Rev. James Evans, who was the pastor of Norfolk Street Church in 1839, was one of the most famous and heroic figures of Canadian North-west missionary enterprise. First as a school teacher among the Indians at Rice Lake, then in the regular ministry as a great flaming evangel among the tribes in Upper Canada; and then, as the Apostle of the North, in the far-away and uninhabited regions from Lake Superior on to Norway House and the great Saskatchewan country, he has left a record of missionary devotion, heroism and success which is one of the most cherished possessions of the Methodist Church.

After ten years among the Indians in Upper Canada, he went, in 1831, to the great Northwest and gave eight hard years to preaching among the Cree Indians. Mr Evans' invention of the Cree syllabic characters, by which the Crees first learnt to read, and which to-day are in use among the North-west Indian tribes, has given him enduring fame, and the story of his too brief life, as given in the fascinating pages of Rev. Egerton R. Young's "Apostle of the North, Rev. James Evans," reveals a brave, self-sacrificing, gifted, godly man.

He died suddenly in November, 1846, at Keilby, Lincolnshire, England, after delivering a missionary address, at the age of 45.

Mr. Young (page 84) writes; "In 1839 he (Mr. Evans) was, owing to the disturbed state of the country, brought back to civilization. For a time he preached in the town of Guelph with great power and acceptance. He showed, by his powerful sermons, that his talents and gifts were many, and that, if he had devoted himself to the regular work of the ministry, he would have taken rank as one of the greatest preachers of the age. These few months in Guelph were his last ministerial labors in Upper Canada."

After her husand's death, Mrs. Evans came back to Guelph and lived for some years here with her daughter, Mrs. John McLean (Eugenia Evans d 1857 burried at Woodlawn m John 1846), taking an active part in the work of Norfolk Street Church.

The walls of the sanctuary in St. Clair United Church, London Conference, are rich with the history of that congregation. One of the most eye-catching wall hangings was made by the Sunday School depicting the first Wesleyan Methodist Church built in 1832 on the Old River Road adjacent to a traditional village of circled teepees.

This congregation was established in 1829 by Peter Jones, whose portrait also hangs in the church. The Rev. Jones was the first native person ordained by the Methodist Church. He and another minister, James Evans, translated hymns into Ojibway. James Evans used his life's savings to have the hymn-book published, travelling back from New York with his precious cargo of 50 books on a raft down the freezing Thames River. The current Ojibway hymn-book closes with a hymn by an early chief written in response to hearing the Gospel for the first time.

Among other pictures and portraits in St. Clair United Church is that of the Rev. Allan Salt, an Ojibway Indian, who served his people as a minister of the Gospel for 58 years. James Evans, inventor of the syllabic system of the Cree language Maclean, John, 1851-1928. 212 pages. (Toronto :Montreal : W. Briggs ;C.W. Coates, 1890? ) Subject : Evans, James, -- 1801-1846.; Evans, James, -- 1801-1846.; Indians of North America -- Missions.; Missionaries -- Biography.; Cree Indians -- Writing.; Indiens -- Am�rique du Nord -- Missions.; Missionnaires -- Biographies.; Cris (Indiens) -- �criture. Native Studies - �tudes autochtones CIHM: 30336

Charges: He was received on trial in 1830 at Rice Lake, Methodist Episcopal, 1831 Credit, ordained in 1832 at Ancaster/Binbrook, 1833 joined Wesleyan Methodist Conference, 1833 Thorold, 1834-1837 St. Clair, 1838 Lake Superior, 1839 Norfolk Street - Guelph (Wellington Co.), 1840-1845 Rossville Mission Norway House and General Superintendent for Missions in the Hudson Bay Territory, 1846 visiting England