Barbara and Paul Heck

Click on the thumbnail pictures.

Among the more prominent Loyalists to have settled in this area were Barbara and Paul Heck.

While living in New York City in 1766, Barbara Heck had a religious experience that resulted in her opening a Methodist chapel-the first in the city.  When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1766, Paul Heck took up arms for the British.  His farm in Vermont was confiscated and he fled with his family to the Montreal area.

The family received a grant of land in the Third Concession of Augusta Township near what became the hamlet of Maynard.  There they held the first Methodist class (service) in their tiny cabin in the forest.  A number of other Methodist families received grants of land in the same vicinity and this tiny group was instrumental  in establishing the first circuits of the Canadian Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Upper Canada.

Methodism was particularly well-suited to frontier conditions since its followers were quite happy to hold services in their houses or the outdoors, if necessary, whenever one of their circuit riders (itinerant preachers) visited them.

Paul died in 1795 and Barbara died in 1804.  Both are buried in the Blue Church Cemetery.

In 1817, Paul and Barbara's son, Samuel, was ordained a deacon in the Methodist chapel at Elizabethtown at the first meeting of the Methodist Conference held in Upper Canada.  The Methodist Episcopal Church became the United Church of Canada in 1925.

Click on the thumbnail pictures.

The Blue Church

(in New Oswegatchie)

Three miles west of Prescott, Ontario, on Highway 2, overlooking the banks of the St. Lawrence River, stands a tiny church known as the Blue Church.

On Jan.1st, 1790, a number of inhabitants of the townships of Edwardsburg, Augusta and Elizabethtown held a public meeting and agreed to build a church on part of the "Church Commons" in the government of New Oswegatchie.  The plot, situated near the centre of the river front of Augusta Township had been laid out in 1784 by Captain Justus Sherwood and almost all the settlers in these three townships had drawn one or more town lots there in 1784-87.  The Church Commons included about 16 acres, running north from the river across the plot near it's centre and intended as a  reserve for public use including sites for a church and a burying ground.  The burying ground had come into use very early and it was beside this that it was proposed to build the church, finally erected in 1809.  Included in the burial ground is a memorial to the late Barbara Heck who was buried there.  She and her husband, Paul, were the founders of Methodism in Canada.  The first church was burned down. 

In 1845 the present Blue Church was built, chiefly to be used as a mortuary chapel.   It is still used occasionally for services and stands as a memorial to the pioneers who settled this area.  Charred timbers were found from the earlier church and were re-used as studs in the present church walls.

The graveyard attracts many tourists and history buffs.  Many of the tombstones bear the names of  Loyalists such as: Avery, Bottom, Breakenridge, Butler, Everts, French, Heck, Humberstone, Hurd, Hurlburt, Jessup, Jones, Knapp, Lawrence, Sherwood, Smades, Snider, Weatherhead and Wright.

      Click on thumbnail pictures.

Barbara Heck's Bible                             Elizabeth Heck's Sampler

  Annual Pilgrimage Service, Hay Bay Church, Adolphustown 

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Guest Speaker-The Rev. Patricia Thompson

President of the Historical Society of the United Methodist Church (Vermont, USA) 

in a dramatic monologue as Barbara Heck

Hay Bay Church-1792

The Cradle of Methodism in Upper Canada

Canada's oldest surviving Methodist Church was erected in 1792 in the small township of Adolphustown, west of Kingston.  Erected on Paul Huff's farm just eight years after the arrival of the Loyalists, it was the first "meeting-house" (as it was first called) in the province.

To better accommodate the growing congregation, the church was enlarged in 1835 to its present size.  In 1860, it was replaced with a newer sanctuary a mile away where the congregation continues as Adolphustown United Church.

For many years the abandoned structure served as a farmer's grain storehouse until reclaimed in 1910 by the Methodist Church, who recognized it as a national treasure.  Over the years, this cherished place has been restored and renewed, to bring inspiration for new generations.

An annual Pilgrimage Service is held on the fourth Sunday of August at 3 p.m.  There are also displays, artifacts and literature.

Photos by Fraser Carr

References:

The Prescott Journal - Wednesday, July 7th, 1982

To Their Heirs Forever - Eula C. Lapp

Who Are We  Location  Branch History  Local History  Executive  Membership  Houses  Meetings  Events  Our Ancestors  

Loyalist Cemeteries  Resources  Links  Picture Gallery  Special Items  Projects