Fonds Acc3064 - St. John's Presbyterian Church fonds: [1853-1977]

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

St. John's Presbyterian Church fonds: [1853-1977]

General material designation

  • Textual record

Parallel title

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Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the provenance of the fonds

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA PCA Acc3064

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • Microfilmed 1978 (Reproduction)
  • 1853-1977 (Creation)
    Creator
    St. John's Presbyterian Church (Belfast, P.E.I.)

Physical description area

Physical description

1 reel 35 mm microfilm

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

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Archival description area

Name of creator

St. John's Presbyterian Church (Belfast, P.E.I.)

Administrative history

St. John's Presbyterian Church in Belfast, Prince Edward Island, built on land donated by Lord Selkirk opened in 1824. It was built by the Selkirk settlers who arrived in Prince Edward Island in 1803 and who populated the surrounding communities of Belfast, Pt. Prim, Flat River, Pinette, Newtown, Wood Islands, Orwell Cove, Eldon, etc. Prior to the coming of the first resident minister Rev. John MacLennan in 1822, the congregation received occasional services and the sacrament of baptism and marriage from Dr. McGregor from Nova Scotia with more regular service provided by Dr. Angus MacAulay who, though not an ordained minister, built a chapel near his home which was used for religious services. Rev. MacLennan and his wife remained for 26 years.

For many years two services were held, one in English and one in Gaelic. They were well attended and the summer communion season required the addition of a tent to accommodate all the communicants. Although over the years an organ, a spire and tower (1860), a small addition and memorial windows (1937) were added and renovations made to the pews and the pulpit, the original church still stands and serves the congregation of Belfast and area. Many of the original communities served by St. John's however have long since built their own churches.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds contains a baptismal register recording baptisms from 1853 to 1977, two volumes of Trustees minutes from 1892 to 1948 which also include annual and congregational meeting minutes and a volume of Minutes of Session from 1858 to 1935 which deals primarily with disciplining members of the congregation who have strayed although it does touch on other church matters such as the dates for the sacrament and the raising of money. These have been intellectually arranged in the following series in anticipation of accruals:

Series 1: Vital statistics
Series 2: Trustees records
Series 3: Session minutes

Notes area

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

Originals were returned to the donor

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

NO RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

PERMISSION FOR USE AND REPRODUCTION IS REQUIRED FROM THE PUBLIC ARCHIVES AND RECORDS OFFICE; QUESTIONS REGARDING COPYRIGHT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER

Associated materials

See also Acc2600/4 for earlier baptisms from 1823-1849

Related materials

Accruals

General note

Microfilm is located in the microfilm cabinets in the Reading Room

Alternative identifier(s)

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Standard number

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Control area

Description record identifier

Institution identifier

Level of detail

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

Accession area