services were not recorded. Rev. Urquhart only remained on the Island until 1802. He then departed for the Miramichi, New Brunswick where he remained until his death in 1814.45 His replacement, Rev. John Keir, did not arrive until the spring of 1809. Rev. Keir came from Scotland in 1808 to minister to Presbyterians in Halifax, Nova Scotia, “But the necessities of Prince Edward Island were so urgent that he was sent thither immediately on his arrival at the former place?“

The only other Presbyterian minister on the Island at the time of Keir’s arrival was Rev. Peter Gordon, who had

settled in October, 1807 at St. Peter’s, Covehead, and Bay

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The Life of The Missionary:

Rev. James MacGregor, once leaving Scotland, never again saw his family. His missionary life was one of hardship which he sought to ease with the companionship of a wife. With the arrival from Scotland in 1795 of two new ministers to assist in missionary work, MacGregor had time to look for a wife. He requested a friend in Scotland to send a prospect to Pictou, but no suitable lady was willing to face the hardships of the New World. Through friends in Halifax, a proposal was made to the young lady Ann MacKay, which she accepted and the marriage took place in 1796. She died in child- birth in 1809. The widower remarried in 1812 the widow of the first settled minister on P.E.I. Rev. Peter Gordon. Miss Jessie Auld had come from Scotland to marry Rev. Gordon and settle on the Island. When Rev. Mac— Gregor and Mrs. Gordon married, bringing together their two families of children plus those born from their own union, they had a total of eleven.

In 1822, in recognition of his faithful service to Presbyterianism, the University of Glasgow conferred on Rev. MacGregor an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He served forty-four years in the ministry.

Peter Gordon MacGregor followed in his father’s footsteps in the min- istry. He did his internship under Rev. William MacGregor in Richmond Bay East. He served as Senior Moderator of the Presbyterian Synod in the Lower Provinces of Canada. In the 1875 landmark meeting of 560 commis- sioners in Montreal, Rev. Peter was a prominent figure in the resolution of old differences, and it was agreed that the new name of the denomination would be The Presbyterian Church in Canada. (Submitted by Ken Madam)

35 ORIGINS OF OUR FAITH