People of Interest

Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin

Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin

The well known Dorwin Falls in Rawdon carries the name, but who was this Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin? 

He was none other than the remarkable Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin who had many interests over the years including the Rawdon Settlement.

Jedidiah Hubbel Dorwin was born, May 25, 1792 in New Haven, Vermont, one of five children, the son of Philomena Dorwin and Mary Hubbell. 

At the age of 13 he left his father’s farm to reside in Onondaga Hollow N.Y. and began writing a journal which he continued faithfully for the rest of his life.

June 14, 1815 he landing at La Prairie Where he was ferried across the Saint Lawrence River in a pine log canoe arriving in the mud at the foot of Jacques Cartier Square.

He later established a trade between Vermont and Montreal importing pork, cheese, and butter. He smuggled tea and loaf sugar back to Vermont.

He settled in Montreal working as a clerk. For 2 years he also operated a small grocery and provision store.

On April 7, 1817 he married Isabella Williamson of Albany New York in Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church in Montreal they had a son born that year and adopted daughter Esther M. whose origin and date of birth is unknown.

in 1818 he was initiated into the Masonic Lodge No. 8 under the registry of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lower Canada and remained a Mason for the rest of his life.

During the recession of 1818 to 19 he gave up the grocery and provision business in Montreal. 

He contracted an accomplished the removal of Citadel Hill from Dalhousie Square using Irish immigrant workers.

During the winters of 1820 and 21 he brought cod from Boston by sleigh to sell in Quebec City. During the summer months he traded with the American farmers in eastern townships and bright fish on the Labrador coast in return for unknown goods.

He bought a schooner in 1822 in Labrador and engaged in whaling. Three years later he was shipping cargo to Chatham, New Brunswick and picking up cargo in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and St. John, New Brunswick, for delivery to the West Indies returning to Quebec City with a shipment of sugar.

Using his schooner he established a trade between Vermont and Montreal importing pork, cheese, and butter. He smuggled tea and loaf sugar back to Vermont.

At the same time he was making trips to the Midwest of the United States to buy wheat and packed meats.

Hard times hit his various interests and April 30, 1835 his furniture was sold at auction. For the next five years he was away from Montreal for unspecified interests making only occasional visits to Montreal.

In 1840 he entered the lumber trade with Peter McGill who had several mills, one being in Rawdon.

In 1840 Dorwin had a large tracts of forested land on the 7th range in Chertsey. 

The logs from his lot in Chertsey were sent down the Oureau River to his mill below the Dorwin Falls in Rawdon.

In order to facilitate the delivery of lumber to the market in Quebec City for export to Britain he set about creating a railway to transport lumber from the Rawdon area to the St. Lawrence River and on to Quebec City.

December 4, 1852 was the official opening of the industry Village and Rawdon railroad listing Dorwin as the president. The  Board of Directors met at the head office at the Mechanics Institute on Saint Paul Street in Montreal.

Darwin and his son George were listed on the 1857 Rawdon census.

In 1859 Dorwin’s businesses suffered a setback when his mill on the Oureau River in Rawdon burnt. With low finances he was unable to rebuild the mill and retired from the lumber business.

For three or four years in the 1860s Dorwin was the Montreal Agent of the Royal Naval Military and East India Life Insurance Company.

In 1861 he had patented and mercurial barometer.

In 1869 he was also listed in the Montreal directories as inventor and manufacturer of barometers.

The year 1869 the aging Dorwin lost has wife of 52 years and sending him into a state of deep mourning.

At this same time his last brother, Canfield’s, business failed under questionable circumstances.

Three years later, just as he was beginning rise from his depression Canfied, died.

There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel but in 1880 Dorwin recovered his old spirit and headed back to Rawdon with a new plan for a railway. 

Despite his optimism this project also failed and he went back to Montreal.

In 1881, aged 89, a remarkable age for that time, he wrote an article for the Montreal Daily Star recounting the City of Montreal in 1816. 

This was so popular that a 2nd edition was printed. It remained the largest printing of an article in the history of the Montreal Daily Star.

Apparently being in good health  Saturday the 10th of November Dorwin took his usual daily walk without incident. However, the next morning he complained of not feeling well. About noon two days later, November 12, he succumbed.

