Watson, Peter

(1827-1903), clergyman. Born in Inverness, Scotland. Graduate of Queen’s University, Kingston (B. A., 1854). He was ordained and inducted as minister of St. Andrew’s Church, Williamstown, on 4 Sept. 1856. He preached in English and Gaelic at Williamstown every Sunday morning, and every second Sunday afternoon he conducted services also at Summerstown, where again he used both languages. In 1875 the Free Church Presbyterians united with the Presbyterians associated with the Church of Scotland to form the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The majority of the congregation at St. Andrew’s supported the union, but the Rev. Peter Watson dissented, with the result that he left St. Andrew’s and until a short time before he died maintained a separate congregation at Williamstown associated with the Church of Scotland. During at least part of this time, and certainly during the later part of his life, he preached at the Temperance Hall. It has been noted that Williamstown was for some years “unique in that there were three Presbyterian congregations regularly holding services of worship” there–those of St. Andrew’s, Hephzibah, and the Rev. Peter Watson. (MacMillan, p. 57)

The Rev. John Matheson, who preached his funeral service (at which there were nine ministers present), remembered at the St. Andrew’s centenary celebrations in 1912 that the Rev. Peter Watson had a marked love of music and nature, and was fond of the poets, including Burns, and was “beloved by all” and that his appearance “with his long flowing hair about his shoulders” reminded people of the Old Testament prophets. Gertrude Wood, who heard the Rev. Peter Watson preach, remembered that “Mr. Watson had a LONG white beard and LONG white ringlets down his back. He was very Highland Scottish, ‘is’ was always ‘Iss,’ you know.” She remembered also that at the end of his life the Rev. Peter Watson lived in the home of Mr and Mrs Dan Dickson: Mr Dickson was a dedicated adherent of the Church of Scotland, while Mrs Dickson (a sister of Patrick Purcell) was a no-less-strong Roman Catholic.

The Rev. Peter Watson is buried at St. Andrew’s cemetery, Williamstown. He was married to Margery Monro (1835-1902), the daughter of the Rev. Donald Monro. (Other spellings also of Margery) Their sons D.A., G. A., and Dr N. M. Watson, are noticed separately in this dictionary.