Rev. William Meldrum

1806 - 1889  (83 years)

• Name	William Meldrum
  Prefix	Rev.
  Born	1806	Abernethy, Morayshire, Scotland
  Gender	Male
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-488174
  Died	19 Nov 1889	Morriston, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Crown Cemetery, Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario
  Person ID	I488174	Generations
  Last Modified	9 Sep 2024

  
  

  Family	Anne McLean,   b. 29 Apr 1824,   d. 16 Oct 1908  (Age 84 years)
  Married	25 Dec 1845
  Children	1. Dr. Norman William Meldrum,   b. 7 Jan 1847, Badenoch, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 2 Oct 1925, Ayr, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 78 years)   2. Dr. Peter Gordon Meldrum,   b. 4 Oct 1850, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 May 1915, Ayr, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 64 years)   3. Elizabeth Margaret Meldrum,   b. 1853,   d. 13 May 1949, Ayr, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 96 years)
  Last Modified	11 Sep 2024
  Family ID	F299901	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  MELDRUM, REV. William (d.), was b. in Scot., 1806. He was a graduate of Aberdeen University. In 1839 he emigrated from Inverness, Scot., to Canada, coming to Puslinch in response to a call to minister to the Presbyterian church, which had just been established, he being the first resident Presbyterian minister in the township of Puslinch. There had been 100 acres reserved for church and school purposes on which a small log church had been built. Soon after Mr. Meldrum came to Puslinch, he purchased the right of a squatter to 100 acres of land on lot 33, con. 8, and there set. The late Mr. Meldrum was a man of strong personality, as well as being very zealous and active. These qualities made him not only an important factor in the establishment of the Presbyterian church in Puslinch but also in the secular affaires of the pioneer settlement. In 1845 he m. Ann McLean, dau. of Peter McLean. Mr. Meldrum remained in Puslinch until 1852, when he received a call to Vaughan, York Co., where he remained five years. He then became the Presbyterian minister in West Zorra, where he remained until 1871, when he retired to Morriston, and in 1879 moved to his homestead near that village. He d. in 1889, at the ripe age of 83 years. His widow survives him, and lives at Morriston. Issue: Dr. Norman W., graduate of Toronto University, medical branch, who is now practising at Ayr, Ont.; Mrs. (Rev.) James Stewart, Dr. Peter G., also graduate of the Toronto University, medical branch, and Edinburgh, and practising at Whitby, Ont.; Mrs. Alex Marshall, Mich.; Miss Anna P., in Toronto; Dr. John A., Belmont, Ont.; Mrs. C. A. Lemen, in Detroit; George J., Elizabeth, and Alexander D., B.A., barrister in Sudbury. George J., m. Gertrude, dau. of Robert Watt, of Kincardine. Issue: Anna G. and Elma L. He owns the Meldrum homestead in Puslinch, known as "Melbank, " which contains 100 acres, and on which he resides, He also owns 100 acres in the Gore of Puslinch, lot 33. In politics he is a Liberal, and has always taken an active interest in political matters, and has been President of the Township Liberal Association. He was Councillor four years, and elected Reeve of Puslinch Tp. in 1905, which he later resigned, and was appointed Township Clerk. He is also Secretary of the Puslinch Agr. Society. Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto:Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 ______________ MELDRUM, WILLIAM At his residence in Morriston, on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after 1 o'clock, the 19th November 1889, aged 83 years. He had been nearly in his usual health and prayed with his family in conducting family worship on Monday evening. About 3 o'clock on Tuesday morning, he had a paralytic stroke and from that time till his death, he was almost unconscious and passed away without a struggle. He was well known as the esteemed minister of East Puslinch Presbyterian Church for many years. Rev. Meldrum was born in the parish of Abernethy, Morayshire, Scotland in 1806. He came to this country in 1839, in response to a call from the congregation of East and West Puslinch and Nassagaweya. Into that charge, he was inducted in March 1840 and there he remained for about fourteen years. He then moved to Vaughan and thence to Harrington, where he ministered for sixteen years. In 1876, Rev. Meldrum retired from the active duties of the ministry and remained during the rest of his days at his home in Puslinch, where he became an elder in Dr. MacKay's congregation. The funeral took place from his residence near Morriston on Friday at 1. Rev. Dr. MacKay, for many years his pastor, presided. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Dr. Smellie of Fergus, Rev. Dr. Wardrope and Rev. Dr. Torrance of Guelph, who were acquainted with him for over forty years and gave reminiscences of his early pastoral work. Rev. J. C. Smith B. D. of Guelph led in prayer. After singing and pronouncing the benediction, the service at the house was concluded. The procession, which was a very large one, wended its way to Crown Cemetery, where his body was laid a few rods from the site of the church, where Rev. Meldrum began his ministerial labours about half a century ago, as the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church of East Puslinch. Mrs. Meldrum, five sons and four daughters survive. Three of the sons are in the medical profession and the youngest son is going through a regular course in the University of Toronto. One of the daughters, who died a few years ago, was the wife of Rev. J. S. Stewart; another is married to Mr. A. Marshall of Michigan; a third has been a very successful teacher for several years. The remaining son and daughter, with their mother, are at the old homestead. Rev. Meldrum was a sound expositor of the Divine Word. He could preach as readily in Gaelic as in English. Rev. William Meldrum is the last of a godly band of Gaelic ministers, who were among the pioneers of Presbyterianism in Western Ontario. "The fathers where are they and the prophets, do they live forever?" - Information from the transcription of Crown Cemetery: Margaret Jane Meldrum, who died Nov. 20, 1884, aged 37 years married Rev. James S. Stewart. A Celebration of Lives Obituaries of Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario Vol 2 Anna Jackson & Marjorie Clark Used with kind permission of Marjorie Clark

  
  

• Event Map

  Died - 19 Nov 1889 - Morriston, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth