It was opened for Divine service by Mr. Young on the 7th October, 1792. The masons did good honest work— the mortar was well tempered, as was discovered when a door was made through the farther end in 1874—it being next to impossible to break up the wall, the rubble stone imbedded in the mortar offering greater resistance to the crowbar than hewn stone would have done. The timber, too, has proved of good quality, as it has stood solid under the tread of thousands of footsteps for nearly a hundred years. It has certainly no pretentions to architectural style, yet it has a quaint appearance of antiquity which attracts attention. It would pass for one of the Scottish Parish Churches of the Reformation period, so far as its exterior is concerned. Inside, it has a bright and cheerful appearance, and possesses excellent acoustic properties, although the seats are uncomfortably narrow and straight in the back. OLD ST. GABRIEL'S. (Montreal "Star," Sept. 25, 1886.) Oh, ancient church, how many, many days, Sweet, serious memories throng around thy walls. Montreal, September 22nd, 1886. FRIT. CHAPTER VI. The Ten Trustees Of St. Gabriel Street Church—Adam Scott, William Stewart, Duncan Fisher, William England, Alexander Fisher, William Hunter, Thomas Oakes, John Empey, And John Russel —the Original Subscription List For The Erection Of The Church —Remarks On The Same. The church in St. Gabriel Street had a strong hold on the religious, social and public life of Montreal, at least during the first fifty years of its existence. Its founders and early supporters gave it a status of great influence. A century ago, as now, the Scottish traders constituted a very important section of the population of the city. They ranked with the foremost in enterprise and wealth. They were, indeed, the leaders in all public matters, as well as in the domain of social life. The ten trustees, in whom the property of the church was first vested, represented the several walks of industry then pursued in the city. The following minutes show us the organization effected in Mr. Young's time:— Montreal, 8th May, 1791. "The members of the Presbyterian congregation of Montreal, having been regularly called from the pulpit, this day met for the purpose of electing a committee to manage the temporals of said congregation. The following gentlemen were unanimously chosen: Messrs. Richd. Dobie, Alex. Henry, Adam Scott, William Stewart, Duncan Fisher, William England, Alex. Hannah, Alex. Fisher, John Lilly, William Hunter, Peter McFarlane, George King, John Robb, Thos. Oakes, John Empie, John Russel." Of these, nine were to be sufficient to form a quorum. Montreal, 11th May, 1791. "The committee having met, proceeded to elect their officers. Mr. R. Dobie was unanimously appointed President; Mr. Adam Scott, Vice-President; Mr. William Hunter, Treasurer, and Mr. John Russel, Clerk." This was the committee which continued in office until the year 1800. On the 25th May, 1791, the committee appointed Mr. Duncan Fisher to purchase a lot of ground on which to build a church. Mr. Fisher having finally settled for the purchase of the lot from Madame Hertel, Mr. Scott, Mr. D. Fisher, Mr. Hannah, Mr. Oakes and Mr. Russel were appointed a committee to settle with a carpenter. Out of the committee of sixteen members appointed to manage the temporalities of the church in 1791, ten were afterwards chosen as trustees, to hold the property in behalf of the congregation. Adam Scott, the first named in the deed, was, at that time, a prominent merchant in the city of Montreal. From him, the hinges, screws, stove-fixtures, paints and oils, required for the building, were procured on the 30th July, 1792. He had been a contributor to Christ Church, and, indeed, a Churchwarden in 1789, and attended its services in the old Jesuits' Chapel, in the interval that elapsed between the departure of the Rev. John Bethune, in 1787, and the arrival of Rev. John Young, in 1790. He, with Alexander Hanna and John Russel, signed the contract, made with Joseph Perrault, for the roofing and flooring of the church, in February, 1792. His name appears on the subscription list for building the church, as seen below, for ten guineas. He does not appear, however, to have been in circumstances in later years to afford much pecuniary help to the congregation, although, up to 1809, pew No. 27 stood in his name in the treasurer's books. Prominent in the congregation from the beginning, and the first vice-president in 1791, he was chairman of the committee for the management of the temporal affairs of the church, from 1800 to 1803, and, as such, had to preside over the investigation into the charges brought against Rev. John Young, to which reference has been already made. His name appears second on the list of those who, in November, 1800, favoured the retention of Mr. Young. In his capacity as chairman of the Temporal Committee, he was also the first to sign the petition to the Government, in 1802, for the continuance to Rev. James Somerville of the £50 a year, which the Government had formerly paid to Rev. John Young, for services rendered to the military in the garrison. He reached the promised good old age of three score years and ten. dying 20th December, 1818, from concussion of the brain, the consequence of having fallen down stairs. He lived only two days after the accident. Rev. James Somerville officiated at his burial. For several years before his death, he ceased to take a prominent part in the affairs of the congregation. William Stewart, whose name appears next on the list of the trustees, was also a merchant in the city. He is said to have been a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and came to Canada to push his fortune, while still a young man. Like all the rest of the trustees, he contributed ten guineas to the building fund of the church. He does not seem to have taken a prominent part in the work of the congregation afterwards. He died on the 3rd of December, 1797, aged 44 years. His widow, Isabella Cowan, married Mr. William Hunter, a co-trustee, and one of his daughters Isabella, was the first wife of the late Sheriff Boston, to whom she was married in 1814. She died in 1821.Another daughter, Jane, born in 1797, never married, and lived with Mr. J. S. Hunter's family until her death a few years ago. He held pew No. 17 in the church. Duncan Fisher, whose name appears third on the trust, was for many years the leading spirit in the congregation. A native of Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland, he, with three brothers, Alexander, John and James, and a cousin, Finlay, settled in Montreal, shortly after the conclusion of the American war of Independence. In the deed of the churchpew No. 34, which he held, he is designated Duncan Fisher, "cordwainer," and he appears to have had the mental activity that has usually characterized the guild to which he belonged. He was a zealous Presbyterian, although he, with commendable catholicity, supported the English Church, and attended its services, before the Scotch Church was fully established in the city,—his name appearing as a contributor to its funds as early as 1785. Besides the distinction of being one of the original trustees of the Church, he was chosen an elder at the first nomination, occupying that position in 1792. This office he discharged with much fidelity up to the time of his death. He, too, subscribed ten guineas towards the erection of the church in 1792; and, when an effort was made, in 1800, to wipe out the debt remaining upon the building, he subscribed five pounds more. His name stands at the head of the call to Rev. James Somerville, along with a promise to pay two guineas annually towards his support. It was he who conducted the correspondence with the Presbytery of Albany, with reference to the securing of Rev. John Young as stated supply, and led in the other transactions that took place between the congregation in the St. Gabriel Street |