Our History

From Musquodoboit Pioneers Vol. 2

written by Jennie Reid

Middleton United Church (Presbyterian before 1925)
Middle Musquodoboit Built 1868

754(a)

George Taylor was appointed to take charge of erecting the first Presbyterian church in the valley.
The method of finding building contractors in those days was by public auction, and the erection of the frame was awarded to William and Matthew Guild, who employed James Kent as master-framer. William Logan obtained the contract to lay the floors and finish the outside of the building. Sad to relate, the man who had the contract to finish the inside of the church, after being advanced the money for materials and labour, decamped with the funds. This caused severe hardship as the newly "settled Minister," Mr. Laidlaw, and his faithful flock were forced to worship for almost two years in an unfinished structure, with rough benches and one stove in the porch to heat a lofty room forty by forty feet square. But they endured, and laboured together and with great piety and diligence accumulated new funds to finish the building, which was completed by the summer of 1818.
It was said that this church was capable of holding seven hundred people, and we know there was a full gallery. The pews had doors and were all numbered; every householder in the congregation bought a pew for himself and his family. The value of each pew depended upon its location in the church. It was usual at that date for pews to be sold at auction, and there seems to be no record of the sums received. However, there is an account extant of "a seat in the gallery and part of a pew downstairs in this church changing hands in 1841 for £4.10s, the equivalent of eighteen dollars at that time.
The pulpit stood very high opposite the door, and was reached by a flight of steps, usually "ten to a landing and three more to the pulpit."

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Above and behind the pulpit was the tester or "sounding board", while directly in front and a few steps up from the floor was the Precentor’s desk. The Precentor started the tune and led the congregational singing at all services; it was also his duty to read the Banns of marriage. As a rule, the Precentor read each verse of the Psalm before it was sung to freshly instill the words in the minds of the people, and he usually employed a tuning fork. A number of these sweet singers in Israel have been spoken of in local histories, among them Joseph Parker, William McCurdy, Samuel Hanna, and especially George Guild, "whose voice never failed even on the highest note."
A number of years after the first church built in Upper Musquodoboit was destroyed by fire, the second one was completed in 1830. Dr. Burris has given a full description of this edifice and it would seem to have been almost a complete copy of the first church in Middle Settlement. We are able to assume, therefore, that the first church was heated by two large stoves, from which "Russian Iron" pipes led into a central flue. The finish was a ceiling of boards, tongued and grooved, and the walls were wainscotted. The second attempt to finish the interior of the church was completely successful, and one of the carpenters employed upon this work was James Reid who arrived from Aberdeen in 1815, aged nineteen years. This young man of splendid character became an Elder at an early age in this congregation; lived all his life in the valley and it must have been with very mixed feelings that he saw this church torn down in 1868 to make way for a new one! James Reid and his wife, Jane Whidden, were blessed with a family of thirteen children, three of whom lived to assist at the celebration of the Church Centenary, 1915.

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Anyone who desires a sentimental journey to recapture at least in part, the church atmosphere surrounding the worshippers in the first church in Middle Musquodoboit, would do well to visit the old Presbyterian Church at Grand Pre. This building, known as the "Covenanters Church" is almost the perfect prototype of the church erected here, and was built about the same time, being opened for worship in 1811. This type of church, long since replaced almost everywhere by more modern buildings, was the Scottish pattern of ecclesiastical architecture preferred by our pioneer Presbyterians.
Dignified, plain but impressive, these churches were raised up in communities which bore many marks of the wilderness and were still surrounded by it. Thomas Carlyle, that great Scottish intellect, no doubt ruminating on the ability of Man not only to survive but to "improve" in perilous circumstances, was perhaps thinking of his countrymen who had emigrated to the valley of Musquodoboit and elsewhere when he wrote during this period, "For so it is even in the rudest communities, man never yields himself wholly to brute force. The devout meditation of the isolated man, which flits through his soul, acquires certainty, continuance, when it is shared-in by his brother men. "Where two or three are gathered together", then first does an Altar and act of united Worship open a way from Earth to Heaven; where on, were it but a simple Jacob’s ladder, the heavenly Messengers will travel with glad tidings and unspeakable gifts."
This first Presbyterian church served the valley well for many years; was repaired in 1850, and replaced by the present structure, erected in 1868-69. This old church, by far the largest building in the district was used as the political hall in 1836 when Joseph

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Howe and William Annand were nominated to serve as representatives from Halifax County in the Nova Scotia Assembly, and on many like occasions; in its gallery, Mr. Watson, that redoubtable Christian and Academician, established the first Sunday School which set many youthful feet on the right road for a life time.
In 1849 when the Rev. Robert Sedgewick, newly arrived from Scotland, took Mr.Sprott’s place in the pulpit, he immediately set about having repairs made to the old church, and there was even some mention made at that time of building a new one. That idea, however, seems to have been laid aside for a more convenient season, as the imperative need was a Manse somewhere in the Charge to house the minister and his growing family. It is not known where Mr. Laidlaw lived during his seven year tenure, but when Mr. Sprott arrived in 1825, he immediately bought the house and farm belonging to Samuel Braden.
This purchase served as the Manse, "Tullochgorum", during the ministry of Mr. Sprott, and was to remain the homeplace for three generations of the Sprott family in Middle Musquodoboit.
The new manse built for Mr. Sedgewick in 1851 was erected in Elmsvale, north-east of Mr. Stewart Archibald’s residence (1980). This house was the manse until 1875 when Upper Musquodoboit became a separate charge. Mr. And Mrs. Sedgewick then made their home with a son who had taken up farming not far away in Elmsvale. The manse was sold for four hundred dollars. This occurred during a severe financial slump in the Province in the years succeeding the American Civil War, and Mr. Sedgewick offered to have his promised salary of seven hundred and sixty dollars per annum reduced to six hundred!

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All these happenings were far in the future when in the early 1860’s a Committee was appointed to collect information respecting the building of a new church. These were times of great change generally; railways were either being built or promised; the pros and cons of Confederation were on every tongue; and the people had to begin counting the "bawbees" in dollars and cents instead of the familiar pounds and shillings. Church collections were taken up with a ladle, a long handle with a box on the end. (These boxes caused unseemly noises when the coins rattled about in them, and were replaced with soft bags by 1875). The church janitor was paid four dollars and ninety-five cents for a year’s work.
The building Committee decided in 1868 that the janitorship must be tendered for and awarded before the new church opened. The janitor was to care for the minister's horse at the time of church service, along with his other duties and the animal was to be stabled and provided with oats at Jonathan Layton’s barn nearby. It was from Mr. Layton that the piece of land upon which to build the new church was purchased for forty dollars. This plot lay east of the old church and the new structure was dedicated for worship, Dec. 12, 1869.
Nova Scotia was enjoying another prosperous period. The American Civil War 1861-65 caused a great escalation in the trade in and out of the port of Halifax. There was a general movement in church building and replacement; the plans for the church at Middle Musquodoboit were almost the same as those used for the second Presbyterian church at Shubenacadie, also ready for worship in 1869. John McBain received the contract for the Musquodoboit church and the bid, apparently for a finished edifice, was three thousand, four hundred and forty dollars.

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James Guild had copied and presented the completed plans.
The stone for the foundation came from the brook at Sydney McKeen’s farm in Brookvale, and Edward Taylor of Murchyville supplied the shingles, also by contract. The pews were sold in advance, as had been done for the first church. The choir occupied the two front seats in the gallery, and the windows were clear glass at that time, supplied with blinds made by Sibleys at Wittenburg, against the hot summer sun. The Chancel was not to be added until 1917; otherwise, the church was very much as it is today, (1980).
Meantime, anticipating the needs of the new church, Mrs. Sedgewick had organized a group of women under the name of the "Sewing Circle" to raise necessary funds. Their first project was a giant Bazaar held during the summer of 1869, in the Drill Hall on William Gladwin’s property. This Drill Hall was a legacy from the Fenian scare of a few years before, and provided a large space for tables on which to display goods and serve supper. There is no record available as to the behaviour of the weather, but the colossal sum of five hundred dollars was raised to be used for furnishings in the new church! In October 1871, it was decided to honour Mrs. Sedgewick by giving her maiden name to the fine, new Presbyterian church in Middle Musquodoboit, and "Middleton Church" it remains to this day.
A second Bazaar two years after the first netted the ladies over two hundred dollars which put a fence around the Church property, and a Committee appointed in 1872 granted people the right to drive into the churchyard and hitch their horses during service. This Committee was also responsible for repairs to the church tower.

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In 1877, it was found necessary to paint the church and the cost was one hundred forty-nine dollars and fifty-four cents. At this time, there were ninety-four families on the Middleton Church Roll, and the system of weekly offerings was being used. Ten years later, 1885, the envelope method was abandoned, and collectors were again appointed to collect quarterly in the various districts.
As Dr. Sedgewick had resigned in 1882, and the Rev. Mr. E. S. Boyne was inducted in 1884, it was necessary to provide a manse for the minister in charge. The congregation purchased the lot of land east of the old Drill Hall, already referred to, from Thomas Guild, for one hundred and thirty-five dollars, and plans for a manse were immediately set in motion. John McBain was Treasurer of the manse building fund. Total cost of manse, including land, house, cellar and barn was sixteen hundred and twelve dollars, eighty-eight cents. The well and pump were later provided at a cost of a little over forty dollars. While the manse was being built, Mrs. Cumminger’s house was rented for Mr. Bayne.
The Manse property was a large one, and in 1888 the Rising Sun Temperance Division purchased a building lot for their Lodge or Hall from the west end of it. In 1890, the congregation decided to sell more building lots, all of them west of the manse, and subsequent sales have greatly reduced the manse grounds. The present kitchen was added to the manse in 1897 for two hundred and fifteen dollars; the builders were Hanna and Sutherland. Two years later, an inside pump was installed, and when the fashionable veranda was constructed in 1920 it cost the congregation almost five hundred dollars. It was early in the ministry of the Rev. Edward Grant, that the beautiful elms were planted in front of the manse, 1892.

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In the same year, an organ was purchased for Middleton Church at the cost of one hundred and seventy-five dollars; the first organist was Mrs. Daniel Reid. In 1893 a woodshed was built, and it was one of the Janitor’s duties to have the wood piled therein not later than June, each year. However, by 1911, the woodshed was disposed of, as there was ample room for wood in the new cellar. The cellar had been dug at a cost of forty-four dollars and two furnaces installed in 1896, for the sum of two hundred and ten. The old stoves and pipes, sixty-four feet long with four elbows, - were sold.
The bell which still summons the faithful worshippers to service in Middleton Church was presented to the church in 1899. Robert Reid and his family gave it in memory of his wife, Mary Ann Archibald. The schedule for tolling the bell was precisely laid down: one hour before service, to ring for ten minutes; one-quarter hour before service, ring again for three minutes. This bell has a joyful "tongue" and can be heard for many miles on the clear air of a summer morning.
As the windows in the church were large and the hot summer sun rotted the woven fibre of the blinds, necessitating rather frequent replacement, in 1909, the Sewing Circle provided the church with stained glass windows so familiar to us today. Large donations to this project were received from the families whose names are shown on the glass panels.
The Chancel made a great difference in the appearance of the church when it was added in 1917. No doubt, the idea came to fruition in 1915 at the Centenary, when Angus McLeod, a native son, returned from St. Paul, and contributed to a fund for the Chancel erection.

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A number of members in the Reid family also gave generously to the project, and Charles Blackadar donated the land. Cecil McDougal measured off the plot of ground and made the plan which was attached to the Deed, which he gave as well. The total cost of Chancel including furnishings came to almost one thousand dollars.
No important changes in the church buildings seem to have been undertaken until 1958. The Temperance Hall had been used as a church hall for many years, but it was decided to construct a full basement under the church to give a large hall for meetings, with smaller side rooms for Sunday School classes, kitchen facilities, lavatories, and so forth. Accordingly, the Church was raised and a cement floor and foundation laid in 1958. An oil furnace had been installed, a well bored, a modern kitchen built and equipped, with the plumbing completed before 1965 when the celebrations were held to commemorate one hundred and fifty years of unbroken ministry in Middleton Church.
In 1972 a Public Address System was installed in the church. This service was provided with funds from the estate of the late Earnest Archibald and generous donations on the part of others in the congregation.
When the Centenary of the congregation was celebrated in 1915, two beautiful tablets of polished Italian marble were placed upon the church walls, one on each side of the pulpit. Reading from the pews, the memorial on the left gives the names of the ministers of the church from 1815-1915.

1815-1822 Rev. John Laidlaw

1825-1849 Rev. John Sprott

1849-1884 Rev. Robert Sedgewick, D.D.

1884-1890 Rev. Earnest S. Bayne, B.A.

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1891-1894 Rev. Edward Grant

1894-1910 Rev. Edwin Smith, D.D.

1910- Rev. Major H. McIntosh, B.C.

The tablet on the right of the pulpit is inscribed:

1815 To the Pioneer Men and Women 1915

who with heroic courage

aid the foundations

of the Presbyterian Church

in the Musquodoboit Valley,

and to their descendants,

and successors,

whose zeal and loyalty have made the

first century of its existence a

period of progress and prosperity,

this Memorial is

lovingly erected.

Heb. 12:1

From the time of that sunny Sabbath day, July 11, 1915, when the Rev. Thomas Sedgewick, worthy son of Robert, dedicated these memorials in Middleton Church, hundreds of worshippers have meditated upon them. To those who join their voices in prayer and praise and still sing the songs of David; to all who yet "come to Kirk in a goodly company", these tablets offer, verily, sermons in stone, and courage for the race that is set before us". The congregation is most assuredly "compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses"; these marbles remind us, day unto day, of this blessed heritage.

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Rev. John Sprott
Musquodoboit Presbyterian
Charge, 1825-1849

764(b)

The History of Presbyterianism

In the

Musquodoboit Valley

(Middleton United Church

and many other matters.)

Presbyterianism, established as the State Church in Scotland 1592, has been carried by the sons and daughters of that country to all the world.

O Resistless, Restless Race!
Pioneers! O Pioneers!

"……. brave hearts that crossed estranging seas,

And broke the hush of the primeval wood,

Who lit their candles in the solitude,

And met the saffron morn upon their knees, -

What though their homes were void of luxuries,

Learning ne’er begged, nor altars smokeless stood,

Nor cheer nor friendship lacked the joys their rude,

Kind, log-heaped hearths could give. It is to these

I bare my head! ……"

A. L. Fraser

PAGE 765.

The History of Presbyterianism
In the Musquodoboit Valley

Among the many settlements of Scottish Presbyterians effected in early times, the largest was the one known as the Plantation of Ulster. This was an establishment of Presbyterians in Ireland, planned and carried out by James I of England, James IV of Scotland, 1603-1625. Although the son of Mary Stewart, James had been zealously nurtured in the Presbyterian faith by John Knox, himself. During the next hundred years, many thousands of these Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, all descendants of the first Covenanters, emigrated across the seas to settle in the New England Colonies and the Carolinas.
After the Revolutionary War in America, many of these people, scarcely established in the New World, were again on the move as United Empire Loyalists who, faithful to British rule, were promised grants of land in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Upper Canada. The Musquodoboit Valley was in great part settled by these Loyalists and by second generation "Planters" from the Truro region, almost all of whom were of the Presbyterian persuasion. During the next half century, these courageous souls were joined by immigrants directly arrived from Scotland and Ireland. The Ministers called to labour in this wilderness were all from the "land of brown heath and shaggy wood", save Mr. Murdock, a Plantation Presbyterian from Ulster.
These pioneers endured and survived unbelievable hardships in their new life but their religious freedom was secure from the beginning. In 1759, Governor Lawrence had given under his hand in the Council Chamber, Halifax, Nova Scotia, full rights to

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"any Protestant body i.e. dissenting from the Church of England, to build churches, choose ministers and to administer the sacraments." At the same time, these people were exempted from all taxes and tithes to the Established Church. This meant that Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists were in a position to set up Charges, within which adherents contributed solely for the support of their own ministers.
The first recorded Presbyterian church service took place in Canada at the siege of Louisbourg, 1758, exactly one year prior to this proclamation. It was conducted by Colonel Fraser, Chaplain to the Highland Regiment. Governor Lawrence was there; he had temporarily left the seat of Government in Halifax to lead a Brigade at the siege. James Wolfe, who was to capture Quebec the following year, was also a Brigadier in this engagement.
It is interesting to speculate as to the possible influence upon the mind of Governor Lawrence, when he observed the magnificent conduct of the gallant Highlanders. Who knows at this remote date? The fearless performance of these men, and the faithful piety of their Chaplain, may very well have helped to bring about Presbyterian emancipation almost immediately thereafter.
This good news from the new colonies took time to reach Dissenters in the Old Country, there to be much discussed and debated upon before recruiting ministers to cross the sea. Meantime, the Presbytery of New Brunswick, New Jersey, sent Mr. James Lyon "to officiate in the said colony of Nova Scotia, for the space of ten months or longer if the state of affairs require it." As the district round and about Truro was

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already settling down after the influx of American "Planters" who, in 1761, had begun to take over vacated Acadian farms, when the Rev. Mr. Lyon came among them in 1764, his welcome was assured. During the years 1766-1768, the first Presbyterian Church was erected in Canada. This was centered in the Robie Street Cemetery, Truro.
Almost twenty years passed before the Rev. Hugh Graham arrived, as a "Secessionist "Secessionist Missionary" from Scotland, with authority to associate himself with the Rev. Daniel Cock, Truro’s first "settled minister" and the Rev. David Smith of Londonderry, both of whom were preaching to flourishing congregations, and to set up "a Presbytery". This he did. The first Presbytery in Canada came into being, Truro, August 2, 1786. Mr. Cock was elected Moderator, and Mr. Smith, Clerk.
Early in the same year, 1786, John, Matthew and Robert Archibald from Truro were given a large grant of land in Centre Musquodoboit, for many years referred to as Deacontown. The Archibalds were noted for their Presbyterian piety: in fact Bib"with one hand on the Bible and t’other on plough". In the new homesteads of John, Matthew and Robert, as well as those of their scattered neighbours up and down the Musquodoboit River, including other members of the Archibald clan, David, Thomas and "seven others" who received large land grants at Middle Musquodoboit in 1783-1787, a burning need was felt for spiritual sustenance and the ministry of the church. About the same time, William Fisher and "twelve others" were granted large tracts of land at Upper Musquodoboit, and they, too, were Presbyterians from Truro.

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It is not difficult to understand how it came about that the Musquodoboit Valley has been for the most part, from the very beginning under the care of the Truro Presbytery, instead of Halifax, the point of entry for the Loyalist and immigrant settlers who came at the same time. In 1792, a petition from the Archibalds and their neighbours in the Musquodoboit Valley to the Presbytery in Truro to be provided with a minister was answered favourably, and the Rev. James Munroe was appointed as an ordained missionary, the first to supply regular services. Mr. Munroe was also responsible for pastoral care to all the settlers in the Stewiacke Valley, the Upper and Middle Stewiackes, as well as Onslow, which had erected a meeting house for Presbyterians and Baptists in 1768-69.
It is with awe that we regard the extent of the territory Mr. Munroe was asked to cover in the capacity of spiritual advisor. To Mr. Munroe, the Covenanting faith was as a burning coal in the breast. Irreproachably strict in his own life, he expected like conduct from others and traveled constantly from one end of his charge to the other, usually on foot, preaching a strong, Calvinistic creed that admitted no compromise with evil, wherever met. Appearances meant little to him, and as he was a bachelor, there was no wife to care for his linen, and his careless dress was often criticized. In his quick tempered fashion, Mr. Munroe carried on his ministry in the wilderness for several years going from homestead to homestead, hamlet to hamlet, in all weathers, often where there were no roads, not even a trail. At nightfall, if far from habitation in the woods, he would climb a tree and tie himself to it with a length of rope carried for the purpose. Mr. Munroe was a native of Orbiston, Scotland, born 1747; he ended his days in Antigonish, 1819.

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Further down the river, the Rev. James Murdock took up residence in Meagher’s Grant in 1787. This district appears to have been settled almost exclusively by Loyalists, and about 1790 on what is still known as Meeting House Hill, a structure was built for Dissenter worship, called "The Lord's Barn". This was a common name for any rough building used for services by early American Baptists. (Cf. "Holyoke, Massachusettes", by Green). Mr. Murdock had been sent out from Ireland, by the Anti-burgher Synod in 1766, had preached in the Protestant Dissenter’s Meeting House in Halifax, which is now St. Matthew’s United Church, and married Abigail Salter, the daughter of a very wealthy merchant in the City. After some years at Horton and Windsor, Mr. Murdock brought the gospel to the people of Shubenacadie, Gay’s River and the lower reaches of the Stewiacke and Musquodoboit Rivers for twelve years, and he was much beloved. His house in "the Grant" was on a site now surrounded by the cemetery, and when he most tragically lost his life by drowning, he was laid to rest not far from his own dwelling. One hundred years ago, 1874, his descendents erected a handsome granite stone to his memory, which refers to Mr. Murdock as "the earliest (settled) Presbyterian minister in Nova Scotia".
In the year 1797, the Rev. John Waddell, a newly ordained evangelist arrived in Truro from the old country. He was called to the charge of Stewiacke and Musquodoboit but as the Presbytery preferred that he stay in Truro and become Mr. Cock’s colleague and eventual successor, he naturally complied. The Rev. Matthew Drips was also called to serve in succession to Mr. Munroe, but declined so rugged a

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and Musquodoboit were detached from Onslow, and formed together a separate congregation. This newly organized pastoral charge sent out a call to the Rev. Hugh Graham who had been conducting a successful ministry at Cornwallis since participating in the formation of the first Presbytery at Truro, 1786. Mr. Graham accepted the call which was dated August 26, 1799 and signed by the following pioneers (Ref. Miller Book, page 238).