Obituaries

DORWIN – On the 12th inst., after a very short illness, Jedediah Hubbel[sic] Dorwin, in the 92^nd year of his age.  Funeral from his late residence, 1723 St. Catherine street, on Thursday, the 15^th inst., at 2.30 o’clock, to the English Cathedral, and from thence to Mount Royal Cemetery.

– Montreal Daily Star, November 14, 1883.

THE LATE J.H. DORWIN

His Sudden Death on Sunday

By the death of Mr. Jedediah Hubbel [sic] Dorwin, at his residence, No. 1723 St. Catherine street, on Sunday, Montreal loses one of her oldest citizens. Mr. Dorwin took his customary walk on Saturday and appeared in good health, but took ill on Sunday morning and died about noon.

Deceased was born in New Haven, Vermont, in 1792. His grandfather was one of ten brothers who emigrated to the States from Kent, England;  his mother was of Welsh descent.

He was the last survivor of five children, his brother, Mr. Canfield Dorwin, a private banker of this city, having died in 1872.

He first came to Montreal in 1815, and settled here in the following year, taking a situation as clerk. In 1817, he married Miss Williamson, of Albany, N.Y., who died fifteen years ago; he leaves one son besides his adopted daughter. In 1819 he contracted for and accomplished the removal of Citadel Hill from the present Dalhousie Square. Some of the earth went to fill up a neighbouring pond, and some was taken to the Champ de Mars. It was during that operation that Mr. Dorwin made the acquaintance of Mr. John (now Colonel) Dyde. About 1840 he entered the lumber trade with Mr. Peter McGill; he retired from business about twenty-four years ago, after the burning of his mills at Rawdon.  Mr. Dorwin is believed to have been the oldest Freemason but one in Canada.  He was initiated in 1818 into Union Lodge No. 8 under the registry of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lower Canada. Union Lodge The funeral will take place from Mr. Dorwin’s late residence to Christ Church Cathedral to-morrow at 2.30 p.m.
 

– Montreal Daily Star, November 14, 1883.

The Last Rites.

The funeral of the late Mr. Dorwin took place yesterday afternoon, and was very largely attended.  Amongst those present were many leading citizens. Service was held at Christ Church Cathedral, conducted by the Very Rev. Dean Baldwin. The chief mourners were Col. Dyde, C.M.G., A.D.C. to Her Majesty;  Mr. J. Ogilvy Brown and Mr. Geo. W. Warner.  Illness prevented the son, George, of the deceased gentleman from attending the funeral.

– Montreal Daily Star, November 16, 1883.

The following was written by Glenn Cartwright, a well respected authority on the history of J.H. Dorwin and published on the Rawdon Historical Society of which he was founder.

Sharp-eyed readers will note an interesting discrepancy:  Although Mr. Dorwin is described as taking ill on Sunday morning November 12th, 1883, and dying about noon, in fact November 12th was a Monday.  So did he die on Sunday or Monday?  Is a printer’s error at fault or a careless editor?

It is doubtful that the description of him walking on Saturday and falling ill on Sunday could be in error given the specificity of the days mentioned.  Still, the funeral notice clearly gives the date of death as the 12th (which was a Monday).  It is also unlikely that whoever placed that notice (Dorwin’s son or daughter?) could have mistaken the date of his death.  

Les célèbres chutes Dorwin à Rawdon portent ce nom, mais qui était ce Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin?

Il n’était autre que le remarquable Jedediah Hubbell Dorwin qui a eu de nombreux intérêts au fil des ans, y compris la colonie de Rawdon.

Jedidiah Hubbel Dorwin est né le 25 mai 1792 à New Haven, dans le Vermont. Fils de Philomena Dorwin et de Mary Hubbell, il est l’un des cinq enfants de cette famille.

À l’âge de 13 ans, il quitte la ferme de son père pour s’installer à Onondaga Hollow, dans l’État de New York, et commence à écrire un journal qu’il continuera à tenir fidèlement jusqu’à la fin de sa vie. Ce journal peut être consulté aux Archives canadiennes.

Le 14 juin 1815, il débarque à La Prairie où on lui fait traverser le fleuve Saint-Laurent dans un canoë en rondins de pin, pour arriver dans la boue au pied de la place Jacques Cartier.

Plus tard, il établit un commerce entre le Vermont et Montréal en important du porc, du fromage et du beurre. Il ramène en contrebande du thé et du sucre en pain dans le Vermont.

Il s’installe à Montréal où il travaille comme commis. Pendant deux ans, il exploite également une petite épicerie et un magasin de provisions.

