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Country of Canada

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Alberta

British Columbia

Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NW Ontario

East Ontario & West Quebec

Quebec

Atlantic Provinces:
New Brunswick: Napan
Newfoundland: Newfoundland, Traytown, West Point
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island

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Country of Canada. Canada, the world's second-largest country in landmass, contains ten provinces and three territories, covering 3.85 million square miles (9.98 million square km), with an approximate population of 38 million in 2021. Ottawa, Ontario, is the capital; the largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver

First Workers. Very little historical material has surfaced about the early days of the 2x2 Sect in Canada. During 1904–1908, at least 50 Workers arrived in Canada.

1904: After the 1904 Crocknacrieve  Convention, the first four young Workers, all in their mid-twenties, headed for Canada . Harry Oliver (23), Tom Craig (22), George Buttimer (21) and John Doak (25) departed from Liverpool, England, on the SS Parisian and arrived in Montreal, Quebec, on August 13, 1904.

Their destination was Souris, Manitoba, where Dora Holland's relatives resided. "When we four boys came up the St. Lawrence [River] in 1904," recalled John Doak, "there was not a person professing here on the prairies. Just four little corns of grain going into the ground and look at the harvest" (1945, Sermon). They had all been in the Work for one year.

>The following year, 18 young Workers departed from Londonderry, Ireland, for Canada  aboard the SS Virginian. On August 10, 1905, some Workers disembarked at Quebec City and others at Montreal. The 12 Brother Workers aboard were William Jackson (25), Thomas Lynn (32), Ralph Bullick (22), Noble Stinson (26), Hugh Doak (23), Tom Patterson (23), Robert S. Skerritt (misspelled Kinitt; 29), Edward Armstrong (24), Richard "Dick" Watchorn (25), Robert Johnston (25), Tom Purves (19), and reportedly Tom Boyd (25) was on board although the passenger list does not show him. The six Sister Workers aboard were Martha Cooper (30), Dora Holland  (29), Ann Irwin (24), Martha "Mattie" McGivern (30), Mable Reid (22) and Ann Skerritt (misspelled Kerritt; 24).

Later that year, on December 24, 1905, eight more UK Brother Workers arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard the SS Parisian, headed for Winnipeg and Toronto. They were George Nelson, Robert Darling, Crawford Crooke, John McNeill, William Armstrong, William Snedden, George Manning and William McIlwrath (who would later marry and remain in the Work).

1906: William Irvine  Arrived in Canada . Aboard the SS Moana from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , Irvine, age 43, arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada, on April 11, 1906. Less than a week later, he sailed from Victoria, BC, aboard the SS City of Topeka to San Francisco. Arriving on April 16, 1906, he was just in time to experience the great San Francisco earthquake; fortunately, he was unharmed (Irvine letter to Lauchlins, April 24, 1945, TTT).

1906: Six UK Workers departed from Liverpool, England, aboard the SS Siberian and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia (NS), Canada , on September 4, 1906. They were Albert Quinn (29), Jimmie Patrick (33), Willie McAllister (25), Alex Gibson (24), Mary Cook (40) and Annie Dodds (22).

In August 1907, five UK Workers arrived in Halifax, NS aboard the SS Carthaginian, and in August 1908, eleven more disembarked from the same ship, including Irvine, age 45. This was Irvine's fourth annual trip abroad. There were at least 50 British Workers laboring in Canada  by 1908. The 1913 Workers List showed at least 80 Canadian Workers.

1906: First Three Canadian Conventions. The very first Convention in North America was held at Toronto, Ontario, in a rented house and tent in June 1906. William Irvine  was there. The "List of Workers at the 1906 Toronto Convention" shows 62 Workers present, 37 men and 25 women, including one married pair, Matt and Letitia Wilson, possibly the first set of married Workers to enter North America.

In November 1906, a second Canadian Convention was held at Minnedosa, Manitoba. Another took place in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1908. "Mr. William Irvine , the leader of the organization, has set sail for [North] America and is to open a Convention in Halifax on Sunday 16th" (Impartial Reporter, Aug. 13, 1908, TTT).

