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William Lawson Cotton was born in New London P.E.I. He left school in New London at 16 to learn the printing and newspaper business in Charlottetown under John Ings, editor of the "Islander". After two years reporting for the "Halifax Citizen" he returned to Charlottetown in June 1873 and became the editor and manager of the "Examiner" owned by Jedediah Carvell. He retired when the "Examiner" was absorbed by the "Charlottetown Guardian" remaining on the Board and contributing a column on island history. He wrote insightful pieces supporting confederation, free education, land reform, Construction of a P.E.I. railroad as well as the need for a new water and sewage system in Charlottetown.

After emigrating from England in 1928, PEI. In 1935, he moved to Charlottetown. After several years, he left the firm and became the headmaster of the Central Academy. When the Bank of Prince Edward Island was formed, he left the Central Academy fo become the bank's manager, a position he held until his death. He was a loyal member of St. Paul's Anglican church in Charlottetown. Although he was not a supporter of the growing tractarian movement within the Anglican community, he believed that stress between factions within the church would be ameliorated if a second Anglican church could be established in Charlottetown. To this end he donated land in the western end of the city, commonly referred to as the West Bog for the erection of a Chapel of Ease. The Chapel was to become St. Peter's Cathedral.

The following biographical sketch is taken from the authority record prepared by the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, UK, at https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/cotton-walter-aidan-c-1878-1960-clergyman-missionary.

Walter Aidan Cotton was born 13 March c. 1878 in Canada. He was educated at King's College in Windsor, Nova Scotia and was ordained deacon in 1902 and priest in 1903. Cotton began keeping a diary in 1893 while he was still at high school, and this practice continued, with some gaps, until 1960.

In 1907 Cotton moved to England to take up the curacy of St Michael's in Croydon. In 1908 he resigned his position to take up permanent residence at the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, an Anglican religious order for men founded in 1892.

In 1911 he joined the Community's South African Mission and was based in Johannesburg, becoming Prior of the suburb of Rosettenville in 1915 and principal of St Peter's Theological College there in 1917. In 1924 Cotton became Prior of Penhalonga, in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

Cotton remained at Penhalonga for five years but felt increasingly isolated and later returned to Johannesburg and resumed his position as Prior of Rosettenville. In 1942 he left Johannesburg to work at Jane Furse Hospital in Sekhuniland.

Whilst in South Africa, Cotton wrote several books and pamphlets addressing race. In 1926 he published 'The Race Problem in South Africa,' in 1931 he followed this with 'Racial Segregation in South Africa,' and in 1945 he published the 'Sepeli Prayer Book.' His works advocated complete territorial segregation for whites and black Africans whilst approving of 'occasional mixed marriages' as a bridge between the races.

He also produced a number of unpublished theological works, including 'Priesthood and the Reformation,' and 'The Sublimation of Life in God's Sacramental Universe.'

In 1946 he returned to Mirfield. Dissatisfied with the Community, Cotton disputed the practice of private masses and criticised the Community's work in South Africa. In 1952 his strong views led him to attempt to establish a new community in his native Canada called the Society of the Servants of the Church. The Society was unsuccessful and in 1954 Cotton returned to Mirfield.

Walter Aidan Cotton died at Mirfield in February 1960.

Thomas Health Haviland was born into an affluent and influential family in Charlottetown. In the 1840s he studied law in the office of James Horsfield Peters. Entering politics in 1846 he sat in the PEI legislative Assembly from 1846-1876. During those years he held numerous positions including Colonial Secretary, Speaker of the House and Solicitor General, He was a strong supporter of Confederation and was one of the the three commissioners who helped negotiate Prince Edward Island's entry into Confederation in 1873. He sat as a member of the Canadian senate from 1873 to 1879, served as Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1879 to 1884 and , as Mayor of Charlottetown from 1886 to 1893.

Theresa Cundall was born to Mr. William Cundall and his wife Sarah Louisa (Haszard) Cundall on 26 May 1840 and baptized on 1 September 1841 at St. Paul's Anglican Church.

According to a genealogy of the Haszard family, "Theresa Cundall, born at Charlottetown, P. E. I., May 25, 1840, was for many years an active and consistent member of the Church of England. After the death of her father in 1876, she felt at liberty to carry out a long cherished desire, of devoting herself more entirely to a religious life and work. Accordingly she left her home in Charlottetown for England, August 18, 1877, and after a few months' residence in London, on December 11, 1877, she was admitted as a Postulant to the Clewer Sisterhood of S. John Baptist. At Whitsuntide, 1878, she entered the novitiate, and finally, on July 21, 1880, she made her profession, taking the vows, and was set apart as a professed or full sister by the Bishop of Oxford. She has served in several of the branch houses in England, and is now (1893) "Sister in charge " of a young women's reformatory, S. Mary's Home, Salisbury, England, which position she has filled for some years." See the source note below for full citation.