Le 7 avril 1817, il épouse Isabella Williamson d’Albany New York à l’église presbytérienne Saint Andrews de Montréal. Ils ont un fils né cette année-là et une fille adoptive, Esther M., dont l’origine et la date de naissance sont inconnues.

En 1818, il est initié à la loge maçonnique no 8 sous le registre de la Grande Loge provinciale du Bas-Canada et demeure maçon jusqu’à la fin de sa vie.
Pendant la récession de 1818 à 19, il abandonne le commerce de l’épicerie et de l’approvisionnement à Montréal.

Il fait appel à des travailleurs immigrés irlandais pour déménager la Citadelle du square Dalhousie.
Au cours des hivers 1820 et 21, il apporte la morue de Boston en traîneau pour la vendre à Québec.

Pendant les mois d’été, il fait du commerce avec les fermiers américains des cantons de l’Est et du poisson brillant sur la côte du Labrador en échange de marchandises inconnues.

En 1822, il achète une goélette au Labrador et se lance dans la chasse à la baleine. Trois ans plus tard, il expédie des marchandises à Chatham, au Nouveau-Brunswick, et en prend à Sydney, en Nouvelle-Écosse, et à St. John, au Nouveau-Brunswick, pour les livrer aux Antilles, puis revient à Québec avec une cargaison de sucre.

Avec sa goélette, il établit un commerce entre le Vermont et Montréal en important du porc, du fromage et du beurre. Il ramène en contrebande du thé et du sucre en pain dans le Vermont.

Parallèlement, il se rend dans le Midwest des États-Unis pour acheter du blé et des viandes emballées.
Les temps sont durs pour ses différents intérêts et le 30 avril 1835, ses meubles sont vendus aux enchères.

Au cours des cinq années suivantes, il s’absente de Montréal pour des raisons non précisées et ne fait que des visites occasionnelles à Montréal.

En 1840, il se lance dans le commerce du bois avec Peter McGill qui possède plusieurs moulins, dont un à Rawdon.

En 1840, Dorwin possède une grande étendue de terre boisée sur le 7e rang à Chertsey.

Les billots de son lot à Chertsey sont acheminés par la rivière Oureau jusqu’à son moulin situé en aval des chutes Dorwin à Rawdon.

Afin de faciliter la livraison du bois au marché de Québec pour l’exportation vers la Grande-Bretagne, il entreprend de créer un chemin de fer pour transporter le bois de la région de Rawdon jusqu’au fleuve Saint-Laurent et à la ville de Québec.

Le 4 décembre 1852 marque l’ouverture officielle de la compagnie Industry Village and Rawdon Railroad, dont Dorwin est le président. Le conseil d’administration se réunit au siège social, au Mechanics Institute de la rue Saint-Paul à Montréal.
Darwin et son fils George sont inscrits au recensement de Rawdon de 1857.
En 1859, les affaires de Dorwin subissent un revers lorsque son moulin sur la rivière Oureau à Rawdon brûle. À court d’argent, il ne peut reconstruire le moulin et se retire de l’industrie du bois.

Pendant trois ou quatre ans, dans les années 1860, Dorwin est l’agent montréalais de la Royal Naval Military and East India Life Insurance Company.

En 1861, il a breveté un baromètre mercuriel.

En 1869, il figure également dans les annuaires de Montréal en tant qu’inventeur et fabricant de baromètres.

En 1869, le vieillissant Dorwin perd sa femme de 52 ans, ce qui le plonge dans un profond deuil.

À la même époque, l’entreprise de son dernier frère, Canfield, fait faillite dans des circonstances douteuses.

Trois ans plus tard, alors qu’il commençait à sortir de sa dépression, Canfield mourut.

Il ne semble pas y avoir de lumière au bout du tunnel, mais en 1880, Dorwin retrouve son esprit et retourne à Rawdon avec un nouveau projet de chemin de fer.

Malgré son optimisme, ce projet échoue lui aussi et il retourne à Montréal.

En 1881, à l’âge de 89 ans, un âge remarquable pour l’époque, il écrit un article pour le Montreal Daily Star relatant la ville de Montréal en 1816.
L’article est si populaire qu’une deuxième édition est imprimée. Il s’agit de la plus grande impression d’un article dans l’histoire du Montreal Daily Star.

