Hope in Upper Canada: The Sharon Temple

During my recent research trip to York County, I hadn't planned on visiting the Sharon Temple Museum because I was short of time and had too many other scheduled places to visit. But on one of my trips through Sharon, I decided on a whim to stop and explore. After all, my husband is related to the Doan family who built the temple, albeit a fourth cousin. 

Courtesy of Wikipedia

In the first decade of the 19th century, thousands of British loyalists and land-hungry farmers and entrepreneurs entered Upper Canada (now Ontario). Many made their way to York County, and in particular to the area north of the city of York (now Toronto), and began clearing the thick forests crossed by Indian trails. 

One of the earliest settlers was David Willson, born 7 Jun 1778 in Dutchess County, NY. David's wife, Phebe Titus, a birthright member of the Society of Friends, was disowned by the Friends for “going out from plainness and keeping company with one not of our society." In 1800 when David's brother emigrated to Upper Canada, David followed with his family. By 1801, David had acquired a Crown grant and settled on land that would be part of East Gwillimbury once the township was incorporated 1850 (red on the map).

David Willson, Courtesy of Wikipedia

In 1804, David Willson and his family joined the Yonge Street Society of Friends and by 1811, David had begun preaching. However, David's ministry was rejected by an elder of the Yonge Street Meeting. The following year, David started having meetings in his own home. His followers, including many former Friends, were known as the Children of Peace.

Now before you start wondering what radical ideas David was preaching, you have to understand that David loved music and he believed it should be an integral part of worship. The austere Friends believed one should worship in silence until the message was given. Others agreed with David and soon the Willson house was too small to accompany all the followers and the first meeting house, made of logs, was built.

David Willson wanted to rebuild Solomon's temple of the Old Testament as the New Jerusalem detailed Revelations 21. It would hold an altar similar to the Ark of the Covenant, and incorporate the New Testament. He hired another former American, Ebenezer Doan and together the two carpenters designed a grand temple on the grounds of David Willson's farm.

The Sharon Temple, 1860 glass negative. Courtesy of  Ontario Archives © Queen's Printer for Ontario

Started in 1825 and completed in 1831, the temple was an architectural wonder that - like another grand temple - took seven years to complete. The Ontario Heritage Trust describes it thusly:

Square in plan and painted white with green trim, the Temple of Peace is a unique frame construction building comprising three tiers that rise from a 60-by-60-foot base to a 12-by-12-foot lantern. Each tier has tall multi-paned windows on all four sides with a small pinnacle at each corner of the roof. Every element of the Temple was intended to symbolize some aspect of the sect's religious beliefs – the three tiers represent the Trinity; a door in each of the four sides allowed people to enter on an equal footing from all directions; equal numbers of windows on each side allowed the light of the gospel to shine on the assembly with equal strength; four pillars supporting the lantern were inscribed with the words denoting the cardinal virtues of faith, hope, love and charity; and 12 pinnacle lanterns and 12 interior pillars represent the apostles. A central space housing the altar is approached from four aisles, each commencing and radiating from a doorway. The continuous arcade of 12 turned columns supports the second tier. In the centre of the Temple is the tabernacle – an artifact of remarkable design, proportion and wood joinery.

 Sharon Temple Interior, stereoview. Courtesy of  Ontario Archives © Queen's Printer for Ontario

Because the stereoview doesn't show the inscribed words on the pillars as mentioned in the above quote, I'm showing you one of the photographs which I took of the Sharon Temple in June. Look about two feet above the base of the pillars and you'll see the plaques where David Willson ensured the New Testament was represented.

Sharon Temple interior, June 2015, decorated for an upcoming wedding.

The four pillars at the corners of the Ark show, Faith, Hope, Love, and Charity. The twelve posts surrounding them each contain the name of one of the twelve Apostles.

Interior of the Sharon Temple showing the plaques on the pillars, June 2015

The Children of Peace believed in a cooperative society. They named their village, Hope, and built the first homeless shelter in Canada called the House of Affliction, where those in need could be helped until they regained financial independence. This was the purpose of the temple - to raise money to feed and clothe the poor as mandated by God. Once a month, the temple was opened for such a purpose and during the meeting, members would walk toward one of the four tables surrounding the Ark and place money to be used in the House of Affliction. Hope was so important that it is inscribed on the golden ball suspended at the highest point of the church, which was the highest point of the Village of Hope (now Sharon).

