Trinity Anglican Church Cambridge

Other Events:

• Former Geographic Area: Galt
• Church: 1844, Trinity Anglican Church, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario; construction

Notes:

Trinity Anglican Church

Begun: 1840

An Anglican missionary, Rev. Michael Boomer, arrived in Galt in 1840 to organize the community's first Anglican congregation. Services were held in the Township Hall until the fall of 1844 when a new stone church was completed. The building was opened and consecrated in October, 1844 by Dr. Strachan, Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto. Land for the church had been donated by the Dickson family and the cost of the building was assumed largely by the Dicksons and by Absalom Shade. The first Rector of Trinity Church, Rev. Michael Boomer, was to minister to the Galt congregation until moving to London in 1872 when he became Principal of Huron College and Dean of the Huron diocese. Dean Boomer was followed by Reverend Canons Brock (1872-1873), Curran (1873-1877), Hinks (1877-1886) and Rev. Canon Ridley who was rector from 1886 until his sudden death in November 1915.

The first Parish Hall was built in 1855 through the generosity of Mr. Shade. When Mr. Shade died in 1862 his Will provided funds for the construction of a Rectory along with an endowment fund to provide for the rector's salary. The church was enlarged in 1856, and in 1868 the Parish Hall was made larger. The interior of the church was altered in 1885-1886 and the Norman Tower was added during the same time frame through the generosity of Matthew Wilks. Work began on rebuilding the Parish Hall with the laying of the cornerstone on July 17, 1911. Electric lighting was installed in 1916. The Parish Hall was further enlarged in 1956; the new Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built about the same time.

Canon Ridley established a Mission in Preston in 1888. Construction of St. John's Anglican Church in that community was begun in 1889 with dedication services held in 1890. St. James Anglican Church in Hespeler also began as a Mission of Galt. Work began in 1919 on St. David's Mission at the corner of Pollock and Chalmers Street in Galt. The Mission, which began as a Sunday School, was dedicated by Archbishop Williams in April 1920.

Records:
Baptism dates: 1850- Location of records: at church
Marriage dates: 1850- Location of records: at church
Burial dates: 1850- Location of records: at church

Records on microfilm at the Cambridge Public Library include: Vestry Minute Books 1877-1916, and the Parish Registers for 1850-1916, which include Baptisms, Marriages and Burials. A transcription of the Burials 1851-1874 (Huber 1984) is available at the Kitchener Public Library. Some early marriages may be found in Huber (1986).

[ADDRESS/LOCATION: 12 Blair Road Cambridge, ON N1S 2H5, located in the Galt section of Cambridge; 621-8860]
References: Cant 1915:35-46; Denis-Nathan, WHS 1970(58):27,29; Galt 1928:26; R. Taylor 1986; WHS 1971(59):73.
Church History: Thomas, Rev. A.B. Trinity Church, Galt, Ontario, Centenary Souvenir 1844-1944. Galt: C.E. Knowles Printing, 1944<sup>1a

1a</sup>Ambrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener,  Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. ^{[with kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose]}