John Stuart

John Stuart (24 February 1740 – 15 August 1811) was a Church of England clergyman, missionary, educator, and Loyalist. He is noted for being the first chaplain of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada, for being the first Anglican priest in what is now Ontario, for building the first church (now St. George's Cathedral) in what is now Kingston, Ontario, and for opening the first grammar school in Upper Canada.

Early life John Stuart was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1740. After graduating from the College of Philadelphia in 1763 he taught school, but returned to the college to complete a master's degree. He converted from Presbyterianism to Anglicanism and was ordained by the Bishop of London as a deacon, and later, as a priest. Stuart married Jane Okill in 1775 and they would have eight children.

Missionary to the Mohawks Upon receiving an appointment from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel he was assigned as a missionary to the Mohawks at Fort Hunter, New York. His work of serving the people in his chapel at Fort Hunter began in 1770. He was also responsible for a small school at nearby Johnstown where he also conducted monthly services, and he ministered to the Mohawks at Canajoharie where he met Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. Stuart collaborated with Joseph Brant to translate the Gospel of St. Mark into the Mohawk dialect. Since Stuart was a Loyalist and an Anglican priest, he was harassed by American Revolutionary War rebels. His home was looted, property confiscated, and his church desecrated. He was almost arrested in 1777 but saved by Joseph Brant and his troops. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Upper Canada Church". It was located in one room in his rectory and had an enrolment of 30 pupils. The schoolroom was expanded by adding a small shed and it would become the first grammar school (Secondary School) in Upper Canada. He ran the school until 1788. In 1792, Lieutenant Governor Simcoe appointed him chaplain of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. Stuart became the first Anglican priest in what is now the province of Ontario. In 1799 he was granted an honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from the College of Philadelphia.