On the right of the church as one enters the front door is the baptistry, which serves as a memorial to Sister Theresa.

Music has been a central part of St. Peter's Cathedral since the 1860s, as evidenced by the archives in the church's collection. The choir normally rehearses once a week and sings the main Sunday morning Eucharist throughout the year. Major festivals and holy days are celebrated with Solemn Evensong and Benediction, often followed by a parish social event. Special services include the Advent Carol Service on the First Sunday in Advent, and a full range of Holy Week services, including the Easter Vigil. Each year, on Ascension Day, the choir sings a Latin Mass, alternating year about between a Renaissance and a Classical setting, the latter of which is accompanied by a small orchestra.

The choir's other social and fundraising activities have included selling cookbooks, holding yard sales, organising coffee hour treats, and so on.

Walter ("Bunny") MacNutt served as both organist and choirmaster from ca. 1944-1946. Gwen Patterson served as choir director and Suzanne Brenton as organist in the late 1960s to early 1971. Alan Reesor served as organist and choir master from February 1971 to his retirement in June 2015. In 2020, Glory Jay serves as organist and interim choir director as the church searches for a permanent replacement.

As noted on the St. Peter's Cathedral Church website, the founding of St. Peter's was directly linked to a theological and liturgical revival of the Catholic tradition within Anglicanism, known as the Oxford or Tractarian Movement. This Movement began in England in the 1830's, and spread throughout the Anglican Communion worldwide. By the 1860's, some parishioners of the already long-established St. Paul's Church, in Charlottetown, had been exposed to the Oxford Movement through their travels, and wanted to erect a new church building where the teachings and liturgical observances of that movement could be reflected and practiced.

As noted in Wikipedia, St. Peter's, located on Rochford Square, corner of All Souls' Lane and Rochford Street, Charlottetown, was designated a cathedral in 1879 by Bishop Hibbert Binney, the Bishop of Nova Scotia. Over the years, it has served as a second cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia (now called Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island). (The principal cathedral of the diocese is All Saints' Cathedral in Halifax, Nova Scotia.) Attached to the west side of the cathedral is All Souls' Chapel, which was designated as a National Historic Site in 1990.

Land for the new church was made available by Mr. William Cundall, and construction began in 1867. By the spring of 1869, the building was completed, and Mr. Cundall then officially gave the land to the church on June 1, 1869. The opening services were held on June 13 of that year, but the Cathedral was not consecrated until the Feast of St. Peter, June 29, 1879. It was constructed in an area of the city known as West Bog. St. Peter's School was opened in 1872 the girls' school three years later. [[confirm when they closed]]

Following Oxford Movement traditions, choir members have worn surplices since the opening of the church. As early as 1872 the Rood Screen was erected and the seven hanging lamps placed in the sanctuary. The envelope system was adopted in 1876, and the pews have always been free. Altar candles have been used since 1877, and Eucharistic vestments since 1889. Originally, chairs were used at St. Peter's. In 1928, these were replaced by pews of dark walnut-coloured Douglas fir. The pulpit is the design of William Critchlow Harris, the brother of Robert Harris the artist, whose paintings beautify All Souls' Chapel. William Critchlow Harris was also the architect of All Souls' Chapel. The High Altar (complete with an Altar Stone) is still in its traditional position. Behind the Altar are statues of the Lord and four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

The first priest incumbent was Reverend George W. Hodgson, who served from 1869 to 1885. After Reverend Hodgson's death, Father Armstrong from Toronto and Father Smythe from the West Indies acted on an interim basis until Canon James Simpson was appointed the second Priest Incumbent in 1886 [[1887?]], serving until his death in 1920. A former master at Port Hope School, Canon Simpson had as his assistant the Reverend Thomas Henry Hunt. Canon Simpson, along with Mr. William Critchlow Harris (architect) and Mr. Robert Harris, C.M.G. (artist), were largely responsible for the creation of All Souls' Chapel.

Canon Elwyn Mortimer Malone, originally from Antigua, followed Canon Simpson, serving from 1921 to 1952. It was during his tenure of office that the property ceased to be vested in Trustees and was turned over to the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry.

