John Stuart (24 February 1740 – 15 August 1811) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

clergyman,

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

, educator, and Loyalist. He is noted for being the first chaplain of the

Legislative Council of Upper Canada The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist ...

, for being the first Anglican priest in what is now Ontario, for building the first church in what is now

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, and for opening the first

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

Early life

John Stuart was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1740. After graduating from the

College of Philadelphia The Academy and College of Philadelphia (1749-1791) was a boys' school and men's college in Philadelphia, Colony of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1749 by a group of local notables that included Benjamin Franklin, the Academy of Philadelphia began as ...

in 1763 he taught school, but returned to the college to complete a master's degree. He converted from

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

to Anglicanism and was ordained by the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

as a deacon, and later, as a priest. Stuart married Jane Okill in 1775 and they would have eight children.

Missionary to the Mohawks

Upon receiving an appointment from the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

he was assigned as a missionary to the Mohawks at

Fort Hunter, New York Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the Town of Florida in Montgomery County, New York, United States, west of the capital at Albany, on the south bank of the Mohawk River and on the northeast bank of Schoharie Creek. The hamlet developed around a fort ...

. His work of serving the people in his chapel at Fort Hunter began in 1770. He was also responsible for a small school at nearby Johnstown where he also conducted monthly services, and he ministered to the Mohawks at Canajoharie where he met Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. Stuart collaborated with Joseph Brant to translate the Gospel of St. Mark into the Mohawk dialect.Osborne 2011, p. 31 Since Stuart was a Loyalist and an Anglican priest, he was harassed by

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

rebels. His home was looted, property confiscated, and his church desecrated. He was almost arrested in 1777 but saved by Joseph Brant and his troops.

British Canada years

By 1781, Stuart was permitted to leave for the

Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

. He was exchanged for an army officer who had been imprisoned by the British. Stuart arrived in Canada with his wife, Jane (née Okill), three children and his black slaves. He settled in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

where he became the chaplain for the 2nd Battalion of the

King's Royal Regiment of New York The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, duri ...

. He also operated a school and ministered to Loyalist settlers. Stuart realized that prospects of obtaining a more secure position or obtaining property in Montreal were low, so in 1783 he petitioned Governor Haldimand to allow him to move to Cataraqui (now Kingston), grant him land and appoint him Chaplain of the Garrison of Cataraqui. He was successful and so he moved to Cataraqui with his family in 1785. He visited the neighboring Mohawk settlers and tended to his fellow citizens. His church consisted of only a room in the garrison quarters at Tête-de-Pont Barracks. The room was used until the first St. George's Church was built in 1792. St. George's was the first church to be built in the Kingston area.Mika 1987, p. 135Osborne 2011, p. 33 He is often referred to as the "Father of the Upper Canada Church". In 1786 Stuart opened the first school west of the Ottawa River.John Stuart - Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Retrieved 2015-04-07 It was located in one room in his rectory and had an enrolment of 30 pupils. The schoolroom was expanded by adding a small shed and it would become the first grammar school ( Secondary School) in Upper Canada. He ran the school until 1788. In 1792, Lieutenant Governor Simcoe appointed him chaplain of the

. Stuart became the first Anglican priest in what is now the province of Ontario. In 1799 he was granted an honorary

Doctorate of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree from the College of Philadelphia. John and Jane Stuart had eight surviving children. Their eldest son, George OKill Stuart, would become rector of Kingston after the death of his father.Osborne 2011, p. 258

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
John Stuart - Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Retrieved 2015-04-07
The Revd. John Stuart , DD, UEL of Kingston and His Family - A Genealogical Study
Retrieved 2015-04-07 *Osborne, Brian S. and Donald Swainson. ''Kingston, Building on the Past for the Future''. Quarry Heritage Books, 2011. *Mika, Nick and Helma et al. ''Kingston, Historic City''. Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, John 1740 births 1811 deaths Canadian Anglican priests Converts to Anglicanism from Presbyterianism Pre-Confederation Ontario people United Empire Loyalists People of the Province of New York People of colonial Pennsylvania People from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Early life

Missionary to the Mohawks

British Canada years

See also

References