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St. Andrew's 150 Years Ago
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Reviews St. Andrew's 150 Years Ago is an invaluable resource for family historians who are interested in the social history that influenced the lives of their ancestors. Filled with quotes from diaries, letters, and personal interviews, it gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of the immigrants from the lowlands of Scotland who settled in Scarborough Township and established St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in the early part of the 19th century. Rev. Proudfoot's observations regarding the congregation, health conditions in the community and difficulty of travel, especially in winter, give us a better understanding of the challenges faced by the early members of the congregation. We also learn that they were urged obedience to the government by the Minister, established the first library in Scarborough, and, not infrequently, succumbed to "the cholera". Written by Bruce McCowan to commemorate his own wedding in 1988, St. Andrew's includes several fascinating details of wedding customs commonly observed by lowland Scots, as well as a description of the wedding service itself. For those of us who have not had the good fortune to inherit family diaries or journals, St. Andrew's fills the gap by providing a first-hand account by those who were close to our ancestors in time and place.
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