George Jehoshaphat Mountain
Encyclopedia
George Jehoshaphat Mountain (27 July 1789 – 6 January 1863) was a Canadian
Anglican bishop
(3rd Anglican Bishop of Quebec), the first Principal of McGill College from 1824 to 1835, and the founder of Bishop's University
.
(England
), 27 July 1789, he was the son of The Rt. Rev. Jacob Mountain
(1749–1825) D.D., a bishop and politician, by his wife Elizabeth Mildred Wale co-heiress of Little Bardfield Hall, near Thaxted, Essex
. Mountain was directly descended from Michel de Montaigne
who was exiled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
. In 1793 he moved with his family to Quebec City
when his father was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec
by his friend William Pitt the Younger
.
He lived with his family at Marchmont House, near Quebec, where he received his early education before returning to England
at the age of sixteen to study under private tutor
s until he matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge
, graduating B.A. in 1810, and D.D. in 1819. He removed again to Canada in 1811, and, becoming secretary to his father, was ordained deacon
in 1812 and priest
in 1816, at the same time being appointed evening lecturer in Quebec Cathedral.
He was rector of Fredericton, New Brunswick
, from 1814 to 1817, when he returned to Quebec as rector
of that parish
and bishop's official. In 1821 he became archdeacon
of Lower Canada
. On 14 February 1836 he was consecrated, at Lambeth
, bishop of Montreal, as coadjutor to Dr. Charles James Stewart
, bishop of Quebec.
Dr. Stewart shortly afterwards proceeded to England, and the charge of the entire diocese was under Mountain's care until 1839, when Upper Canada
was made a separate see. It was through his earnest exertions that Rupert's Land
was also, in 1849, erected into an episcopal see
.
From 1824 to 1835, he was principal of McGill University
and professor of divinity. In 1843, he was instrumental in the founding of Bishop's University
in Lennoxville, Quebec. His missionary journey to the Red River Settlement is recorded in The Journal of the Bishop of Montreal, during a Visit to the Church Missionary Society's North-West America Mission; it remains a lasting church historical and ethnographic resource.
He continued to have the sole charge of Lower Canada until 1850, when he secured the constitution of the diocese of Montreal, he himself retaining the diocese of Quebec, by far the poorer and more laborious of the two. During the greater part of his ministerial career he had to perform long, tedious, and often dangerous journeys into the interior of a wild and unsettled country, paying frequent visits to the north-west territory, the eastern townships, the Magdalen Islands
, and the shores of Labrador
; also to Rupert's Land, some three thousand six hundred miles, in an Indian canoe.
He came to England in 1853 to confer with Dr. William Grant Broughton
, the metropolitan of Australasia
, on the subject of synodical action in colonial churches, and he received the degree of D.C.L. at the University of Oxford
.
The greatest of his works was the establishment in 1845 of the Lower Canadian Church University, Bishop's College, Lennoxville, for the education of clergymen.
Mountain was a learned theologian, an elegant scholar, and powerful preacher. He died at Bardfield, Quebec, on 6 Jan. 1863.
and Mountain
. However, the origin of the first name is uncertain, and the name chemin de la Montagne for the second street is found in maps dating to 1761 and 1778, before his birth or the arrival of his father in Quebec.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Anglican bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
(3rd Anglican Bishop of Quebec), the first Principal of McGill College from 1824 to 1835, and the founder of Bishop's University
Bishop's University
Bishop's University is a predominantly undergraduate university in Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Bishop's is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in the English language...
.
Biography
Born at Thwaite Hall, NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
(England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
), 27 July 1789, he was the son of The Rt. Rev. Jacob Mountain
Jacob Mountain
Jacob Mountain was an English churchman who became the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec.-Biography:The third son of Jacob Mountain of Thwaite Hall, Norfolk, by Ann, daughter of Jehoshaphat Postle of Wymondham, he was born at Thwaite Hall on 30 December 1749, and educated at Caius College,...