Due to its high position in the village, the temple could be seen for miles when all the window candles and the 12 corner lanterns were fully lit. The number of corner lanterns were chosen to symbolize the 12 apostles going out into the world to spread the gospel of salvation. In effect, the illuminated temple has always been a physical reminder of hope.

Sharon Temple illuminated, Courtesy of © Adam Mayers, Toronto Star

In 1824 with wheat being the biggest commodity of the time, the members organized the Farmer's Storehouse which became Canada's first marketing co-operative. A large warehouse along the shoreline of Toronto's harbour, it was used to market wheat in Montreal, and then pay the members in cash or finished goods at reduced prices.

The members were generous and by 1832 there were concerns about excess money in the Charity Fund just sitting there, unused, and not gaining interest. The result was a credit union where members could borrow as needed, while the interest depended on their ability to repay.

The Village of Hope prospered. Schools had been started early and included a ladies boarding school where the curriculum included Domestic Science. By 1834  a new meeting house was required. Three times the size of the original log one, the second meeting house was surrounded by a colonnade of pillars, it matching David Willson's study, which was built in 1829. When the second meeting house was completed in 1842, the original log one became a Music Hall and was used for entertainment as well as band practice.

2nd Children of Peace Meeting house and David Willson's study, 1860. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library

In 1819, before the temple had been started, David Willson hired York (Toronto) musician, Richard Coates, to build a barrel organ for the meeting house. The first one in Ontario, it is now the oldest barrel organ in Canada. Coates built a second barrel organ for the Children of Peace and then a keyboard organ. All three organs are still in the Sharon Temple.

Music had always been a big part of the Children of Peace community. In the line drawing of the interior of the second meeting house (below), you can see a woman playing an organ in the back corner. 

Interior of Meeting House of the Children of Peace, Pen and black ink line drawing, ca 1909?. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library

There was also a barrel organ in Willson's study which he used to create his music. (David Willson's music and the Children of Peace band will be covered in depth in another post.)

Interior of the Study of the Children of Peace, Pen and black ink line drawing, ca 1909?. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library

When David Willson died in 1866, his aging son took over as leader, but he lacked the charisma of his father. In 1889, the last Children of Peace service was held and the group dissolved. Now known as the village of Sharon, the temple grounds were rented out and for a time even used to shelter cattle.

Sharon Temple grounds used for agricultural purposes sometime between 1889 and 1917. Courtesy of Ontario Archives © Queen's Printer for Ontario

This 1912 article from the Newmarket Era is very stark in its announcement that the "sacred and time-honored buildings" will be demolished and the materials used to make farm buildings. I can't help but wonder if the article's writer is more concerned with the loss of revenue from tourists visiting Sharon than for the loss of the unique buildings themselves. 

In 1915, the 2nd Meeting House which had been built in 1842, was torn down.

However, recognizing the importance of the Temple as an historic and architectural treasure, the Toronto-based York Pioneer and Historical Society started raising funds. By 1917, they purchased the Sharon Temple for the purpose of restoration and by 1918 the building was opened as a museum. This is one of Canada's earliest examples of historic preservation. 

Shortly afterwards, the York Pioneers moved David Willson’s study to the site. The site has a collection of restored buildings and displays pioneer artifacts and historic items related to the sect, including the original house and buildings from the farm of the temple's master builder, Ebenezer Doan. 

The Sharon Temple and David Willson's Study (left side), June 2015.

Since 1990, the Sharon Temple has been a National Historic Site and Museum. It is also a National Peace Site. 

What did I think of the place? I was awed by the grandeur and simplicity. History echoed in the temple even though I was alone with only a breeze from the open doors moving through the building. And trite as it sounds, I've never felt so much peace as I did sitting on a bench along one wall and just listening to the past. 

What about you? Do you know of a place that was saved from demolition in the nick of time, and has become a museum or national historic site?

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their 4 kids. Anita Mae's short story, Riding on a Christmas Wish is published in A Cup of Christmas Cheer Volume 1 Tales of Faith and Family, Guideposts Books, October 2013, and a 2nd short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, is published in A Cup of Christmas Cheer Volume 4 Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Present, Guideposts Books, October 2014.   Anita Mae has recently sold a novella to WhiteFire Publishing to be released January 2016. She is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Management. You can find Anita at   http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

The Making of a Declaration

Happy Independence Day!

Most of you are probably thinking, "Hey, wait a minute, Independence Day is still two days away."

