Our Logo
The ship, with the Celtic Crosses on the sails, represents the landing of families (with members of Irish descent) on the shores of what would be called Tyrconnell. These families are the spiritual ancestors of St. Peter's Church. The bluffs are reminisent of the cliffs beyond Pearce Park and the historic cemetery. The Star of Bethlehem completes the present reality of the Congregation of St' Peter's Church. This logo is full of hope. While families came in 1809, settled and gave birth to a church for their worship, today we create a space where God's love may come to birth in our midst in many ways. It calls for openness, expectation and firmness of purpose.
HISTORY
The story of this beautiful old historic church begins with the first colonists who came to this Talbot Settlement and is evidence of the religious faith which they brought with them.
St. Peter's is the only church in this part of Ontario west of Niagara (except H. M. Chapel of the Mohawks on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford) in which Divine Services has been conducted continuously since it was built in 1827.
In 1793, John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and a party which included Lieutenant Thomas Talbot explored the country west of Niagara. Apparently Talbot was impressed with what he saw and turned his back on military and court life and devoted the remainder of his life to the colonization of several counties in Southern Ontario. On May 21, 1803, he took up his abode in what is now known as Port Talbot. With him came George Crane, the first settler to take up land in Elgin County.
Thomas Talbot came from a wealthy Irish family and received a commission in the British Army. He came to Upper Canada as Governor John Graves Simcoe private secretary 1791-94, visiting many parts of the Great Lakes area. In 1801 Colonel Talbot sold his commission and immigrated to Upper Canada becoming an official promoter of settlement in the London district and acquired 5,000 acres along the north shore of Lake Erie. He then set in motion an aggressive settlement plan, insisting that the people to whom he donated land clear the property and build dwellings. They did not receive the final deed to the land until this was done. In all, 27 settlements were established. In some cases, land for churches was given directly by Talbot, in others the land was donated by persons designated by him to do this.
In 1800, Leslie Patterson and his sisters left Fermanagh, Ireland, and settled in Erie, Pennsylvania. Here, Leslie married Lydia Backus from Vermont and one of his sisters, Frances, married John Pearce from Rhode Island. They would not forego their allegiance to the British crown so could not obtain a clear deed to land purchased in Erie. So John Pearce and Leslie Patterson came to Upper Canada to look for homes.
In 1809, Leslie Patterson, his wife and two children, his widowed sister, Mary Storey and her three children and John Pearce, his wife and three children left Pennsylvania in a flat bottomed boat and landed about five miles west of Port Talbot, where lay the land purchased the year before from Col. Talbot. Stephen Backus came the following year and married Anne Storey. These were Col. Talbot’s first colonists and after untold hardships and toil, they lived to change the unbroken forest into beautiful farms. The Pattersons were staunch Church of England people and John Pearce’s mother was a sister of Bishop Seabury, the first Protestant Bishop in the United States. It is no wonder that these early settlers were anxious for a visit from the first travelling missionaries who would hold divine service where most convenient in the district.
It was in 1820 that the Honorable and Rev. Dr. Charles James Stewart, who later became second Bishop of Quebec first visited Dunwich and was one of the first missionaries or ministers of any church to hold service in this township of which there is any record. Dr. Stewart kept records of all services on his travels. Thus we have records of persons baptized by him in Col. Talbot's house in 1820. Records of baptisms show that he spent a week in the district in 1822. In 1827, the first confirmation service in Elgin County was held in Col. Patterson’s home before St. Peter’s was built.
The next record concerning Dunwich reads, "On Sunday, 28th of October I performed Divine service in Dunwich to continue regularly every 6th Sunday till their church is finished, then the first Sunday of each month." Signed A. Mackintosh. Rev. A,. Mackintosh was the first rector of St. Thomas Church which was built in 1824.
From this record we presume that the erection of a church had been started. In all probability the choice of site for the church was decided by Mrs. Storey’s gift of 10 acres for church yard, burial ground, and rectory glebe lands. This land was part of the farm she had bought from Col. Talbot for two barley corns and was then the best part of her farm which she and her son had toiled hard to clear and improve. The cemetery was used as early as 1825 and the land was deeded to the Bishop of Quebec.