Robert Archibald

William Cox

Eliakin Tupper

James Dunlap

Alexander Stewart

John Fisher

Matthew Johnson

Thomas Brenton

Samuel Tupper

Eliakin Tupper Jr.

William Kennedy

Robert Hamilton

Robert Geddes

James Johnson

William Putnam

John Archibald 3rd.

Samuel Fisher

Alexander Henry

Adam Dunlap

Alexander Stewart 2nd

Sam. Fisher Archibald

Margaret Ferrell

Matt. T. Archibald

Thomas Reynolds

William Archibald

John Holman

Elizabeth Dickey

John Dean

Thomas Croker

James Kennedy

Simeon Whidden

John Kennedy

John Pratt

John Bonnell

Roert Morris

David Dickey

Eddy Tupper

Robert Kennedy

Matthew Tupper

David Archibald 8th.

William Smith

Sam. B. Archibald

Hugh Logan

Michael Geddes

Edward Brydon

John Nelson

Samuel Fisher

James Guild

Samuel Nelson

George McLeod

John Scott

John Moore

Peter Hynds

John Higgins

John Archibald

David Archibald 5th

Adams Archibald

Johnson Kaulback

Robert Nelson

John Geddes

Richard Upham

John Smith

Alexander McN. Fisher

James S. Reed

Robert Geddes

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Robert Nelson

John Geddes

Richard Upham

John Smith

Alexander McN. Fisher

Robert Geddes

Mr. Graham took up residence in Upper Stewiacke and Preached his first sermon in his new charge on the Sabbath following, which as it happened, was New Year’s Day, 1800!

A most conscientous pastor, Mr. Graham ministered to this large and scattered congregation until 1815. Perhaps because he found it so difficult to reach the members of his flock, one of his great preoccupations was the building of roads in the district. A small, but creditable library was formed under his direction in Upper Musquodoboit, and he was one of the prime movers in establishing a Bible Society in Nova Scotia.

When the increase in population necessitated a further division in this pastoral charge, and Musquodoboit separated from Stewiacke in 1815, Mr. Graham remained in Stewiacke and continued his labours until his death in 1829, at the age of seventy-five years. Born at West Calder, Scotland, Mr. Graham had been a childless widower when he arrived in Nova Scotia. During his stay at Cornwallis, he married Elizabeth Whidden, they had six children, and lie buried in the cemetery south of the river in Upper Stewiacke.

During this period and for a half century to come, this part of Nova Scotia was referred to as "the interior of the country" by people living in Halifax. Roads, however, were opening up, although in a "perlous state" for a great part of the year, and anything that could be produced in the Musquodoboit Valley and transported to Halifax

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found a ready sale. In the early years of the 1800's, the Napoleonic Wars were raging and Halifax was a boom town; then, as now, a great port. American laws forbade selling goods for help and comfort to Britain but shrewd Yankee merchants flouted this every day by sending off supplies in New England hulls and transferring them at Halifax to Nova Scotian ships which rushed them to Wellington, dodging Napoleon's blockade". There were Bluenose privateers bringing prizes into harbour as well as Naval ships towing other vessels as spoils of war. Profits were enormous, and all the city churches benefited. Some got new steeples, one or two a peal of bells and St. Mary's Catholic Church, then known as St. Peter's, acquired an organ brought out from England. This temporary wave of prosperity washed even into "the interior" enabling the pioneers of Musquodoboit to plan for their own church and settled minister. Grist mills, tanneries, blacksmith shops, and the small clearings rapidly turning into large and profitable farms, were transforming the Colony. The jeering epithet applied by early immigrants, "Nova Scarcity" was now becoming "Nova Security".
John Layton gave the land upon which to erect a Presbyterian Church in Middle Musquodoboit, and in the Autumn of 1814 three men were chosen to form the building committee: Adam Archibald, Hugh Archibald and George Taylor. This church went up very quickly, but the inside was not finished until 1818 as the contractor engaged to do the work, having been given an "advance", departed with the funds!
Meanwhile, the Rev. John Laidlaw newly arrived from Scotland where he had been ordained in 1802 and ministered to two congregations, was extended a call in

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April, 1815. The Presbytery appointed his induction as the first pastor in the Musquodoboit charge for June 29th of the same year. What a splendid occasion this must have been for the people of the Musquodoboit valley! We can be sure they came from every homestead, many a goodly distance, to take part in the first service in the beautiful church raised to the glory of God by the infinite labour of pioneer hands over weary and dangerous years. No doubt the Precentor led the voices in Psalm 122,

I joy'd when to the house of God

God up, they said to me.

Jerusalem, within thy gates

Our feet shall standing be.

There would be much rejoicing and few dry eyes among the singers on that gladsome day!

The induction sermon was preached by the Rev. Hugh Graham, happy to be among the people, but relieved at the halving of his pastoral labours. His text was 11 Cor. 5:18 "And all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation".

As was the custom in those days, the service lasted some hours; the Truro Presbytery had traveled to Musquodoboit for the occasion and Mr. Waddell, Moderator, pro tem, conducted the solemn induction service for Mr. Laidlaw.

Although the news did not reach Nova Scotia for forty-six days after, the Battle of Waterloo would ensue a post-war slump in trade that was bound to affect everyone in Nova Scotia, but no one thought of this when Mr. Laidlaw entered upon his ministry in Musquodoboit. His pastoral charge extended from Meagher's Grant to Dean and out the Sheet Harbour Road, where in 1814 he was given a large grant of land at Pleasant Valley, still known as "Laidlaw's Meadow".

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Mr. Laidlaw was married at the time of his arrival in Nova Scotia, and had a young family. He had married Miss Agnes Scott, a daughter of the Manse in Jedburgh. During Mr. Laidlaw's pastorate, a very important event took place. In Scotland for many generations, the Presbyterian Church had been seriously divided into several distinct branches, the members of which differed greatly, not in matters of Faith, but on points of procedure. Unfortunately, these differences had been brought across the ocean and caused dissension among the struggling congregation-builders in the New World.
In 1817, most happily for all concerned, the Burgher Presbytery of Truro, the Anti-Burgher Presbytery of Pictou, and the Presbytery of Halifax united to form the Synod of Nova Scotia. As the Musquodoboit charge claimed members of all these branches, although predominantly Burgher, as was Mr. Laidlaw, himself, no doubt there was often friction, but apparently all went well until 1822.
There is no doubt that Mr. Laidlaw was a very fine preacher, and one who according to contemporary records "adorned by the graces of his life and character, the gospel which he proclaimed". He worked hard among his people; under his care the first church was built at Upper Musquodoboit, but it would appear that he was a very sensitive man. When in 1822 he was accused to the Synod of Sabbath-breaking, even though defended by that remarkable giant in the Church, Thomas McCulloch of Pictou, and unreservedly acquitted, he resigned. The Rev. Mr. McCulloch refers to the Laidlaw Sabbath case with oblique satire in one of his "Stepsure" letters to the Acadian Recorder late in 1822. Two years later, having removed to the United States, Mr. Laidlaw died.

PAGE 775

At this time it is hard for us to comprehend what happened, but in 1822, among Scottish Presbyterians especially, there were "sins and sins". To some, the slightest infraction of the Sabbath commandment constituted a most heinous sin, and anyone condoning it shared the guilt. Furthermore, Jehovah appeared to punish his sinful children more often than he praised. Otherwise, how could cholera and much dreadful diseases be explained! Every immigrant ship seemed to bring a new epidemic to Halifax and fear of contagion was every-present in the minds of homesteaders in the interior. After all, where is Utopia? Is there any country, where more than a few people are wise? The strict laws of Sabbath decreed that only acts of "mercy or necessity" might be undertaken on that day.
Poor Mr. Laidlaw was accused of carrying a pound of tea in his pocket; of asking the blacksmith to send up next day the harrow teeth ordered; and of sending away a tub of butter by carrier; and all of these things it was said he did on the Sabbath! Contemporary with this unhappy incident was the case in a Scottish village, where coming out to Kirk one Sunday morning, four young men, observing another walking up the hill road and whistling as he went, they pursed him, beat him severely and left him unconscious. When called to account, they protested that it was only their duty to punish a Sabbath-breaker.

Who by aspersions throw a stone

At the head of others, hit their own.

The backlash from Mr. Laidlaw's resignation resulted in the congregation at Musquodoboit being without a pastor until 1825, when the Rev. John Sprott, settled in Windsor for some years past, accepted the call to this charge. He was inducted September 13, in the same year.

PAGE 776

Mr. Sprott was a man remarkable for strength of character, splendid physique, evangelical enthusiasm and his zeal in educational matters. Born in Stoney Kirk, Scotland, 1780, he was a minister for over forty years, twenty-four of them in Musquodoboit. Resigning in 1849, he lived on his farm in the midst of his people for twenty years longer, travelling and preaching around the Province whenever occasion offered.
He brought up a large family and his great concern was to give them a good education, and as a School Commissioner and Examiner of teachers, Mr. Sprott endeavored to raise teaching standards for the whole district. It was said that Joseph Howe gave roads to Musquodoboit and that Mr. Sprott gave schools. The number of schools increased from one to fourteen during his stay in the valley. He is known to have preached in one of the very early schools, that of Elderbank, then Little River, where it was first established in 1830, with Mr. Wilks as school master. Mr. Sprott persuaded Mr. James Watson, a fine scholar who had been educated for the ministry in Scotland, to come to Musquodoboit and set up a school for the Sprott children and others. Mr. Watson included in his curriculum, Greek, Latin, French, English in all its branches, Higher Mathematics and a course in Moral Philosophy. In a short time, this school became an Academy, with boarding pupils coming from Truro and many other places.
During the pastorate of Mr. Sprott, the churches in the area increased from one to seven - the first church in Upper Musquodoboit had burned - and he carried the gospel into every home and hamlet in the territory including the region along the Eastern Shore.
Mr. Sprott, who deplored any type of religious controversy, resigned in 1849 when certain Burgher and Anti-Burgher fires which had smouldered underground

PAGE 777

since 1817, appeared to fan into flames. A Congregational minister, Rev. Sydney Markland was pastor to the Burghers for a time, and Mr. Sprott's immediate successor was the Rev. Robert Sedgewick, another Scot, this time from Paisley, and like his predecessor, a man of great abilities. After twelve years as a pastor to the Belmont St. Congregation in Aberdeen, Mr. Sedgewick had come to Nova Scotia where he was shortly inducted into the Musquodoboit charge, embracing at that time, the Upper and Middle Settlements from "the red Bridge to Gastons", a distance of twenty-eight miles. This was his only charge in the new land, and a very happy and successful ministry it proved to be for thirty-three years. He resigned in 1882 because of ill health and died three years later, mourned by a grateful and loving people.
Mr. Sedgewick became a very famous preacher; in his later years he was known far and wide as "the old man eloquent". In 1870, when nine Presbyteries and seventy-seven ministers composed the Synod of the Lower Provinces, Mr. Sedgewick was elected as Moderator. He was again chosen to serve in 1875. A year later, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Soon after Mr. Sedgewick arrived in Musquodoboit, that "old church" was repaired at Middle Settlement, and a meeting was held September 29, 1849 to deal with church finances. The minister's stipend was 150 pounds per year, each Settlement paying one-half this amount. Middle Settlement was divided into nine wards, with a collector for each ward. This meeting was chaired by Elder James Reid and the Secretary, Pro. Tem., was W. David Archibald.

PAGE 778

WARD 1

ELMSVALE

Edward Logan

David Archibald 16th. Com.

Samuel Braden

Charles S. Mullen

James Guild Jr.

Francis Parker, Collector

Joseph Parker

Thomas Parker

John Cooper

Joseph Cooper

James Cooper

Adam Dickey

Thomas McCallum Jr.

Robert Dickey

David Dickey

Adam Bryson

James Guild Sr.

William Guild 2nd.

Matthew Guild

William Guild 3rd.

John Bryson

WARD 2

NORTH

Adams Archibald

Alex McCurdy

Henry Archibald, Collector

William Guild 1st.

Alex Clark, Com.

Robert Kaulback

Francis Layton

Jonathon Layton

William Layton

George McL. Guild

Joseph Bruce

David Logan

Mrs. Sarah Logan

Robert Logan

Dr. Harrison

Robert A. Logan

Alex Guild

Frederick Hurley

Mrs. Price Archibald

WARD 3

GLENMORE

John Kaulback

Jennet (Mrs. Thomas Kaulback)

William Bryson

James Bryson

David Murphy, Collector

James Murphy, Com.

Sam McFetridge

Robert Henderson

James Pearson

John Bates

John King

WARD 4

TAYLOR SETTLEMENT,

CHASWOOD

James McFetridge

George Taylor

William Annand

Thomas Sargent

John Taylor

Robert Taylor

Richard Archibald

Edward Taylor

Sam Irvin, Com.

James Cassidy

James Taylor

William Wilson

John Wilson

Thomas Bell

Robert Leck

William Leck

Henry Leck

John Bell

William Bell

Isaac Bell, Collector

PAGE 779

WARD 6

BROOKVALE

James McCurdy

James King

Hugh Hanna

James Reid Sr.

James Reid Jr.

Alex Stewart

John Reid, Collector

Simeon Reid

William Reid

John Pearson

James White

Thomas White

John McFetridge

Scott Hutchinson

John McDonald

John Hollinsworth

David Hollinsworth, Jr.

Hugh Hollinsworth

William G. Archibald, Com.

M.J. Archibald

Johnson Kaulback

WARD 5

HIGGINSVILLE

John Lindsay Jr.

John Lindsay Sr.

Alex Lindsay

William Lindsay, Collector

Thomas Lindsay

John Higgins 7th

John Higgins Sr.

George Higgins Sr.

George Higgins Jr.

Simeon Higgins

Alex Brown

John White Jr.

Edward McCabe

Robert Higgins

Thomas Higgins

James Higgins Sr.

Peter Higgins

William McLeod

James Higgins Jr.

James Lindsay, Com.

John Higgins 6th.

WARD 7

SOUTH

James Brown

Alex Stephen, Com.

Thomas Jamieson

William Fox

John McLean

Joseph McMullen, Collector

Henry Morris

David Hollinsworth

James Murchy

James Taylor, Com.

James McNab, Collector

Mrs. McDougald

Thomas Rowe

Peter Ogilvie Sr.

Peter Ogilvie Jr.

George Ogilvie

WARD 8

ELDERBANK

(LITTLE RIVER)

William Walsh

Alex Taylor

James Meagher

Michael Meagher

William Brown

Alex Brown

John Hurley, Collector

Andrew (?) Grant

Duncan Grant

William Hay

John White Sr.

Alex Shaw

Alex Scott

William Scott

Mrs. Braden

John Tracey

WARD 9 BRUCE AND

CRUICKSHANK SETTLEMENT

Mrs. Gordon

Andrew Cruickshank

George Cole

James Cruickshank

Peter Cruickshank

Sam Taylor, Collector

John Rhind

James Stephen

Robert Brown

James Bruce Jr., Com.

James Bruce Sr.

George Bruce

John Bruce

Robert Rhodes

1862, reduced to 8 wards. 1885 6: Elmsvale, North, South, Brookvale, Glenmore and Taylorville (Chaswood).
There is a saying that new brooms sweep clean, so it follows that Mr. Sedgewick newly arrived from his Scottish charge held under the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, where a regular "tithe" was paid by all, hoped to place the finances of Musquodoboit on a similar footing. The district having been divided into Wards with Collectors, the funds thus obtained would take care of the stipend, badly needed repairs to the church and other expenses. Those who could not pay in money were expected to contribute oats, oatmeal, potatoes and other produce.

PAGES 780 & 781

Through the years, it often proved difficult to collect sums or goods on the "Voluntary System". Mr. Sprott had little use for this method, and wrote on the subject in his usual trenchant style: "Ministers of the gospel in most cases cannot live upon the profits of their own profession. They must often plough potatoes and rake hay. The voluntary principle is the most frail and fluctuating of all securities and can do little in the wilderness. We often see Paul the tent-maker supporting Paul the Apostle. This voluntaryism has no charm for ministers." Robert Sedgewick discovered the truth of this for himself.
Times were often hard; there was "the year of the mice" when almost every morsel of food grown for man and beast was consumed in the fields by ravaging millions of lemming-like creatures. Disastrous floods came to the Valley from time to time, and occasionally there was "frost every month in the year". Through good times and bad, the Rev. Robert Sedgewick ministered to his people. A manse was built for him in Elmsvale sometime during 1851, two years after his arrival.
Mr. Sedgewick was ably assisted in all good works by his wife, a most estimable woman who had been born in Perth, with the maiden name of Middleton. For forty-one years, Mrs. Sedgewick laboured by her husband's side; she was the mother of eleven children, and her death in 1878 was cause for deep mourning in the congregation where she was beloved.
The first sixty years of the last century was a period of great population growth in the Musquodoboit Valley and the Presbyterian Church continued to grow along with it. Many of the opinion differences persisted after 1817, but slowly and patiently with the help and guidance of such men as John Sprott and Robert Sedgewick, these gradually

PAGE 782

dwindled. In 1860, St. Andrew's handsome church, later to be destroyed by fire and rebuilt, was erected at Elderbank, up to that time known as Little River. This congregation was "inalienably church of Scotland", but the "Presbyterians" were allowed to use the building for their services as well.
In 1875, when the various branches of the Presbyterian faith united to form the Presbyterian Church of Canada, Meagher's Grant worshippers who had been for many years attached to Musquodoboit Harbour, were transferred to the Elderbank Charge.
Meantime, the lovely church of St. Paul was opened in Antrim on the last day of the old year, 1867. The Rev. John Sprott who addressed the gathering reported that "such stillness prevailed in the church, you could have heard the falling of a leaf or the buzzing of a fly. It was pleasing to see a section of the wilderness cleared and made the site of a church devoted to the service of God."
This church at Antrim had been the special concern of the Rev. John McMillan, later pastor at St. Paul's in Truro and awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree. He remained all his years a great admirer of Mr. Sprott and Dr. Sedgewick, as attested by his address at the Musquodoboit Centenary, 1915.
Musquodoboit was extremely fortunate to have in these Presbyterian leaders, during the early years, John Sprott and Robert Sedgewick; the former a graduate of Edinborough University, the latter an alumnus of Glasgow; both men of learning combined with sterling character. With the establishment of Mr. Watson's Academy, along with the intellectual leadership of Sprott and Sedgewick, this Valley in the wilderness began to be favourably known.

PAGE 783

This was the time when Wordsworth's "natural" poetry was fresh and much discussed; when Carlyle's dyspeptic doctrines were hotly debated on both sides of the Atlantic and the Romances of Sir Walter Scott were being read by everybody, - even those who "never read novels". It is certain volumes such as these and many more found their way to the old Manse and the new one in Middle Musquodoboit, whenever a mail packet arrived in Halifax from the Old Country.
By and large, however, despite new arrivals in the Valley, and the departure of numerous sons and daughters to seek their fortune in the "Boston States", Upper Canada or the Great West, - this last "new frontier" which beckoned man, - Musquodoboit remained sequestered and peaceful. In 1835, Mr. Logan wrote to a minister in Scotland that "No one here needs to lock his door", and a safe Valley it remained. Elizabeth Frame, writing about the Musquodoboit Valley about the same time describes the inhabitants in simple terms as pious, industrious people;
"What kindly welcome was given to all who chanced to arrive at the pioneer dwelling! The huge fireplace was the centre of all comfort, and the round logs would be stirred, sending a stream of sparks up the chimney, concealing the iron crane and baked-kettle, its lid covered with glowing embers. The floor of pine was kept white with scrubbing sand, there were high-backed chairs, often home-made; there were pewter plates and horn spoons on the dresser along with dishes brought from the old country and always a few well-worn books. After supper, the father would make shoes for the family or mend farming tools; the mother would be busy at the knitting needles or spinning wheel, while the children read in the firelight, chapters from the Bible, "verse about".

PAGE 784

This reads to us like "the Cotter's Saturday Night" by Bobby Burns, and so it is, very like indeed. Burns wrote his poem, based on his own family fireside, the same year that the Rev. James Munroe sailed for America from his Scottish home and soon after began his ministry in the wilderness of Musquodoboit. John Sprott, at that time little knowing his own destiny, was a small boy five years old, not far away at Stoney Kirk. Robert Sedgewick was born at Paisley twenty years later, but grew up at Greenock where the "Highland Mary" of Burns haunting poems rests in the cemetery of the North Parish Church.
All these Scottish strands of life and memory became interwoven in this valley, and in the history of Presbyterianism among us, it is good to know that Mr. Sprott and Mr. Sedgewick were living with, and ministering to their "ain folk" whom they loved and understood. It was Old Scotland in the New World, and even those who had been twice-exiled from their homes, and came as weary Loyalists, were Presbyterian pilgrims for the most part, hoping to sing their Psalms in a peaceful Valley.
In 1875, Upper Musquodoboit became a separate Charge, and Mr. & Mrs. Sedgewick went to live with a son on a nearby farm. The Manse was sold. This was the year when all the Presbyterians in Canada united into one body, but for some in the Valley this union was looked upon as taking place under pressure from Upper Canada. Canadian Confederation had been completed in 1867, and almost everywhere outside the City of Halifax, was regarded with very mixed feelings. These foreboding were perhaps well-founded; when the Intercolonial Railway opened July 1, 1876, instead of carrying Maritime goods to Upper Canadian markets, traffic went the other way. Vast quantities of cheaply produced goods poured into Halifax and after fifty years of

PAGE 785

remarkable prosperity, Nova Scotia faced an indefinite period of unhappy decline.
At about the same time as the foregoing, gold mines were opened up at Caribou, Mooseland and Moose River. Over the next quarter century, considerable prosperity came to the Upper Musquodoboit Valley from the sale of farm produce and imported goods of all kinds to the miners who streamed in to the "diggings". In the newly separated Charge of Upper Musquodoboit, two new churches were built; Sharon church in Dean, 1884 and a new St. James, not far from where the old one stood near Parker's corner, 1886.
In 1877 Mr. Sedgewick received his degree of D.D. from Queen's University, and in 1882, full of years and honours, but in failing health, he demitted the charge after thirty-three years of blessed ministry to the people of Musquodoboit. The Congregation presented him with an eloquent address and a handsome "purse" in token of their esteem. Three years later, he was laid to rest near Middleton church, at which impressive service, the Rev. E.S. Bayne, his successor, was assisted by several other clergymen.
Mr. Bayne was called in May 1884, and served the charge as a dedicated pastor until 1890. During his ministry, the new church was built at Riverside. For many years, the residents of Centre Musquodoboit, or Elmsvale, had felt the need of a Presbyterian Church in their own beautiful vale. Motor cars were still far in the future, and it was a long way to Middle and farther still to Upper, although one old gentleman was known to walk the distance every Sabbath, to St. James from Newcomb's Corner. This new congregation embraced the people from four hamlets; Higginsville, Newcomb's Corner, The Flat (Elmsvale) and Deacontown, (Centre Musquodoboit). This district consisted at the time not only of the fine farming area which it still enjoys, but two or three general stores, two post offices, blacksmith, harness and carpenter shops as well as a tannery and sawmill.

PAGE 786

January 21, 1887 saw Riverside Church formally opened and dedicated to the service of God. The Rev. Edward Grant of Upper Stewiacke was the morning speaker and for evening worship, the Rev. J.A. Cairns from Upper Musquodoboit, officiated. It was reported that the choir sat in the gallery and joined a capacity congregation in singing the time-hallowed psalms of David which constituted the principal music of the sanctuary in the Presbyterian church of that time.
During the first year or more of his pastorate, Mr. Bayne lived in a house belonging to Mrs. Cumminger and rented for him by the congregation. In October, 1884, however, a lot of land was purchased and by January 1886, the present manse had been built and was being insured along with the church.
1915 provided a very great occasion for thankfulness on the part of the inhabitants of this region. Although it was billed as "The Centenary of Presbyterianism in the Musquodoboit Valley, 1815-1915", members of every creed in the district rallied round to celebrate with the seven Presbyterian Churches. Dr. Thomas Sedgewick, son of Robert, gave the Communion address at Middleton Church.
There were services in all seven churches that Sabbath Day, July 11, 1915 Meagher's Grant, Elderank, Antrim, Middleton, Upper Musquodoboit, Riverside and Dean. Special services, all of them with visiting ministers who came from far and near, even Dr. McMillen was there; now a very ancient man, onetime minister of Elderbank, ordained there, and the encourager of all the out-liers in Antrim to build a church of their own in 1867, forty-eight years before.

PAGE 787

There were eloquently moving addresses given in Middleton Church, Monday and Tuesday following, by former sons of Musquodoboit, among them Dr. W.P. Archibald, Springside; chief Justice Archibald and Mr. Justice Hutchinson, both of the Supreme Court in the Province of Quebec. Mrs. Isaac Murray, a surviving daughter of the renowned Mr. Sprott, enchanted a large audience with valuable reminiscences of the Musquodoboit of her youth.
The Exhibition Grounds, centered with the fine old house built long before by Dr. Harrison, was the scene of all the social activities which were very festive, indeed. People who had come from great distances to join the solemn thanksgiving for one hundred years of Presbyterianism in the Valley, met and talked with childhood friends, perhaps not seen for fifty years! James Leck came all the way from Minneapolis, after many years away and Angus McLeod arrived from St. Paul, Minnesota. From the western States, the western Provinces, indeed from every Province and from Boston a throng of sons and daughters, all convened in happy excitement for three days of golden sunshine, in July 1915.
An "Antique Procession" circled the grounds twice, led by the ox and plough in honoured place, symbolic of 1815, followed by a representative pageant of valley customs and artifacts, ending in 1915 with automobiles and new farm machinery. In the background, the new railway could be easily viewed by the celebrators.
This railroad so long promised, was at last a reality, hurriedly finished to move timber and other produce from the Valley to supply "material" for the great struggle which was raging in Europe. The First World War was a year old. Young men had already left Musquodoboit; some would never return, and there must have been anxious hearts among the prosperous crowds of two thousand people "en Fete" during those days.

PAGE 788

Eminent visitors enthralled the gathering with inspirational addresses on Presbyterianism in the Valley; on Temperance, a cause so very dear to the hearts of many faithful in Musquodoboit, where the Rising Sun Lodge had been among the very first to raise the standard in Nova Scotia; on Agriculture; on Political growth through the years; no subject seems to have been neglected in the way of interest, fellowship and celebration among the gifted planners who were responsible for this glorious succession of days. A small book entitled "Musquodoboit Centenary", incorporating description of events, and including many of these speeches, was published and has become a cherished treasure on many book shelves in the Valley.
The United Church of Canada did not come into being for another ten years, but discussions, some of them heated, were taking place all across the country and the subject was much spoken of at the Presbyterian Centenary. The Rev. W.P. Archibald, D.D., had eventual Union much in mind when he said,
"While the Presbyterian Church has been the predominant one in this Valley, the children of John Wesley have had a share in unfurling the gospel banner, and holding the community for our common Lord. There has been in recent years a wooing between these two branches of the church of Christ which may lead to a wedding though some of our friends would like to forbid the banns!"

PAGE 789

It is now a matter of history, joyful to many, regrettable to others, that this "marriage" between the Presbyterians and Methodists did take place in Canada; the actual date for celebration of the Union, June 10, 1925. In Musquodoboit, however, hands were joined together in fellowship a year or two before; local union in the Meagher's Grant and Elderbank area between the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations occurring in 1921, and in Middle Musquodoboit the women of the Methodist Ladies Aid were invited to join the Presbyterian Sewing Circle during 1922, and did so. This paved the way for the full merger, soon to come.
The Methodist church in Middle Musquodoboit was destroyed by fire and the sister church in Upper Musquodoboit was sold and removed from the site. The charming church at Higginsville built by devoted followers of John Wesley, and dedicated February 23, 1890, entered the United Church of Canada in 1925 and became part of the Upper Musquodoboit charge.
In 1925, Sharon congregation at Dean was the only church in the valley which voted to remain outside the Union. To these children of John Knox on their beautiful hill farms, the precious name of Presbyterian was all in all. It has been written that "In 1925 Church Union separated Sharon Church, Dean from St. James in Upper Musquodoboit, with many a heartache on both sides. Their history had been one and the same from the time of the first "Old Meeting House" on the hill."
From 1925 until more recent times "the herds that fed in Sharon" (1 Chron. 27:29) were ministered unto by a number of dedicated ministers and student-ministers, many of whom were ordained while serving this small, devoted Presbyterian congregation. In 1980 and for some years past, the pulpit at Dean has been supplied from the Charge at St. James United, Upper Musquodoboit. "Time covers differences as moss a stone."

PAGE 790

Rev. Robert Sedgewick
Musquodoboit presbyterian charge
1849 B 1882

PAGE 790(b)

Time also brings many changes; over the years many ministers have come to the Upper Musquodoboit, Middle Musquodoboit and Elderbank charges for briefer periods than was customary in past days. Dr. Archibald noted in his Centenary address of 1915 that "The day of long pastorates seems to have passed. We have entered upon an age of restlessness and change." Despite such changes and vicissitudes; through good times and bad; all through the years the people have kept the Faith, Elders, strong in belief, have led the congregations in devotion to the church and reverent worship when at times there has been no resident minister.
May 16, 1965 Middleton Church, Middle Musquodoboit, was once again the scene of rejoicing in the celebration of one hundred and fifty years of unbroken Christian communion, Presbyterian and United Church, in this Valley. The thoughts of the people were centered with gratitude upon the lives of those men and women who have borne the burden from the most difficult pioneer days; who have built and cherished this spiritual refuge and have bequeathed a lighted shrine to all men.

"Behold! Our inheritance how wide and fair.

Time is our fair seed-field, of Time we are heir."

