in the New Hampshire districts and three in Massachusetts. My father, Charles Edwin Dockrill, told me that Grandfather Dockrill was a brilliant Hebrew Scholar, and that it helped him to interpret the Old Testament.

In 1910, as an American clergyman, he was in Saint John, NB. addressing a gathering of ministers. He retired from the ministry in 1917 in his last pastorate in Brookline, New Hampshire. He died in Arlington, Massachusetts, 22 March 1922, and is buried at Bellevue Cemetery, Lawrence, Massachusetts. He must have been a much beloved man as his funeral was conducted by six ministers — two of whom were pastors of Episcopal congregations.

Reverend Charles Wesley Dockrill was a dedicated man to his calling, as he left a life of case at Saint John, New Brunswick, where his father owned much property and a tannery. The Dockrill family also owned the Saint John Opera House, which I understand was the first of its kind in Canada. My mother, Dr. Edna Frances Easter Dockrill, told me that it was his joy to select dainty garments of fine workmanship for the babies in the family which would indicate an esthetic nature. When he welcomed my mother into the Dockrill family, he greeted her with the words that her M.D. degree stood for “My Dear.”

By Natalie Easter Dockrill Davis, Grand-daughter of the Rev. Charles Wesley Dockrill 10 June 1981, Atlanta, Georgia

REV. JOHN GEORGE BIGNEY 1869 - 1872

“Rev. John George Bigney was born at River John, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, on December 19th, 1833, the descendant of Huguenot ancestors who, driven from their home in the south of France by the religious persecutions of the 16th century, took refuge in Switzerland, and migrated to Nova Scotia from Geneva in 1753. As a young man, deeply stirred by religious experience, the call to preach became imperative, and he disposed of his farm and went to Mount Allison Academy to prepare for the Ministry of the Methodist Church. He was received on probation in 1861 and ordained at Yarmouth in 1865. He served with considerable success on some of the most extensive circuits in the Maritime Pro- vinces, travelling frequently in the fashion of the old time circuit rider. His ministry has always zealously evangelical and many were converted under his preaching. He served as pastor of the West Cape, Cascumpec, P.E.I. Circuit from 1869 until 1870 during which time, the Methodist congregations in that Circuit, including Miminegash, grew in membership. From 1870 to 1872, he was assigned to the Alberton, P.E.I. Circuit.

He retired in 1892 to live in Hantsport, Nova Scotia. In later years he was unable to leave his home, but his interest in the church that he loved and in the work of the Kingdom generally, never flagged. His religious experience was a very positive one, and it was his joy to say: “I know whom I have believed.” Mr. Bigney died at his home in Hantsport at the age of 95 on the morning of February 8th, 1929, leaving a widow and four children by a former marriage to mourn his loss. Interment was at Hantsport, Nova Scotia.

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