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People and organizations
Chapple, John, 1811-1896
Person · 1811-1896

John Chapple (1811-1896) was a Bible Christian minister. Born and ordained in England, he preached there until he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1851. He came to Canada in 1857, and travelled on various circuits in Ontario and Prince Edward Island. He twice occupied the presidential chair of the Canadian Conference, and died in Cleveland in 1896.

Chisholm, James A.
Person

James A. Chisholm, formerly the Administrative Officer for the Metropolitan Council of The United Church of Canada in the Lower Mainland of B.C., became the first Conference Administrator. He was followed by Arthur H. Jones (1983-1993); Nellie Tang (1994-2018); and Houston Mo (2018). The position of Director of Finance continued under the Pacific Mountain Regional Council from January 1, 2019.

Chow, Ling, 1893-1972
Person · 1893-1972

CHOW Ling was born in Kaiping (Hoiping), Guangdong, China and came to Canada as a boy of 14 in 1907. He spent his early years in Victoria, attending the Methodist Church there. In 1920, the church sent him to Nelson, B.C. to relieve C.Y. Chow. He returned to China to study theology at Guangdong Union Theological College, from which he graduated in 1929. Soon after his return, Chow was ordained by BC Conference within The United Church of Canada in 1931. As an ordained minister, he served pastorates in Cranbrook (1932-1934), Victoria (1934-1945), Vancouver (1945-1955), and Edmonton (1955-1964), retiring to Vancouver in 1964. While he was serving the Chinese United Church in Vancouver, the Canadian government lifted the Chinese Exclusion Act (1947); Chow was instrumental in beginning night school classes at the church, to help newcomers learn English.

Person

Samuel Dwight Chown (1853-1933) was a Methodist/United minister and administrator. He was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1853. At age twenty-one, Chown was accepted by the Montreal Conference as a probationer for the Methodist ministry. He was ordained in 1879 and served various charges in the Montreal Conference. He developed a reputation for his work in moral reform, especially temperance. In 1894, he moved to the Carlton Street Church in Toronto. In 1902, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Moral Reform. In 1910, he was elected to serve as General Superintendent. In 1912, he was made principal of Ryerson Theological College in Vancouver. As General Superintendent, Chown brought the Methodist Church into church union in 1925. He retired in 1926 and published The Story of Church Union in Canada in 1930.

Person · 1912-1975

K. Harriet Christie (1912-1975) was a United Church minister and administrator. She was Girls' Work Secretary with the Ontario Religious Education Council, 1936-1943; Associate General Secretary with the Student Christian Movement of Canada, 1943-1947; staff member and Principal of the United Church Training School/Covenant College, 1948-1970; Secretary of the Board of Women of the United Church, 1970-1972, and Deputy Secretary of the Division of Mission in Canada of the United Church, 1972-1975. She was a member of the Federal Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women during the early 1970s. She died in 1975.

Person

Susan Kathleen Christopher (1921-1980) was a minister and a civil servant. She was born in Tantobie, England, in 1921, and grew up in Northern Ontario. She studied at North Bay Normal School and taught in several communities, and studied at the University of Western Ontario and Emmanuel College (earning a D.D. degree). She was ordained in 1951, and served in mining communities in Northern Ontario and Quebec, as well as in Ottawa. In 1973 she left the ministry to become Personnel Counsellor for the Public Service Commission. She died in 1980.

Churchill, Ruth, 1900-1993
Person · 1900-1993

Urina Ruth Churchill was a United Church missionary and deaconess. She was born on April 6, 1900 in Petrolia, Ontario to David and Agnes Churchill. She graduated from the London Normal School in 1919 and taught in rural elementary schools around Petrolia until 1929.

Churchill left teaching to attend the United Church Training School in Toronto, from which she graduated in 1930. Following this, she began a career as a missionary of the United Church's Women's Missionary Society which included commissions in Ontario and Quebec: Church of All Nations (Montreal), 1930-1936, 1956-1959; All People's Church (Sault Ste. Marie), 1937-1940; All People's Church (Kirkland Lake), 1940-1943; St. Columba House (Montreal), 1944-1949; and the Montreal City Mission, 1960-1963.