St. Peter’s was built in the Autumn of 1827. There was no scarcity of timber in those days. Only the best of white or blue oak was used in the frame and used lavishly. One can almost step from cross-beam to cross-beam in the attic of the church. The outside of the church was finished in rough cast. The shingles and lath were made from pine and split by hand. Col. Patterson went by boat to Buffalo to purchase the glass for the windows also the lead and oil for the paint and the putty. Tradition has said the first pulpit was a carpender’s work bench and the seats were planks on blocks of wood.
Only what is now the nave of the church was built at this time. Seven years later the present siding was put on by Stephen Backus and John Pearce finished the inside by lathing and plastering the walls and ceiling, making seats, reading desk and pulpit. On the floor near the steps leading to the chancel may be seen square pegs which show where the altar used to be situated.
During the incumbency of Rev. Mark Burnham the church was consecrated in 1840 and the cemetery in 1842, both by Dr. Strachan.
In 1842, the Tyrconnell Church was separated from St. Thomas and Rev. M. Burnham devoted his time to St. Thomas.
His successor in Dunwich was Rev. James Stewart. Since he was the first resident minister he commenced the parish register. In this register, now in the parish safe, in beautiful penmanship are the names of nearly 500 persons baptized by Rev. Stewart between 1842 and 1849.
In 1843 a rectory was built. Some private records show that Col. Talbot gave $40.00 towards its erection, the only time his name is mentioned as contributing to the support of the church.
The early rectors were graduates of Oxford, Cambridge, Wycliffe and McGill Universities and were leaders in the community and some of them taught classes for young people or tutored private pupils.
In 1844, two valuable gifts were presented to St.Peter’s. The beautiful communion service and a set of books for the communion table was a gift from Charlotte, daughter of the late Governor Simcoe. The bell as given by the eighth Earl of Galloway in memory of his brother, Charles James Stewart, late Lord Bishop of Quebec. The present belfry and spire were built in 1845 by an English architect.
In 1865 the first organ was purchased and a new walnut pulpit and prayer desk were made. The chancel was built in the 1880’s and in 1894 the organ and choir which up to this time had occupied the gallery were moved to the chancel. In 1891 the tablets of the Ten Commandments were presented to the church and the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed a year or two later. In 1896 the present organ was given to the church.
The year 1903 being the Talbot Centennial, a fund was started by members and ex-members and the present pulpit and communion table were purchased. The prayer desk and lecturn were given as memorials in 1906.
In 1903 the present rectory was built and in 1908 the church was raised and a basement placed underneath. The old pews were used in the basement and replaced with the present new pews which were arranged with two narrow aisles.
Hydro was installed in 1929.
In 1958, oil heating was installed and the pews were rearranged to make a centre aisle.
Several bequests and gifts have been made to St.Peter’s and to the endowment fund and many beautiful memorials have been gifts to the church.
The chancel window was given about 1865. It symbolizes the Cross and the Crown. The glass has attained a richness through the years and could not be matched or replaced today.
Six other beautiful memorial windows have been erected. The third one on the north was erected in 1928 just before celebrating St. Peter’s Centennial in memory of the pioneers and early settlers who were the builders of the church in 1827 and went as Abraham did into a far country and established homes for themselves and forgot not God.
Few of the descendants of the pioneers remain in this district but other families have joined the congregation and shouldered their responsibilities to carry on the old traditions.
St. Peter's Today
St. Peter's Anglican Church has remained true to it's historic roots while upgrading the facilities. In 2010 the entire basement was renovated, creating a welcome space for dinners and other events. With banquet-style seating, the basement can accomodate approximately 70 people. The kitchen is equipped with refrigerator, freezer, two stoves and a three-compartment sink for clean up.
On June 24th, 2012, St.Peter's church celebrated it's 185th anniversary with a Holy Eucharist service led by the Bishop of Huron, the Right Reverend Robert Bennett.
Col. Talbot died on February 5th, 1853, age 81, and was buried in the cemetery across the road from the church which is also the last resting place of the pioneers and their descendants and others who have kept the faith.
© All Rights Reserved - 2011 - St.Peter's Anglican Church - Tyrconnell - P.O.Box 184 Dutton, ON, N0L 1J0
Web site designed and donated by Phil Bartley