Commemoration
Born in Pennsylvania, Stuart was ordained in 1770 and sent to Fort Hunter, N.Y. as a missionary to the Mohawks. An ardent Loyalist, he came to Canada in 1781 where he was appointed chaplain to the 2nd Battalion King’s Royal Regiment of New York. In 1785, having settled at Cataraqui (Kingston) he became the first resident Anglican clergyman in what is now Ontario. Stuart ministered to the white and Indian settlers of this area and visited as far west as Niagara and the Grand River. He was the first chaplain of the legislative council of Upper Canada and was responsible for the building of Kingston’s earliest church, St. George’s, in 1792.
Background
Stuart was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Although raised a Presbyterian, he became an Anglican at Pennsylvania College (now University of Pennsylvania). He was a friend of Joseph and Mary Brant as a minister in New York. He was also friendly with the Johnson family. He was a chaplain for King’s Royal Regiment of New York. After the revolution, he moved with that group to Montreal.