Churchill received further training and education, completing a second year at the United Church Training School in 1936, and attending the Hartford School of Religious Education, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education in 1944. She returned to teaching elementary school between 1949 and 1956, when she was living in Petrolia to care for her mother. In 1960 she took a refresher course at Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, Tennessee.

On June 7, 1962, Churchill was set apart as a deaconess by the Montreal-Ottawa Conference. Under the authority of the Board of Home Missions, she was transferred from Montreal to Winnipeg, where she was a hospital and nursing home visitor from 1963-1967. She moved to Hamilton to work with the Binkley United Church, and formally retired in 1969.

Ruth Churchill died on April 5, 1993 in Beamsville, Ontario at the age of 93.

Clark, Edith M., 1896-1985
Person · 1896-1985

Edith M. Clark (1896-1985) was a Presbyterian and United Church deaconess and missionary to Angola. She was born in 1896 in Culross, Ontario. She taught public school and studied at the University of Toronto (B.A., Household Science). She was appointed by the Women's Missionary Society in 1925 to Angola, where she taught household science to young women. She was transferred back to Canada in 1961.

Clark, George, 1841-1937
Person · 1841-1937

George Clark was born in Hull, England in 1841 and came to Canada in 1854. He was ordained in 1870. During his forty-five years of active ministry he served in the following Charges: Blythe, Blenheim (1881-1882), Welland (1883), St. George (1885-1887), Milton, Wiarton (1903-1904), Georgetown (1908-1910), Thorold (1894-1896), Stoney Creek (1905-1907) and at Zion Tabernacle (1891-1893) and Charlton Avenue in Hamilton. He retired in 1911, and died at age 96 in 1937.

Clark, Vera, 1896-1997
Person · 1896-1997

Vera Greig Clark, nee Allen (1896-1997) was medical missionary and deaconess. She was born in Smith Falls, Ontario to parents Mary Elizabeth Eugenia (Minnie) Condie and William Thomas Allen. From a young age she was active in the church, she played the organ and taught Sunday school which inspired her to become a missionary. She did very well in school and earned a scholarship to Queen’s University. While at school in 1918 she answered a call for volunteers and went to Latchford Ontario as a Presbyterian missionary to serve as the community’s sole preacher. Also while at school she met James Mortimer Clark whom she married in 1920 upon graduation. She graduated from Queens with B.A. and later a B.A., M.B. After marrying Mortimer they took a train to the first boat sailing out of Canada which was to West China to the province of Szechwan. There they served as Methodist medical missionaries living in Jenshow from 1920-1922, and Luchow from 1922 until Mortimer’s sudden death from typhoid fever in 1925. After his death, she and their two children returned to Canada where she served as a United Church deaconess in Toronto from 1927-1944. In 1944 she remarried to Frederick Charles Clark, younger brother of Mortimer, and became the matriarch of blended family of five children. After serving as a deaconess she remained active in the United Church for the rest of her life.

Person · fl. 1748-1759

John Cleaveland (fl. 1748-1759) was a Congregationalist minister and chaplain. He was posted to the troops in Louisbourg from July to October, 1759. His wife remained in Boston, New England. He was the brother of Aaron Cleaveland, the first minister of Mather Meeting House (Congregational), Halifax.

Climo, Elizabeth, 1861-1952
Person · 1861-1952

Mrs. Elizabeth Climo (1861-1952) was a Congregationalist missionary in Africa.

Person · 1894-1961

Clarence Wilfred Cline (1894-1961) was a Methodist/United Church minister and a hospital chaplain. He was born in Wentworth County, ordained in the Methodist Church in 1923 and married Bertha M. Fletcher. He served in the Hamilton and London Conferences until the outbreak of WWII when he joined the Chaplaincy Service in Canada and Europe until 1945. In 1947 the London Conference appointed him Protestant Chaplain at Westminster Hospital, where he remained until his retirement in 1958.

