Andrews in 1790. Before becoming the first Bishop in PEI in 1821, Father MacEachern had a huge territory to administer with many settlers under his care like the French priests who had preceded him.

Boat-sled built by Bishop MacEachern about the year 1800 for use as a convenience during the winter season. serving as its name indicated a two- fold purpose. This boat- sled was eight feet long and was a familiar sight on St. John’s Island for many years.

Photo courtesy of Robbie Thompson.

MacEachern was born the youngest of eight children in Kinlochmoidart, Inverness, Scotland on the eighth of February 1759. He immigrated to the Island in 1790 with the company of 230 Highland settlers. At this time, the Maritime colonies were a part of the Diocese of Quebec. Initially, MacEachern’s mission included not only St. John’s Island, but also Nova Scotia’s Gulf Shore, and Cape Breton. Priests were scarce, the population in the colonies was rising, and there was little mingling among the Acadian, Scotch, and Irish settlers. Priests like MacEachern, who spoke French, Gaelic, and English, and who could minister to all three were rare. (35)

Before 1830, the Island never had any more then three priests at One time. The Catholic population, however, had doubled.

MacEachern's solution to this was to establish a local college to provide pre-seminarian training to prospective priests. (36) Thus, in 1790, MacEachern established the first college in the Island.

An interesting story connected with Bishop McEachern has been

Passed down through the Pratt family in St. Peters for four generations. This story concerned a young female child, Nicholson by name, who had

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