PIDGEON, George Campbell (1872-1971)
Biography
Born on March 2nd 1872 in Dimock Creek, near New Richmond (Cascapédia–Saint-Jules), George Campbell Pidgeon is the son of Archibald Pidgeon, farmer, and of Mary Campbell.
Pidgeon began a Bachelor of Arts program at Morrin College, Quebec City and completed his studies at McGill University, Montreal in 1891. He then obtained a Doctor of Divinity degree at the Presbyterian College in Montreal, and was ordained minister in 1894.
Pidgeon worked as a minister in the vicinity of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. He taught at Westminster Hall, a Presbyterian theological college in Vancouver, between 1909 and 1915. He settled in Toronto in 1915 and was a minister at the Bloor Street Church until his retirement in 1948.
Pidgeon promoted the union of Churches throughout his career and was known for the important role he played in setting up the United Church of Canada. In recognition of his efforts, he was elected first moderator of the newly-formed Church in 1925.
In addition to the many published sermons and religious columns that Pidgeon wrote in the Toronto Telegram (1949-1960), he also wrote The United Church of Canada: The Story of the Union (1950) and Seventy Years at Bloor Street: A History of Bloor Street United Church (1957).
He died in Toronto on June 15th 1971.
– Patrick Donovan, June 2015
Images
Bibliography
- GRANT, John Webster. « Église unie du Canada ». Canadian Encyclopedia [Online]. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
- GRANT, John Webster. George Pidgeon: A Biography. Toronto : Ryerson Press, 1962.
- McGill University. Graduates of McGill University, Montreal, corrected to April, 1897. Montreal: Printed for the University by Witness Print House, 1897. p.73
- SEMPLE, Neil. « Pidgeon, George Campbell ». Canadian Encyclopedia [Online]. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/