairs of State was marked among his congregation, and may be traced even to the present day.

After nearly a quarter of a century’s faithful service, Mr. Strang died in Galt on the 22nd October, 1857, highly respected and much regretted by the whole community."

He was married three times, and left behind him several sons and daughters, one of whom—now Colonel John Strang—served with distinction as an officer during the Civil War in the United States, and now holds a responsible official legal position in Genesee County, New York State.

St. Andrew’s Church, which was deemed an architectural model in early times, was begun in 1833. It made very slow progress, however. It stood with only the frame up during the whole of the succeeding winter, and the prosecution of the work was again arrested by the fearful visitation of cholera during the succeeding summer. Not until 1835 was it seated and finally completed. The first bell which ever awoke the echoes of the surrounding hills, was placed upon the tower the following year, and Sunday after Sunday, for nearly half a century since, it has seldom failed to send forth its joyous announcement that the worship of God was about to begin:—

“Oh ring, glad bells, ring glad and sweet,
The song the ages shall repeat;
Which angels sing on Sabbath still,
Of ‘Peace on earth, to men good will."

The attendance upon religious ordinances, after proper places of worship were obtained, was large and regular. The locality has always been conspicuous for this, particularly on the Sabbath, which was in earlier times, with very few exceptions, observed with a Scottish ^strictness quite in contrast with modern ideas.

Occasionally, during the summer, when the woods had donned their mantle of green, the monotony was broken' by a camp meeting. These gatherings were conducted in very primitive style. Sometimes no preparations were made except drawing in a waggon to an open part of the bush, standing in which the minister or lay brother preached, the people standing or sitting around on the ground as best they could ; on more important occasions, an enclosure was made with evergreen boughs around the sides, a small platform erected for the speakers, and a few temporary seats furnished. These meetings generally originated with some zealous Methodist preacher from a neighbouring station, for the settlement was too intensely Calvinist in those days to make a settled Arminian charge a hopeful enterprise.

The camp meetings were generally held in the woods, a little east of Knox Church manse. That part of the town was then covered with heavy pines, and except a large mound-shaped stone structure, erected by one familiarly known as “Wattie” Jackson—who hoped to make a fortune by burning charcoal—it contained neither buildings nor clearance. There was little underbrush, and, taken altogether, these woods were attractive as a ground for camp meetings. They brought together many people of all classes from the surrounding districts, some attracted by the impressiveness of divine worship amidst the grand, old, winding avenues of towering, sombre pines, others by the novelty of the scene or desire for amusement.

In parts of the township too remote for the people to come conveniently to Galt, religious services on Sunday were generally observed.

The settlement between Cedar Creek and what is now the Village of Ayr, as we saw in the last chapter, was an unusually intelligent and active one. They frequently held service in Mr. William Currie’s log barn, and during the winter of 1834, the first congregation formed in the locality was begun in this very place by the late Rev. George Murray, and sixteen members. This was the beginning of what is now Stanley Street Church in Ayr. The fashionable churchgoers of to-day will probably be surprised to learn, that these services were held not only in barns, but without fires, and this, too, as we have seen, during the rigours of winter!

The succeeding year (1835), the zeal of this small but devoted congregation was manifested by the erection of a log church, the site of which was adjoining the graveyard which still remains to be seen on the Ayr road. This locality had then very few clearings. An eye witness of the scene describes the raising of this building as having been “a great time.” As the church was regarded as a public benefit, the raising “Bee” was an unusually large one, and it may justly be remarked that, though Solomon’s temple was doubtless grander, it was not erected by more zealous hearts or willing hands.

An incident occurred before the raising was completed, which was characteristic and worthy of being narrated. The shades of evening were beginning to gather before the last plate or log was hoisted into its place, and the workmen were becoming tired after so much heavy lifting. Twice they tried to lift this plate to its place and failed. Greatly discouraged, some hesitated about a third attempt, when the only Irishman present, in rough and ready style, sang out, “Oh, why will ye die, O! House of Israel?” After a hearty laugh at this truly Hibernian sally, the third attempt was made, and the last plate shoved clean on top of the building. This achievement, after so many failures, was hailed with three rousing cheers, which resounded through the darkening forest until lost in plaintive echoes.

The establishment of schools throughout the- settlement proceeded slowly at first. After much time and trouble spent over the matter, it is impossible to say with absolute certainty who was the first teacher in Galt, or in what building the first teaching took place.

The first school erected by the villagers was the result of a “Bee,” and was a diminutive log building, situated where the Merchants’ Bank now is. A Miss Dobbyn, of Garafraxa, is said to have been the first teacher in it. Some time after this, the late Mr. James Dixon, sr., commenced a school in a little log building at the west end of the bridge. Mr. Dixon had been a teacher in Scotland, at a place called “The Crag,” up the Yarrow river. Those acquainted with Selkirkshire will remember it as being just across the stream from the Ettrick Shepherd’s residence. Not finding bush farming altogether to his liking, Mr. Dixon naturally took to the ferule.

The old rough-cast school-house at the head of Main Street was erected in 1832. Its first teacher was Mr. James Milroy, who removed to Iowa in 1856, and the second, Mr. William McColl, who taught until Rebellion times. With this school, however, must ever be associated the name of Mr. John Gowinlock, who was its sole teacher for many years. He was an excellent specimen of the old-fashioned dominie, before the days of County Boards and periodical examinations. His teaching was eminently practical. He knew what the birch was for, and he applied it. He frittered away no time on physiology, botany, or philosophical abstractions. He professed to teach the three R’s, and he tried it, and did it well.

It is not a little singular, notwithstanding the immense superiority claimed for our schools of to-day, that many of Mr. Gowinlock’s scholars compare in point of education very favourably with those turned out under our much-vaunted modern system? May the secret of this not lie in the fact, that whilst the attention of scholars in those days was strictly centered upon the essential requisites of education, their studies are now so numerous and diffuse, as to prevent that mastery of each subject, without which instruction is of little practical use, and readily passes from the memory?

Many of the present farmers5 of Dumfries residing near Galt, were educated at this school. They attended chiefly in the winter, their assistance during the summer months being required on the farm. During December, January, February and March, the school was filled to overflowing-. Mr. Gowinlock was then in his glory, and everything manifested fresh life and vigour.

It must not be supposed, however, that this school did not suffer from some drawbacks, as compared with those of the present day. A few of these may be mentioned. There were no caretakers then to heat and sweep the room. The boy who first got to school was expected to put on the fire ! The first girl to arrive had to water the floor and sweep out! These attractions—the leader may be surprised to learn—hardly contributed to promote early attendance. Mr. Gowinlock lived on his farm between Galt and Blair, and when there was a snow Turnbull, Hugli Cant, Walter S. and William Burnett, the Johnsons, Duncan Shepherd, William and Robert Veitch, Charles McCarty, and David Morrison, who lived with the Potter family.

“Some are in the church-yard laid,
Some sleep beneath the sea;
But few are left of our old class,
Excepting you and me.

And when our time shall come, Tom,
And we are called to go;
I hope we’ll meet with those we loved,
Just twenty years ago.”

This notice of Mr. Gowinlock’s scholars, would be defective did we fail to mention the name of the once noted raurien—Mck Walton! For truant-playing, fighting and mischief-making of every description, it is doubtful if any boy ever excelled Nick, and constant whipping only seemed to whet his seemingly irresistable tendency to play mischievous tricks on his teachers and companions. His pranks would take up a whole chapter to narrate. He was a regular Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn rolled into one, but with a stronger spice of wickedness. It was once reported that Nick had turned a preacher, and it is possible that his ending is, or was, better than his beginning. Who knows!

Many other glimpses of early school life in Galt might be added, but they would extend our narrative too much. The foregoing reminiscences bring out a few of the drawbacks of the first Public School, and serve as a background to throw into bolder relief Mr. Gowinlock’s undoubted success in imparting a sound, practical education to numerous scholars under somewhat difficult circumstances.