Born at Dingwall, which sits at the head of the Cromarty Firth in Ross-shire. Died at Moorefield, near Milbank, New Brunswick.
The Reverend John Urquhart's ancestors have come from Dingwall near Cromarty. Although research done in Scotland, revealed no records of the Rev. John's baptism, his ordination or his marriage to Jane -- with birth of a daughter. A Johannes Urquhart graduated from King's College Aberdeen in 1769 with an M.A. degree was found. As John Urquhart is a commonly used name, it is difficult to securely connect this John Urquhart of Cromarty with the Reverend John of Maine, Prince Edward Island and Moorefields, New Brunswick.
He is thought to have arrived at St. George, Knox co., Mass. [after 177 it was incorporated as Warrne, Maine]
Throughout his stay in St George is a story of a contentious person in a constant struggle with the people around him.
To say that The Rev. had a very strong personality, and therefore on his potential parishioner, is an understatement. After having arrived in 1774, it took some time to discuss the nature of his contract with the Salem Presbytery and the people in the area.
'In '1775, the Rev. John Urquhart, who the preceding year came to this country from Scotland, was employed to preach alternately in the upper and lower towns.'
'As these places were unincorporated, a contract was made with the citizens of each in their individual capacity. The conditions agreed upon were, that Mr. Urquhart should have a settlement of £100, and an annual salary of £80, to be paid one half by the upper, and the other by the lower town.' (p. 154, Annals of Warren)
'The coming of Mr. Urquhart was peculiarly agreeable to
the Scottish settlers ; who had been so disappointed in their expectations, and so dissatisfied with the country, that any thing connected with their native land was doubly dear to them.'
'The Irish and later emigrants, if not equally enthusiastic
for the candidate, were rejoiced at the prospect of constant preaching ; and, as his politics corresponded with their own, it was resolved to employ him. Some wished to postpone his ordination and hire him a while first ; but he was urgent to be settled, and offered as one reason, that his wife, whom he left in Scotland, would then know whither to direct her letters. At what time, and under what auspices, he was ordained, is now difficult to be ascertained ; as no record of it is to be found.' (p. 155, Annals of Warren).
In 1776. the Upper Town of St. Georges Plantation was incorporated as the town Warren, the inhabitants voted him a year's salary of £40, an informally adopted Mr. Urquhart as its minister, although no contract to that effect was ever entered into. At the same time it was voted 'not to pay him the settlement money ;' perhaps because it had been partly paid by the individual contractors.
While we know that there is always friction between various of the factions in any small towns. Rev. Urquhart may not have had a particularly diplomatic nature. Apparently there had been strong feelings of support for and against Rev. Urquhart. Latterly, the allegation by some in the town to the possibility that his 1st wife in Scotland had not actually died before he married a local girl, Mary McIntyre. As a result of this odious contention, 'On the 15th Aug. 1782, the town voted that £15 of the salary voted Mr. Urquhart, lie in the treasury till further orders.' (p. 192, Annals of Warren)
The town, in May, 1778, voted, 'that there shall no man
be sent to the Presbytery this session ;' also, 'that the town will not pay Mr. Urquhart any more salary.' (p. 192, Annals of Warren). He remained in the area of Warren Maine 'until he was dismissed [in] 1783'. (p.58 Annals of Warren).
For a few months in 1784-85, Urquhart based himself at Topsham, near Brunswick, Me, and preached on different occasions at Union River. The congregation there liked his sermons, which were "forcible, humorous, quaint, and personal," and in the fall of 1785, he was appointed minister of the Union River church [later called Ellsworth], Hancock County, Maine. He can be found there in the 1790 Census as John Orcutt (an older pronunciation of the name) and in an account book in 1794.
But new difficulties awaited him. The very wife and daughter of whom had passed away he'd told his parish appeared. 'The return of peace having opened the way, his deserted wife had crossed the water to Philadelphia, and, after supporting herself and daughter in extreme indigence there, for a time, by spinning cotton, was charitably provided for by Dr. Witherspoon, President of the college at Princeton, N. J. ' (p. 194, Annals of Warren). After gaining help from Witherspoon [Founder of Princeton College, New Jersey, and also a Proprietor of Pictou, Nova Scotia] and from Ward Chipman of St. John's New Brunswick, where she had been lodged, she decided to seek out her husband in Union River {Ellsworth, Maine], just down the coast.
