1854 - Yes, date unknown
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Name |
Blair Baptist Church (Blair) Cambridge |
Church |
Abt 1845 |
congregation started |
Born |
building constructed 1854 |
Blair Baptist Church, Blair, Ontario |
Gender |
Unknown |
Alt Address |
67 Old Mill Rd., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario |
Died |
Yes, date unknown |
Person ID |
I629 |
Properties |
Last Modified |
28 Aug 2011 |
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Notes |
- Blair Baptist Church
Begun: c.1845
The Baptist Church on Old Mill Road in Blair is said to have been built in 1854 by a Regular Baptist congregation. Rev. James Sim may have held Baptist services in this church, although his services are reported to have begun c.1845. Elder Sim, as he was said to have been called, had been ordained at Waterloo [Township] on October 5, 1841. "Elder Bayly preached the ordination sermon" (Canada Baptist Magazine, December 1, 1841, pg. 138).
Rev. Sim is reported to have travelled from his home in Hawkesville in Wellesley Township to the Blair area every other weekend through the years c.1845-c.1860. He also attended to a Baptist congregation in Preston. The County of Waterloo Gazetteer 1864 recorded Blair as having "one church, Bible Believers", and that the church "was erected in 1854, of brick, size 30 x 40, at a cost of $1,200; it [could] accommodate 300 persons; Rev. James Sim, pastor."
James Sim eventually left the Baptist Church for the Christadelphian c.1865, taking many of his followers from Blair, Preston and area with him. It is possible that the Christadelphians worshipped in this Baptist Church for awhile until they built their own church in Blair. They later, in 1880, built a new church on Richmond Street (now Old Mill Road ) in Doon. Rev. Sim died in Waterloo in that year. The Blair Christadelphian Church is listed as being closed in Evans Gazetteer 1884-1885.
An article in the Hamilton Spectator on Nov. 14, 1953 described the former Baptist church in Blair as being non-denominational. The present Blair Baptist Church was organized in August 1959 and rededicated in April 1960 as the Blair Evangelical Baptist Chapel. It now is a member of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches, and is called Grace Baptist Church.
Records:
Baptism dates: unknown Location of records: unknown
Marriage dates: unknown Location of records: unknown
Burial dates: unknown Location of records: unknown
There is no information at the Canadian Baptist Archives regarding the early years of this church.
References: Canada Baptist 1841:138; Doon & Blair W.I.; Heritage Cambridge 1976:10; High, WHS 1960(48):33; McDonald, WHS 1985(73):94.1a
1aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [used the kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose 2011]
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Event Map |
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 | Born - building constructed 1854 - Blair Baptist Church, Blair, Ontario |
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 | Alt Address - - 67 Old Mill Rd., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario |
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