Sources: Centenary Book, 1915
Church Life in the Valley, Mr. Aitken, 1965
Names and Place Names in Nova Scotia, Public Archives, 1967
Community Herald Magazine, 1927-28 (Mid. Musq.)
Church Records
Two Centuries of Christian Witness, Truro First United Church, 1760-1960

The Anglican Church

On the west side of the road to Musquodoboit Harbour, less than two miles from Middle Musquodoboit, may be seen a few gravestones encircled by a fence. This sacred plot lies close to the road just as it did one hundred and forty years ago when it was laid out as the burial ground surrounding the newly built Holy Trinity Church. This old Post Road from Halifax to Guysborough was subsequently turned along the flat land to circumvent the hill, and the church, long unused, was left to be swallowed up by forest growth. Sometime during the nineteen fifties, however, the road again took its way over the hill, this time with paving, and many a curious motorist found himself wondering what might be the history of this remote last resting place.
As time went on, people began to take an interest in weaving this strand into the story of the valley, and the late Mr. R.V. Harris, as representative of the Church of England in Halifax, was invited to visit the forgotten graveyard and the site of the old Trinity Church. This visit was made in company with Mrs. R. Kenneth Reid and others, June 1959. Mr. Harris made a detailed report of his findings to the Synod Office together with strong recommendations as to what should be done. He described the scene:

"The site is now almost completely overgrown with trees, large and small, with much underbrush. Two burial lots have been enclosed with fences (the Gladwin and Brown family lots) but some twenty or thirty stones are strewn about the property or buried by shrubbery or windfalls, most of them broken, felled by storms or wood cutters. Most of the site is in a disgraceful condition and is unfenced, and its boundaries unmarked, except by a shallow ditch on three sides. The Church seems to have been abandoned by the Church (of England) about 1890."

PAGE 792

Mr. Harris vigorously urged that steps should immediately be taken to clear up the ground, level it as far as possible, gather up the stones lying about and erect them in groups representing the Coles, Edwards, Sargents and other families, and put a fence around the entire area. It was also suggested that a memorial marker, perhaps a cairn, should be placed in the grounds. Regrettably, nothing whatever was done as a result of these recommendations. The foundation stones of old Trinity, or the "English Church", which is its local name, became more deeply buried with each passing year.
Thirty years before, in 1929, apparently the church was still standing bravely in good condition, having been well built, despite considerable vandalism. A writer in that year portrays the ruin in terms of romantic and poignant recollection:

"The old Church of England place of worship in Middle Musquodoboit has not been used since 1890, nor has an Episcopal service been held elsewhere in the region since these doors were closed. Since then it has served no other purpose than as an attractive place to take curious sightseers of an antiquarian turn of mind; and since the doors have been broken in, to afford shelter for the sheep which run in and out at will. The plaster is nearly intact, the roof seems tight, but there is not a pane of glass left in the large Gothic windows. The pine pews have been thrown down and the interior more than the outside presents a picture of desclation."

It was some time after this that the old church was sold at auction, completely torn down and carted away.

PAGE 793

Apparently Trinity had inspired other writers from time to time, as is shown in a letter written November 8, 1962, by Mr. Bruce Ferguson, Provincial Archivist, in reply to one received from the Rev. Canon H.L. Puxley, President of University of King's College, Halifax:

"With reference to your communication of the 7th instant concerning Mrs. R.K. Reid's inquiry about the Anglican Church at Middle Musquodoboit, this is to say that there is a short history of that church in an article in the Halifax Herald of October 30, 1894, page 4.

"Marriage bonds for the period 1763-1871 are here, although the sequence is not complete."

Nothing further was heard from this inquiry, yet when Trinity Church was erected in 1830, it was of considerable interest in the Diocese. In England, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, invariably referred to by initials only, was earnestly collected pounds from the rich, and pennies from the poor, to help build churches such as Trinity in the new villages of the colonies, and to pay stipends for the clergy who ministered to the exiles in their new homelands.

The Rev. Charles Elliott was sent from Halifax to the Musquodoboit area in 1829 as a hopeful church builder for the church of England. Arriving in December, Mr. Elliott spent nine weeks in the valley. He reported an average congregation of eighty as Gay's River for morning service, and one hundred in the evening at Middle Musquodoboit, "the people in both places very enthusiastic and the subscription list showed he could count on ,200 pounds. Colonel Gladwin is mentioned in his report, as are Messers Rayne and Daniel.

PAGE 794

The following year, St. Paul's Church as raised at Gay's River and Holy Trinity Church was built on La Prairie Farm, Colonel Gladwin's estate at Middle Musquodoboit. At the same time, as the church of England was the "State" church in Nova Scotia, the Provincial Legislature was called upon by Bishop Inglis to vote the sum of 25 pounds per year to each congregation in these new churches. This was done in 1832, '33 and '34. The S.P.G. contributed 50 pounds.
As the place of worship for the members of the Established Church of England was the heart of every English village, it must have given Colonel Henry Arthur Gladwin great satisfaction to cooperate with the Rev. Mr. Elliott in the founding of an Anglican Parish in the New World. No doubt Colonel Gladwin gave money for building; we definitely know he gave the land upon which Holy Trinity was built and sufficient for a cemetery as well, "a site approximately one acre, being forty yards square." This was truly God’s Acre , where in fullness of time he and his family would be laid to rest, as well as succeeding generations of faithful tenants who would farm his land. It was a matter of prime importance that an Anglican clergyman should be close at hand to marry, to baptise and to bury, when required.
At that time in Nova Scotia, the only ministers licenced to perform marriages were those of the church of England. This law was changed in 1835. Such changes could not be foreseen, however, by the young English aristocrat. He, no doubt, looked upon the erection of Holy Trinity in its sturdy Gothic simplicity and promise of permanence, as a Parish church that would serve to resist such change if it were considered.
It was only two years before, 1828, that Colonel Henry Arthur Gladwin had come to the district, bought vast tracts of land, and had set out to create in replica, an Old Country estate on the rich land along the Musquodoboit River.

PAGE 795

Alas! the dream of English manorial splendour was doomed to disappear in the Scottish Presbyterian stronghold of Middle Musquodoboit. From such a promising beginning, twenty years later, the congregation of Holy Trinity Church appears to have dwindled to a mere handful. Little is known of the clergymen who functioned in the English church; the Rev. James William Disbrow was stationed here in 1840-45. The Rev. Samuel Dutton Green, born at Baldock in Hertfordshire; fresh from ordination at the hands of Bishop Binney 1854, became the last minister to have the charge. He resigned because of illness in 1856.
Colonel Henry Arthur Gladwin died in 1881 at the age of ninety, and was buried close to Holy Trinity church. His wife, mother and three sons rest nearby. The Colonel's last wish that no stone be raised to his memory was respected by his descendants, but a fence was erected to mark off the Gladwin plot from the surrounding graves.
In 1961-62, owing entirely to local efforts, the site was cleared, the trees cut, the land levelled and seeded down to grass. The fallen headstones were re-erected. By 1977 the cemetery had again grown up to small spruce and tamarack with many huge alder clumps, the stones scattered and many broken or carried away.
The local Garden club allotted some funds, and with much volunteer labour and a donation from Bishop Arnold, this burial place was once more cleared and reclaimed. Plot fences were repaired and painted, and all the headstones which could be found were gathered into one spot. From 1977 to 1980 the cemetery has been maintained by private individuals. In the south-east corner can still be traced the rough stone foundation of Holy Trinity, the old English Church.

PAGE 796

The Congregational Church

Among the many interesting documents dealing with religious matters in Musquodoboit, preserved by the Logan family and donated to the Public Archives in Halifax, is a letter written in 1845. At that period, a group of Presbyterians, disagreeing with a number of tenets held by the Established Church of Scotland and demanding local autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs, was in search of a minister. Mr. R.A. Logan, one of the moving spirits, write to the Rev. Samuel Jackson in England, hoping to induce him to accept the charge. This letter, written in a breezy, abrupt style, portrays vividly and no doubt accurately, the way of life in Middle Musquodoboit at the time.

"The houses for public worship are ten miles distant from each other. You bridle, not the best nor the worst will cost here about 3 pounds.

Locality, - Halifax is 40 miles north-east from Windsor, Musquodoboit is 40 miles north-east from Halifax, nearest road to the sea is Halifax. No sea fogs are ever on land here, - same pass over like clouds.

No War. -all Yankee bluster seat of war hereabout as likely to be in England. War won't raise the value of farm produce and so benefit us without other damage. Land is good, really good for tillage, most all the people are living by farming on their own farms.

PAGE 797

Houses, - one only of brick, others made of wood one storey high, some one storey and one-half,- my own is of this sort, - one only, two stories high. The number, - perhaps fifty can be seen from my own, other places perhaps near as many. Rent, - I suppose the best would not bring more than 12[pounds], per year, many would not bring more than half that sum.

People, - nearly all Presbyterians, - one man Roman Catholic, his wife Protestant, all chiefly native descendants of Scotch and North of Ireland parents. A suitable house for you, - none is engaged. My own house is about 30 feet each way upon the ground, - I shall freely share it with you until you can look around for yourself.

No sickness like pestilence has ever been here to cut down the people, - deaths are only one here and there. No housebreaking or highway robbery was ever known here, - many people sleep in their beds without fastening their doors at night."

As we shall see, the Rev. Mr. Jackson did not come, but Mr. Murkland did, and the Congregational Church came into being as a separate denomination. This separation would appear to be inevitable as a result of dissentions among the Presbyterians which had been felt for some years.

According to other papers in the Logan collection, we read that on April 23, 1833,

"At a meeting of Members of the Church of Scotland held this day at the house of Mr. Robert A. Logan agreeable to notice given:

Committee appointed: Mr. James Bruce, Sr., Alex Stuart, Robert Logan, George Higgins, William Hay, James Cruickshanks, 2nd., William Guild.

Resolved: 1st, that the members present, claim and consider themselves legally entitled to a considerable proportion of the property of the building

PAGE 798

now occupied for public worship. They recommended that the committee take such steps as they think proper to obtain peaceable possession of the above mentioned house. And further in our behalf through the minister in Pictou to dispense the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper in this settlement during the coming Summer. The Collectors to be continued for another year:

John Higgins

James Cruickshanks

Thomas Colback

Members present at the meeting within mentioned:

James Bruce

Alex Stuart

Robert A. Logan

George Higgins

William Taylor

James Murchy

John Lindsay

John Higgins, 3rd

David Colbeck

John Higgins. 2nd

Thomas Colbeck

William Hay

John B. Archibald

Johnson Colbeck

John Layton

Samuel Dickey

James Cruickshank

Angus McLeod

Peter Gordon

James Cruickshank, 2nd.

James McDonald

John Braden

Thomas McCallum

John A. Colbeck

Matthew Guild

David T. Hollingsworth

Alex Scott

Michael and James Meagher

Peter Ogilvie

A. Merson

David Dickey, Jr.

Alex Shaw

During the following year, the same group got up a subscription list promising "to pay for one year the sum annexed to their names." This fund was to pay for the services of a minister. The dissenting group made the claim "We have in this settlement thirty-five subscribers besides those that are sharers in the house." They further stated that "thirty-nine and one-half pews are half the house". (The "house" referred to, is of course the House of God, the first church in Middle Musquodoboit which every one has helped to build in 1815).