Cline, Philip A., 1928-
Person · 1928-

Philip A. Cline, B.TH, TH.M (1928-) was born in Zelma, Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, St. Andrew's College, and was ordained by Saskatchewan College in 1956. He obtained a Bachelor of Theology from Union College of B.C. in 1966, and his Master of Theology from St. Stephen's College in 1977. He served at Cronach Pastoral Charge, Saskatchewan 1956-1959; Forest Lawn Pastoral Charge, Alberta, 1959-1962; Knox Pastoral Charge, Alberta 1962-1968, and Avonmore Pastoral Charge, Alberta, 1968-1973. He was Executive Secretary of Alberta Conference from 1973-1983. Cline was General Secretary of the General Council from 1983 until his resignation in 1985. He then moved to a pastorate at St. Paul Street United Church in St. Catharines and remained there until his retirement from active ministry in 1993. He held many volunteer positions during his career, including six presbytery chairmanships, nine Conference committees and several General Council Task Forces. In his personal life he as a member of the Masonic Lodge, chaplain of the Royal Canadian Legion, and member and officer of the Rotary Club.

Person · 1890-1973

Herbert Sullivan Cobb (1890-1973) was a Methodist and United Church minister. Born in Horsham, Sussex, England, he came to Canada circa 1899 and attended Alberta College, Belleville, and Victoria College, Toronto. He was ordained in 1921 and served the Church for seventeen years in Saskatchewan at Griffin (1921-1924), Harris (1924-1926), St. James Church, Wolseley (1926-1934), and Grace United Church, Weyburn (1934-1938). In 1938, he moved to Ontario and served at Avondale United Church, Tillsonburg (1938-1942) and St. Enoch's United Church, Toronto (1948-1955). He retired in December 1955.

Coburn, John, 1874-1954
Person · 1874-1954

John Coburn (1874-1954) was a Methodist/United Church minister in Ontario and a church administrator. He was born in Wisconsin, attended Victoria University and was ordained at Carlton Street Methodist Church in Toronto in 1897. That same year he married Susanna Wesley Emerson. He served at Echo Bay, Uffington, Honeywood, Stayner, and Parliament Street, St. Clair Avenue and Euclid Street in Toronto, and Midland. He served overseas as a chaplain in World War I. In 1920, Rev. Coburn was appointed Secretary of Evangelism and Social Service.

Person · 1878-1961

John Crawford Cochrane (1878-1961) was a Methodist/United Church minister and administrator, and an author. He was born on Manitoulin Island. He worked as a carpenter, and had a Presbyterian background, but was ordained into the Methodist Church in 1914. He studied at Victoria University (D.D.), worked for the Young Men's Christian Association during World War I, and served several pastorates in Ontario. In 1929 he was appointed Superintendent of Missions in Northern Ontario and Quebec, where he gave outstanding leadership and built many churches. Appointed Secretary of the Board of Pensions in 1943, he retired in 1948. He is the author of Trails and Tales of the Northland (1934).

Cochrane, William, 1831-1898
Person

William Cochrane (1831-1898) was a Presbyterian minister, church administrator and Moderator of the General Assembly. He was born at Paisley, Scotland, ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1859 and served Scotch Church, Jersey City, New Jersey from 1859 to 1862 and at Zion Church, Brantford from 1862 to 1898. He acted as Convenor, Home Mission Committee (Western Section), Presbyterian Church in Canada from about 1872 to 1898. Rev. Cochrane was Moderator of the General Assembly in 1882 and 1883.

Coleman, Francis, 1813-1900
Person · 1813-1900

Francis Coleman, (1813-1900) was a Methodist minister. He was a native of Cornwall, England and came to Canada in 1834, settling in Darlington. He was active as a class leader and local preacher. He was received on trial in 1840, and ordained as a Methodist minister in 1842. He served numerous circuits in Ontario until his retirement in 1874.

