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St. Andew's United Church, Linwood

Begun: 1885
Closed: c.1985

The congregation of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Linwood, was formally organized on February 13, 1885 and was united with St. Andrew's, Hawkesville under the care of the latter's minister, Rev. Alexander Russell. Rev. Russell was called to a charge in Chatham Presbytery on August 10, 1886 and on September 21, 1886 the vacant charge of Linwood and Hawkesville reverted to Mission status for a short time. The first entry in the Linwood Session Records Book 1886-1958 records a meeting of the Guelph Presbytery held at Knox Church at Guelph on November 16, 1886. Rev. James A.R. Dickson of Central Presbyterian Church, Galt was the moderator of the meeting wherein he reported that he had ordained elders-elect at Linwood "last Lord's Day." The Linwood Presbyterian Church's  Communion Roll was begun on January 8, 1887.

The status of the church was that of "vacant charge", as reported at the 1889 Annual Meeting of the Presbyterian Church. The Sixteenth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1890 received a report that "St. Andrew's Church, Hawkesville, and  Linwood, had a minister placed over them on the 31st of July, 1889." The minister was Rev. William C. Armstrong (1889-1891). He was followed by Henry Knox (1894-1897) and Simon Cunningham (1897-1904).

The first church, of logs, had been built east of the village in 1862 for the Wesleyan Methodists. The Deed for the land, on which the present red brick church on Albert St. was built and dedicated in 1908, was dated March 1902. The notation on the inner cover of the Session Records Book reads: "Linwood Presbyterian Church and Sheds. North part of Lot No. 7 Northeast part of Lot No. 8 in Scott's Survey of the Village of Linwood. Being a part of Lot. No. 9, Concession 10 Western Section of the Township of Wellesley, County of Waterloo."

St. Andrew's chose to join the United Church of Canada when the Methodist, Congregational and some of the Presbyterian churches came together on June 10, 1925 to form the United Church of Canada. No longer a United Church, in July, 1991 the building was shared by two congregations - the Pentecostal Church of God, and the Church of God in Christ Mennonite.

Records:
Baptism dates: 1887-1963             Location of records: United Church Archives
Marriage dates: unknown               Location of records: unknown
Burial dates: unknown                    Location of records: unknown

At the United Church Archives: Communion Roll, January 8, 1887-March 26, 1958 (some deaths noted); Births, September 6, 1877-February 3, 1963; Baptisms, June 12, 1887-October 20, 1963; and the Session Records Book, November 16, 1886-January 5, 1958. Also at the United Church Archives is the Membership Roll for the Millbank Pastoral Charge which includes membership lists for Linwood 1947-1962.

References: Dick & Longo 1984:17; Maple Leaf 1983:88; Presbyterian Church.

Information excerpted from: Waterloo County Churches, A Research Guide to Churches established before 1900, by Rosemary Willard Ambrose © Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. It is reproduced by permission.

For a complete list of resources mentioned above, please click
here.

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