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» St. Ambrose's Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.)

St. Ambrose's Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.)

St. Ambrose's Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.) sous fonds

Description
Start Date: 
1894
End Date: 
1998
Date Range: 
1894-1998
Physical Description: 

0.12 m of textual records

Arrangement: 
Sous fonds is arranged in files.
History Biographical: 

On March 16, 1880, William H. Brown executed a deed in trust in favour of the Right Reverend Frederick Dawson Fauquier, first Bishop of Algoma, for a church in Baysville, Ont. 

The St. Ambrose’s Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.) started under the administration of the minister of Bracebridge. The first stage of the church was a bare-minimum structure completed late in 1882 for the expected arrival of the Bishop of Algoma. On January 16, 1883 the Bishop held a service in the evening and a meeting the next day to plan the completion of the building. By the end of 1884 the congregation had raised enough money for a decent roof, plaster, windows, and a fence.

In these early years, St. Ambrose’s and St. Peter’s Anglican Church (Stoneleigh, Ont.) were administered to by St. Thomas’ Anglican Church (Bracebridge, Ont.). Rev. James Boydell, who traveled by bicycle from church to church was the last pastor from St. Thomas’ to minister at St. Ambrose’s.  In the mid to late 1890s the church separated from Bracebridge and became its own mission with funding from the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge.

St. Ambrose’s was opened February 12, 1899 under the ministry of the Reverend A. W. Hazelhurst; it was dedicated to St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397) who is considered one of the four original doctors of the Church, and is the patron saint of Milan. The first church was repurposed for use as a Parish Hall and Sunday School. The new church had a nave, chancel, apse, vestry and porch, with a crypt underneath, large enough for a furnace-room and guild-hall. The church was consecrated in 1901 by Rev. Thornelow, Bishop of Algoma.

In August 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Brown gifted an acre of land to Rev. and Mrs. Hazlehurst, who in turn gifted it to the Diocese in November 1911 for use as a cemetery. The land was consecrated October 17, 1915. But on September 3, 1919 St. Ambrose was destroyed in a fire. The community moved quickly and within two weeks new lots adjacent the old church were purchased for construction of a new church. The old school house on one of these lots was used as a makeshift church.

The congregation had difficulty raising enough money to build the new church, mostly due to the post-war inflation. A committee was formed to work on fundraising for the new church. In spring of 1921 the foundation was begun, and about a year later the structure built. On November 9, 1922 the Bishop Thornelow visited to perform a service, but the church was not officially opened until July 29th, 1923.

After Rev. A.P. Banks left the parsonage in 1940, it was sold and has since been a private residence. Permanent rectors now live in the rectory in Dorset, which is more central to the Lake of Bays Mission. In 1940 the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Bracebridge, Ont.) took over the mission; it was administered to by the Cowley Fathers until 1955. In 1955 the parish became known as the Lake of Bays Mission and it included: St. Ambrose’s Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.), St. Peter’s Anglican Church (Stoneleigh, Ont.),  St. Mary’s Anglican Church (Norway Point, Ont.), St. James’ Anglican Church (Port Cunnington, Ont.), St. Mary’s Magdalene’s Anglican Church (Dorset, Ont.), and St. John’s Anglican Church (Fox Point, Ont.).

The congregation of St. Ambrose celebrated their centenary in 1998.

Incumbents have included: Rev. Canon Alexander William Hazelhurst (1894-1927), Rev. Richard Cartwright Warder (1927-1933), Rev. H. Alfred Rogers (1933-1934), Rev. W. Ruthford Tindle (1934-1938), Rev. Canon Alfred Percy Banks, (1938-1940), S.S.J.E. (Cowley Fathers) (1940-1955), Rev. Roy H. Nixon (1955-1959), Rev. Tom James (1959-1963), Rev. James Francom (1963-1967), Rev. Robert Lumley (1967-1973), Rev. Jonathan Patrick Earle (1973-1975), Rev. Murray Bradford (1975-1983), Rev. Ray B. Porth (1983-1989), Rev. Michael Cottrell (1989-1993), and Rev. Thomas Cunningham (1994-).

Sources:

  • "Baysville Mission" The Algoma Missionary News 11, no.4 (1899): 26.
  • "Baysville", The Algoma Missionary News 15, no.11 (1919): 124-125. 
  • "80th anniversary for St. Ambrose, Baysville", The Algoma Anglican 22, no. 5 (1978): 1, 6. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_011_017.
  • Sheila Klyn, “St. Ambrose Anglican Church, Baysville, Ontario”, 1998, St. Ambrose’s Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.) sous fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2009-216_001_001.
  • “St. Ambrose Anglican Church, Baysville, Ontario. 1880 – 1972”, 1973, Diocesan Heritage Centre history files collection, Algoma University Archives, 2014-037_001_001.
Scope Content: 

Sous fonds is comprised of records documenting the activities at St. Ambrose's Anglican Church (Baysville, Ont.)  Includes service registers, parish registers, a History of St. Ambrose Anglican Church, and other materials.
 

Repository: 
aua
Admin
Custodial History: 

Records in accession 2009-216 transferred from Laurentian University to Algoma University in May 2009.

Access Restriction: 

May be restrictions on access based on the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the Diocese's Policy on Privacy and Archives. Subject to all applicable privacy legislation.

Repro Restriction: 

May be restrictions on use based on the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the Diocese's Policy on Privacy and Archives. Subject to all applicable privacy legislation.

Conservation: 

Minor conservation performed on sous fonds.

Geographic Access: 
Description Level: 

History of St. Ambrose Anglican Church

Description
Start Date: 
1998
End Date: 
1998
Date Range: 
[Digitized 2015 (originally created 1998 July)]
Physical Description: 

0.7 cm of textual records

Physical Location
File No: 
001
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Baysville Library Book

Description
Start Date: 
1908
End Date: 
1922
Date Range: 
1908-1922
Physical Description: 

1 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
008
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Visitors Book

Description
Start Date: 
1964
End Date: 
1966
Date Range: 
1964-1966
Physical Description: 

2 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
007
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Marriage Register

Description
Start Date: 
1903
End Date: 
1943
Date Range: 
1903-1943
Physical Description: 

1.3 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
006
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Parish Register

Description
Start Date: 
1894
End Date: 
1975
Date Range: 
1894-1975
Physical Description: 

2.8 cm of textual records

Notes: 

Baptisms (1894-1975)|Confirmations (1895-1973)|Marriages (1896-1974)|Burials (1896-1975)

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
005
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Service Register

Description
Start Date: 
1944
End Date: 
1959
Date Range: 
1944-1959
Physical Description: 

.4 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
004
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Service Register

Description
Start Date: 
1923
End Date: 
1940
Date Range: 
1923-1940
Physical Description: 

1.2 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
003
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: 

Service Register

Description
Start Date: 
1919
End Date: 
1933
Date Range: 
1919-1933
Physical Description: 

2.3 cm of textual records

Physical Location
Repository: 
Algoma University
File No: 
002
Shelf Location: 
2009-216-001
Container Number: 
001
Legacy Restricted: 
N
Description Level: