On Sunday, August 14, 2011, the Lower Burial Ground Restoration Society invited the citizenry of Kingston to St. Paul’s Church to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Dr. John Stuart, the first Anglican missionary in the “Western Settlement” [now Ontario] after the American Revolution. His contribution to the life of the United Empire Loyalists cannot be overstated: 1785 founded the first school west of the Ottawa River (forerunner of Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute); chaplain to the Legislative Assembly; considered to be the “Father of the Episcopal Church in this Province”. You can’t talk about Loyalists in Kingston and area without thinking about John Stuart.

Left: Guests were greeted by Heritage Ambassadors Michael Milne, Patricia Frost and Eva Barnes.

Right: Eva Barnes and Patricia Frost are serenaded by fiddler Daniel MacDonald.

Centre: “The Rev. John Stuart” and some of the ladies of his parish: (from left) Eva Barnes, Pauline Metivier, Rev. Jack Bennett, Britta Superville, Patricia Frost.

To read more about the Rev. Dr. John Stuart, see his biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Work is ongoing to restore the Stuart Family Crypt. Within it are buried:

• The Reverend Doctor John Stuart (1740-1811)
• Mary Stuart Jones (Second daughter of John & Jane Stuart) wife of Charles Jones (Brockville) (1787-1812)
• Lucy Brooks Stuart (1st wife of Archdeacon George Okill Stuart) (1774-1813)
• Jane Stuart (Eldest daughter of John & Jane Stuart) (1784-1815)
• Mary Rose Ross Stuart (wife of Charles Stuart) (1785-1815)
• Charles Stuart (4th son of John & Jane Stuart) (1782-1815)
• Jane Okill Stuart (wife of John Stuart) (1747-1821)
• John Brooks Stuart (second son of Archdeacon George Okill & Lucy Stuart) (1809-1835)
• Charles Stuart, Junior, (Grandson of John & Jane Stuart) (1814-1850)
• Anne Ellis Robinson Stuart (second wife of Archdeacon George Okill Stuart) (1785-1856)
• George Okill Stuart (son of John & Jane Stuart) Archdeacon of Kingston (1776-1862)

 

The program, emceed by Marianne Thompson, included greetings from M.P. Ted Hsu, M.P.P. John Gerretsen, Councillor Jim Neill, and Mr. Okill Stuart, a direct descendant of the Reverend John. Featured speaker was B.Gen(Ret’d) W.J. Patterson, OMM,CD [himself a Loyalist descendant] who provided “An Historical Overview of John Stuart and his place in history”. The Very Reverend Michael Oulton, Bishop of Ontario, also spoke about his predecessor. Those present had an opportunity to tour the Stuart Crypt as well as the cemetery, view displays about the work of the Society, and enjoy refreshments.

Photos courtesy of J.A. Barnes, information provided by Marianne Thompson.