I, the undersigned Pieter Wolphersen, hereby acknowledge for myself, my heirs and successors that this day, date underwritten, I have adopted, as I do hereby adopt, Aeltjem Pieters van Couwenhoven, my own daughter, whom I have begotten and procreated by Maria de Truy, promising therefore that from this date I shall do by the above-named, my daughter, as a god fearing father is bound and ought to do by his own legitimate daughter; therefore, I hereby discharge and release Cornelis Volckersen, husband and guardian of the aforesaid Maria de Truy, from all charges and responsibilities incidental to the bringing up of a child till she becomes of age; I, Pieter Wolphersen, promising to look after the child, to let her learn to read and to bring her up according to my means. Furthermore, if I do not beget any children by my present wife, the above named child shall be my rightful heiress and inheritrix, as if she were duly begotten in lawful wedlock, and if it happen that children be begotten by me and my wife, the above named Aeltjen Pieters shall receive, like the legitimate children on my side, a just child's portion of all such goods, means and effects as it shall please the Lord God Almighty to bestow on me. Requesting that this may have effect before all courts, I have signed this without fraud in the presence of the subscribing witnesses hereto invited. Done, the 7th day of January 1642.
This is x the mark of
Pieter Wolphersen
Jacob Couwenhoven
Philippe du Trieux
Acknowledged before me,
Cornelis van Tienhoven, Secretary
Ministry:
1882 - accepted as probationary minister
1883 - Townsend
1884 - Hagarsville
1885-86 - attended Wesleyan Theological College in Montreal
1887 - ordained, assigned to Walsh & Woodhouse
1888 - Sheffield
1889-91 - Rainham Center
1892 - Courtland
1893 - Not stationed, trials begin
1894 - expelled
From the Minutes of the Niagara Conference of the Methodist Church, 1894:
"It was resolved, That having heard and carefully weighed the findings and evidence of the Committee appointed to consider the charges against the Rev. A. Truax, which findings sustain said charges declaring him to be out of harmony with the doctrines and teachings of the Methodist Church, this Conference accepts the decision of the Committee, and, in view of the unscriptural and dangerous tendancy of the teachings of the Rev. A. Truax and his determined persistance in those teachings, we remove his name from our Minutes and depose him from the ministry of the Methodist Church. This Conference would also regard and declare Mr. Truax to be unworthy of membership or any official position in the Methodist Church so long as he maintains the hostile spirit and unscriptural views manifested and expressed in his statements as given in the evidence and charges preferred."
From an anonymous letter to 'The Christian Guardian', July 22, 1891, p. 451:
"Dear Sir - Your reference to the Rev. N. Burns' book entitled "Divine Guidance" in a recent issue of the Christian Guardian, has led me to the conclusion that it would be but just for me to let the bretheren know of the terrible results of Burns' teaching in this part of our work. Two circuits, in fact three circuits, on Norwich District are seriously affected by this teaching. Those who adopt his views become infallible and absolutely perfect, and their experience is of such a high order that they cannot have fellowship with the members of the Church unless they come up to where they imagine themselves to be in the light (a new light they say). At one appointment they refuse to work in the Sunday-school on the ground that they are waiting for a special revelation, or the Holy Ghost has not told them to do so. They will not pay to the funds of the church unless they have this special revelation. Many of them will not attend the prayer-meetings because they are not let act in a foolish way, or say and do as they please, and at their Canadian Holiness Meetings the Church and ministers come in for a criticism before many who are not converted, that it is a shame to any person who names the name of Christ, and the worst of all is this iniquity is fathered on the Holy Ghost. This things has been cursing this circuit for about four years; the financial and spiritual interests of the circuit injured; Summerville church ruined; the work of God paralyzed; sinners scoffing, and all saying, Why do you leave Burns in the Conference or in the Church? Why is the Expositor published in the Guardian Office? I know that we are all on the side of mercy, but how long?"
Notes on Rev. Nelson Burns and the "Burnsites":
Nelson Burns was the founder of the Canada Holiness Association, which later became the Christian Association. He published a newsletter called "The Expositor of Holiness", which was actually published out of the offices of the "Christian Guardian" (the main organ of the Methodist Church of Canada) until he was expelled in 1894 by the Guelph Conference.Burns was born in 1834 in Niagara, Ontario (now Niagara-on-the-Lake). After deciding against several other career options, Burns decided to become a Methodist minister. Unfortunately, a medical problem with his voice soon prevented him from active preaching, and he instead began to concentrate on teaching. He lived in Milton for a number of years (1860s and 70s), where he taught at the grammer school and ran a boarding school associated with it. He later moved to Georgetown, where he began to have serious financial problems due to some unlucky investments.
While in Georgetown, some time around 1879, Burns had what he later called his "Georgetown Experience". Feeling that his recent run of bad luck was due to his ignoring God's word to him that he should have stayed in Milton, he spent several days in intense prayer and contemplation, during which he made a pact with God that he would, for the remainder of his life, accept and obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit in each and every aspect and decision of his life, regardless of how illogical or strange that guidance may seem at the time. He wrote a book entitled "Divine Guidance", proposing that anyone who accepts the word of the Holy Spirit to them as individuals in this way, was in fact following the example of Christ. He further suggested that the word of the Holy Spirit should be taken as the final authority in one's life, even above that of the Bible or the Church. Needless to say, this aspect of his doctrine didn't sit well with either the American Holiness Association or the Methodist Church of Canada, both of which expelled him and his followers, forcing him to re-form the Christian Association as an independant organization.
Burns had many chronic health problems throughout his life, including sciatica, angina, and a "weak voice", and died in 1904. After his death, Albert Truax became president of the Christian Association until around 1819, when he was succeeded by C.H. Partridge (who didn't think much of Albert, apparently). The organization seems to have died out completely by the late 1940s.
The Bull Outfit
Leaving Toronto, March 16, 1909:| Name | Age | Christian Assoc. Member |
| Elias Smith Mrs. Smith | 43 39 | yes yes |
| Amos Sherk Mrs. Candace Sherk Maud Sherk Marley Sherk Lulu Sherk |
53 51 17 17 12 |
yes yes yes yes yes |
| Robert Lossing Mrs. Lossing Clarence Lossing | 50 14 | yes yes yes |
| William Crabbe Mrs. Crabbe Mrs. Miller (their daughter) Macklin 'Mac' Miller Albert Miller Fred Miller Cliff Miller Mary Miller |
69 62 13 9 6 3 | yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes |
| LeRoy Shisler (Amos Sherk's nephew) Mrs. Shisler | 25 23 | no no |
| Sam McNaught | no (wife was) | |
| Don Cranston | 17-24 | parents were |
| Sam Sargent | 17-24 | parents were |
| Garnet Truax | 19 | parents were |
| Billy Pierce | 17-24 | parents were |
Joined the group in Winnipeg: | ||
| Gordon Sherk | 23 | yes |
Joined the group in Edmonton: | ||
| George Flint Victor Flint | 22 19 | parents were parents were |
| Chester Drake Mrs. Drake | yes yes | |
| I. E. Gaudin | 23 | yes |
Back to Documents Index
Jennifer's Genealogy PageCreated: Wednesday, February 25, 1998 - 12:03:21 PM
Last Updated: Monday, April 06, 1998 - 2:53:31 PM