The crisis was brought about by the Rev. Henry Esson, of St. Gabriel’s Street Church, who seceded about 1844 from the Synod of Canada in connection with the church of Scotland. The members who desired to remain with St. Gabriel’s still clave to the old ways and claimed the Church property, but did not gain possession of it till 1864, but those who followed the Rev. Henry Esson, being the majority—claimed and occupied the temporals on the ground that St. Gabriel’s had never been held in connection with the Established Church of Scotland. But this contention finally failed, for in 1864 St. Gabriel’s reverted to the Church of Scotland on the decision of Government. At this time of the scission of 1843-4 the “Free Church Committee,” which had been formed in the city from different Presbyterian churches, consisted of John Redpath, chairman: James R. Orr, David and Archibald Ferguson, A. McGown, James Morrison, William Hutchison, Alexander Fraser, Donald Fraser, Evander McIvor, William Bethune and William McIntosh. The object was to form a church in connection with the Free Church of Scotland.
Writing in 1893, Mr. John Sterling, an adherent of the Free Kirk movement, speaks of the memorable conflict in the Established Church of Scotland, or the non-intrusion question and its relation to the movement in Montreal which resulted in the Coté Street Free Church.
This conflict lasted for about ten years, and culminated in the disruption of the church, on the 18th day of May, 1843, when 474 of its ministers and missionaries, for conscience sake, severed their connection with it, and constituted themselves into a body called the “Free Church of Scotland,” giving up their churches, their manses, their livings, and risking every worldly prospect, going forth with their wives and families, not knowing what might befall them, but with a clear conscience, trusting in God for the future, whatever it might be—one of the noblest sacrifices for principle that the world has ever seen.
During all the time of the conflict, many of the members of the Presbyterian churches of this city, in connection with the Established Church of Scotland, strongly sympathized with the non-intrusion movement, and on the disruption taking place, considered it their duty to manifest their sympathy with the Free Church principles. At that time (1843-44) there were five Presbyterian Churches in this city, viz.: St. Gabriel’s Street Church, St. Andrew’s Church, St. Paul’s Church, Lagauchetiere Street Church, and the American Presbyterian Church, the first three of which were in connection with the Established Church of Scotland. The first concerted movement in this direction took place on the 10th day of January, 1844, when twelve ardent and good men, who might well be called the twelve apostles of the Free Church in Canada, met together and called themselves the Free Church Committee, others joining them afterwards, their object being to extend and propagate Free Church principles. The ultimate result of the work of this committee was that in May, 1845, a new Presbyterian congregation was formed in Montreal, which worshipped for a time in a wooden building on Lagauchetiere Street, near the head of Cote Street, which had been hastily and cheaply erected, being only intended to accommodate the congregation temporarily, until the projected new church to be built on Cote Street should be ready for occupation.
At this time (1845) this locality was most respectable and quite uptown, and the new church which was proposed to be erected there, turned out to be the largest and finest Presbyterian church building of its day in the city. It was opened for public worship on Sabbath, the 16th day of May, 1848, and the name chosen for it was the “Free Church, Coté Street.”
The population of the city had increased threefold, and the character of the locality by 1877 had entirely changed. The Protestant part of the population had mostly removed westwards to an inconvenient distance from the church, and the remnant were gradually moving away in the same direction, and the consequent dropping off of families and members, who were joining churches much more convenient to their dwellings, made the absolute necessity of the removing the church building westwards, quite apparent.
Consequently it was then decided to build uptown and the Crescent Street Presbyterian Church was commenced early in the fall of 1876, the corner-stone being laid on May 5, 1877, and the church being opened for service on March 10, 1878.
Beside the Coté Street secession from St. Gabriel’s which is now continued by the Crescent Street Church, the Knox Church organization is now to be described: The free church movement in Canada ended in a secession, not a disruption. Accordingly after the dispute relating to the temporals of St. Gabriel’s Street Church the seceding body in 1864 agreed to retire and formed the session of Knox church. This held its last meeting in St. Gabriel’s Street Church on July 31, 1865, and the last meeting of the Knox congregation for worship there was on October 31, 1865. The Knox Church at the corner of Mansfield and Dorchester Street was opened for divine service December 3, 1865. According to the Reverend Doctor Campbell this church represents de facto, but not de jure, the original congregation established in 1786.
The St. Gabriel’s Street Church was sold to the Government in 1886 and the congregation migrated to the New St. Gabriel’s Church on St. Catherine Street opposite the present St. James Methodist Church. This was demolished in 1909. St. Gabriel’s legitimate successor is the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Prince Arthur and Mance streets.
Intervening between the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Kirk Secession, there remains to be chronicled the settlement of the American Presbyterian church in Montreal which arose originally through the secession from St. Gabriel’s Street Church in 1803, and later through a succession from Mr. Easton’s church on St. Peter Street which by a change of name in 1824 became the first St. Andrew’s Church.