1 William Jenkins

Born in Kirriemuir, Scotland, William Jenkins (1779-1843) was a Presbyterian clergyman in Markham Township, Upper Canada (Ontario). Jenkins was educated in Scotland in theology, Greek, Hebrew and learned several First Nations languages while studying in America. He emigrated to Upper Canada in 1817. Jenkins established a congregation at Mount Pleasant (in present-day Richmond Hill), which joined the newly formed Presbytery of the Canadas in 1819. He travelled extensively as a missionary, visiting Peterborough, the Bay of Quinte and the Grand River areas. Along with Robert Baldwin (1804-58) and Egerton Ryerson (1803-82), Jenkins founded the Friends of Religious Liberty committee, which petitioned the British government in 1831 for the removal of clergymen from political office, the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, as well as equal rights for clergy of all denominations.

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