Gordon Henry Allison (1914-1993), was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He was educated at SS #1 Glanford and Caledonia High School and, thereafter, qualified as a teach at Hamilton Normal School. He taught elementary school in Amherstburg while taking extension course degrees from the University of Toronto and McMaster University. He returned to Hamilton in 1953 to teach English at Delta Secondary School. After retiring from Delta, he turned his energies to searching local archives and records. At his church, Barton Stone United, he compiled extensive archives on church members going back to 1811, assembled pictures and biographies on every minister the church ever had, and researched every person buried in the cemetery. He worked as an editor on several historical publications and compiled histories of dozens of the earliest Mountain families and all of the Ryckman's Corners pioneers. For the last seven years of his life Allison read every edition of The Hamilton Spectator from 1846 to 1893, and transcribed every birth notice, marriage announcement, death account and obituary. He died 3 February 1993 in his Ryckman's Corners home at the age of 79. Allison never married and had no survivors.
Alexander Malcolm “Sandy” Nicholson (1900-1991) was a United Church minister, politician and farmer. He was born in Lucknow, Ontario to parents Alexander Nicholson and Isabelle MacDonald. In 1920 he left his hometown to farm in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and then in 1921 enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan St. Andrew’s College to study theology. There he joined the Student Christian Movement (SCM) and by 1924 was on the National Committee representing the University. In 1927 he graduated with a degrees in Art and Theology. After networking with a minister from St. Stephens, Edinburgh at a SCM event in Europe, Nicholson decided to do post-graduate work in Edinburgh, Scotland. He and his new wife Marian Leila Massey moved to Edinburgh. In the mornings he would study at the University of Edinburgh, and in the afternoons he served as Assistant Minister to St. Stephens. After studying for a year and half his was called home because his father was ill. Upon their return he was convinced by Dr. John L. Nichol, Superintendent of Missions for Northern Saskatchewan, to serve a five year term in the Hudson Bay Junction. There he became the first United Church Minister. During this time he also became very interested in politics and became an organizer for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1935. Aside from his church career Nicholson had very successful political career. He was elected as a federal Member of Parliament in northern Saskatchewan in 1940 and served four terms until 1957. Between 1960 and 1967 he served at the Minister of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation for the Saskatchewan Legislature. His theological background gave his politics a Christian perspective aiming to improve the general lot of people and committing to peace. Nicholson remained active in the church for the remainder of his political career and after retirement. Upon retirement, he also became very interested in oral history and produced many interviews now housed in the provincial archives of Saskatchewan and Ontario. As part of the Division of Communication’s Oral History Project, Nicholson conducted oral history interviews of United Church ministers for the United Church Archives. Nicholson and his wife, Marian, had three children, Ruth, Mary Anna, and Alexander.
The Amalgamation Steering Committee was set up to study the proposed amalgamation of Bedford Park, Deer Park, Eglinton and St. George's United Church congregations in Toronto; it included a representative from each congregation.
Estelle Amaron, (1899-1986), was a member of the overseas staff of the YMCA. Miss Amaron was born in 1899 in Montreal in a Presbyterian manse. She attended Macdonald College School for Teachers and in 1926 graduated from McGill School of Physical Education. That same year Estelle Amaron joined the overseas staff of the Canadian Young Women's Christian Association. During her career with the YWCA she spent time in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Sierra Leone. Upon her return to Canada in 1960, she remained active in the organization. In December 1976, Estelle Amaron was made a member of the Order of Canada for her work in the YWCA.
John Norrie Anderson (1890-1952) was born in the Hebrides and died at Inverness, Scotland on April 29, 1952. Anderson received his education at Edinburgh University where he graduated with honours in History. He later studied at New College, Edinburgh and was ordained into Ministry of the Church of Scotland. Upon immigrating to Canada, he taught staff of Wesley College, Brandon, and afterwards held pastorates at Fort Massey Church, Halifax; St. Andrew’s Kirk, St. John and in 1948 came to Toronto, as Associate Minister in Old St. Andrew’s. Following the amalgamation of Old St. Andrew’s with Westminster-Central, he returned to Scotland and at the time of his death was minister of Laird, Sutherlandshire. While serving as a missionary in India in 1924, he married Elizabeth Finlay, a Canadian Medical Missionary, who predeceased him. Afterward, John married Isobel Constance Anderson.
Annan - Woodford Pastoral Charge was formed in 1970, when Annan Pastoral Charge and Woodford Pastoral Charge joined together. It included Trinity United Church in Annan and Woodfrod United Church, until Woodford United Church closed in 2004. It is currently a single-point pastoral charge.
Annan Pastoral Charge was formed in 1925, formerly Presbyterian. it included Annan, Johnstone Church in Johnson, Leith
Trinity United Church, located at 303234 Sideroad 33 in Annan, was established in 1925, formerly Presbyterian. The Presbyterian Church was established in 1855 and shared a minister with Division Street Presbyterian Church in Owen Sound until 1877 when it formed part of Annan-Leith Presbyterian Pastoral Charge. In 1906, the charge also included Daywood and Johnstone congregations. It joined the United Church of Canada in 1925. It was also known as Annan United Church. It is still an active congregation of the United Church of Canada.
