Churchyard all that survives of delightful chapel
In 1842, during the incumbency
of the Rev. J. W. Disbrow, construction began on the little
church at Magundy, above Fredericton on the St. John River,
near Magaguadavic. It was completed during the time of the Rev.
Joseph Elwell. This delightful
little chapel sat on 1.5 acres of
land deeded to the Bishop of
Nova Scotia on Jan. 27, 1843 by
William Lockard and his wife
Mary. At one time a lot was also
reserved for a rectory, but it was
not built. Until the completion
of St. John’s, summer services
were held in William Love’s barn
and in Benjamin Lockard’s house
during the rest of the year. In the
early 1840’s the Diocesan Church
Society (DCS) awarded a grant of
just over $16 to Mr. Disbrow to
assist in building the chapel at
Magundy Settlement, the sum
to be paid when “it shall be duly
certified that the building is enclosed and that it stands on land
held in fee simple by or for the
use of the Church.” Records of
1847 indicate that the grant was
“not taken up because conditions
had not been fulfilled.”
On May 4, 1853, the vestry
awarded the sum of $5 to the
Magundy church committee in
order to pay off its debt. Just
six weeks later, on June 18,
the church was consecrated by
Bishop Medley. On April 6, 1874
the vestry granted the sum of $10
towards a new roof for St. John’s.
They also resolved to install an east window in memory of the
late Thomas Jones, “providing
the members of his family ap-
prove thereof ” and the rector was
authorized to procure a prayer
desk for the Church.
At a service in 1868 there were
12 confirmations and 19 communicants out of a congregation of
63. On August 22, 1875, 14 were
confirmed at a 3 p.m. service. On
July 30, 1879, seven candidates
ranging in age from 12 to 16 years
were confirmed by Bishop Medley. On August 17, 1884, Hattie, infant daughter of Thomas Albert
and Mary Elizabeth Brown, was
baptized in the Church.
Among the marriages solemnized were Thomas Adams and
Sarah Ann McMullin on August
2, 1860; James Henry and Mary
Jane Gartley on July 19, 1874;
Eden Waugh and Mary Ann
McElwain on Oct. 31, 1877; and
Thomas Albert Brown and Mary
Elizabeth Love on Sept. 18, 1878.
The last burial in the churchyard
was likely that of Martha Lockard, who died Sept. 30, 1913.
In his report to the DCS in the
early 1870’s, the Rev. Frederick B.
Crozier spoke well of his congregation: “Attendance at services
and the Holy Communion is in
good proportion to the number of
church people in the settlement.
I think the reverence displayed
for the worship of God’s house is
a matter of great thankfulness.
The people enjoy the services
heartily and on the most unpleasant day in an unusually severe
winter, many of these people
have walked miles to attend a
litany service.”
In his report in 1885, the Rev.
Arthur Lowndes wrote: “... St.
John’s Church, Magundy, needs
over $300 to put it in repair. The
building is so dilapidated that
it is very doubtful whether the
erection of a new church would
not be cheaper in the end than
repairing the old fabric. The congregation at St. John’s is small,
though willing, and therefore it
is difficult to know what course
would be the best to pursue.”
At a meeting of the Vestry
held in the Orange Hall at Magundy at 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec.
26, 1887, a motion was passed that
“the Rector be empowered to pull
down the church at Magundy”
but according to the Rev. C. T.
Easton, it was still standing in
the early 1890’s when he echoed
Mr. Lowndes’ words: “A new
church edifice is sadly needed
at Magundy. The old one is dilapidated.”
The Parish of Prince William
annual meetings of 1895 and
1896 were held in St. John’s in
Magundy. These seem to be the
last records of any meetings being held there. In 1897 the annual
meeting was held in the Orange
Hall. It is said that when the church was torn down, the “wide
boards” were taken to Harvey
and used in building a store.
The names of families who
lived in the area of St. John’s
Church during its existence
include Blaney, Brown, Gartley,
Graham, Henry, Jones, Kirkpatrick, Lockard, Love, McElwain,
Miller and Pickard. They are
buried in The Old Magundy
Church Yard.
Sources:
* Leaves from Juliana Horatio
Ewing’s Canada Home by Elizabeth Tucker
* Bishop Medleys Journal and
Register
* R. P. Gorham, The Church of
England in the Parish of Prince
William
* Various Diocesan Church Reports
* Register of Services, Parish of
Prince William and Dumfries,
1884-1919
* With special thanks to Wendy
Brien, Ruth Ker and Joe Fletcher
The Archives Corner is prepared
by Twila Buttimer (twila.buttimer@gnb.ca, 506-453-4306) and
Frank Morehouse (frankm@
nbnet.nb.ca, 506-459-3637). If
you have any ideas for future articles or if you can add anything
to the present story, we would
appreciate hearing from you.
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 Updating...
Ċ Joel O'Kane, Dec 12, 2011, 6:32 PM
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