Robert McDowall | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Robert McDowall

Robert McDowall, pioneer Presbyterian minister (b at Balston Spa, near Albany, NY 25 July 1768; d at Fredericksburgh, Canada West 3 Aug 1841). In 1790 the Dutch Reformed Church sent McDowall as a missionary to what is now southern Ontario.

McDowall, Robert

Robert McDowall, pioneer Presbyterian minister (b at Balston Spa, near Albany, NY 25 July 1768; d at Fredericksburgh, Canada West 3 Aug 1841). In 1790 the Dutch Reformed Church sent McDowall as a missionary to what is now southern Ontario. Invited to be a permanent minister in the Bay of Quinte area, he settled near Bath, Upper Canada, in 1798 after completing his theological education at Schenectady, NY. McDowall formed several congregations between Belleville and Brockville, performed some 2500 baptisms and 1300 marriages in the next 40 years, and also made missionary trips. He was elected first moderator of the Presbytery of the Canadas in 1819.

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