Woodford United Church, located at the intersection of Mallory Beach Rd & 8th Ave, was established in 1925, formerly Methodist and Presbyterian. It joined the United Church of Canada in 1925 and formed part of Woodford Pastoral Charge until 1970. The congregation closed December 2004.
Johnstone United Church was established in 1925, formerly Presbyterian; it closed ca. 1969
Leith United Church was established in 1925, formerly Presbyterian; it closed ca. 1969
Charles Sinclair Applegath (b. 1891 ) was a Methodist/United Church minister in Ontario. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1909 and served in the Hamilton and Toronto Conferences at: Ryerson Church, Hamilton , 1909-1910; Paisley Memorial Church, Guelph, 1910-1911; Lincoln Ave., Galt, 1911-1914; Islington, Toronto, 1914-1916; Timothy Eaton Church, Toronto, 1916-1917; Chapleau, Ont., 1917-1918, Port Hope, Ont., 1919-1921; and Emerald Street Church, Hamilton, 1922-1925.
Adella J. Archibald (1869-1960) was a Presbyterian missionary to Trinidad. Born in Truro, Nova Scotia, she was appointed to Trinidad as a teacher by the Foreign Mission Committee of the Presbyterian Church in 1889. In 1894, she was appointed a missionary. She retired in 1935.
Arkona-Ravenswood Pastoral Charge was formed on June 20, 2002; formely known from 1925-2002, Arkona Pastoral Charge. It included Arkona, Ravenswood, West Williams and Sylvan (1925-1926). It disbanded in 2008 when Arkona United Church closed and is now named Ravenswood Pastoral Charge.
Arkona United Church, located at 13 Centre Street, was established in 1925, formerly Methodist. Both the Episcopal Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists were in Arkona as early as the 1850s. In 1884, the two congregations united to form Arkona Methodist Church in the Wesleyan Methodist church building. The church was construced in 1862 and was raised to include a Sunday School in 1915. It joined the United Church in 1925. The congregation disbanded on June 29, 2008.
West Williams United Church was established in 1925, formerly Methodist. The church was built in 1870 on the west side of the Lamon community in West Williams. The congregation closed in 1964.
Ravenswood United Church, located at 7476 Lakeshore Road in Lambton Shores, was established in 1925, formerly Methodist. The church was originally built in 1867 and was part of the Arkona Mission. In 1884, Ravenswood Methodist Circuit was formed including Ravenswood, Ebenezer and Kinnaird. It joined the United Church of Canada in 1925 and was a three-point charge with Jura and North Plympton. The charge disbanded ca. 1946 and Ravenswood joined the Arkona Pastoral Charge. On July 20, 1939, the church was destroyed by fire and the community built a new church, which opened in November 26, 1939. It is still an active congregation of the United Church of Canada.
Armour Heights United Church in North York was established in 1947. The church building was opened in 1950 and was located at 63 Dunblaine Avenue at Kelso Street, south-west of the intersection of Avenue Road and Wilson Avenue. In 1968, Wilson Heights United Church became part of Armour Heights United Church. In 1989, Armour Heights united with Fairlawn United Church to form Fairlawn Heights United Church in the Fairlawn building.
Wilson Heights United Church in North York was established in 1952. The church building was opened in 1955 and was located at 68 Collinson Boulevard, north-west of the intersection of Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue. In 1968 Wilson Heights became part of Armour Heights United Church.
Egerton Franklin Armstrong was born in Goderich, Ontario on December 6, 1874 and died July 25, 1965. After graduating highschool in Goderich, Armstrong attended Victoria University in Toronto, where he graduated in Arts in 1898 and in Theology in 1901. After leaving College he spent his probation serving the Tuckersmith circuit in the Goderich district and Wellington Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, in the Windsor district of the Methodist Church. He was ordained in 1901. After ordination, he was stationed in the Methodist Church at Tupperville (June 1901), Ethel (1905), Charing Cross (1907), Victoria Avenue Chatham (1910), Essex (1914), Wingham (1917), Wallaceburg (1921). After Union he served the charges of Listowel (1925), Bowmanville (1931) and Blenheim (1936). He retired from Blenheim in 1939 and resided in London, Ontario. There, he supplied at Pilgrim United Church London from 1940-1950, and took charge of the church from 1952. He was chairman of the Essex and Wingham Districts in the Methodist Church and of the Perth Presbytery in the United Church.
Robert Cornell Armstrong, (1876-1929), was a Methodist missionary to Japan. He was born in Carleton County, Ontario in 1876. He received his B.A. in 1903 and his M.A. in 1911 from Victoria University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1914. He served as a missionary to Japan from 1903 to 1910. Between 1912 and 1915 he was Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions at Kwansei Gakuin University, and Dean from 1915 to 1919. In 1919 Robert Cornell Armstrong was appointed missionary of Central Tabernacle, Tokyo. As well, he lectured at Aoyama Gakuin Seminary, spoke at Conference and Bible events, and served as Secretary for the National Christian Council of Japan. He wrote articles and four books on Japanese religion and philosophy. He died in Tokyo.
