Annie Sabina Haigh

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-311624
• Occupation: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Nurse
• Residence: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-126595
• Occupation: 1876, Doon Presbyterian Church, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; minister
• Occupation: 1881, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian Minister
• Occupation: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Minister
• Residence: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

Knox Preston Presbyterian Church


Rev. Charles Freshman, who served as a German Wesleyan Methodist missionary in Preston and area c.1860-1869, stated in his autobiography that the Presbyterian Church engaged a "young Swiss preacher and sent him out to evangelize the Germans in Waterloo County" (Freshman 1868: 284). Dr. Freshman reported that the young Presbyterian preacher preached in the "Lutheran Church in that place [Preston] ... but he failed to establish a cause" (Ibid:285).


According to the Minutes of the Second General Assembly (1876) of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, a German Mission was established in Preston on August 10, 1875 and an English one was begun on March 14, 1876. Rev. George Haigh was inducted as Minister to the combined congregations of Preston, Doon and Hespeler on April 24, 1876. Formal organization of this English-speaking congregation was on August 29, 1876. Services at the German Mission were "suspended" in January, 1878, "for want of encouragement", according to the Minutes of the Fourth General Assembly in 1878.


Commencing in 1880, services were held by Rev. Haigh in a stone building at the corner of Duke and Argyle Streets in Preston. However, on March 20, 1883 Preston was separated from Doon and Hespeler which remained under the ministry of Rev. Haigh. Preston reverted to a Mission Station at that time, only to be "dissolved" on September 16, 1884, according to the Minutes of the Eleventh General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1885.


The congregation was reorganized in 1891 by Dr. James A.R. Dickson of Central Presbyterian Church, Galt; the first church service was held on April 5, 1891 by Mr. P.W. Anderson in the Royal Templars' Hall in the Schultz Block. The Town Hall was then used for a short time; the first Kirk Session was elected there on March 12, 1893. The Lyceum Hall on King Street was purchased in 1893, renovated, and dedicated on July 16, 1893. Preston and Doon were placed on a two-point charge in 1893; the first minister was Rev. Herbert Francis Thomas (1893-1898) who was ordained and inducted into Knox Presbyterian on August 21, 1893. The church was rebuilt in 1938 and was in use until 1965 when the new church was completed; the King Street property was then sold.


The cornerstone for a new church on Argyle Street North, between King and Duke Streets, was laid on October 18, 1964. Dedication services for the new building held on March 27, 1965 included locking the door of the old church. In 1973 the name of the church was changed to Knox Preston Presbyterian Church when Preston joined with Galt and Hespeler to form the city of Cambridge. Dates on church: 1893, 1965.

Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

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....Neighbouring Galt had three Presbyterian congregations formed before the 19th century was even half over. Preston's only Presbyterian church wasn't founded until 1891 although it had a couple of earlier false starts. Nineteenth-century Preston contained a much different mix of residents than Galt. Those whose backgrounds were European-German or Pennsylvanian-Mennonite greatly outnumbered people with Scottish roots. Thus, Mennonite, Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches were all established in Preston by 1850.
That doesn't mean the Presbyterian faithful didn't try. The very first, albeit brief, hints that adherents of Calvin and Knox were in Preston occurred in 1839 when Lutherans built "The Old Frame Church." They stated it was to be available to any faith whenever Lutherans or "German Presbyterians" did not require the building. Over the next 35 years only a few other vague hints of Presbyterianism in Preston surfaced.
Then, in the 1876 minutes of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, appear notes that a German mission in Preston had been established in 1875 and an English mission in early 1876. The German mission was soon disbanded due to lack of interest. Reverend George Haigh ministered to English-speaking Presbyterians in the combined Preston, Doon and Hespeler congregation from 1877 until 1883. He bought a small building at 565 Duke on the corner of Argyle across from Central School. Haigh tried hard to increase the core membership; however, in 1883, Preston was downgraded to the status of a mission station while Haigh continued to minister regularly at Doon and Hespeler. The Duke Street property then had to be sold to satisfy debts. For the next few years J.D. Webster hosted a few fellow Presbyterians for informal services in his home on King East near Westminster. Other faithful travelled to Galt and attended Central Presbyterian Church but they continued to urge a church in Preston. The indomitable Rev. Dr. James Dickson (Central's minister for almost 35 years) did not like the Presbyterian situation in Preston and took up their cause. Borrowing communion service articles from Central, he came to Preston, arranged for the use of the Royal Templars Hall on King Street and hired Reverend P.W. Anderson. It is from Anderson's first service on April 5, 1891 that the present church traces its history although Dickson has been honoured as the founder. Dissatisfaction with the Templars' building was appeased when Preston council permitted the Presbyterians to use the town hall for a couple of years. A former theatre at 718 King St., originally owned by the Lyceum Dramatic Company, became Knox Presbyterian Church in 1893. Including some 1930s renovations, the building served until 1965 when the present Presbyterian structure was built at 132 Argyle St., less than half a block away from Haigh's long-ago 1880s church building. The new church on Argyle opened in March 1965 and serves to this day. The old King Street property was sold to Preston's parking authority.....

mills, r. (2016). Preston's Presbyterians persevered. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018, from https://www.therecord.com/living-story/7017364-preston-s-presbyterians-persevered/

George married Martha Lewis 23 Apr 1862, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario. Martha was born 19 Oct 1837, , Ontario, Canada; died Mar 1900. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Martha Haigh
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-126596
• Residence: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian