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Virginia Kay

     Virginia Kay married Bill Heron.


    Rev. Albert Truax
    b. 10 Apr 1856, d. 1922
    Pedigree

    Albert Truax
    Albert Truax
         Rev. Albert Truax was the son of Abram Truax and Rebecca Gowman. He was born on 10 April 1856 at Ruthven, ON.1,2,3,4 He was baptized on 10 February 1876 at Ruthven, ON, by Rev. Watson.5 He married Margaret Jaques, daughter of Anthony Jaques and Elizabeth Atkinson, on 4 July 1888 at Woodhouse, Norfolk Co., ON.6,7 He died in 1922 at Beaver Lodge, AB.
         He was a Methodist minister. From Bill Holding:
    "My grandfather was raised on a farm in Essex County by a strict Methodist father. Sunday afternoons were spent in total silence in the living room with the curtains drawn. The adults read 'good' books and the small children were allowed to play quietly.
    "This life was so repressive that he and his older brother Sam ran away from home, ages 14, 16. They got jobs on the railroad, and a year or so later his brother fell between the cars and was killed. Albert returned home and went back to school, eventually becoming a Methodist Minister.
    "He had a church in Jarvis, Ontario where my mother was born, then another church in Brantford. He became associated with a dissident group of Ministers, known as the Burnsites after their leader Burns. They favoured a less strict church, did not believe in Hell, left people free to believe as they pleased and to deal directly with God according to the dictates of their consciences rather than through a Minister.
    "In 1892 (Nancy Pinnington disputes the date) a church trial was held and Albert was one of seven clergymen who were expelled from the church for heresy.
    "He moved to Toronto where he led a congregation of Burnsites on Homewood Avenue.
    "In 1912 he organized a group of his parishioners to move to land in the Peace River valley, about 500 miles N.W. of Edmonton. His oldest son Garnet was one of these settlers. They left Edmonton in April, and arrived at their destination in September, after travelling by ox cart over trails that were all but impassible. Garnet married promptly, had a child, and Albert, Margaret and their youngest son Dawson joined them in 1913 or 14, 6 of them sharing a one room sod house.
    "Albert died there in 1922."

    Bill claims that Albert was born in 1858, but this doesn't agree with either the 1871 census, the Beaverlodge gravestone, or the Thura Hires MS., and would be impossible if Arthur's birth date is correct. Need to check birth records.

    The census lists Samuel and Albert both living at home, so their parents must have held out hope that they would return.


    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
    1895-96 - lived at 232 Park Ave., Brantford (as Vice-President of Christian Association)
    1896-1900 - lived at 81 William St., Brantford
    1900-1904 - lived at 108 Eagle St., Brantford
    1905 - lived at 37 Palace, Brantford (president of Christian Association)
    1906 - moved to 26 Homewood Ave., Toronto

    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."

    Nelson Burns was expelled that same year by the Guelph Conference. Nancy Pinnington is of the opinion that the real reason for Albert Truax's and Nelson Burns' expulsion is that they believed in the theory of evolution. This may well be - their beliefs were certainly on the liberal side, and seem to have put them at odds with not only the mainstream Methodists, but also with the rest of the Holiness Movement of which they were ostensibly a part. From what I can tell, they shared the concepts of divine justification and pentacostal-like ecstacy with the Holiness crowd, but they interpreted these concepts in a much less repressive and fundamentalist way, leading them to put less of an emphasis on ritual and scripture and more on personal intuition and inspiration from the Holy Ghost.

    After the expulsion, Albert, Rev. Burns and others formed the Christian Association, better known as the Burnsites. In 1909, several members of the congregation purchased cheap land out west in the form of 'Scrips', or land grants given to and sold by veterens of the Boer War. Albert was one, and his son Garnet left with 31 members of the Burnsites to stake out their settlement in the southern Peace River Valley at Beaverlodge, Alberta. Their remarkable story is told under Garnet Truax.

    Albert followed Garnet in 1913, not to farm, but as a representative of the leadership of the Christian Association. When Albert's duties in this regard were assumed by another in 1919, Albert, Margaret and their youngest son Dawson moved in with Garnet and his family in a two room, sod-roofed cabin. The stress of this situation is blamed for causing Garnet's wife to miscarry. The elder Truaxs moved into their own cabin the next spring.

    (More notes on Rev. Burns - he was the founder of the Canada Holiness Association, of which Albert was vice-president. 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 they gave him the boot. He lived and preached in Milton for a number of years (1860s and 70s), had children there, and at one point purchased the Georgetown (Halton?) Herald. He had chronic sciatica and angina, and died in 1904. In the "Autobiography of the late Rev. Nelson Burns, B.A. / A New Study of Christ Life, etc." (published by The Christian Association - BX8495 B89A3 - with a forward and several articles by Albert Truax), Burns tells of getting ready to say his prayers one night, and suddenly realizing that to do so would be absurd, since he felt he had been in very close personal contact with God all day anyway. He felt that saying formal prayers at that point would be to distance God from himself, not bring him closer. He tells another story about having a sudden intuition that he should get on the Queen St. streetcar, for no apparent reason. He followed this urge, which he felt was inspiration from the Holy Spirit, and found himself in conversation with a total stranger who ended up donating a large sum to Burns' church. Burns apparently was influenced early on by a cousin who was a spiritualist medium, and shared Albert's resentment of his own strict Methodist upbringing.)

    From an anonymous letter to 'The Christian Guardian', July 22, 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, in 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?"

         Reference=TH259

         Children of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques:
    Albert Garnet Truax+   (19 May 1889)
    Una Margaret Truax   (19 Jul 1890 - 01 Jun 1977)
    William Vernon Truax   (20 Nov 1891 - 30 Mar 1908)
    Gladys Truax+   (10 Jan 1893 - 28 May 1976)
    Anthony Froad Truax   (c Sep 1894 - 10 Jul 1895)
    Constance Coralie Truax+   (01 May 1896 - 18 Sep 1962)
    Dr. Alfred Jaques Truax   (24 Aug 1897 - 1964)
    Gwendolyn Truax   (1902 - 1910)
    Dr. Francis Dawson Truax   (19 Aug 1905 - 1965)

    1. [S5398] Unknown author, Ontario Census 1871, Essex Co., f2, p.1.
    2. [S5752] Unknown author, Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, Vol. 3, p. 749.
    3. [S5436] Ontario Marriage Registration.
    4. [S80] Unknown author, 1901 Census, Brant Co., Brant South, Brantford City, Dist. a, sub. div. 21, page 7, Gives date of birth as Apr. 10, 1857. Gives ethnic origin as 'Pen. Dutch'. Gives religion as 'Christ. Assoc'. Clergyman - earnings $600.
    5. [S5752] Unknown author, Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register.
    6. [S559] Unknown author, marriage certificate.
    7. [S5436] Ontario Marriage Registration, 008254, MS932, reel 61, vol. E.

    Margaret Jaques1
    b. 11 Mar 1864, d. 1928
    Pedigree

    Margaret Jaques
    Margaret Jaques
         Margaret Jaques was the daughter of Anthony Jaques and Elizabeth Atkinson. She was born on 11 March 1864 at Woodhouse, ON (Norfolk Co.).2,3,4,5 She was baptized on 5 February 1868 by Rev. Willmott. She married Rev. Albert Truax, son of Abram Truax and Rebecca Gowman, on 4 July 1888 at Woodhouse, Norfolk Co., ON.6,7 She died in 1928 at Toronto, ON.
          Margaret Jaques was also known as Maggie Jaques. From Bill Holding:
    (after Albert died in 1922), "Margaret and Dawson returned to Toronto... Margaret dropped dead from a stroke while babysitting my sister in 1928, before I was born."

         Children of Margaret Jaques and Rev. Albert Truax:
    Albert Garnet Truax+   (19 May 1889)
    Una Margaret Truax   (19 Jul 1890 - 01 Jun 1977)
    William Vernon Truax   (20 Nov 1891 - 30 Mar 1908)
    Gladys Truax+   (10 Jan 1893 - 28 May 1976)
    Anthony Froad Truax   (c Sep 1894 - 10 Jul 1895)
    Constance Coralie Truax+   (01 May 1896 - 18 Sep 1962)
    Dr. Alfred Jaques Truax   (24 Aug 1897 - 1964)
    Gwendolyn Truax   (1902 - 1910)
    Dr. Francis Dawson Truax   (19 Aug 1905 - 1965)

    1. [S5415] Unknown author, Ontario Census 1871, Norfolk Co..
    2. [S5415] Unknown author, Ontario Census 1871, Norfolk Co., Theira Colby Truax Hires manuscript.
    3. [S5752] Unknown author, Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, vol. 2, p. 370.
    4. [S5436] Ontario Marriage Registration.
    5. [S80] Unknown author, 1901 Census, Brant Co., Gives date of birth as Oct. 17, 1864.
    6. [S559] Unknown author, marriage certificate.
    7. [S5436] Ontario Marriage Registration, 008254, MS932, reel 61, vol. E.

    Virginia ?1
    d. 1996

         Virginia ? married Dr. Alfred Jaques Truax, son of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques, in 1935. She died in 1996.

    1. [S5381] Unknown author, Nancy Pinnington.

    Gwendolyn Truax
    b. 1902, d. 1910
    Pedigree

    Gwendolyn Truax, 1906
    Gwendolyn Truax, 1906
         Gwendolyn Truax was the daughter of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques. She was born in 1902.1 She died in 1910 scarlet fever.

    1. [S5381] Unknown author, Nancy Pinnington.

    Dorothy Jackson
    d. 1930

    Dodie, with Nancy P., c.1929
    Dodie, with Nancy P., c.1929
         Dorothy Jackson married Dr. Francis Dawson Truax, son of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques, in 1929. She died in 1930 ectopic pregnancy.


      Anthony Froad Truax
      b. c Sep 1894, d. 10 Jul 1895
      Pedigree

           Anthony Froad Truax was the son of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques. He was born circa September 1894 at Jarvis, ON.1,2 He died on 10 July 1895 at Jarvis, ON.2
            Anthony Froad Truax was also known as J. Anthony Froude Truax.

      1. [S5381] Unknown author, Nancy Pinnington.
      2. [S400] Gravestone - Wesley United Church, Jarvis.

      Kay Francis
      d. 1994

           Kay Francis married Dr. Francis Dawson Truax, son of Rev. Albert Truax and Margaret Jaques, in 1937. She died in 1994.


        Albert Lyle Truax
        b. 05 Mar 1944, d. 28 Feb 1996
        Pedigree

             Albert Lyle Truax was the son of Albert Amos Truax. He was born on 5 March 1944.1 He married Darlene ?. He died on 28 February 1996.

        1. [S479] Unknown author, Kim Bishop (email).

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