'After spending more than a year with the people of this river...the discarded wife resolved to resort to the law for that redress which nothing else was likely to obtain. Accordingly, she engaged Reuben Tolman, who, with John Mathews, then his apprentice, embarked with her in a boat, and taking R. Young for a pilot, sailed to Castine. There Tolman was appointed deputy sheriff for Hancock County, and taking out a legal process of some kind, ..proceeded on to the place of Mr. U's residence at Union River. (p.198)
'...Being carried before the magistrate, he reluctantly entered into an arrangement, by which, if our information is correct, he relinquished his farm to his first wife, gave an order on Capt. McIntyre to allow [Reuben] Tolman his
trouble and expenses out of what was due from him, for Mr. U's farm, which he had purchased in Warren; and with his second wife and children removed to New Brunswick,...' (p. 200)
1800-1801 he was located in Princeton, PEI where he acted as missionary in the district east of Malpeque Bay.
In 1802 he moved to New Brunswick, specifically to Moorefield,[near Mirimichi] where he was the first regular Presbyterian Minister. Rev. James Fraser, his predecessor, had been a missionary to the Indians.
At the time of his arrival, a church had been standing at Miramichi Point, its interior unfinished, for at least five years. Another church was under construction at Moorfield.
The Moorefield Church was consumed by fire when it burned in the Great Fire of 1825. The associated Church Cemetery is still there. A memorial monument was later erected which marks the Urquhart plot. It's Stone lists Reverend John Urquhart and "Wife".
Reverend John is said to have drowned either in a canoeing accident, or as a result of this accident between 14 May and 1 Sept 1814. He is buried in Moorefield cemetery.
Source:
"Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine...", Cyrus Eaton, A.M., 1877, Masters & Livermore, Hallowell.
Parents:
William Urquhart
Ann McKay
Spouse:
1st: Jane unknown Rev. John Urquhart & his wife Jane had 1 child.
In 1774 Rev. John came to the USA. He left his wife and child in Scotland. He was hired by the town of Warren, Maine to be the pastor of their church, The Church of Scotland.
2nd: Mary McIntyre, b. abt 1761 in St George, Maine. m. 7 Oct 1776, Bristol, Lincoln Co, Maine, d. 20 Feb 1832, Newcastle, New Brunswick
Mary's grandfather was one of the 1st settlers of Warren, Maine. Her parents were Capt John McIntrye (1724 - 30 Nov 1796) and Jane Palmer Lamb
Children:
-- William Urquhart, b. 1777, Warren, Knox County, Maine, USA, d. 1861, New Brunswick, Canada, m. Margaret Milliken, on 12 Dec 1797(?.), b. 22 Sept 1777, Scarborough, Cumberland Co., Maine, d. 21 Dec. 1866, Tabusintac, New Brunswick, Canada. Her parents were Lemuel Milliken and Phebe Lord
-- Jane Urquhart, b. 1781, Warren, Maine, d. 13 Aug 1865, m. William Loggie, b. 24 Jan 1778, Bawds, Elgin, Scotland, d. 1844, Burnt Church, NB, m. 1804
-- Catherine Urquhart, b. abt. 1778, Warren, Maine, d: 17 May 1866, Bedeque,PEI, m. abt. 1801, Major Hooper, b. 1765, Windsor, Mercer Co., New Jersey, d. 24 Feb 1838, Bedeque, PEI
-- Ann Urquhart, b. 1782 in Maine, d.
-- Sarah Urquhart, b. 1786, Maine, USA, d. 30 September, 1843, Campbelton, Restigouche Co., Bay De Chaleur, New Brunswick, m. circa 1800 in Prince Edward Island, John Alexander Campbell, b. 1778, Park Corner, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, d. 29 October, 1856, Dalhousie, New Brunswick
-- Charity Urquhart, b. 1782 Maine, d. 31 Dec 1871, Irishtown, PEI, m. Archibald Campbell, b. 1780, Park Corner, PEI, d. 10 Oct 1861 Irishtown, PEI, m: 1802, eloped to the USA, & married by Ship Captain.
-- Mary Urquhart, b. 25 Aug 1790 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. November 1873 in Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts, m. James Donaldson, b. abt.1775, d.?
-- Betsey Urquhart, b. Abt 1790 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. April 18, 1826 in Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada
-- Lewis Urquhart, b. 1790, Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine, USA, d. 1850, m. Lewis married Ann Harris 6 Mar 1815, b. 1793, New Brunswick, Canada.
-- John Ross Urquhart, b. 1797 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. 15 February 1879 in Moorefields, New Brunswick, Canada , m. Elizabeth Michael Roy and Jenette ?
-- Edmond F. Urquhart, b. 1799 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine
Siblings:
- Catherine Urquhart
- Janet Urquhart
Source:
Jane Logie Webster, 'Urquhart Genealogy'
Born at Dingwall, which sits at the head of the Cromarty Firth in Ross-shire. Died at Moorefield, near Milbank, New Brunswick.
The Reverend John Urquhart's ancestors have come from Dingwall near Cromarty. Although research done in Scotland, revealed no records of the Rev. John's baptism, his ordination or his marriage to Jane -- with birth of a daughter. A Johannes Urquhart graduated from King's College Aberdeen in 1769 with an M.A. degree was found. As John Urquhart is a commonly used name, it is difficult to securely connect this John Urquhart of Cromarty with the Reverend John of Maine, Prince Edward Island and Moorefields, New Brunswick.
He is thought to have arrived at St. George, Knox co., Mass. [after 177 it was incorporated as Warrne, Maine]
Throughout his stay in St George is a story of a contentious person in a constant struggle with the people around him.
To say that The Rev. had a very strong personality, and therefore on his potential parishioner, is an understatement. After having arrived in 1774, it took some time to discuss the nature of his contract with the Salem Presbytery and the people in the area.
'In '1775, the Rev. John Urquhart, who the preceding year came to this country from Scotland, was employed to preach alternately in the upper and lower towns.'
'As these places were unincorporated, a contract was made with the citizens of each in their individual capacity. The conditions agreed upon were, that Mr. Urquhart should have a settlement of £100, and an annual salary of £80, to be paid one half by the upper, and the other by the lower town.' (p. 154, Annals of Warren)
'The coming of Mr. Urquhart was peculiarly agreeable to
the Scottish settlers ; who had been so disappointed in their expectations, and so dissatisfied with the country, that any thing connected with their native land was doubly dear to them.'
'The Irish and later emigrants, if not equally enthusiastic
for the candidate, were rejoiced at the prospect of constant preaching ; and, as his politics corresponded with their own, it was resolved to employ him. Some wished to postpone his ordination and hire him a while first ; but he was urgent to be settled, and offered as one reason, that his wife, whom he left in Scotland, would then know whither to direct her letters. At what time, and under what auspices, he was ordained, is now difficult to be ascertained ; as no record of it is to be found.' (p. 155, Annals of Warren).
In 1776. the Upper Town of St. Georges Plantation was incorporated as the town Warren, the inhabitants voted him a year's salary of £40, an informally adopted Mr. Urquhart as its minister, although no contract to that effect was ever entered into. At the same time it was voted 'not to pay him the settlement money ;' perhaps because it had been partly paid by the individual contractors.
While we know that there is always friction between various of the factions in any small towns. Rev. Urquhart may not have had a particularly diplomatic nature. Apparently there had been strong feelings of support for and against Rev. Urquhart. Latterly, the allegation by some in the town to the possibility that his 1st wife in Scotland had not actually died before he married a local girl, Mary McIntyre. As a result of this odious contention, 'On the 15th Aug. 1782, the town voted that £15 of the salary voted Mr. Urquhart, lie in the treasury till further orders.' (p. 192, Annals of Warren)
The town, in May, 1778, voted, 'that there shall no man
be sent to the Presbytery this session ;' also, 'that the town will not pay Mr. Urquhart any more salary.' (p. 192, Annals of Warren). He remained in the area of Warren Maine 'until he was dismissed [in] 1783'. (p.58 Annals of Warren).
For a few months in 1784-85, Urquhart based himself at Topsham, near Brunswick, Me, and preached on different occasions at Union River. The congregation there liked his sermons, which were "forcible, humorous, quaint, and personal," and in the fall of 1785, he was appointed minister of the Union River church [later called Ellsworth], Hancock County, Maine. He can be found there in the 1790 Census as John Orcutt (an older pronunciation of the name) and in an account book in 1794.
But new difficulties awaited him. The very wife and daughter of whom had passed away he'd told his parish appeared. 'The return of peace having opened the way, his deserted wife had crossed the water to Philadelphia, and, after supporting herself and daughter in extreme indigence there, for a time, by spinning cotton, was charitably provided for by Dr. Witherspoon, President of the college at Princeton, N. J. ' (p. 194, Annals of Warren). After gaining help from Witherspoon [Founder of Princeton College, New Jersey, and also a Proprietor of Pictou, Nova Scotia] and from Ward Chipman of St. John's New Brunswick, where she had been lodged, she decided to seek out her husband in Union River {Ellsworth, Maine], just down the coast.
'After spending more than a year with the people of this river...the discarded wife resolved to resort to the law for that redress which nothing else was likely to obtain. Accordingly, she engaged Reuben Tolman, who, with John Mathews, then his apprentice, embarked with her in a boat, and taking R. Young for a pilot, sailed to Castine. There Tolman was appointed deputy sheriff for Hancock County, and taking out a legal process of some kind, ..proceeded on to the place of Mr. U's residence at Union River. (p.198)
'...Being carried before the magistrate, he reluctantly entered into an arrangement, by which, if our information is correct, he relinquished his farm to his first wife, gave an order on Capt. McIntyre to allow [Reuben] Tolman his
trouble and expenses out of what was due from him, for Mr. U's farm, which he had purchased in Warren; and with his second wife and children removed to New Brunswick,...' (p. 200)
1800-1801 he was located in Princeton, PEI where he acted as missionary in the district east of Malpeque Bay.