Person · 1949-

Kathryn Virginia ("Ginny") Coleman (1949-) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. She attended McMaster University from 1968-1971, then from 1973-1975 studied at the Centre for Christian Studies, receiving a diploma as a Professional Christian Educator in 1975. She was received as a candidate in 1973, and ordained in 1975 by Hamilton Conference. She served as Director of Education at St. Paul's United in Orillia from 1975-1980, then St. Paul's in Midland from 1981-1982. She was the secretary of Ministry Personnel Services in the Division of Ministry Personnel and Education from 1984-1991, and Executive Secretary of Hamilton Conference from 1992-1994. She was General Secretary of the General Council from 1994-2002 and 2002-2005 she was Executive Secretary of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Conference. From 2005-2011 she worked as a Diaconal Minister in Little Britain, Manitoba.

Collins, Jean, 1903-1994
Person · 1903-1994

Dr. Jean Collins (nee Gurd) was born in Montreal 1903 and received her English Degree from McGill University in 1925. She went on to complete her Masters and taught for four years in the English Department. She was an active member of the Church and engaged in the beginnings of the C.G.I.T. movement. After marriage to Dr. Ralph Collins in 1929 she moved to Angola to work with him. They served in Camundongo until 1947 when they were appointed to organize and direct Emmanuel Seminary in Dondi. After their retirement from Angola in 1959 she returned to Ottawa to work at Carleton University. Mrs. Collins was a nominee for Moderator in 1974 and in May 1975 she received an honorary D.D. from United Theological College in Montreal. Dr. Jean Collins died March 29, 1994.

Person · 1892-1970

Ralph Collins was born in England, May 8 1892 and died September 30, 1970. He arrived in Canada at age 17 and received his B.A. from McGill in 1923 and his B.D. in 1925 from Congregational College. He would receive an honorary D.D. from the United Theological College in Montreal in 1946. Dr. Collins was ordained in 1925 and arrived in Angola as a missionary in 1926 to take over from Dr. W.H. Sanders. In 1929 he married Miss Jean Gurd in Montreal and she worked alongside him in Angola. They served in Camundongo until 1947 when they were appointed to organize and direct Emmanuel Seminary in Dondi. Dr. Collins returned from Angola in 1958 and held various short positions as Retired Supply in Ottawa including Wesley, Permbroke, Larder Lake, Cardinal, South Mountain, Vars-Nava, Parkdale and Knox United.

Person · 1869-1924

George Arthur Comerford (1869-1924) was a Methodist minister. He was born at Eldorado, Ontario. He was converted at age 23, and studied at Albert College. He served charges in Ontario, Western Canada, and the United States. He was received into the Montreal Conference of the Methodist Church in 1912, and served a number of circuits in Ontario.

Conger, Stephen, b. 1773
Person

Stephen Conger (b. 1773) was a Justice of the Peace, and a Methodist lay person. He was born at Piscataqua, New Jersey. His family moved to Hallowell Township (Picton) in 1786. He operated a mill and a supply house. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace and performed seventy-six marriages between 1803 and 1823. A devout Methodist, he donated land and building supplies for White Chapel, built 1809-1911.

Cook, Joseph S., 1859-1933
Person · 1859-1933

Joseph S. Cook (1859-1933) was a Methodist minister. He was born in Durham County, England, and immigrated as a young man to Georgetown, Ontario. He became a probationer for the Methodist Church in 1880, began studies at Wesleyan College and McGill University in 1883, and was ordained in 1885. He served circuits in Ontario until his retirement in 1919. While in the active ministry, he studied part-time and earned further degrees (S.T.D., Ph.D.).

Person · 1910-1978

Alvin John Cooper (1910-1978) was a United Church minister and administrator. He studied at the University of Manitoba (agriculture), St. Stephen's College, Alberta (theology), Union Theological Seminary, New York, and Columbia University, New York (education), earning the degrees B.S.A. and Ed.D. He served as Boys' Work Secretary in Alberta and as minister at St. Paul's United Church, Calgary, before being appointed to the staff of the Board of Christian Education in 1944. He was responsible for youth and young adult work, and chaired the planning committee for the "New Curriculum," completed in 1961.

Person · 1908-1984

Anne Elizabeth (Nancy) Copithorne (1908-1984) was a United Church missionary to Angola. She was born in 1908 in County Cork, Ireland, and immigrated to Canada after World War I with her family. She received nursing training at Vancouver General Hospital in 1930, and in 1934 training in public health nursing at the University of British Columbia. In 1935 she entered the United Church Training School to prepare for work as a missionary. She served the Woman's Missionary Society for 33 years, mostly in Angola.