(1749–1825) D.D., a bishop and politician, by his wife Elizabeth Mildred Wale co-heiress of Little Bardfield Hall, near Thaxted, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Mountain was directly descended from Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism...
who was exiled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
. In 1793 he moved with his family to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
when his father was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
by his friend William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
.
He lived with his family at Marchmont House, near Quebec, where he received his early education before returning to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the age of sixteen to study under private tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
s until he matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, graduating B.A. in 1810, and D.D. in 1819. He removed again to Canada in 1811, and, becoming secretary to his father, was ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in 1812 and priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1816, at the same time being appointed evening lecturer in Quebec Cathedral.
He was rector of Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
, from 1814 to 1817, when he returned to Quebec as rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of that parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and bishop's official. In 1821 he became archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
. On 14 February 1836 he was consecrated, at Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, bishop of Montreal, as coadjutor to Dr. Charles James Stewart
Charles James Stewart
Charles James Stewart was an English Church of England, clergyman, bishop, and politician. He was the second Bishop of Quebec from 1826 to 1837....
, bishop of Quebec.
Dr. Stewart shortly afterwards proceeded to England, and the charge of the entire diocese was under Mountain's care until 1839, when Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
was made a separate see. It was through his earnest exertions that Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
was also, in 1849, erected into an episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
.
From 1824 to 1835, he was principal of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and professor of divinity. In 1843, he was instrumental in the founding of Bishop's University
Bishop's University
Bishop's University is a predominantly undergraduate university in Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Bishop's is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in the English language...
in Lennoxville, Quebec. His missionary journey to the Red River Settlement is recorded in The Journal of the Bishop of Montreal, during a Visit to the Church Missionary Society's North-West America Mission; it remains a lasting church historical and ethnographic resource.
He continued to have the sole charge of Lower Canada until 1850, when he secured the constitution of the diocese of Montreal, he himself retaining the diocese of Quebec, by far the poorer and more laborious of the two. During the greater part of his ministerial career he had to perform long, tedious, and often dangerous journeys into the interior of a wild and unsettled country, paying frequent visits to the north-west territory, the eastern townships, the Magdalen Islands
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....
, and the shores of Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
; also to Rupert's Land, some three thousand six hundred miles, in an Indian canoe.
He came to England in 1853 to confer with Dr. William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton was the first Bishop of Australia of the Church of England....
, the metropolitan of Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, on the subject of synodical action in colonial churches, and he received the degree of D.C.L. at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
The greatest of his works was the establishment in 1845 of the Lower Canadian Church University, Bishop's College, Lennoxville, for the education of clergymen.
Mountain was a learned theologian, an elegant scholar, and powerful preacher. He died at Bardfield, Quebec, on 6 Jan. 1863.
Works
Besides many single sermons, charges, and pamphlets, Mountain wrote:- The Journal of the Bishop of Montreal during a Visit to the Church Missionary Society's North-West American Mission (1845; ²1849)
- Songs of the Wilderness; being a Collection of Poems (1846)
- Journal of a Visitation in a Portion of the Diocese, by the Lord Bishop of Montreal (1847)
- Sermons published at the Request of the Synod of the Diocese (1865)
Streets named
Two adjacent parallel streets in downtown Montreal are said to be named in his honour: BishopBishop Street
Bishop Street is a north-south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With a total length of 0.6 km, it links Sherbrooke Street in the north to René Lévesque Boulevard in the south...
and Mountain
Mountain Street
Mountain Street is a north-south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It links Doctor Penfield Avenue in the north and Wellington Street in the south. Notable businesses on Rue de la Montagne, include Ogilvy's and Hôtel de la Montagne.-Name:According to the Commission de toponymie...
. However, the origin of the first name is uncertain, and the name chemin de la Montagne for the second street is found in maps dating to 1761 and 1778, before his birth or the arrival of his father in Quebec.