Rev. E. W. Frazee

Abt 1820 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	E. W. Frazee
  Prefix	Rev.
  Born	Abt 1820	Of, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-55812
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I55812	Generations
  Last Modified	9 Jun 2025

  
  

• Notes

  Wesleyan Methodist and Methodist New Connexion St. Paul's United Church The earliest Methodist services were said to have begun in 1861 when the Rev. E.W. Frazee arrived in Preston. He organized a congregation which met at first in the upper room of a woolen mill on Eagle Street and then in the frame Lutheran church on King Street; members of the New Connexion Methodists began to meet in the Town Hall at about the same time. Rev. Charles Freshman, the German Wesleyan Methodist missionary, began preaching to English- and German-speaking congregations on May 3, 1862. In his autobiography Rev. Dr. Freshman is quoted: "I preached at St. George in the morning, Paris in the afternoon and at Preston in the evening. Our other regular appointments were Strasburg, Roseville, Conestoga [sic], New Dundee, Doon and occasionally in Princeton" (Freshman 1868: 214). A stone church was built at the corner of Duke and Argyle Streets in 1864 on property which had been donated by Jacob Hespeler; the church was opened on September 25, 1864. Dedicatory services were held in English by Mr. Rice and Mr. Carrol and in German by Rev. Freshman. Four acres of land between King and Queen (now Queenston Road) Streets were purchased from Jacob Hespeler on July 15, 1868 by the trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist and New Connexion churches. A newer, larger church was built on this property and completed on October 18, 1868. Although union of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada and the Methodist New Connexion Church did not occur until 1874 it is quite possible that the two congregations in Preston had already formed their own union with the building of the church in 1868. For some years it was a community church where other denominations also worshipped. In 1871 the church was enlarged; the tower and spire were added at the same time. A Sunday School was built in 1875-1879 during the ministry of Rev. James McAllister. In 1877 the congregation was given permission to sell the old New Connexion Church and to apply the proceeds towards improvements on the new church. The Circuit was divided in 1883 when Preston, Zion and Doon were separated from Hespeler. In 1887 Preston was by itself, but at the Annual Conference in 1897 of the Methodist Church, Guelph Conference, Galt District, Preston was divided into a circuit consisting of Preston and Doon. The church became self-supporting at that time. Preston later was with Hespeler until 1909 when each became an independent charge. The congregation of Preston Methodist Church became Preston United Church in 1925 and later, in 1933, St. Paul's United Church. The cornerstone for a new Sunday School was laid in 1921; the addition was completed in 1922. Further additions were constructed in 1955 and 1967.1 1Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - Abt 1820 - Of, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth