Rev. John Watson Butcher Bourol.

17. ADDITIONAL MINISTERS MEET THE GROWING NEEDS OF THE BIBLE CHRISTIANS

The work of the church continued with Rev. Richard Cotton being received into the ministery in 1839 and the arrival from England in 1841 of Rev. Absolom Pickings to take the place of Rev. Philip James. For some time, Rev. Cotton preached on the Western or New London Circuit which extended from Union Road to West Cape and later, in that same circuit was followed by Rev. Absalom Pickings. In October, 1842, a great new interest in religion began to take place in Vernon River which soon spread rapidly into neighboring settlements until one hundred and twenty new members were added to the rolls of the Bible Christian Church. This event became known as the “Great Revival”. By January, 1842, one hundred more members joined the Bible Christians in the area of Lower Mon- tague and Sturgeon. Among those converted at Sturgeon was Mrs. Harry Sabine, the former Martha Jago, who was the mother of Rev. J. Thomas Sabine. Martha Jago had come from Jacobstowe, Cornwall, and had been a preacher with the Bible Christian Church there. The Rev. John Wesley as well as the Rev. William O’Bryan had recognized the importance of women preachers and had encouraged their preaching activities. Names such as Martha Jago, Mary (O’Bryan) Thorne, Elizabeth Dart, Grace Reed, Eliza Jew, Catherine (Reed) Thorne and others too numerous to mention were well-known among the faithful. The Prince Edward Island Register dated February 24, 1829 reported a large number of people atten- ding a religious service featuring Martha Jago that took place in Charlottetown in the Methodist Chapel. She attracted crowds everywhere she preached.

Rev. Absalom Pickings, having left the ministry in 1843, was replaced in the same year by Rev. John Watson Butcher on the Western Circuit which now was nearly ninety miles long and required six weeks to get around it. By 1845, the membership of the Bible Christians in Prince Edward Island had increased to 422. Interest in the Bible Christian movement had grown to such an extent accom-

189