Apparemment en bonne santé, Dorwin a fait sa promenade quotidienne habituelle le samedi 10 novembre, sans incident. Cependant, le lendemain matin, il s’est plaint de ne pas se sentir bien. Vers midi, deux jours plus tard, le 12 novembre, il a succombé.

Avis de décès

DORWIN – Le 12 avril, après une très courte maladie, Jedediah Hubbel [sic] Dorwin, dans la 92e année de son âge. Funérailles de sa résidence, 1723 rue Sainte-Catherine, le jeudi 15 inst. à 14h30, à la cathédrale anglaise, et de là au cimetière Mont-Royal.

• Montreal Daily Star, 14 novembre 1883.
  
• FEU J.H. DORWIN
  Son décès soudain dimanche
  Avec le décès de M. Jedediah Hubbel [sic] Dorwin, à sa résidence du 1723, rue Sainte-Catherine, dimanche, Montréal perd l’un de ses plus anciens citoyens. M. Dorwin a fait sa promenade habituelle samedi et semblait en bonne santé, mais il est tombé malade dimanche matin et est décédé vers midi.
• 
  Le défunt était né à New Haven, au Vermont, en 1792. Son grand-père était l’un des dix frères qui avaient émigré aux États-Unis depuis le Kent, en Angleterre ; sa mère était d’origine galloise. Il est le dernier survivant de cinq enfants, son frère, M. Canfield Dorwin, banquier privé de cette ville, étant décédé en 1872. Il arrive à Montréal en 1815 et s’y installe l’année suivante, où il occupe un poste de commis.
• En 1817, il épouse Mlle Williamson, d’Albany, N.Y., qui décède il y a quinze ans ; il laisse un fils en plus de sa fille adoptive.
• En 1819, il conclut un contrat pour le déplacement de la Citadel Hill à partir de l’actuel Dalhousie Square. Une partie de la terre a été utilisée pour remplir un étang voisin et une autre a été transportée au Champ de Mars. C’est au cours de cette opération que M. Dorwin fait la connaissance de M. John (aujourd’hui colonel) Dyde. Vers 1840, il se lança dans le commerce du bois avec M. Peter McGill ; il se retira des affaires il y a environ vingt-quatre ans, après l’incendie de ses moulins à Rawdon. M. Dorwin est considéré comme le plus ancien franc-maçon du Canada. Il a été initié en 1818 à l’Union Lodge No. 8 sous le registre de la Grande Loge provinciale du Bas-Canada. Union Lodge Les funérailles auront lieu de l’ancienne résidence de M. Dorwin à la cathédrale Christ Church demain à 14 h 30.

• Montreal Daily Star, 14 novembre 1883.
  Les derniers sacrements.

Les funérailles de feu M. Dorwin ont eu lieu hier après-midi en présence d’un grand nombre de personnes. Parmi les personnes présentes se trouvaient de nombreux citoyens importants. Le service a eu lieu à la cathédrale Christ Church, sous la direction du très révérend Dean Baldwin. Le colonel Dyde, C.M.G., A.D.C. de Sa Majesté, M. J. Ogilvy Brown et M. Geo. W. Warner. La maladie a empêché le fils du défunt, George, d’assister aux funérailles.

• Montreal Daily Star, 16 novembre 1883.

Ce qui suit a été écrit par Glenn Cartwright, une autorité respectée sur l’histoire de J.H. Dorwin et publié sur le site de la Rawdon Historical Society dont il est le fondateur.

Les lecteurs attentifs noteront une divergence intéressante : Bien que M. Dorwin soit décrit comme étant tombé malade le dimanche matin 12 novembre 1883 et décédé vers midi, le 12 novembre était en fait un lundi. Est-il donc mort le dimanche ou le lundi ? S’agit-il d’une erreur d’impression ou d’une négligence de l’éditeur ?

Il est douteux que la description selon laquelle il a marché le samedi et est tombé malade le dimanche puisse être erronée étant donné la spécificité des jours mentionnés. Pourtant, l’avis d’obsèques indique clairement que la date du décès est le 12 (qui était un lundi). Il est également peu probable que la personne qui a placé cet avis (le fils ou la fille de Dorwin ?) ait pu se tromper sur la date de son décès.

Who was Charles Chiniquy? How was he involved in Rawdon? 

As a Catholic priest he was compared to Saint Louis de Gonzague who was listed in the  the Encyclopedia Britannica as renown for his intense love of chastity. 

