A large number of people from neighboring congregations assembled with the Miminegash congregation for the special service. 6. A METHODIST MINISTER FROM MIMINEGASH REV. JOHN THOMAS COSTAIN (CA. 1880 - ) It was said by some friends that from the time he was born, John Thomas Costain was destined to become a minister. He was born in Miminegash, Prince Edward Island, about 1880, the son of Job and Mary Costain. His parents were devout Methodists, constantly loyal in their attendance and support of the Miminegash Methodist Church. In his advanced years, Job Costain was known as the “patriarch” of the church. It was no surprise then, when their son, John Thomas Costain, announced his intention to study for the ministry. John Thomas Costain attended St. Lawrence School, Number 17, in Miminegash and the public schools in Alberton, Prince Edward Island. He was admitted to the Prince oLWales College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, from which he was graduated with a license to teach school. He taught school for two years and then was received as a candidate for the ministry in the Methodist Church in 1907. While still on trial as a candidate, his first appointment as a minsiter was 1907 in Deer Island, New Brunswick. Deer Island is located in Passamaquoddy Bay between Black’s Harbor, New Brunswick and Eastport, Maine. In 1908, his circuit included Deer Island, NE. and Grand Manan Island, NE. Grand Manan Island is in the Bay of Fundy, separated from the state of Maine by the Grand Manan Channel. From 1909 and through 1910, John Thomas Costain was listed as a student in Mount Allison University where he also taught classes to undergraduate students, earning the reputation as a very strict teacher. There is no further information about him at Mount Allison University either as a student, teacher, or minister after 1910. About this time, the Rev. Costain determined that his future was in the manual occupations rather than in the ministry or in teaching. He left the ministry, went to Boston, Massachusetts and became an apprenticed carpenter. While working during the day, he managed to attend school at night to study mathematics and drafting as he had only meager knowledge of practical subjects. It was a well-known fact that the Costain family were unusually clever cabinet makers, carpenters, and mechanics. Apparently, John Thomas Costain was endowed with these natural talents. He married in Boston, Massachusetts, and the couple had two children. Tragedy struck suddenly when the two children developed polio in their teens and were confined to wheel chairs for their remaining years. John Thomas Costain lived his allotted years and was buried in Boston, Massachusetts. During his last years, his close relatives in Prince Edward Island, in- cluding his sister, Thursa Costain, heard from him only infrequently. 41