In 1802 he moved to New Brunswick, specifically to Moorefield,[near Mirimichi] where he was the first regular Presbyterian Minister. Rev. James Fraser, his predecessor, had been a missionary to the Indians.
At the time of his arrival, a church had been standing at Miramichi Point, its interior unfinished, for at least five years. Another church was under construction at Moorfield.
The Moorefield Church was consumed by fire when it burned in the Great Fire of 1825. The associated Church Cemetery is still there. A memorial monument was later erected which marks the Urquhart plot. It's Stone lists Reverend John Urquhart and "Wife".
Reverend John is said to have drowned either in a canoeing accident, or as a result of this accident between 14 May and 1 Sept 1814. He is buried in Moorefield cemetery.
Source:
"Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine...", Cyrus Eaton, A.M., 1877, Masters & Livermore, Hallowell.
Parents:
William Urquhart
Ann McKay
Spouse:
1st: Jane unknown Rev. John Urquhart & his wife Jane had 1 child.
In 1774 Rev. John came to the USA. He left his wife and child in Scotland. He was hired by the town of Warren, Maine to be the pastor of their church, The Church of Scotland.
2nd: Mary McIntyre, b. abt 1761 in St George, Maine. m. 7 Oct 1776, Bristol, Lincoln Co, Maine, d. 20 Feb 1832, Newcastle, New Brunswick
Mary's grandfather was one of the 1st settlers of Warren, Maine. Her parents were Capt John McIntrye (1724 - 30 Nov 1796) and Jane Palmer Lamb
Children:
-- William Urquhart, b. 1777, Warren, Knox County, Maine, USA, d. 1861, New Brunswick, Canada, m. Margaret Milliken, on 12 Dec 1797(?.), b. 22 Sept 1777, Scarborough, Cumberland Co., Maine, d. 21 Dec. 1866, Tabusintac, New Brunswick, Canada. Her parents were Lemuel Milliken and Phebe Lord
-- Jane Urquhart, b. 1781, Warren, Maine, d. 13 Aug 1865, m. William Loggie, b. 24 Jan 1778, Bawds, Elgin, Scotland, d. 1844, Burnt Church, NB, m. 1804
-- Catherine Urquhart, b. abt. 1778, Warren, Maine, d: 17 May 1866, Bedeque,PEI, m. abt. 1801, Major Hooper, b. 1765, Windsor, Mercer Co., New Jersey, d. 24 Feb 1838, Bedeque, PEI
-- Ann Urquhart, b. 1782 in Maine, d.
-- Sarah Urquhart, b. 1786, Maine, USA, d. 30 September, 1843, Campbelton, Restigouche Co., Bay De Chaleur, New Brunswick, m. circa 1800 in Prince Edward Island, John Alexander Campbell, b. 1778, Park Corner, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, d. 29 October, 1856, Dalhousie, New Brunswick
-- Charity Urquhart, b. 1782 Maine, d. 31 Dec 1871, Irishtown, PEI, m. Archibald Campbell, b. 1780, Park Corner, PEI, d. 10 Oct 1861 Irishtown, PEI, m: 1802, eloped to the USA, & married by Ship Captain.
-- Mary Urquhart, b. 25 Aug 1790 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. November 1873 in Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts, m. James Donaldson, b. abt.1775, d.?
-- Betsey Urquhart, b. Abt 1790 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. April 18, 1826 in Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada
-- Lewis Urquhart, b. 1790, Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine, USA, d. 1850, m. Lewis married Ann Harris 6 Mar 1815, b. 1793, New Brunswick, Canada.
-- John Ross Urquhart, b. 1797 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine, d. 15 February 1879 in Moorefields, New Brunswick, Canada , m. Elizabeth Michael Roy and Jenette ?
-- Edmond F. Urquhart, b. 1799 in Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine
Siblings:
- Catherine Urquhart
- Janet Urquhart
Source:
Jane Logie Webster, 'Urquhart Genealogy'
Inscription
REV.
JOHN URQUHART
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
PASTOR LOCATED ON
THE MIRAMICHI.
DIED 1814
HIS WIFE
THEIR SONS
JOHN R. & E. F.
ALSO THEIR
GRAND CHILDREN
MARY, MAJOR H.
WM. LOGGIE BORN
1834 DIED AT
SEATTLE FEB. 1905
Family Members
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