Charles Chiniquy, a dedicated temperance fighter, who fell prey to ‘sins of the flesh’.

Chiniquy became the best known Catholic priest in Lower Canada (Quebec), later in the United States and Europe.

He left the Catholic Church and was soon considered the best known Protestant minister in Upper Canada (Ontario).  He preached in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. His writings sold record copies in Asia.

Later worshippers of both religions became a howling mob threatening to tear him to pieces. 

Charles Chiniquy was born in Lower Canadain July 30, 1790 in the small French-Canadien  village of Kamarouska on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. 

He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1833. He was assigned to a small parish near Quebec City where he preached fervently against the consumption of alcohol and  drunkenness that was prevalent at the time.

During his years in the Catholic Church Chiniquy’s career followed a pattern of being a prodigious success in a new parish quickly  followed by “misadventures” and being quietly transferred to a new parish.

In each successive parish he spread the temperance doctrine with immense fervour  claiming thousands of new converts to his credit. 

He showed great resilience as he bounced from one “misadventure” to another, dismissing each incident as ‘a personal and uncalled for attack upon an innocent zealot by dark forces bent upon his distraction’.

Within the church his “misadventures” were forgotten as he continued to persuade hundreds to take the pledge until the next “misadventure” resulted in a sudden transfer without explanation.

In 1848 Bishop Bourget, the bishop of Montreal, assigned Chiniquy to work as a temperance crusader in Montreal. Here he became even more popular as his meetings drew evermore larger crowds resulting in hundreds of new pledges. Even the mayor and the bishop turned out to hear him address a crowd of 5,000 at the Bonsecour Marketplace. In the Notre Dame cathedral he spoke to a crowd of 10 12,000. By the end of 1848 his number of converts was said to be 60,000.

The following April Chiniquy 18,000 persons find pledge. In a two week crusade in June he converted 12,000 more to total abstinence. 

The mayor and archbishop of Montreal  presented with a gold medal inscribed “in homage of his virtue, his zeal, and his patriotism”.

 In 1850, in recognition of his temperance crusade, the La Fontaine- Baldwin government of the United Canadas presented him with a gift 500 pounds. A significant sum at the time. There seemed to be no end to the triumphs of this man!

Things suddenly changed. In May 1851 Abby Chiniquy was sent to Illinois to investigate the need for a French speaking priest to minister to the 11,000 French Catholic Quebecois  who had settled there.

As well as warning his priest not to eat meat on Friday, Bishop Bourget warned him to take strict precautions in relationships with “personnes de sexe”. 

 Chiniquy apparently paid no heed the warnings of the bishop. He made amorous overtures to the daughter of a very respectable family. The bishop of Detroit investigated his “misadventure” and once again Chiniquy was suddenly transferred to another parish.

Back in Lower Canada,  Chiniquy started a crusade to boost French Canadian emigration to Illinois. 

Bishop Bourget immediately reacted – definitely not wanting to lose his parishioners to a foreign land. Being aware of Chiniquy’s indiscretions at Saint Pascal as well as three similar incidents in other areas this “misadventure” this was the last straw.

September 28, 1851 Chiniquy was relieved of all his priestly functions.

The bishop of Chicago was in Montreal searching for a French speaking priest and agreed to give Chiniquy another chance. 

This furthest and most obscure corner of the United States was the twin parishes of Bourbonnais and Sainte Anne, two relatively new French Canadian parishes, about 50 miles from Chicago greatly in need of a French speaking priest. 

All suggestion of scandal was hushed up and Bishop Bourget publicly presented Chiliquy  with a chalice for his success in promoting the temperance movement. 

His parishioners gave him a fond farewell, believing this transfer was another example of his self-sacrifice. Chiniquy explained that Bishop Bourget had offered him another handsome parish to prevent him from leaving but still he had reluctantly obeyed the order to leave.

The new parish of Saint Anne, a small settlement about 50 miles from Chicago, had about 100 French speaking families.

On arrival at Ste. Anne Chiniquy threw himself into a new kind of evangelism –  persuading Canadiens to join him in his new parish. This resulted in creating intense anger back home his native province.

Chiniquy was either unaware or indifferent to the negative view held by the people back home. In the summer of 1852 he made a recruiting trip to his hometown of Kamarouska. 

