Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1898 (Creation)
Extent
1-10000
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Wesleyan Methodist Church of America emerged in response to the Methodist Episcopal Church's support of slavery and its centralized, authoritarian governance. In November 1842, leaders O. Scott, J. Horton, and L. R. Sunderland withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church and launched The True Wesleyan, a weekly publication explaining their reasons for separation. In December, Luther Lee and L. C. Matlack also withdrew, marking the formal beginning of the Wesleyan movement. Although earlier separations had occurred—particularly in Michigan, where a conference was established—these events laid the foundation for the official organization. The first church of the new denomination was founded in Providence, Rhode Island. In February 1843, a preliminary convention was held in Andover, Massachusetts, which led to a General Convention in Utica, New York, on May 31, 1843. There, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was officially organized and adopted a governing Discipline. The first General Conference convened in October 1844 to revise this Discipline, followed by a second in October 1848, which produced a more comprehensive and clearly organized version.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This series comprises records from the Central Canada conference. They capture the district’s role as a vital regional hub within the wider church. The materials include minutes from district conferences, correspondence between local pastors and district leaders, reports from area churches, pastoral appointments, membership and financial statistics, and policy documents specific to the region.
These records reveal how the district guided and supported local congregations and clergy, implemented denominational policies on a regional level, and fostered church growth and ministry within the community.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
The organizing convention that resulted in the beginning of the Canada Conference was held in Winchester, Ontario, Canada in February 1898. Rev. W. H. Kennedy, missionary superintendent. “Canada” appears in the 1899 General Conference statistical report with 5 appointments, 5 churches, 5 meeting houses and 125 members. 1899 General Conference Journal: Petitions were read from the conferences organized during the last four years under the direction of the Missionary Secretary, in Canada, signed by the Rev. John Scobie. as President, and the Rev. A. J. Shea, as secretary, asking for admission to the General conference and the Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Or Church) of America, the territory to be included to be the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, and to be known as the Canada conference.
After the Alliance of the Reformed Baptists of Canada, located in the Maritime Provinces and the state of Maine,
merged with The Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1966, and the former Reformed Baptists became known as the Atlantic Conference, the former Canada Conference became known as the Central Canada Conference. In 1968, Central Canada was a mission conference, with sixteen organized churches and total membership of 744.
General note
The complete list of presidents is as follows:
John Scobie, 1898-99, 1915-16, 1917-19
E. R. Dodd, 1899-1901
(He spent considerable time in pioneer
evangelistic work in Canada during
the early years of the conference.)
A. J. Shea, 1901-08, 1909-10, 1916-17, 19'22-28
J. R. Pitt, 19'08-09. 1911-15
James A. Bain, 1910-11, 1936-39
Edwin Claxton, 1919-22
D. W. Summers, 1928-34
W . E. Hamilton, 1934-36
S. W . Blanchard, 1939-48
R. L. LeRoy, 1948-52
H. Kielty, 1952-58
J. S. A . Spearman, 1958-68