Timeline Photos

CANADIAN CHURCH OF CHRIST MAGAZINES 1870 to 1936 In January 1916, 100 years ago last month, Dr. Henry Matthew “H.M.” Evans introduced the first issue of his 3rd and newest magazine, the CHRISTIAN QUARTERLY to acapella churches of Christ in Canada. H.M. Evans was born in England in 1862. At the age of 8, in 1870, he moved to Canada with his parents. Henry’s father, a shoemaker in England, became a farmer in Canada. The family farmed in Ekfrid Township, Middlesex County, about 45 kilometers southwest of London Ontario. While in his teens, Henry became a house and barn painter with a church friend, William aka “Willie” aka “W.D.” Campbell. Henry many years later recalled they worked on the scaffolding together. Willie Campbell began preaching in his teens and became a well-loved and respected evangelist in Canada, Britain and the United States, preaching between the late 1870s and 1920s. W.D. planted his first congregation in the village of Appin, Ontario about 1880/1881; and likely planted the Jura church of Christ, located 54 kilometers northeast of Sarnia, where his brother farmed. Later in the late 1880s, he planted the Aylmer Ontario church of Christ, and helped establish the church in Georgetown, Ontario in 1891. In the 1890s, W.D. Campbell preached for Detroit, Michigan’s Plum Street Church of Christ. One of the elders, John S. Gray, became the President of Ford Motor Company in 1903, when Henry Ford started the firm. John remained as President until his untimely death in 1906. W.D. Campbell returned to Canada in 1900, to work with Toronto’s Brunswick Hall church of Christ, which consisted of about 100 members. In 1902, the church moved into its own building on Bathurst Street. By 1904, when W.D. returned to Detroit, Bathurst had grown to 220 members. In 1943, Bathurst Street church moved into its new building on Bayview Avenue at Soudan, and became known as Bayview church of Christ. Back in 1883, W.D. Campbell left Appin to work with another congregation. H.M. Evans took his place as evangelist. Henry began to court Ruth Naomi Storing, a member of the Appin church, whose father was an elder. They were married by Canadian evangelist Samuel Keffer, who preached for the Rodney church of Christ in Elgin County, Ontario, then an acapella congregation. Samuel spent most of his time as a traveling evangelist in Ontario and Michigan, and established several congregations, including Ontario’s Fenwick church of Christ in the 1890s, which remains active in 2016. Samuel Keffer’s wife, Annie Yake, was born and raised near Stouffville Ontario. The Stouffville church began meeting in the 1850s in her father’s hotel. He was the first convert in that community, of then Ontario pioneering evangelist C.J. Lister. When Toronto’s Strathmore church of Christ opened its doors for its first worship service in June 1924, several Yake family members were charter members. Samuel Keffer’s last congregation was West Gore church of Christ in Nova Scotia, where he became terminally ill, and returned to his farm near Rosedene, Ontario, about 17 kilometers southeast of Beamsville, Ontario. He died in 1901 at the age of 59. In 1891, Henry and Ruth Evans moved from Appin to Washington State, where they worked with 2 small churches of Christ. After 2 years, they returned to Ontario. Henry then preached for Stouffville and Sherwood Churches of Christ, both located north of Toronto. In the 1890s, several Stouffville church of Christ families lived 15 kilometers north near Newmarket Ontario. They commuted each Sunday for worship. About 1906, those families began meeting in the hamlet of Pine Orchard, much closer to their homes. Canadian evangelist Charles Wesley Petch assisted Stouffville and Pine Orchard churches between 1905 and the early 1930s, on numerous occasions. In the 1930s, the Stouffville church closed and its building was sold to one of the members. Funds from the sale of the building were later donated to Omagh Bible School, which were used to