Revision as of 00:53, 20 January 2023

In 1862, when John Nelson Darby traveled to Canada, there seems to have been an existent exclusive brethren assembly already there.

The earliest known correspondent was Alexander Hamilton (b. 1817 Scotland) who was active as early as 1871, and continued for the duration of his life, he died in 1893. Alexander was a chemist who operated a drug store on King St., and resided at 295 E. King St. From ca. 1880-1883, the assembly met at 19 S. McNab St.

Prior to 1878, in an area of modern-day Hamilton known then as Dundas, a separate meeting room may have been planted there. In 1880, its correspondent was a printer named Thomas Somerville. It continued thru 1927. Also before 1878, in the Lynden area, there may have been another meeting room that met thru 1880 with a correspondent of a farmer named Thomas Lemon.

The subject assembly of this particular article later became known as a Tunbridge Wells assembly by 1909, and operates to this day, its meeting room (2023) is located in the Crown Point East neighborhood.

Divisions

Open

According to a census in 1881, there were 175 PB adherents in Hamilton, which likely included both the forementioned exclusive assembly, as well as the first open brethren assembly, that started meeting in 1874 down the road at 140 MacNab St., which continues today as West Fifth Bible Chapel, Hamilton, ON. The open assembly was planted as a result of Scottish brethren John Carnie, Donald Munro and John Smith, and met initially in the home of Mr. & Mrs. William Fenton at Catherine Street North, who had previously performed evangelistic services in Gore Park.

By 1904, the open assembly included the families of W.A. Wilson, Peter Carroll, William Duncan, George Nunn, C. Maddison, Albert Marks, Arthur Thomas, Robert Patterson, Charles Carter & Edgar Mortimer. By 1912, it also included John Moreland, James Saynor, Angus Munro, John Anderson, and Alfred Best.

Its first correspondent was James Muir, the father of noted evangelist T.D.W. Muir who started the open brethren Central Gospel Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Other correspondents that followed included Mr. Fenton, Abraham Mullings, John E. Taylor, William Wilson, William Duncan, Albert Marks, John Moreland, John Anderson, Guy Cesar, & Gordon Thomson, in that order, thru 1974 when the open brethren history was written.

It is presently unknown whether the Fenton family was previously in fellowship with the EB, as well as others that followed into the opens.

Kelly

In 1881, there was a division that led to the starting of a separate meeting affiliated with William Kelly (KLC) which met at Stoney Creek, now Vinemount, and continues to this day, with services in both English and Arabic.

Raven

In 1889, several other families left in adherence to Raven, which by 1954 had a meeting on Robins Ave., and another on Rifle Range Road, which by the 1960's was meeting on Emerald Street under the global leadership of James Taylor, Sr. of New York City, New York.

Also See

• Who's Who at Hamilton Meeting Room, ON
• A_Century_in_Retrospect_-_James_Gunn
  • history of the open brethren in Hamilton

Sources

• Ancestry.com
• EB AB's 1877-1882; TW AB's: 2021;