Here he announced he would say mass in his old church. But this did not happen, the curé refused permission for Chiniquy to use his  church. His old neighbours treated him coldly, a definite rebuke for one who had been raised in that parish. Chiniquy returned to Ste. Anne in disgrace.

Back in Illinois he was soon engaged in his old ways, talking lewdly to women, consorting with women ‘of ill repute’, even making advances to the sexton’s wife attempting to convince her that sexual activities were not forbidden to priests. 

In 1853 there was a very disturbing event in the neighbouring parish of Bourbonnais where a chapel, only half completed, mysteriously  burnt to the ground. 

Chiniquy had caused much controversy over the construction of this building. He insisted it be built of stone, the bishop insisted that it be of a cheaper, simpler, frame construction. 

A few days after the bishop had visited Bourbonnais to lay down the edict, the wooden chapel was consumed by flames. Strangely all the consecrated vessels had been removed to the parsonage just before the fire.

 Suspicion of arson fell on Chiniquy who defended himself claiming that he had seen the  arsonist escaping. When parishioners insisted that he name the person Chiniquy backtracked explaining he had only seen the  culprit in ‘his mind’s eye’. 

Later on he wrote a dramatic message to Le Canadien publishers appealing for funds to rebuild the chapel. A group of 20 parishioners responded signing a letter to the paper saying that donations would be more probable of reaching their destination if they were addressed to the bishop rather than the priest.

In 1854 Anthony O’Regan was appointed bishop of Chicago. Not being satisfied with the quality of some of the priests in his new charge he determined to weed out the weakest members. 

In the process of the investigation Bishop O’Regan became embroiled in a defamation lawsuit. Peter Spink, with whom Chiniquy had lodged on his first visit to Illinois, was suing Chiniky for unpaid bills. The two trials that followed were mainly notable for the fact that Chiniquy was defended by a young lawyer, Abraham Lincoln.

The first trial ended in a hung jury; during the second trial Chiniquy retracted his statement completely and apologized.

Bishop O’Regan’s response was excommunication. On September 3 the vicar general of the diocese arrived at Sainte Anne with two priests. Their carriage was met by a crowd who hooted and roared in protest when the proclamation was read out and fixed on the door of the church.

Chiniquy insisted the document was not legal claiming it was nothing more than an unsigned translation of the original. “If you think you can deal with me as a carter with his horse you will soon see your error”, he wrote to Bishop O Regan.

A band of devotees, calling themselves the Société des Tondeurs (The Society of Shearers) appeared in the two parishes and began to shave the hair of those suspected of disloyalty to their priest. 

The French Canadian press rallied to Chiniquy’s side, in the belief that O’Regan wanted to turn his church over to the Irish. Bishop Bourget entered the fray challenging Chiniquy to reveal the real reason he had left Canada. 

 In defence Chiniquy claimed a prostitute had been paid $100 to perjure herself against him. Bishop Bourget then sent 2 priests to Illinois to persuade Chiniquy to submit. Their mission failed.

 A second, somewhat more successful delegation, persuaded the sexton, and a good many other parishioners, to defect. Two hundred families remained loyal to Chiniquy. 

A year later Chiniquy was still saying mass at Saint Anne’s.

September 1857 Bishop O’Regan resigned returning to Rome in a state of exhaustion.

August 1858 a, Bishop James Duggan, accompanied by three priests, were sent to the Chicago diocese with directions to resolve the Chiniquy question once and for all.

Immediately after his arrival Bishop Duggan declared that Mr. Chiniquy was ‘truly and validly interdicted and excommunicated’. The crowd booed loudly and Bishop Duggan repeated his message adding that no person present could pretend ignorance of Chiniquy’s excommunication.

The bishop then turn to face Chiniquy saying , “Wretch, abandon these people you have deceived, go somewhere to make penance; and then I assure you that you will be pardoned and the church will again receive you in her breast”.

Now for a second time Chiniquy found himself excommunicated from the church apparently for his sexual picadillos. 

All the same, Chiniquy did not seem in the least discomfited being excommunicated for the second time. In fact he took advantage of being an ex-priest and soon became the object of intense interest to the Protestants.

Chiniquy brazenly returned to Lower Canada in January 1859 to make a preaching tour funded by Protestants. 

His return was not definitely not welcomed by the majority of the French Catholic community. In Montreal he had difficulty finding a lodging and a meeting place for his speeches. 