Copland, E. Bruce, 1901-1989
Person · 1901-1989

Edward Bruce Copland, (1901-1989) was an ordained United Church missionary and administrator. He studied at McGill University, United Theological College (Montreal), and in Edinburgh and in Paris, earning the degrees of M.A. and D.D. He served at the Honan Mission in China during 1922-1926 and 1931-1942. He was the Executive Secretary of the Church of Christ in China from 1942 to 1951, and secretary for missionary personnel for the National Council of Churches of Christ (U.S.A.) during the early 1950s. He taught school in Taiwan from 1929 to 1931, and was appointed Associate General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Formosa in 1957.

Person · 1937-2000

Donald Ralph Cornish (1937-2000) was a United Church minister. He received his B.A. from Victoria University in 1960, his Master of Divinity from Emmanuel College in 1963 and was ordained in the same year by London Conference. He served in Rockglen Pastoral Charge in Saskatchewan Conference, Milverton Pastoral Charge in London Conference and Emmanuel United Church, Maple Grove United Church and Mount Hamilton United Church in Hamilton Conference and Iondale United Church and Church of the Master United Church in Toronto Conference.

Person · 1834-1912

George Henry Cornish (1834-1912) was a Methodist minister. He was born in Exeter, England and moved to Canada when he was very young. He was ordained in 1862 and served the following charges: Mitchell, Clinton, Kincardine, Newcastle, Beaverton, Galnford, Cainvsillve, Rockwood, Pickering, Burlington, Wingham, Stratford (Central), Markadale, Drayton, Hespeler, Port Elgin, Niagara and Leyden.

He was Financial Secretary, Conference Treasurer, District Chairman, Journal Secretary of the General Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada and a statistician who was responsible for the production of the “Cyclopaedia of Methodism in Canada.”

Person · 1887-1956

Charles H. Cornwell was a minister of the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Ontario during the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in London, England, in June 9, 1887. He served as pastor at Willowoughby, Elmira, Olivet Evangelical United Brethren Church, Kitchener and Hanover. His first wife, Annie Heintzman died in 1941. He was remarried to Minerva Thiel in 1942. Rev. Cornwell died in 1952.

Person · 1893-1966

C.W. DeWitt Cosens (1893-1966) was a Methodist/United Church minister in Ontario. He was born at Walton, Ontario, and educated at the University of Western Ontario and McGill University. He married Lillian R. Brown of Cornwall and was ordained in 1918. He served charges at Bryanston, Ashfield, Springfield, Stratford, Clinton, Essex, Toronto and Kintore. He retired to Uxbridge in 1960. He was predeceased by his wife and by his daughter, Rev. E. Marguerite Cosens.

Cosford, Thomas, 1813-1892
Person · 1813-1892

Thomas Cosford, (1813-1892) was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. Born in Hardington, England, his family immigrated to Canada ca. 1819 and converted to Methodism ca. 1825. He was received on trial in 1839, and ordained in 1943. He ministered in Canada West/Ontario until 1883. He served as Superintendent of Mount Elgin Industrial Institute, Ontario, during 1875-1880. He was a promoter of the temperance movement, and served as District Chairman many times.

Cotton, Henry, 1890-1972
Person · 1890-1972

Henry Cotton (1890-1972) was a United Church minister. He was born in Nottingham, England and moved to Canada in his teens. While attending the Wesleyan Theological College at McGill University he enlisted as a private in the university battalion and was later commissioned as a flight-lieutenant with the Royal Flying Corps. After his tour of duty he went back to school and completed his theological studies at Victoria University and earned his diploma in social work at the University of Toronto. He was ordained by Hamilton Conference in 1920. He served in the following charges: Copetown and Cainsville in London Conference; Brantford, Stoney Creek and Fort Erie in Hamilton Conference, Newmarket in Toronto Conference and St. Andrew's in Bay of Quinte Conference.