In 1913, British Sister Workers laboring in foreign fields were asked to provide testimonial letters of their experiences in the Work for Edward Cooney's court case in the UK. Some Sister Workers then preaching in Canada who wrote letters were Kate Adamson, Annie Corcoran, Janet Dougal, Daisy Fee, Helen "Ellen" Harrison, Dora Holland, Annie Irwin, Lizzie Kerr, Minnie McGuirk, Rosetta "Nettie" Millar and Annie Stanley. See also letters posted on website TellingTheTruth.info in Workers Early, Sister Workers.

Canadian Province Pioneers, Overseers and First Conventions

Like the US, Canada is divided into East and West regions with Overseers. Tthe Western region includes the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Western Ontario. The remaining provinces are included in the Eastern region. Details are unknown for NW and Yukon Territories.

Married Workers. Seven married Worker couples preached in Canada. They were Joseph "Joe" and Minnie Kleven; Verdun and Anna Jane Batstone; William "Willie" and Mildred "Millie" McIlwrath; Murdo and Dollie MacLeod; George and Margaret "Maggie" Walker, (not to be confused with George Walker, Overseer of Eastern US); Lars and Olga Bye; and Overseer of British Columbia and Alberta, Robert Graham, married to Maude (Pryor), parents of five children. They left the Work.

1926: Springside Saskatchewan Workers Convention. This was the first Canadian Workers Convention. The second was held at Didsbury, Alberta, some 81 years later in 2007.

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Australians and New Zealanders Labouring in the U.S.A. and Canada

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Two different photos exist which show groups of workers who had seemingly just arrived in Vancouver from New Zealand; in both cases, there are also some workers in the picture who were already labouring in the U.S. The one which seems to be the earlier of the two--probably taken in 1919--includes the following workers (the names of those who were apparently just arriving are capitalized): GEORGE WIX, LINDA HEYES, Mabel Sill, NEILA CAMPBELL, LOTTIE WIX, Emily Wilson. GRACE PRIDEAUX and Jack Carroll.

I have always presumed that these all came together, but one thing which puzzles me is the fact that on the 1919-20 list that I have. Linda Heyes is the only one of these people mentioned. I have in my records that she came in Sept. 1919 (b. 1892 in N.Z. [actually in Australia] professed 1908, went forth 1913). It is possible that she came a little before the others, and was on hand when they arrived, but I have no way of verifying this. [Heyes and Prideaux arrived on SS Niagara in Vancouver on Sept. 30, 1919]

At the moment, I cannot find identification for all the workers on the other picture, but the ones I recognize are Jack Carroll. PERCY HARTLAND, VICTOR GREGORY, Amy Lawson, WILLIE FULLERTON and JACK BELL and Amy Patterson. There are 2 whom I don't know, a brother [Ernest Hoitham] and a sister.

In any case, on the 1921-22 workers' list, we find most of these workers scattered along the West Coast: Victor Gregory and Jack Bell are in Oregon, George and Lottie Wix are in Eastern WA. Linda Heyes in Western WA, Percy Hartland in Southern Idaho, Grace Prideaux and Neila Campbell in B.C.--oh yes, and Ernest Hoitham in Wyoming: he's the brother I couldn't remember on that latter photo. I also missed mentioning that Willie Fullerton is in south Idaho with Percy Hartland on that list.

By this time, I see also that ROSE SPEERS has arrived from Australia (b. 1888. Went forth 1910) and is labouring in Oregon. My lists for that year do not include California, but I have the lists for all the states in 1922-23, and now we find Jack Bell down in Calif., and ADA COUSINS, who (I believe) had come from Australia and Amy Patterson. Willie Fullerton and Percy Hartland are in Idaho; in Washington are George WIX. JACK ANNAND (b. 1891, professed in 1910., went forth in N.S.W. in 1913. labouring for a while in Victoria state before coming to the U.S.; went to Europe 1925: wrote hymns 164, 241, 283, 316 and 321; died in Australia in 1957). Linda Heyes. Lottie Wix and RUTH JORDAN: and in Oregon are Victor Gregory. Rose Speers and AMY LAWSON: Grace Prideaux is still in B.C. and Neila Campbell has gone on to Saskatchewan. Ernie Holtham is still in Wyo.

