party. At the second discourse, which was in English, they

were more orderly.

”40

The location of Rev. James MacGregor’s first service was believed to be at King Street Point, near the current site of

When Rev. James MacGregor made his first trip to the Island in 1791, there were only two other clergy present: Roman Catholic priest Rev. A.B. MacEachern at Savage Harbour, and the Anglican Rev. Theophilus DesBrisay, Rector of the Parish of Charlotte. Benjamin Chappell, the lay Methodist preacher, had been on the Island since 1774. DesBrisay’s son, Albert, was converted to Methodism by Rev. Hicks in 1815 and became active in the Methodist Society. The Society received him on probation in 1822, and he was ordained four years later. “He served Maritime circuits with distinction. Because of poor health he was made chap- lain of the Academy at Sackville. In 1855, he retired to Charlotte- town. His son, Albert 5., also

became a Methodist minister.” 43

Cabot Park in Malpeque.”‘1 During his three-week stay in the Princetown area, he baptized more than sixty children.

Three years passed before he made his second visit to the area. When he returned in 1794, he was impressed with the growth and development of the Princetown-Richmond Bay area and believed it had reached the point of needing a full-time minister. However he had no success in obtaining a minis- ter willing to locate to the region. A call was issued to a Rev. Mr. Ross of Pictou County Presbytery who chose to be placed elsewhere.42

Over the next number of years, Presbyterians across the Island had to make do with their own forms of wor- ship and occasional visits from Rev. MacGregor. However, Rev. John Urquhart arrived in 1800 and made the Princetown—Richmond Bay area his headquarters. Rev. Urquhart came from Scotland to New England in 1775. He then moved to Nova Scotia where he became associated with the Presbytery of Pictou, and was sent to Prince Edward Island.“ The points of worship

designated for Rev. Urquhart were Princetown, Richmond Bay West, Bedeque and New London. Rev. Urquhart was the first known settled Presbyterian minister on the Island.

It was a job of few benefits. Travel between the points was dangerous and tedious. Rev. Urquhart moved among his charges by boat in the open seasons and by travelling on the ice in winter. Living arrangements and compensation for his

34

LOT 16 UNITED CHURCH AND ITS PEOPLE