PAGE 799

Two years later, 1836, a letter written to the Rev. Donald Fraser of Pictou requesting a minister be sent to dispense the Lord’s Supper, as apparently Mr. Sprott has held a "closed Communion service". "Some people were refused admission to sit at the Lord’s table, as they belonged to a different denomination, a denomination with a slight difference".
Apparently Mr. Fraser responded to the need because a letter written Dec. 15, 1843 states that the Lord’s Supper was dispensed to forty persons in 1836. This letter is directed to the Rev. J.C. Galloway, St. John, N.B., probably the first of many. It gives a brief history of the Burger group which was to become the Congregational Church: "The society commenced with Mr. Elliot in 1831, twelve years ago. We have no church formed. Rev. Robert Elliot was not ordained and died in 1832. Since 1834 we had one day’s preaching in the year. Musquodoboit is comprised of three settlements, - Upper, Middle and Meagher’s Grant with a population of three thousand, nearly all Presbyterian with an Anti-burger minister. There is a chapel in each of three settlements free of debt, they were built and owned by both parties".
The use of the church was apparently a matter of great dispute, and a letter to M.T. Archibald firmly states, "There should be an agreement in writing for the Rev. Sprott and the other denomination arranging the alternate Sabbaths of preaching. If both Ministers appear at church the same Sunday there will be a clash".
Accordingly, it would seem that the two groups came to an agreement, although the Burghers refer to their "minister of the Church of Scotland" and they obviously felt their loyalties to that body, despite differences. A document was drawn up at Middle Musquodoboit, July 6, 1836, which clearly set forth terms for sharing the church:

PAGE 800

"This will certify that as far as we are propriators in the meeting house in this settlement, we desire that Mr. Sprott shall have the privilege of occupying it one-half the time, and that the minister of the Church of Scotland have the privilege of occupying it the other half the time, the Sabbaths to be divided alternately. Witness our hands:

George Taylor David Dickey

Robert A. Logan David A. Colbeck
James Brown William Guild
John Hollingsworth Richard Archibald
Apparently this little Burgher flock was without a settled shepherd for several years. The Rev. John Martin came from Halifax and preached on a few occasions; while about once a year a minister would arrive from Pictou to serve the settlement. On August 28, 1837 a letter to the Rev. Mr. Martin threatened that "Unless we are properly looked after, we will sever connection with the Church of Scotland".
This unsettled state of affairs persisted with no actual separation taking place until 1846, when Mr. Murkland, a Congregational minister was called and accepted the charge in Middle Musquodoboit.
It is pleasant to anticipate a little and to read a letter from the Congregational minister in 1851, the Rev. Joseph Peart who was to be in Yarmouth attending a Union Meeting, requesting that Mr. Sprott officiate in his absence from Musquodoboit. It would seem that Christian charity prevailed and the two religious bodies were working in harmony.

PAGE 801

In 1840 a new appeal was sent to Mr. Fraser in Pictou imploring that a minister be sent to the valley, but without avail. Mr. Logan and his friends from then on appeared to believe that separation from the Church of Scotland was the only solution. Congregationalism, as preached by Mr. Elliot, was growing in the Maritimes; perhaps that body might prove to be more helpful in the mtter of acquiring a "settled minister".
In the year 1843, the Burgher party of Musquodoboit wrote to the Rev. J.E. Galloway at St. John, stating that there would be less prejudice evidenced here against an Independent or Congregational minister than would be shown to the Kirk. Accordingly, Mr. Galloway took steps to find a candidate and in May 1844 wrote that Mr. Samuel Jackson, presently located a Walsall, Staffordshire, England would be coming to Musquodoboit. Mr. Jackson, however, never arrived, as his congregation in Walsall prevailed upon him to stay with them.
Mr. Galloway's search was ended successfully in September 1846, when he wrote to say that the Rev. Sidney Smith Murland would be coming to Musquodoboit to survey the charge with the intention of settling "if all meets with his approval." Apparently, Mr. Murkland did find things to his satisfaction, because on October 10, 1846, he announced that he would stay and send for his wife and family, who were presently in Philadelphia. Mr. Murkland had been sent to Demerara by the London Missionary Society, and the hot climate there had proved very trying for both him and his wife.
At this time, the Presbyterians and Congregationalists shared the same Meeting House on alternate Sundays. Later, a small building of their own was erected by the Congregationalists on the present Exhibition grounds, close to the old cow barns; removed, 1978.

PAGE 802

During the actual incumbency of the Rev. Mr. Murkland from January 1847 to June 1848, the following subscribers are known to have contributed to his stipend:

Samuel Archibald

Alex Dunbrack

R. A. Logan

William Layton

John Parker

Samuel Braden, Sr.

John Dunbrack, Jr.

Samuel Dickie

Matt Archibald

Geo. Bruce

Edward Taylor

John Hutchinson

John Taylor

John Benvie

John Linzie, Sr.

Janet Archibald

John Stewart

Andrew Cruickshank

Jonothan Archibald

David Dickie

Alex Linzie and Father

William Logan

John Burton (Dartmouth)

Adam Laidlaw

Samuel Archibald, Jr.

George Cole

Angus Logan

William Bruce

John Murchy, Sr.

James Sergeant

David Hollingsworth

George Nuttal

W. J. Lydiard (Low. Musq.)

William Linzie

David Dickie

Alex Gordon

John Dunbrack, Sr.

John Wilson

George Higgins, Sr.

Scott Hutchinson

John Higgins, Jr.

George Wilson

John Bruce

Samuel Hutchison

Alex Cruickshank

William Hutchison

Samuel Horton

Peter Cruickshank

David Archibald, Jr.

Alex Archibald

William Kent

James Hanna

Joseph Bruce

Hugh Hanna

C. Burnett

Alex Stewart

Levi Upham

George Bates

John McBane

Simeon Higgins

James Kent

David Whidden

William Hay

David Cummings

Alex Scott

William Fisher

John Higgins

A. McInnis

James Crucikshank

Walter Reynolds

PAGE 803

William Guild, Sr.

Alex Kent

John Bates

Andrew Benvie

Adam Braden

Angus McLeod

James Taylor

George Guild

A. Russell

Matt Archibald

Matt Guild

W. Millan

Mr. Annand

Alex Shaw

John Shaw

Francis Layton

John Bell

Miss Mary Bates

R. Bayers

Elizabeth Bates

James Dunbrack

P. H. Ogilvie, Jr.

James Murchy

The Rev. Mr. Murkland lived in Musquodoboit for about one and one-half years. During that time, he was absent, presumably, for perhaps two months, as it is known that he attended a Union Meeting of the Congregationalists at Liverpool, and another one in Cape Breton. For such a short period, his labours were prodigious, and the fruits thereof, most gratifying. When Mr. Murkland came to the valley, few people realised the existence of the Congregational denomination; upon his departure, he left a membership of one hundred and forty-eight souls in the three churches of the three settlements.
Mr. Murkland made his home here in a house located close by the Congregational chapel. The rent was 8 lbs. per annum. The church members had promised to purchase a more suitable dwelling for their minister, but apparently winter closed in before this was arranged. No doubt a very uncomfortable winter was spent in the house near the chapel! In any case, this was the reason given by Mr. Murkland for his resignation, June 30, 1848. In Middleton United Church a Bible may be seen with the following inscription:

PAGE 804

"This valuable Pulpit Bible was presented by the ladies connected with the Congregational Church, Middle Musquodoboit, to Sidney Smith Murkland, Pastor".

It was then necessary to find a new minister, and a correspondance with the Rev. Joseph Peart was carried on to persuade him to settle here. The church deacons had this matter in hand, and a list of deacons for May 14, 1849, gives the names as follows:

Alexander Shaw

Samuel Braden

Robert A. Logan

John Taylor

Jacob Dillman

James Bayer

John Hutchinson

The exact date is not known but it is presumed that Mr. Peart arrived in 1849, and it is certain that he only stayed two years, resigning in 1851 as his "full allowance had not been paid" during that time. However, Mr. Peart’s sojourn appears to have been an active one, as he added sixty-five members to the church roll, bringing the congregation to a total of two hundred and thirteen communicants.

The Rev., Mr. Peart accepted a call in Cornwallis, and was followed by the Rev. Charles Gaskin who remained a short time. The Rev. Joseph Sutcliffe was here for a brief season, but resigned in 1858 as he had not, received his full salary.

When the Methodist Movement began here in 1855, many Congregationalists became converts to Methodism. From this time, the Congregational Union withdrew the support hitherto given the church in Musquodoboit. Finally, the chapel itself was sold to Charles Archibald who had it moved across the road where he kept a general store.

PAGE 805

Although of brief tenure in the valley, not quite forty years, the Congregational Church has a sure place in our history. The members gave evidence of great powers of sacrifice and steady courage in their struggle to hold fast to that which they believed to be good.

The Methodist Church

Wherever the Methodists abound, vice and immorality are made to hide their

heads and every man and woman is taught to pray.

.....T.W. Smith

Among the immigrants from the Old Country who came to Nova Scotia in the early days were groups from Yorkshire. The first detachment sailed from Liverpool, England, in March 1772. They reached Fort Cumberland near Amherst, in May, having spent almost three months crossing the Atlantic. These Yorkshire families, indoctrinated with the teachings of Wesley, were the first Methodists in Nova Scotia. They were soon joined by friends and neighbours like-minded to themselves, and in the group arriving in 1775 was a boy of fifteen years, William Black, who was destined to become the first Methodist minister to be ordained from this Province.

In 1779, a religious revival was held at Fort Cumberland, and young William determined to give him life from that time forth to missionary endeavour. Accordingly, when he came of age in 1781, he "went forth on foot to bring the gospel of John Wesley to the people of Nova Scotia." His labours bore fruit, and by 1850 there were many large Methodist churches in the Maritimes. The first years were full of difficulties; itinerant preachers came from the United States and from England to assist the cause; but while some of these helped, others hindered, and it was largely owing to the selfless devotion of William Black that the movement went forward.

PAGE 806

Methodist Church,
Middle Musquodoboit.
Erected 1855,
destroyed by fire, 1925.

