The Elliot and Scott Families in the Baptist Year Book

Religion was an important part of the lives of both the Elliot and Scott families, who were first Disciples of Christ and then, later, Baptists, during their first three generations in Canada.  It's hard to get much insight into this part of their lives, but I have gained access to some volumes of the Baptist Year-Book for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the North-West Territories, which was an annual publication and served as an annual report of Baptist church building and committee activity for parts of Canada.  During the years 1877 to 1900, the Elliot and Scott families are repeatedly mentioned. 

One of the most consistent name to appear during these years is Violet Elliot.  Violet was the daughter of Robert Watt Elliot and Catherine Scott. She remained unmarried but seems to have had a head for business:  she is the Treasurer of the Women's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of Ontario (sometimes also called the Women's Foreign Mission Society (West)) from at least 1889-1900.   In 1897 she is made a life member of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.  The 1884-1885 yearbook names her as Recording Secretary to that Society, while Mrs. W.H. Elliot is the treasurer.

Miss V. Elliot, Recording Secretary, 1884-85. I'm not sure who Mrs. W.H. Elliot is.

Miss Violet Elliot is made a life-member of the Women's Baptist Foreign Mission Society of Ontario. Baptist Year-Book 1897-1898.

What about William Elliot?  We know that he was a deacon at Jarvis Street Baptist Church for many years, and also that he was quite involved in the building of the Baptist Street Church in 1875 (the church's previous location was on Bond Street).  I found a mention of him in a small publication called Souvenier of the Tenth Anniversary of the Settlement of Rev. B.D. Thomas with the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, which was published in 1892 by Davis & Henderson, Toronto, and is now archived on Open Library.  The bulk of the publication is a sermon by the Rev. Thomas, but a small section at the end, on page 18,  describes the event:

"Preliminary, however, to the services on the Lord's Day, the Pastor and his devoted wife were invited to meet the Deacons and Trustees in the Pastor's room, when Deacon Elliot, on their behalf, presented the Doctor with an elegant Parisian marble clock, and read an appreciative and affectionate address, testifying their devotion to him as their Pastor, and their love for him personally, and for his gentle and devoted wife, for whom every member of the church holds the warmest affection."  

To my delight, it also contains a transcript of William Elliot's speech! I love being able to read the actual words of our family members:

 
 The Baptist Year Book does have a brief obituary for William Elliot in the 1893-4 edition:

The Baptist Year-Book for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the North-West Territories.  Twenty-Eighth Annual Report, p. 74, Foreign Mission Board.  1893-1894.

The same edition lists William Elliot among its bequests, twice;  $250.00 under "bequests" and $500.00 under "donations for investment", both going to the Foreign Mission Board.

John Galloway Scott also merits several mentions in the Baptist Year Book. In the 1877 Year Book, one of the companies he is involved places a prominent advertisement:

J.G. Scott on the Board of Directors for this company, along with George Brown, William McMaster, and John A. MacDonald.

 In the 1888 Year Book, his name is signed as the Recording Secretary of the Baptist Home Missionary Society. In 1888 he is also appointed to a committee within the Foreign Missionary Board "to confer with other committees which may be appointed by the other Denominational Societies with a view to framing a constitution which shall embrace all of the societies".  As a lawyer, constitution-writing was a natural fit for him.In 1889 he presented the work of the combined committees as a Parlimentary Act;  "An Act Respecting the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec." Here's the first of three and a half pages:

The Baptist Year Book, 1889, p. 26. 

John Galloway Scott is on the Baptist Year Book Publication board in 1892-1896, and again from 1896-1900.   In 1894 he is elected to the Foreign Mission Board for a four-year term;  this is at least his second term since the 1893 Year Book names him as a committee member whose term ends in 1894.  In 1889 he is elected to the same board for yet  another term.

The Baptist Year Book 1894-5.  John Galloway Scott elected to Foreign Mission Board.

J. G. Scott is also on donor lists several times, giving donations varying from $25.00 to $100.00.

I wish I had access to more issues of this publication;  I know that what I have seen is a slice in time, and not a full picture of our ancestors involvment in the Baptist church.  Missionary support seems to have been of significant interest to everyone in the family who ventured into committee work.   I love how William Elliot is supporting a woman medical student!  Go William!