Rev. James White

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00092-5295.2
• Occupation: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Minister
• Residence: 1891, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist

Notes:

St. Luke's United Church

Meetings began in homes with the arrival of a Methodist New Connexion missionary in 1837. In 1844 New Hope (formerly Bergeytown) was on the Trafalgar Circuit and was ministered to by the Rev. W. Bothwell and two local preachers. Land was donated in 1849 by David Rife Sr. for a stone church called the New Hope Chapel which was located on Queen Street at Hungerford Road. This Chapel was constructed jointly by the New Connexion Methodists and the Evangelicals, who were to build their own church in 1863. In 1851 the congregation was on the Nassagaweya Circuit. Membership continued to grow with the resultant formation in 1858 of a new circuit, the New Hope Circuit. The name of New Hope was changed to Hespeler in the same year with the subsequent renaming of the circuit to the Hespeler Circuit. Early pastors were Revs. James Bell (1858), James Hall (1859-1860), James White (1861-1863), Elias Williams (1864-1866) and James Hill (1867-1870).

In 1874 at the 46th Annual Conference of the Methodist New Connexion Church it was reported that the Hespeler Circuit, which was described as being a Mission of Galt, in the Guelph District, had 4 Chapels, 1 parsonage, 1 Circuit preacher, 2 local preachers, 2 Sunday Schools and a congregation totalling 580 individuals. In the same year, 1874, the Wesleyan Methodists and the New Connexion Methodists united to form the Methodist Church in Canada.

Hespeler became a single charge c.1892 when the Rev. Dr. George H. Cornish was the minister, and from that date the church was considered to be self-supporting. Union with the Congregationals and some Presbyterian congregations resulted in the formation of the United Church of Canada on June 10, 1925; the Hespeler Methodist Church became known then as Hespeler United Church.

The 1849 stone church was torn down in 1868 to make way for a newer, larger stone church which was to remain the place of worship until 1961 when a new church was built on Franklin Boulevard. The final service was conducted in the old stone Hespeler United Church on October 8, 1961, and dedication of the new St. Luke's United Church was held a week later on October 15, 1961. The congregation celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 1987.

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

James — Mary Bradley. Mary was born 1811, , Ireland; died 28 Aug 1910; was buried , New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

1. Isabella White was born 11 Oct 1844, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada; died 7 Mar 1933; was buried , New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
2. James Samuel White was born 1850; died 3 Jul 1873; was buried , New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.