In Quebec City the reception was no more popular than what he had encountered in Montreal. The private home he was staying in was quickly surrounded by 400 furious neighbours forcing him to flee in a carriage. 

Again in Saint Hilaire de Rouville he had to leave town when his life was threatened.

As an excommunicated Catholic priest he founded a new sect, ‘L’Égise catholique chrétienne’ using the Chapel of Ste Anne as the headquarters. He removed the cross and the statues of the virgin Mary from the church and went on to mock Catholic rituals.

All this activity raised his profile resulting in invitations for him to speak to Protestant gatherings in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago and Baltimore. 

In his his absence problems followed Chiniquy.  A new priest, Augustine Alexandre Brunet came to Sainte Anne’s and began inquiries regarding the fire in 1853 that had destroyed the partially built chapel. The priest publicly accused Chiniquy of being responsible for the fire. Chiniqui responded suing the Brunet for liable. 

Brunet had returned to Canada but was found guilty in absentia. Sentenced to pay Chiniquy $2,500 or serve at 17 years in prison. But things for Chiniquy didn’t go as planned. Brunet immediately returned to Illinois announcing he would serve the entire prison term before he paid a cent to the accuser.

According to the law in Illinois Chiniquy was then obliged to pay a fee of $3.00 a week towards the upkeep of Brunet. Fortunately for Chiniquy a group of parishioners launched a successful attempt to free the priest saving him the cost of his imprisonment.

In January 1859 Chiniquy made a preaching tour funded by Protestants in Lower Canada where he was certainly not welcome. In Montreal he had difficulty finding a lodging as well as a place to hold his meeting. The local Bishop Bourget forbid his flock to associate with Chiniquy or attend his meetings. 

In Quebec City after many futile attempts he found lodgings in a private home to have his life  threatened by an angry mob surrounding the house. Quiniquy was forced to beat a hasty retreat in a carriage. He managed to get into the station where he hid in a large trunk. Meanwhile his carriage was completely demolished by the angry horde of protestors.

Again in Ste de Rouville  serious threats against his well being forced him leave town in yet another great hurry.

All this publicity brought the attention of Protestants to call upon services. He was quickly approached to address Protestant gatherings in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago, and Baltimore.

To these audiences he told his version of his battles with the Roman Catholic Church and, despite the fact that the local paper stated there were not any shortages in the parish, Chiniquy collected money to combat a non existing food scarcity in his parish of Saint Anne.  He boasted to have collected food and $75,000 for his hungry parish.

Whether there was any substance to this claim was never verified.

 February 1860 Chiniquy became a member of the Presbyterian Church of the United States.

 For each new  member  enrolled the church gave a subsidy of $90. Despite the fact that Sainte Anne was a very small community, Chiniquy claimed to have added 2,000 members at Saint Anne. A gain this number seems rather inflated for such a small community.

 For this he was sent to Europe where he was seen as a latter-day Luther. In Scotland, France, Switzerland, and Italy he collected donations for a fictitious “Seminary of Sainte Anne” which he claimed had 32 students. He collected $10,000.

The Presbyterian synod made inquiries regarding the Seminary of Ste Anne which they found did not exist. When Chiniquy was called to explain his refusal to answer cost him his ministry.

Chiniquy then went to Upper Canada where the Presbyterians welcomed him. In February 1862 Chiniquy was once again ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church.

In 1863 he published a brochure claiming the church of Rome an enemy of the Holy Virgin and Jesus Christ.

In 1867 he published a brochure disclaiming the concept of immaculate in maculate conception.

In 1864 he married Euphémi Allard. They had 3 children.

In 1869 he made a speaking tour of Prince Edward Island regarding the subject of people indulgences. This man who had once been the best known Roman Catholic priest in French Canada was now on his way to becoming the best known Protestant minister in English Canada.

In 1873 the Presbyterian Synod put Chiniquy in charge of a campaign two promote the conversion of French Canadiens.

In October 1873 Chiniquy came to Joliette before an audience an audience of 300 to 400 curious locals causing great agitation among the Catholic parishioners. To date the Presbyterians were limited to communicating in English and was not seen as a threat. Chiniquy preaching in French created a great disquiet among the Catholic clergy.

Chiniquy quickly realized that, financially, Protestantism was much more rewarding than Catholicism. In 1874 he made a 6 month tour of England collecting $25,000 for himself in fees.

At the age 66 Chiniquy  was still very much alive between 1875 and 1878 he said to have converted 7000 French Canadiens to Protestantism.

 He was assigned to the Presbyterian Parish in London, Ontario. In a country bitterly divided by religious strife his ministry was seen as an important asset for the church.

 As a converted messenger he managed to seduce thousands away from the Catholic Church. 

This man who had been recognized as the best known Roman Catholic priest in French Canada now became the best known Protestant minister in English Canada. 

At the age of 71, when a life span for men averaged 50 years, this was considered a venerable old age, Chiniquy, began a series of speaking tours through the western United States. 

At the end of his American tour and at the request of the Orange Society (of which he was a member), he embarked on the long sea voyage to speak in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

In two-years Chiniquy gave 700 speeches and had collected $40,000, a considerable amount of money at the time. 

At the beginning of 1875 Chiniquy moved his family to Montreal. With his usual  zeal   for the temperance movement he began preaching on Craig Street.

 His speeches were not necessarily without difficulty. Tumultuous riots, some lasting several days, frequently accompanied his meetings, especially back home in Lower Canada. 

 June 1880 he was preaching outside the Protestant Cathedral in Quebec City. Quickly a   crowd gathered shouting and throwing stones thrown through the windows. Chiniquy was  forced to escape in a carriage. On arriving at the train station he was forced to hide from his assailants in a large trunk while waiting for the departure of the train.

 Outside the station his carriage was attacked and demolished by the protesters.

Chiniquy then decided to write his autobiography. This was not a small task. His book  was an 800 page tome, “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome. Printed in 9 languages and sold around the world and quickly became a best seller. By 1892  twenty editions of Chiniquy’s autobiography had been printed. 

His mission there did not start out well. There was so much violence in the early days of his preaching 300 police were required to protect him.

In the same period Chiniquy found time to publish several inflammatory brochures against the Catholic Church attacking the concepts of the church including that of the immaculate conception. 

One of his publications,“The Priest, the Woman and the Confessional”, included accounts of priests who became so aroused by the confessions of their feminine parishioners it resulted in the ruin of the priests. 

Despite his books being censored by the Catholic Church by 1892 this book was an enormous success going into 50 reprints in both English and French.

Was his criticism of celibacy for priests referring to his own problem? After his marriage Chiniquy no longer strayed from the Doctrine of the Church. 

Some histories of Chiniquy claimed him to be the best selling author at that time. The Roman Catholic Church was enraged and Bishop Bourgette published a pastoral letter attacking Chiniquy.

Chiniquy’s story did not always support known facts such as Chiniquy implied that Abraham Lincoln had acted for him in his victory over Bishop O’Regan. In fact Lincoln had been his lawyer in the two suits involving Spink where there was actually no victory for Chiniquy.

There were also questionable figures regarding the number of converts and the amount of money he collected.In 1895 Chiniquy began a second autobiography, “Forty Years in the Church of Christ” and was actively converting Quebec Catholics. His most famous convert was Louis Joseph Amédée Papineau son of the famous rebel, later to become known as a “Father of Confederation, Joseph Papineau.

In 1897 Chiniquy was once again on a lecture tour, this time in England. Here he made 85 speeches before he was suddenly stricken by ill health and forced to abandon the tour.Back in his home in Montreal he refused to give in to illness.

Three years after his return home he was again stricken by ill health. This time there was wild speculation as to whether this former Catholic priest would return to his church.A personal attempt was by the Archbishop of Montreal, Paul Bruchési who sent a letter to the family requesting they encourage their father to return to the Catholic Church.

Chiniquy replied personally to the Archbishop saying that he had left the church of Rome and was perfectly happy in the faith of Jesus Christ. 

In his last days he sent a message to the news papers and the archbishop issuing his final attack on the Catholic Church.

January 16, 1899 Chiniquy died and was buried in Montreal, Quebec.

Epilogue

Reverend Charles Chiniquy died at the age of 89. He was waked in his home and more than 10,000 people filed past the coffin. Catholics and Protestants were, for once, united in their respect for this very controversial preacher who had caused so much dissension wherever he went.

This man was a hypocrite, a liar, and sensualist, and an egoist. Yet he same man had courage, charisma, passion, and golden tongue. 

 Today Chiniquy, the creator of such turmoil during his lifetime, is forgotten. Both Catholic and Protestant Churches preferred to disregard the turbulence he caused in their communities.