Rev. Patterson relates in his book that Ramsay in the com¬ ing years was a great help to Dr. MacGregor and the Princetown congregation. He described Ramsay as a man of sincere piety, who trained an excellent family and had a pecu¬ liarly happy death. First Female Elder 1936 saw the ordination of the first woman minister in the United Church of Canada, Rev. Lydia Gruchy . Lottie McFadden , first woman Elder, and her husband Clarence. Lottie was a substitute organist over the years. Lottie McFadden In 1970, United Church recognized that women were capable of serving in the highest rank of the church government. While women, through various women's church organizations, had always worked hard to keep the church vibrant, the role of elder was reserved exclu¬ sively for their male counterparts. Women of the congre¬ gation initiated the change. Lottie McFadden was a mem¬ ber of the United Church Women (UCW) and brought to the attention of the organization that it was time the church had a woman elder. This comment set the stage. Mrs. McFadden was absent from the next meeting of the UCW which gave the other mem¬ bers the opportunity to mull over her previous statement and reach the conclusion that Lottie's name should be put forth to the church for con¬ sideration as elder. However no one told Lottie about the development. No doubt a quiet, but per¬ sistent campaign was carried out by the women of the congregation to influence thought on the mat¬ ter. The vote for elder is always held following a Sunday service in May. Lottie had travelled to Fredericton , New Brunswick on that particular weekend to visit with her daughter. When she arrived back on Prince Edward Island , it was to discover she had been elected the first woman elder of the Lot 16 United Church; "an honor I was pleased to accept." 23 Lottie was a well-known member of the community. She and her husband, Clarence, along with their four children, Joan, Alan, Joyce, and Donald lived in Central Lot 16 for 96 United Church and Its People