Religion in the Backus Family
Religion in the 1850s was a central part of a family’s
life. Early reading lessons for the children would include a daily bible
reading, and in some homes, the head of the family would read a passage in the
evening. The Andrew Backus family were members of St. Peter’s Anglican Church
in Tyrconnell, just a short walk up the hill from their home.
For many farm families, the church was a centre of social
life, and Sunday was set aside for services. The minimal farm work was done,
then off to services. The weekly services
were a Sunday morning service and an afternoon Sunday School for the children.
After dinner, a service of Evensong was held.
Each family had their own pew, often with their name on a plaque at the
end. This custom, often referred to as “pew rent” continued into the 1890s. The daughters of the Backus family played the
organ for the church services, and the men very likely served on the Select
Vestry (or council/consistory). Not only did the men serve in leadership roles,
but the women has no role except to plan and cook community church meals.
In addition to the weekly services, the men of the Backus
family, along with farm hands, helped maintain the church and the parsonage. Local rumour also says that family paid for
the horse and buggy for the priest. The original drive shed was destroyed by
fire, and the replacement that was built in 1896. It is now located on the
Backus-Page House Museum property and is open for tours when the museum is
open.
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St. Peter’s
Anglican Church in Tyrconnell was founded in 1827 and built on land given by
Mary Storey from the original grant from Col. Thomas Talbot. The Patterson, Pearce, Story, and Backus families each pledged 70 pounds to the project, as well as the labour that went into building the church. St. Peter's is still an
active congregation with services every Sunday at 10.00 am. Tours are
available during the summer months. More
information on the church and it’s history can be found on their website http://www.stpeterschurchtyrconnell.org/ or at http://stpeterschurchtyrconnell.org/history.htm
A special thank you to
Rev. Canon Nick Wells for his assistance with this blog entry.
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