FIRST THINGS

The first sermon was preached by the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Richey. In the afternoon, the Rev. Henry Pope, then stationed at Cornwall, occupied the pulpit, and the Rev. Charles Stewart, later of Sackville, preached in the evening. On the second Sunday, Novem- her 20th, the Rev. Thomas Duncan, minister of the Kirk of St. James, preached in the morning. In the afternoon the Sunday School children were massed in the galleries and the entire church was crowded to hear the Rev. Howard Sprague. The evening service was conducted by the Rev. Richard Smith.

The first New Year’s Watchnight Service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Richey. Dr. Richey, a man of fine appearance and dignified bearing was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His eloquence and oratory always drew crowded congregations and his fame as a preacher spread far and wide. Because Watchnight services seem to have been a tradition of the Methodists, it might be of interest to recall this first one to mind. The “Singing Seats” presented a sight long to be remembered, with some forty singers, led by Mr. Moore, a tall imposing, white—haired man, then beyond the three—score years and ten. The singers included many well-known to their descendants even today. Some of them were: Bass —— Watson Duchemin, Thomas Davy, George Moore, W. W. Stumbles, Artemas Lord, James Stanley, N. A. Mitchell, Edward Love, Edmund Duchemin, George Davy, Edward Catford, Richard Passmore, James Davison and John Morris. The tenors included: John Rendall, Bertram Moore, Albert Duchemin, Edward Davy, Paul Lea, and F. H. Beer. Among the women singers were Mrs. Duchemin, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Tanton, Miss Snelgrove, Miss Priscilla Snelgrove, Miss Weeks, Miss Davy, Miss Annie Moore and Miss Godfrey. To say that the singing was splendid, as the great congregation joined heartily with the choir in these grand old hymns, does not convey an adequate conception of what it really was. There was no musical instrument of any kind but there was feeling, power and volume not often heard in any congregation today. The service began at ten o’clock and was continued until after midnight. As the result of a series of special services held by Dr. Sprague in the winter and spring of 1865, some hundreds of people joined the church. For two months, the schoolroom was crowded every night and a very deep interest was taken during the entire period.

At the close of Dr. Richey’s ministry in July, 1867, the Rev. Henry Pope was appointed to the pastorate of the church. He was recognized as one of the most effective and popular preachers in the Maritime Provinces —- vigorous in intellect and cultivated in taste.

The first marriage was solemnized in the church when, on July 18th, 1867 Miss Martha Chappell and John T. Mellish, Principal of

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