The story behind an 18-minute video about Robert Addison, St. Mark’s first rector, is quickly explained to viewers: he was one of the most significant men in early Ontario history, “yet we barely know who he was.”
Missionary and Minister at Niagara, Robert Addison 1754-1829, is narrated in turn by familiar local voices Donald Combe and Jamie Mainprize. In it we learn Addison came to Niagara in 1792. While others came and left, Addison stayed and ministered “37 long and influential years,” says Mainprize, an actor retired to Niagara-
on-the-Lake. “That’s why he’s so significant to our history.”
As sextant and archivist of St. Mark’s Anglican Church, an author and retired teacher, Combe is considered a scholar on Addison. He researched Addison’s life as a missionary, and as St. Mark’s rector from the time the church was built in the early 1800s — it remains the oldest church in continuous use in the province.
Local Barbara Worthy, a writer, director, producer and performer who has worked for the CBC and the Shaw Festival, wrote the script, with many discussions between them to ensure its accuracy, says Combe.
He did most of the research, much of it from a book written by Fred Habermehl in 2012, with Combe’s help. Robert Addison: Scholar, Missionary, Minister, is one of several books they co-wrote about the history of St. Mark’s.
But, as the video points out, “History sometimes forgets to speak about the unremarkable, the ones who struggled for their daily existence, cleared the land, quietly shared the burden and healed the pain, the ones who had no time to consider their now legacy,” and they “are often the unsung heroes and heroines.”
Robert Addison was a humble man, and one of those unsung heroes, “a missionary, a scholar and a man of deep, unbending faith. He baptized the
innocent, married the hopeful and buried the faithful.”
He came to Niagara when it was not much more than muddy roads, log huts, bushes and wild fruit, says Combe. When he arrived, shortly before John Graves Simcoe and his family, there was neither church nor minister. There were, however, well-laid out lots, cultivated farms, lumber and grist mills, and a strong military base on the east side of the river at Fort Niagara.
He came because “a clergyman is thought essential to establish a moral compass within a community,” we are told, leading Addison to leave his wife Mary and three children in England. Although two children join him later, his little son died, and Mary never was well enough after that to make the trip.
Addison wasted no time in building his parish, which would have involved a lot of travelling, from Niagara to Grimsby and Fort Erie, to Ancaster, the Six Nations of the Grand River and Long Point. He travelled by foot, by canoe or by sleigh, and only “after much pleading, he was given a horse.”
Although he would have had little time for reading, he came to town with “this magnificent library of 1,500 books,” says Combe.
A scene of dialogue about the books and what they represented takes place between Combe and Peter Babcock, also an Addison scholar heavily involved in what is now the Addison Library, built in a section of the church hall in the 1980s. Designed by Campbell Scott and built by Bill German, the space is light- and climate-controlled, the money to fund it raised by donations — it is considered the oldest library in the province, and likely one of the most important.
The books, some dating back to the 16th century, would have been given to Addison before he left for Niagara, by friends, clergy members, and some may have belonged to his father-in-law, or purchased by Addison himself — he was, after all, on his way to a “wilderness,” where books might not have been easily available.
In the video, Combe says, “I feel very certain that Addison actually held these books. I have a feeling that maybe he didn’t read them all, because 1,500 books is a lot of books to be wading your way through.”
There would have been a problem of free time, and also squinting in the evening by candlelight — some of the books were badly burned, Combe adds, and St. Mark’s is in the process of restoring damaged books, as money is available.
The production is dedicated to Combe, written and directed by Worthy, and filmed and edited by Joe Lapinski.
Andrea Douglas was the project manager, costumes were by Pam Mundy, and some of the video was made at Lake Lodge, Addison’s home at the top of Four Mile Creek, now “under stewardship” of Ed Werner.
Rick Meloen as Addison takes part in some of the opening scenes, with Cinderella, a gentle horse loaned to the crew by Sentineal Carriages.
The video is something Combe says he and others had wanted to do for several years, and attempts to secure a $5,000 federal grant from the New Horizons for Seniors program was eventually successful, allowing the project to go ahead.
Watching the finished product after all this time of wanting to see it happen “was really a joy,” says Combe, who feels the video was very skillfully produced, and finally fulfills the goal of recognizing Addison as he deserves.
To view the video go to https://youtu.be/pkbRYerQw2Y