In 1952 Canon Gerald E. Moffatt became Rector of the Cathedral, serving until 1958. Archdeacon J. R. Davies became Rector in 1958 and remained until 1967. Archdeacon G. S. Tanton, the second Islander to serve at St. Peter's after George Hodgson, became Rector in 1967, retiring in 1975. [[1974 or 1975?]]

In 1974, Canon H. M. D. Westin became the seventh Parish Priest and served until his retirement in October 1990. Aside from his spiritual and pastoral work as a dedicated priest, he is remembered for his founding of what is now the annual Atlantic Theological Conference, which continues to be held annually. To publish the proceedings of these conferences, St. Peter Publications was established in [[year]]. It publishes a book containing the papers presented at the previous year's theological conference, as well as "A Canadian Church Calendar", Common Prayer Commentaries, a Sunday School curriculum, and numerous books, pamphlets and tracts. For a number of years, St. Peter Publications also produced a quarterly periodical, The Anglican Free Press.

The next Rector, The Reverend Canon Peter Harris, from Nova Scotia, served for almost two years as Assistant Priest, starting in April 1989, before being appointed Rector at the end of 1990, continuing to the end of November 2014. The Reverend David Garrett succeeded Canon Harris as Rector in December 2014.

A new parish hall attached to the cathedral was erected in 2004, replacing an older hall that had stood on that site for over 100 years.

H. M. Peter Westin is the second born son of the Reverend Canon H. M. D. Westin, who served as Rector of St. Peter's Cathedral from 1974-1990, and his wife Margaret. Peter completed high school in Amherst, Nova Scotia and received a B.A. in history and B. Ed degree from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. He later earned an M.A. in history and an M.Ed degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and worked as a school teacher for many years, including in Manitoba and Zimbabwe.

Peter Westin is the author of An Act of Faith: The First Fifty Years of St. Peter's Cathedral (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 1994). Westin and St. Peter's Cathedral received federal funding to support the research and writing of this book in 1984 and again in 1985.

The Mothers’ Union was founded in England in 1876 by Mary Sumner, who wanted to create an organization for women that built a network of rich and poor to support mothers to raise their children in Christian faith. By 1909, the Mothers’ Union had become the largest voluntary women’s organization in Britain. In 1952, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted her royal patronage to the Mothers’ Union. In 1996, some 125 members of the Mothers’ Union became priests in the Church of England, following the Synod’s approval of the ordination of women.

The Prince Edward Island chapter of the Mothers’ Union was formed in March 1982. Among the activities undertaken by the local group included: hosting pancake breakfasts on the first day of Sunday School in early September; baking simnel cakes (a form of fruitcake) as part of Mothering Sunday; participating in the annual Christmas pageant; stitching needlepoint covers for church kneelers; organizing “Winter Games” events (evening gatherings of parishioners and others to play card games and board games in the church hall in winter); and holdings prayer sessions and meetings for members. The Mothers’ Union also provided support for refugees and newcomers to the Island and created a “link letters” activity comparable to “pen pals”. An Island-wide renewal meeting was held in November 1988. A major project for the Prince Edward Island chapter was the creation of a Mothers’ Union banner, which was unveiled on 24 May 1992. The banner still hangs in the church, as of 2020. Mothers’ Union activities began to decline as the Binney Group and Inglis Group became more active, eventually ceasing operations around 1995.

Lawrence Watson was born Laurence White Watson on 2 May 1860 on Queen Street, Charlottetown, and baptised at St. James Church in Charlottetown on 11 July 1860. His father was William R. Watson and his mother Sarah Ann Watson (nee Sarah Ann Croskill). (The official baptismal record shows his name as Laurence but the spelling changed from Laurence to Lawrence at some point.) Watson dies in Charlottetown on 17 July 1925, age 65. According to the obituary in The Charlottetown Guardian newspaper on 29 July 1925, Watson received his B.A. at King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1879, and then studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (1880-1882). He ended his medical studies on the death of his father and returned to Prince Edward Island to continue his father's business.

In 1884, Watson became the organist at St. Peter's Cathedral Church, directed musical services for many years, and carried out numerous other duties for the church. He was a founding member, officer and official historian of the National Historic Society and wrote many articles on natural history.

Watson composed the music for The Island Hymn, with lyrics by Lucy M. Montgomery.

Watson was married to Eleanor Massey Desbrisay. According to census records he had two children, Ruth (born ca. 1893) and Norman (born ca. 1899), but The Charlottetown Guardian newspaper indicates he had a daughter and two sons.