Early Churches of Wellesley Township
Wellesley Township was settled later than the rest of Waterloo County because it had been set aside as Clergy Reserves. When this proved to be unviable and unpopular, the land was surveyed in 1842-1843 and opened up for settlement. In 1841 the population was recorded as 254 - 122 adults and 132 children. By 1851, there were 3,396 people living in the township. The census of that year records the religious affiliation of almost all of them:
Roman Catholic 881 Methodists 521
Anglican 597 Presbyterians 504
Lutheran & Tunker 583 Total 3086
By 1900 nearly thirty churches had been established in Wellesley Township. Thanks to the work of Rosemary Willard Ambrose, Ryan Taylor, the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and others, a complete record of these early churches has been compiled.
Much of the information in the sections below has been taken from Rosemary Ambrose's book, Waterloo County Churches - A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900 and reproduced with the kind permission of the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
The denominations are listed in order of the number of churches associated with it. Click on the church name to see more information about the churches.
Click here to see a virtual exhibit about the "Places of Worship in Wellelsey Township."
Roman Catholic 881 Methodists 521
Anglican 597 Presbyterians 504
Lutheran & Tunker 583 Total 3086
By 1900 nearly thirty churches had been established in Wellesley Township. Thanks to the work of Rosemary Willard Ambrose, Ryan Taylor, the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and others, a complete record of these early churches has been compiled.
Much of the information in the sections below has been taken from Rosemary Ambrose's book, Waterloo County Churches - A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900 and reproduced with the kind permission of the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
The denominations are listed in order of the number of churches associated with it. Click on the church name to see more information about the churches.
Click here to see a virtual exhibit about the "Places of Worship in Wellelsey Township."
Denomination |
Church |
Lutheran |
|
Presbyterian/United |
|
|
|
Mennonite |
Cedar Grove Amish Mennonite Church (Wellesley Amish Mennonite Congregation) |
|
|
Maple View Mennonite Church (Wellesley Amish Mennonite Congregation) |
|
Primitive Methodist |
|
Wesleyan Methodist |
|
Roman Catholic |
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church - Linwood |
St. Clement's Roman Catholic Church - St. Clements |
|
Evangelical Association |
|
Anglican |
|
Baptist |
|
United Brethren in Christ |
|
Swedenborgian |