construct McKerlie House. Pine Orchard church of Christ continues to meet each Sunday in 2016. Back in 1893, Canadian acapella churches of Christ lost their printed voice, the “BIBLE INDEX” magazine, which had been published in Toronto since the early 1870s. H.M. Evans, encouraged by his old friend and mentor, Samuel Keffer, introduced his 1st magazine, the “GOSPEL MESSENGER in 1894.” A year later the Evans lived in Beamsville, Ontario, where Henry was the local evangelist. He and Ruth continued to publish. By the end of 1896, they were forced to close the paper due to financial difficulties. Henry and Ruth moved from Beamsville to the small community of Clachan, Ontario in Elgin County, located 75 kilometers southwest of London, Ontario; where Henry began preaching for “The Plains” church of Christ from 1897 to 1903. “The Plains” church later became known as Clachan. It amalgamated with Woodgreen (Glencoe) in 1925. This church meets regularly in 2016. Between 1897 and 1903, Henry studied for and became a practicing osteopathic doctor. The Evans returned to Beamsville in 1903, where Henry opened a medical practice in their rented home on Ontario Street. He preached regularly for several Niagara area churches including Hamilton’s Central Hall (corner of Jackson and Walnut Streets); Jordan; Niagara Falls, Smithville, and St. Catharines (corner of Raymond & Manning Streets). Acapella churches of Christ in Canada did not have a magazine from 1896 to 1903. In January 1904, Henry and Ruth Evans introduced their 2nd magazine, “THE BIBLE STUDENT.” It received kudos from across Canada, the U.S., England, and as far away as Hawaii for its quality of writing. It was produced from 1904 to 1913. Ruth Evans played an integral role in ensuring THE BIBLE STUDENT was distributed on time. Many hours of her labour went into each issue. Henry also began publishing a local secular paper called the “BEAMSVILLE EXPRESS.” When the Evans moved to Nova Scotia in late 1905 to work with the West Gore church of Christ, Henry sold the BEAMSVILLE EXPRESS. The paper published into the 21st century, but has since closed. After a year in Nova Scotia, the Evans moved to Meaford Ontario, where H.M. opened a medical practice; published THE BIBLE STUDENT; and often preached for smaller area churches of Christ including Cape Rich, Griersville and the Owen Sound acapella church of Christ. Each summer for several years, he spent a few weeks holding evangelistic meetings on Manitoulin Island. Meaford had a full-time evangelist, Walter F. Neal, who worked there from 1901 to 1911, before moving to Winnipeg as the evangelist. Walter’s brother-in-law was American evangelist and educator James A. Harding, whose memory continues to live on in the Sercy Arkansas university, named after him. In 1910, publishing demands and a critical family health issue took their toll on Ruth Evans. Their youngest son, Franklin, 14 years old, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. They had 2 children. Ruth suffered a nervous breakdown from which she never fully recovered. She became wheel chair bound for the next 36 years, and died in 1946. With 2 major health challenges in the family in late 1910, Henry gave up publishing THE BIBLE STUDENT, and passed responsibility to 2 Toronto area British evangelists, Fred Cowin, of Bathurst Street Church of Christ, and Albert Brown, of Fern Avenue Church of Christ. Henry and Ruth moved to Toronto, where he opened an Osteopathic practice. Franklin was hospitalized in a Muskoka area sanitarium. Henry curtailed preaching responsibilities to focus on his loved ones. Fred Cowin and Albert Brown continued publishing “THE BIBLE STUDENT” until December 1913; when Albert announced a new paper would be published in 1914, called “THE GLEANER”. It ceased publishing by the end of 1915. In 1914, Franklin Evans died at the age of 18. Henry and Ruth’s oldest son Nelson Evans, had begun his financial career with Molson’s Bank (later known as the Bank of Montreal) in