History of All Saints
A Brief History of
All Saints Anglican Church
Dunham, Quebec
1808-2023
Two hundred and fifteen years have passed since the work of the Church of England was established in the township of Dunham.
The first rector, Charles Caleb Cotton, came to Dunham in March of 1808. For two years he boarded at the home of Andrew Ten Eyck in a two room house where he lived with eight others. While boarding with the Ten Eyck’s, Priest Cotton held services in their home, in Squire Stone’s house, in a Union Church and in the Free School; these latter two being at Chapel Corner, Dunham. When Priest Cotton first arrived, an acre of land located on the site of the present church, was donated with the hope of building a church with a burial ground for all denominations. It took time, but a committee was formed and on September 26th, 1821, the new church was opened with Rev. Micajah Townsend preaching sermons. The first All Saints Church building was a 40 x 50 foot wooden structure capable of seating 390 people. Priest Cotton was rector of All Saints for forty years.
As time went on, hopes and dreams of replacing the first ill arranged and unsightly structure were discussed. However, it was only on the arrival of Rev. Joseph Scott in the 1840’s that a building committee was formed. The new church was to be constructed of stone, in a plain and simple style and at a cost of 1000 pounds.
Box pews and a wood furnace were installed, fences and horse sheds were built and a tower erected. A little pipe organ was donated by William Baker and a set of Communion Service was bought at price of five shillings, ten pence. The total cost of the structure was 1100 pounds.
All Saints was opened for worship in 1849 and was consecrated by Bishop Fulford in 1851 along with the old burial ground.
During Rev. Scott’s ministry, a parochial Sewing Society was organized. Over the years, this organization made many contributions toward the church building and its upkeep. In 1866, they gave money towards the building of the spire atop the tower, and later in 1868 to buy the new 35”, 900 pound Meneely bell cast in Troy, New York. They also contributed toward the new slate roof overlaid on the original cedar shingle roof which is still in place. At the turn of the century, they contributed to the replacement of the old box pews with the present oak ones. In 1899, the Parochial Sewing Society became the Ladies Guild which has continued to provide support to All Saints for more than a century.
Over the years, members of the Church have built the large wood frame Rectory and have underwritten the installation of all the magnificent stained glass windows so much enjoyed by all who see them.
Following is the list of Rectors who have served All Saints to date:
| Name | Date (YYYY-YYYY) |
|---|---|
| Rev Charles Caleb Cotton | 1808-1849 |
| Rev Archdeacon Joseph Scott | 1849-1865 |
| Rev John Godden | 1866-1872 |
| Rev William Henderson | 1872-1878 |
| Rev R D Mills | 1878-1879 |
| Rev George Forneret | 1879-1881 |
| Rev John Ker | 1881-1889 |
| Rev George Johnson | 1889-1893 |
| Rev N A Bourne | 1893-1899 |
| Rev Henry Plaisted | 1899-1916 |
| Rev Herbert Coffin | 1916-1941 |
| Rev Thomas Millman | 1941-1949 |
| Rev G Basil Jones | 1949-1950 |
| Rev G N Standish | 1950-1954 |
| Rev Fred Beale | 1954-1956 |
| Rev H J Isaacs | 1957-1959 |
| Rev M F Cutts | 1960-1963 |
| Rev Richard Toase | 1964-1978 |
| Rev Ivor Patterson | 1978-1984 |
| Rev Mary Irwin Gibson | 1984-1991 |
| Rev Andrew Sandilands | 1991-1994 |
| Rev Arnold Godsoe | 1994-2004 |
| Ven J Wallace Sparling | 2004-2006 |
| Rev Sinpoh Han | 2007-2022 |