Person · 1846-1904

Richard T. Courtice (1846-1904) was a Bible Christian, and Methodist minister. He was born at Dumbarton, Township of Pickering in 1846, and became an active member of the Bible Christian Church as a teenager. He was ordained in June, 1869 at Hampton. Before the union of the Bible Christian Church with the Methodist Church of Canada in 1884 he travelled the circuits of Dummer, Manilla, Toronto, Cleveland, Clinton, Lindsay, Cobourg and Welcome. He was also Secretary of Conference. After union his circuits included Bethany, Cannifton, Newtonville, Seymour, Hilton, Demorestville (1901-1902) and Frankford (1902-1904). He was married to Betsy Courtice.

Cowan, Kathleen, 1890-1930
Person

Kathleen Cowan (1890-1930) was a student at Victoria University and resident at Annesley Hall, 1907-1910

Crabtree, Jean M.
Person

Jean Margaret Crabtree is a United Church minister who has served in Toronto during the late twentieth century. Jean Crabtree was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was commissioned as a diaconal minister in Toronto in 1971 and ordained in 1983. She served as a chaplain at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.

Person · 1910-1997

Arthur Richard Cragg (1910-1997) was a United Church minister in Ontario and Alberta. He was born in Calgary, attended Victoria University and the University of Toronto and was married in 1938 to Florence Clare Atherley. Rev. Cragg was ordained in 1937 and served at North Port and Bowmanville, Sudbury, Waterloo, Edmonton and Sault Ste. Marie. He also served as President of Hamilton Conference, 1957 to 1958. He retired in 1975.

Person · 1916-2009

Robert Brycelain Craig (1916-2009) was a United Church Minister. He was born in Scotland and emigrated to Canada with his family in 1925. He received his B.A. from McMaster University in 1942 and his B.D. from Emmanuel College in 1949. He served in the Canadian Army from 1943-1946. He served the following charges in Ontario: Coniston, Sudbury; First United, St. Thomas, 1952-1963; Trinity United, Peterborough, 1963-1968; and Humbercrest, Toronto, 1976-1994. He was also Chair of Sudbury Presbytery, 1950-1952, Elgin Presbytery, 1954-1955, President of London Conference and a member of the Committee on Church Union, 1960-1968.

Person · 1920-1992

Ainley Milward Croft (1920-1992) was a United Church minister and chaplain in Ontario in second half of the twentieth century. He served the following charges: military chaplain, Kingston and Borden, 1967-1970, Churchill-Gilford Pastoral Charge, 1970-1980, and Brown's Corners United Church, 1981-1986.

Crummy, Eber, 1861-1939
Person · 1861-1939

Eber Crummy (1862-1939) was a Methodist missionary to Japan and educator. Born in Brockville, he was received on trial by the Montreal Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada in 1882. He graduated from Victoria College in 1887, and was ordained in the same year. After a short stay at Onslow, he went to Kumamota, Japan in 1888, and served as Dean of Theology at Tokyo Eiwa Gakko from 1892-1897. He took up various circuits in Canada after his return, and acted as Principal of Wesley College, Winnipeg, from 1915 to 1917. He held the degrees of B.Sc., M.A., and D.D., and died in 1939.

Culp, Menno Moyer, 1876-1969
Person · 1876-1969

Menno Moyer Culp (1876-1969) was a Methodist/Ontario minister in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Born in Jordan, Ontario, he was ordained in the Methodist Church in 1907 and served the Pastoral Charges of Creelman, Sask., 1907-1909; Radisson, Sask., 1909-1910; German Mission, 1910-1911; New Ottawa, 1911-1914; Speers, 1914-1915; Tompkins, Sask., 1915-1919; Limerick, Sask.,1919-1921; Mossbank, 1921-1925; Macklin, Sask., 1925-1927; Landis, 1927-1928; Stoney Beach, Sask.,1928-1930; Port Robinson, Ont., 1930-1933; Townsend, Ont., 1933-1935; and Stephensville, Ont., 1935 until he retired in 1941. He was married in 1907 to Gertrude Ardern.