In 1924-25. Ernie H. is again on the Wyo. List; CECIL BARRETT and Percy Hartland are in Idaho (the big question being whether this is the same Cecil Barrett who began in N.Z. and later was in Japan); REUBEN BENNETT (who think went forth in Australia in 1914) is in Washington; Willie Fullerton, Rose Speers and Amy Lawson are in Ore.' Rose was already at Canby conv., Ore. in 1920, as was Willie Fullerton, so we know she was in the U.S. by then; and in Calif. we find AMY PATTERSON (who had gone forth in 1910 in Aus.) and GUS HORNIBROOK (who was already at Roy. conv. OR in 1923.) STANLEY WATCHORN, CHARLIE STEELE, MARY MANNING and ISSIE WALKER are now in AB (all preached a few mos. in B.C. en route to AB.

By 1926-27, ALICE WIX is in WA (with Marie Gray—Australian) and KATHLEEN HUTCHINGS (b. 1895. went forth N.Z. 1922); with Ernie Holtham in Ida. is LAURIE(?) PLEWS, another New Zealander: Linda Heyes is there too; Gus Hornibrook and Amy P.--CA; Rose S. home visit.

On the 1929-30 list. we find that JIM PASCOE has arrived in B.C., and that HAROLD GIBSON is now in Washington.

In scanning the lists for other names. I find Percy Hartland in Idaho, Linda Heyes in Wash., and four sisters in Oregon: Rose Speers, Amy Patterson, Kathleen Hutchings and Alice Wix. Grace Prideaux has become Mrs. Joe Brown by this time, and they have gone to the Hawaiian Islands. Gus Hornibrook is in Utah. The other names that we have seen now seem to be missing, some having returned to their homelands and others possibly having left the work.

I find the name of SAM LANG on the list for Japan, and that reminds me that I should have included his name sooner in this list, although I don't have any records to tell me when he came to Alberta, and when he left for Japan. I find him only on Alberta convention group photos in 1928, and not on the lists, so I presume that he must have been here probably less than a year. This is, of course, the year that Willie Fullerton left Oregon to become the older brother in Alberta.

In 1930-31, there are not many changes from the previous year; Alice Wix has gone to Wash. from Ore.

In 1933 Harold Gibson went up to Alaska to labour and was up there until 1941. Perhaps I could digress here to give you a bit more of Harold's story: he was born in Australia in 1902, and when he was 13, Queenie Higgins from Ire. and Mabel Wix from N.Z. had a mission in their area that caused quite an uproar. Harold was the first one to profess in that mission, and his parents soon did so as well. He wrote,

"I went into the work in New South Wales in 1925; my first companion and I had 4 missions going at once, and had meetings every night and 3 on Sunday, so I got a good start! Rode our push bikes 10 miles out and 10 miles back in one place. There was good response in each place. In 1928 I came to Vancouver, B.C. with Harold Wilton and Jack Hills (I see now that HAROLD WILTON ended up in Arizona and JACK HILLS in Utah with Gus Hornibrook. Jack seems to have disappeared by 1931, but in 1933 Harold is still in Arizona; however, he does not appear on my 1936 and 1937 Arizona cony. groups, so he must have left by that time.)

Harold continues, "...I crossed over to Wash. state...had some fruitful missions with Howard Mooney in 1932 (Howard had been out 4 years then); on March 4, 1933, Jack Carroll and I left for Alaska. We started with missions in Juneau and Douglas. Later to Sitka, then back to Juneau. Later to Petersburg. Chester Hornady was my companion at Petersburg and Juneau and Douglas, and a nice few souls were won. In Dec. 1936 I left Vancouver to visit my parents, etc., in Australia...back in Wash. 1938? Back to Alaska 1939. On May 23. 1939, Ralph Sines and I left Juneau for the Anchorage-Wasilla area. I remained in Alaska until April 14, 1946. En route to Australia. I took part in a Special Meeting on the 21st and sailed from San Francisco April 23rd, arriving in Sydney May 10."
Harold left the work soon after this, and settled on the home farm, where there has been convention since 1930.

Source: Sister Worker Elsie Dixon (1893-1977). Born in NZ; professed in 1911; entered work in 1920 in New Zealand; came to BC Canada in 1927; labored there her entire life.

Corrections or additions are most welcome; as well as other historical accounts for this country Email TTT