Ah, but the answer isn't that simple. Did you know there are folks who believe Independence Day should be celebrated today--on July 2nd--rather than on July 4th? To understand this, we need to take a closer look at the timeline of the Declaration of Independence.

June 7, 1776 - Richard Henry Lee introduces a motion to the Continental Congress "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
This motion was followed by heated debates, and the voting on the motion was postponed. However, Congress did appoint a committee to draft a declaration.  This committee consisted of five men, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.

July 2, 1776 - The delegates of Congress cast their votes, and the resolution of independence is adopted. The Colonies will indeed declare their independence from Britain. After the vote, John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife that he believed this day would go down in history and be celebrated for generations to come.

July 4, 1776 - Congress adopts the final version of Jefferson's Declaration. John Hancock, as the President of the assembly immediately signed the document, as well as his secretary Charles Thompson, then it was sent to the printers. The rest of the delegates did not sign until a month later.

August 2, 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is officially signed by the members of congress. However, there were several signers who were not present at this ceremony and didn't sign until even later.

November of 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is finally delivered to Great Britain.

John Adams, one of the drafters of the declaration, believed that July 2nd should have been the day celebrated as the birth of our nation. After all, it was on July 2nd that Congress actually voted in favor of independence. Some reports have said that he even declined invitations to July 4th events because he felt so strongly about it.

The delegates of congress did not sign the document on July 4th.
They did not deliver the Declaration of Independence to Britain on July 4th.
The declaration was not even publicly read on July 4th.

So...Why July the Fourth?

July 4th is when the declaration was officially adopted in its final version, so that's the date that was printed on all the copies that were made and distributed throughout the nation. The American people saw this date on the printed copies, and that's the date that stuck. The first time July 4th was celebrated as the anniversary was in 1777, so it was July 4th rather than the 2nd right from the start.

Another interesting thing is that two of the drafters, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died within hours of each other on July 4th, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration.


July 4th became a federal holiday in 1870, but it took until 1941 to get it as a paid holiday.

Obviously, it's too late to change it now, but I'm curious to hear your opinion.

What do you think, should we have made Independence Day July 2nd, or July 4th?

Stop by the Stitches Thru Time blog this week and leave a comment to enter to win a copy of the Declaration of Independence Anthology by Amber Schamel, Murray Pura, Joseph Max Lewis and John Amodeo. http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

George III Dies January 29, 1820 by Jillian Kent

King George III in his coronation robes

If you're a fan of the Regency then you know that when George III died on this date in 1820 his son, The Prince of Wales, who had served as Regent became King George IV. But before I get ahead of myself I want to share some history with you about this George III who may not have been popular but had the longest reign of all the monarchs who came prior to him.

The Prince Regent

George the III was born on June 4, 1738 and died on January 29, 1820. He had been unable to reign the last ten years of his life and that's where the term Regency comes in to play in this instance. His son ruled in his stead because the King was unable to carry out his duties, thus the Prince of Wales became the Regent and thus was born a span of time from 1811-1820 that has been written about by historians and novelists because the Regent and future King of England led a dissolute life and wasted the taxpayers money.

He's most well known for losing the American Colonies (that was our American Revolution) and losing his mind. But from the British standpoint the man should also be known for many other things including the kindness he showed to his fifteen children and the devotion to his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the third of the Hanovarian Monarchs and the first to use English as his first language. George's direct responsibility for the loss of the colonies is not great. He opposed their bid for independence to the end, but he did not develop the policies (such as the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend duties of 1767 on tea, paper and other products) which led to war in 1775-76 and which had the support of Parliament. 

 Of course The American Revolution took the wind out of George III's sails. I'd always thought that was why he'd probably gone insane but now we know that porphyria or possibly arsenic poisoning from wigs worn at the time could have caused George III's mental instability.

You can read more about his mental illness at my previous post on the subject here and also this month at HHH here. In the extensive biography by Christopher Hibbert, George III looks at the King's life from different dimensions including his love for his country and many interests that covered: architecture, music, literature, astronomy and more.

Did you know that John Adams met King George III? 

I thought these Revolutionary War Facts were interesting. Did you know that John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin were both in London in 1761 and witnessed the coronation of King George III, the same king they would later rebel against?



Jillian is employed as a counselor for nursing students in Cincinnati, Ohio and possesses a masters degree in social work. She is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors and passionate about mental health, wellness, and stomping out the stigma of mental illness. She also coordinates and frequently contributes to The Well Writer within Christian Fiction Online Magazine. Learn more about Jillian and her novels at www.jilliankent.com