Alice Dorey (1883-1979) was a teacher, a writer, a poet, and the wife of United Church Moderator Very Rev. George Dorey. Alice Ann Dent was born in Cowansville, Quebec. She taught at a school for the deaf in Montreal and wrote poems which were published in Canada, the United States, England, Australia, and some which were translated into Hungarian and Italian. She also wrote book reviews and occasional articles for The United Church Observer.
Jesse H. Arnup, (1881-1965) was a minister and Moderator of the United Church of Canada. He was born in Norfolk County, Ontario in 1881. He graduated from Victoria College in 1909 and received his D.D. from Wesley College, Winnipeg, in 1924. From 1910 to 1912 he was Secretary of the Layman's Missionary Movement of the Methodist Church, Assistant Secretary of Overseas Missions from 1913 to 1925, and Secretary of United Church of Canada Foreign Missions from 1925 to 1952. He served as Moderator from 1944 to 1946.
Arva - Hyde Pastoral Charge was formed ca. 1962 when Melrose United Church closed and Arva Park United Church and Hyde Park United Church remained from the Arva - Hyde Park - Melrose Pastoral Charge, which was originally known as the St. John's Pastoral Charge. It closed on January 1, 1986 when Arva and Hyde Park split into two separate charges.
Hyde Park United Church, located at 1560 Hyde Park Road in London (formerly Hyde Park), was established 1925, formerly Methodist and Presbyterian. Both the Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Hyde Park were formed in 1875 and built churches in 1876. The two churches joined together to form the United Church of Canada in 1925 and the newly founded congregation used the Presbyterian building. It closed on September 26, 2010 and the congregation amalgamated with Riverside United Church in London.
Arva United Church, located at 14340 Medway Road in Arva, was established in 1925, formerly Methodist. The Methodists first built a church in Arva in 1857.It was part of St. John's Methodist Circuit. It joined the United Church of Canada in 1925. It became a single-point charge in 1986. On June 25, 2017, it amalgamated with Siloam United Church in London to become Siloam United Church at 1240 Fanshawe Road East in London.
Melrose United Church was established in 1925, formerly, Methodist. The Melrose Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1820 in what is now Lobo Township, on Concession 3, Lot 14. The church building was erected sometime between 1820 and 1825. It was damaged by a tornado in 1870. A new church was built in 1872, near the old site. It joined the United Church in 1925. The church disbanded in 1961.
Asbury and West United Church in North York was established in 1947 upon the union of Asbury United Church in North York and the Toronto congregation of West United Church. The new congregation used the Asbury building which is located at 3180 Bathurst Street at Woburn Avenue, just north of Lawrence Avenue.
Asbury United Church in North York was established in 1925; formerly Asbury Methodist Church. It was located at 3180 Bathurst Street at Woburn Avenue, just north of Lawrence Avenue. Asbury was a point on the Downsview Methodist Circuit (from 1917 onward) and on the Downsview Pastoral Charge. In 1947 Asbury United Church united with West United Church to form Asbury and West United Church in the Asbury building.
West United Church in Toronto was established in 1925; formerly West Presbyterian Church, which was established ca. 1860 and held services in a building on the corner of Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue. Shortly after 1860, the congregation moved a few blocks west to Dennison Avenue and Wolseley Street (just north of Queen). In 1912 the congregation moved to a new building at College Street and Montrose Avenue (near Ossington Avenue). The congregation was expanded in 1928 with the addition of Clinton Street United Church; In the 1940s, West United started to consider re-locating to north Toronto, and, upon the invitation of Asbury United Church in North York, united with that congregation in 1947 to form Asbury and West United Church in the Asbury building.
Clinton Street United Church in Toronto was established in 1925; formerly Clinton Street Methodist Church. The church was located at the intersection of Clinton Street and Jersey Avenue, just north of College Street and about half-way between Bathurst Street and Ossington Avenue. In 1928 Clinton Street United Church became part of West United Church.
Rev. Elmer E. Ashley was a United Church minister serving in the twentieth century. Elmer Ashley was born in 1909 or 1910. He was ordained in the Maritime Conference of the United Church of Canada. He served various charges in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Ontario. He retired in 1977 to Fenwick, Ontario. Rev. Ashley died in 2004.
The Deaconess Association met for a first conference in 1926, and assisted deaconesses in their duties and in caring for their needs. The Fellowship of Professional Women was formed between 1938 and 1939 to bring together a fellowship of women in full-time employment in the United Church as missionaries, deaconesses, Christian education directors, evangelists, teachers, nurses, doctors, and executive secretaries; and to strengthen the viewpoint of such workers in the development of Church policy.
The Fellowship of Deaconesses and Other Women Workers was established in 1963, a union of the Deaconess Association and the Fellowship of Professional Women in The United Church of Canada, all voluntary associations. This Fellowship was dissolved in 1971 upon the establishment of the Association of Professional Church Workers, made up of men and women working in a professional capacity in the Anglican and United Churches.