Meaford, and had been transferred to Ottawa. Henry closed his osteopathic practice in Toronto, and ceased practicing medicine. They moved to Selkirk Ontario; where Henry became the local preacher. Prior to Henry’s arrival, Selkirk’s evangelist was Thomas Ward Bailey, father of 5 sons who became Canadian preachers including evangelist & missionary J.C. Bailey. Tom and Edith (nee Cann) lived in Selkirk from 1907 to March 1913; where Tom Bailey supplemented his income utilizing his skilled trade, stonemasonry. The Bailey’s had a small farm which helped offset family food costs. In March 1913, the Bailey’s moved to Thessalon, where Tom preached until the early 1940s. In 1914/1915, Selkirk church could not afford to pay Henry Evans a full-time salary. To make ends meet, he began raising “Pet Stock” animals (rabbits and chickens). He also sold eggs. With “THE GLEANER” magazine closed as of 1915, Henry Evans, one hundred years ago this past January 2016, introduced his 3rd and final acapella church of Christ magazine, the CHRISTIAN QUARTERLY. Henry published it 4 times per year in 1916 and 1917. He and Ruth were living in Wyoming, Ontario and hosted a house church there. By October 1917, Henry’s nerves were frayed. Financially the magazine was losing money. A friend from Nova Scotia, Donald McDougall, whom Henry had known since 1905, assumed responsibility for the magazine and its financial liabilities. He continued publishing the paper in 1918. In 1919, Donald changed the name to the CHRISTIAN MONTHLY REVIEW (CMR), when he started publishing on a monthly basis. In 1925, he passed the torch onto Meaford’s evangelist, E. Gaston Collins, an American, who had attended, graduated and taught at Maritime Bible and Literary College in West Gore Nova Scotia, 1909-1914. Gaston had married Ada Simm, a Nova Scotian teacher at the school. After Gaston decided to move from Meaford to Michigan to preach; my grandfather, Lloyd Snure, agreed in September 1929 to temporarily manage the CMR, until British evangelist, Henry McKerlie, who preached in Toronto, became the paper’s managing editor, a few months later. Dr. H.M. Evans returned to Selkirk in 1921, where he preached until 1928, when a severe stroke finished his preaching abilities. Throughout the 1920s Henry wrote articles and news reports for the CMR. J.C. Bailey was just beginning his ministry in the 1920s, and had regularly read the CQ and CMR. No doubt he was influenced by H.M. Evans. Henry Evans died in 1931 at the age of 69. The CMR closed in August 1933 amidst the worst financial crisis in Canadian history brought on by the “GREAT DEPRESSION.” 3 years later, 21 year old Robert Sinclair, a Saskatchewan church member, introduced the first edition of his new magazine, the “GOSPEL HERALD” in March 1936, with encouragement of his friend, J.C. Bailey. (NEXT MONTH – March 2016 – “The Gospel Herald’s 80 years of Publishing: 1936 to 2016”) SOURCES: MAGAZINES, “Millennial Harbinger”; “Bible Index”; “Gospel Messenger”; “The Bible Student”; “Christian Quarterly”; “Christian Monthly Review”; “Gospel Herald”; BOOK: “A History of Religious Periodicals in The Restoration Movement in Canada, written by Eugene Perry; BOOK: “Buy the Truth and Sell it Not The Life of E. Gaston Collins” by Frank N. Cook; BOOK: “Forty Years a Canadian Preacher”, by J.C. Bailey; BOOK: “The Meaford Journals 1848-1898,” Meaford church of Christ; BOOK: “Centennial Yearbook Churches of Christ in Canada,” by Geoffrey Ellis and E. Dan Wieb; BOOK: “Selkirk 1792-1985”; BOOK: “History of the Disciples of Christ in Canada Since 1830,” by Reuben Butchart; CD-“Canadian Periodicals of the Restoration Movement 1848-1922,” Produced by Lane Scruggs; DIARY/BOOK: “Reminisces” the diary of Edith Clementine Cann; BOOK: “THE EARLY ADVENTURES of Henry Hoe-Handle, the Post-hole Pedlar as told by Henry Guyrod a.k.a. Cecil T. Bailey”; BOOK: “How the Church Began and Grew in Saskatchewan by H.A. Rogers and others.”; Researched, written and edited by Paul Linn Dale.