An outstanding Presbyterian missionary and church leader, William Proudfoot was born near Peebles, Scotland and educated at the University of Edinburgh. Ordained in 1813, he served in Scotland until 1832 when he came to Upper Canada. A year later, he settled in London. An energetic, authoritative man, Proudfoot made numerous preaching tours and organized congregations and missionary stations throughout Upper Canada and in the United States. In 1834, he founded the Missionary Presbytery of the Canadas in connection with the United Secession Church of Scotland and, in 1844, he opened a divinity school in London to train Canadian clergy. Proudfoot wrote exclusively on religious and secular matters, and his diaries and letters provide a valuable account of 19th-century life in Upper Canada.

Location

On the grounds of First St. Andrew's United Church, the successor to the London congregation Proudfoot organized, 350 Queens Avenue, London

Themes

• People
• Religion