PAGE 806(a)

From the time of his ordination in Philadelphia, 1789, Mr. Black acted as presiding Elder of what was in effect the Nova Scotia District of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1800 Black and his brethren had established the Methodist cause in Halifax, Liverpool, Shelburne, Windsor, Annapolis, Cumberland. These were centres of large circuits. In most of the small towns served from these centres, churches had been built, but in all there were only eight hundred and fifty members with some three thousand adherents.
These small numbers were apparently held in high respect, as Mr. Black was able to inform the Methodist Committee in 1804 that Governor Wentworth proposed a grant of land to the Methodists in Halifax. He noted th"Methodists were much esteemed by those in authority for their quiet and orderly lives, good morals and strict loyalty."
In 1825, twenty-two circuits were in being, including Yarmouth, Parrsboro and Lunenburg among the recent additions. Methodism was growing and as new members moved about the Province, they carried with them a strong evangelistic zeal.
Among the converts at Lunenburg was Leonard Gaetz who, with his wife, moved to Musquodoboit Harbour and settled there in 1827. They at once began to proselytize their neighbours. Mrs. Gaetz became a leader among the women; through the ensuing years a Methodist congregation came into being; and the crowning moment in the lives of these two devoted people arrived in January, 1855, when a small church was dedicated. Mr. Gaetz was the layman leader for many years. Three sons became ordained ministers in the Methodist Church; Thomas, Joseph and Leonard.

PAGE 807

In the same year, 1855, an able and eloquent young preacher, the Rev. Hezekiah McKeown, introduced Methodism to Middle Musquodoboit. Mr. McKeown, a native of Aylesford, was persuaded to come to the valley
and conduct evangelistic services. He was sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. William Layton, living in Middle Musquodoboit, but formerly of Halifax where they had been loyal members of the Methodist church.
Mr. McKeown’s efforts were so successful that in a few months time, his enthusiastic converts were ready to build a church. The original subscription list was found among other papers in Mr. Earl Logan’s home, one hundred and four years later, 1960.
February 18, 1856

We, the subscribers hereto with the intention of erecting a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Middle Musquodoboit and allowing our trustees to open it at any time for the use of any other Evangelical Denomination when Methodists do not need the use of it; - with this understand ring we promise to pay the manager duly appointed, the sums annexed to our respective names, - by instalments as the building progresses.

Robert A. Logan

George Higgins, Jr.

Dr. Harrison (also gave site)

S. B. Logan

Samuel Braden

William Guild Sr.

John Higgins Jr.

John Lindsay

William Annand

John Higgins Sr.

Alex Lindsay

Simeon Higgins

David Dickey

William Hay Jr.

William Layton

Alex Scott

Wynyard Gladwin

David Annand

Adam A. Braden

Henry McHaffery

John Taylor

John Bell

John Higgins (8th)

PAGE 808

The Committee proportioned the amounts of subscription money upon all the pews so that each subscriber would own property in the Chapel. A gift of L50s was received from friends in Halifax, and the total cost was, roughly, L268. In size, the new Chapel measured thirty by thirty-six feet, with a small tower, and the site was in the corner of the present Hillside Cemetery where now are found the graves of Captain A.G. Morris, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Conrod and others. The contract for finishing the outside of the Chapel was given to Samuel B. Logan and Adam Braden.
A Methodist Parsonage was purchased in 1859, at that time referred to as the "Mission House". The deed was recorded in March 1866, at the cost of two dollars and twenty-five cents. The site of this Mission House was located near the old Highway building. In 1882, money was again raised by subscription to build a new parsonage.
The contract was given to John Higgins, and the building was insured in 1884 for one thousand dollars. In 1980, it is the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William McCurdy.
According to a record dated September 1865, the circuit preacher located at Middle Musquodoboit was expected to preach at Laytonville, Kent, Upper Musquodoboit, Taylor Settlement, Little River, Shubenacadie and Oldham. In the same year, Meagher’s Grant was added to the list.
Membership increased in the Methodist persuasion until the turn of the century and it was found necessary to build new churches here and there to accomodate new congregations.

PAGE 809

A Methodist church in Higginsville was subscribed for, erected and finally dedicated in February 1890. The Rev. E.P. Moore and the Rev. Joseph Gaetz were preachers invited for the occasion. In Upper Musquodoboit, the Methodist church dates from the dedication service of January 14, 1896, when the Rev. D.W.H. Heartz conducted the service.
In the Methodist Church records for the Middle Musquodoboit Circuit in 1871, a membership list included the following members:

William Layton

Mrs. William Wilson

Elizabeth Layton

Mrs. Robert Taylor

Mrs. Thomas Gould

John Bell

Jane E. Sahw

John Wilson

Mrs. Robert Logan

Mrs. John Wilson

Robert Logan, Jr.

Mrs. John Taylor, Sr.

Mrs. Bates

John Taylor

Rebecca Bates

Mrs. John Taylor

Mrs. Harrison

Mrs. Robert Erving

Mary Gladwin

Samuel Braden

William Gladwin

Mrs. Samuel Braden

David Dickey, Sr.

Mrs. Scott

Mrs. Dickey

Alex Scott

William Dickey

Mary Scott

William Annand

David Logan

James Annand

Mrs. John Lindsay

Mrs. James Annand

Mrs. James Cassidy

Andrew Wilson

Mrs. Flake

Mrs. Wilson

From the very early days of Mrs. Leonard Gaetz and Mrs. William Layton, the women of the church were enthusiastic supporters of the Methodist cause.
The Women’s Missionary Society, Middleton United Church, Middle Musquodoboit, celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1945. Mrs. Richard A. Dunbrack of Syracuse, N.Y., wrote the following account of the Society’s beginning and progress through the years:

PAGE 810

The Methodist Auxiliary of the Women’s Missionary Society was organized in September, 1885. At that time, Miss Agnes Knight, a missionary on furlough from the Indian Mission at Chilliwack, B.C. was visiting the Rev. Mr. H.P. Doane and his wife at the Methodist Parsonage. Under the leadership of Miss Knight, the Society came into being with eighteen charter members.
Officers were as follows:
Pres. Mrs. H. P. Doane
Vice Pres. Mrs. C. B. Archibald (Maizie Gladwin)
Secretary Nora Higgins (Mrs. Charles Fulton)
Treasurer Mrs. Robert Logan

The remaining charter members were Mrs. Thomas Guild, Mrs. James Annand, Mrs. John H. Taylor, Mrs. Alexander Lindsay, Mrs. Letitia Harrison, Mrs. Robert Lindsay, Mrs. David Kent, Mrs. James Cassidy, Mrs. Henry Archibald, Gussie Allison (Mr. Doane’s step-daughter), Janie Taylor (Mrs. Robert Fraser), Marnie Gladwin (Mrs. Strachan), Miss Young and Lelia Annand (Mrs. R. Dunbrack.
Records kept in the "Blue Book" show that the membership fee was set at one dollar per year, and during the first year twenty-six dollars and twenty-five cents was raised by the group. Attendance averaged ten members present at each meeting, and considering the difficulties of travel this seems remarkable. It is recorded later on, that Mrs. James Annand who was treasurer for seven consecutive years, was present at every meeting during that time.
This Auxiliary, during the ensuing years, sent large supplies of knitting yarns to the Western Mission, and boxes of clothing to Newfoundland. These supplies were shipped to their destinations by the Hon. W.A. Black at his expense.
The Rev. Howard Payne Doane was born 1854 at Barrington, N.S. A son, Ralph Harrington Doane, was born Oct. 7, 1886, during his father’s pastorate in Musquodoboit.

PAGE 811

Mr. Doane was followed by the Rev. Barry Mack, and in 1887 Mrs. Mack established a Mission Band. Among the members were Laura Annand (Mrs. George S. Dickey), Belle Higgins (Mrs. Chisholm), Lizzie Bates (Mrs. Reid), Florence Fleck (Mrs. Sharples), Ada and Nellie Gladwin.
This group flourished for many years and during the incumbency of the Rev. A. Lund, was given the name Leeds Mission Band in his honour as he was an Englishman who had been born in Leeds.
In 1921, a Mission Circle was formed among the girls, under the guidance of Mrs. William Logan who was a life-long member of the W.M.S. Records for 1925 show the secretary to be Villa Scott and the treasurer, Bertha Dean. A Valentine Social was held yielding nine dollars and fifty cents for Missions.
The Women’s Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Middle Musquodoboit joined with their sister group in the Presbyterian church to form a co-operative union in 1924. This preceded by one year the formation of the United Church of Canada.
As it was a Methodist rule that a minister remain three years only in any given charge, it comes as no surprise to learn that there were twenty-nine “settled” preachers in the circuit centre of Middle Musquodoboit from 1855 to 1925. A few, among them the Rev. Hezekiah McKeown who established the Methodist church in the valley, remained less than the allotted three years. Some were cut down by illness or death during their ministry, here; others were sent to serve elsewhere at the behest of the Conference, after a year or two.

PAGE 812

Among those men who laboured in the Chapel and Mission House, who rode the Circuit in all weathers were several from the United Kingdom, Mr. Tweedy, Mr. Lund, Mr. Lane and Mr. Croft. For the most part, however, they were sons of the Maritimes. Herewith then, the names in the order wherein they came to Middle Musquodoboit:

Rev. Hezekiah McKeown 1855-56

Rev. W. I. Croft

Rev. S. Charles Gaskin*

Rev. R. A. Daniel

Rev. Joseph Sutcliff *

Rev. David Walker

Rev. W. C. McKinnon

Rev. George W. Whitman

Rev. Henry Holland

Rev. W. C. Perry

Rev. John J. teasdale

Rev. A. Lund

Rev. Leonard Gaetz

Fev. C. H. C. McLaren

Rev. Samuel Martin

Rev. W. J. Layton

Rev. Albert S. Desbrisay

rev. W. J. wright

Rev. James Tweedy

Rev. R. M. Brown

Rev. John A. Moser

Rev. G. W. Mitchell

Rev. William G. Lane

Rev. A. Baker

Rev. J. Hiram Davis

Rev. J. B. Blesedell 1921-23

Rev. H. P. Doane

Rev. R. Barry Mack

* Mr. Gaskin and Mr. Sutcliff also preached as Congregational ministers here.

During the early years of this century in Canada, despite faithful zeal and unfailing effort on the part of the ministers and devoted lay workers, membership in the Methodist Church saw a rapid decline. The congregation in the valley was no exception, and numbers dwindled. In 1925 Presbyterians and Methodists were merged to form the new United Church of Canada. Middleton Presbyterian Church became the United Church for Middle Musquodoboit; the two cemeteries were combined for use. The Methodist Church burned to the ground in the same year. Methodism ceased to exist except as memories in the minds of those who, with their fathers, had supported the little Chapel for seventy years. Yet, who can say to what far ends of time the effects of simple faith, and ethical rules of conduct, as taught in that small church may be experienced?

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