John Bethune was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Anglican clergyman and acting principal of McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 from 1835 to 1846.

Biography

Born in Williamstown, Glengarry County

Glengarry County, Ontario

thumb|right|Glengarry located within OntarioGlengarry County , an area covering , is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario, and is historically known for its settlement of Scottish Highlanders due to the Highland Clearances.Glengarry was founded in 1792 by Scottish loyalists, mainly from...

, Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

, the son of Véronique Waddin and the Reverend John Bethune

John Bethune (reverend)

The Reverend John Bethune, , founded the first Presbyterian Church in Montreal.Born into a well-respected family on the Isle of Skye, he was a son of Angus Bethune and Christian Campbell. Though descended from the Lairds of Balfour, he needed scholarships to keep him at King's College .He...

, Bethune received his education at the school of the Reverend Dr. John Strachan

John Strachan

John Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...

 at Cornwall

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...

. After serving in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, he entered the ministry of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 and in 1814, he was ordained by Bishop Jacob Mountain

Jacob Mountain

Jacob Mountain was an English churchman who became the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec.-Biography:The third son of Jacob Mountain of Thwaite Hall, Norfolk, by Ann, daughter of Jehoshaphat Postle of Wymondham, he was born at Thwaite Hall on 30 December 1749, and educated at Caius College,...

 in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

. In 1818 he was made Rector of Christ Church in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, where he remained for more than fifty years, eventually becoming Dean of the diocese. He was acting-Principal of McGill from November 1835 until May 1846. He died in 1872.

John was part of a prominent family which included four bothers of note. Alexander Neil

Alexander Neil Bethune

Alexander Neil Bethune was a Church of England clergyman and bishop and the son of the Reverend John Bethune. He and his wife had ten children. They included Robert Henry Bethune, a noted banker with the Dominion Bank. He was a brother to John, also a clergyman, who was acting principal of McGill...

, became bishop of the diocese of Toronto, James Gray Bethune

James Gray Bethune

James Gray Bethune was born in Upper Canada. He was the son of an Anglican priest, the Reverend John Bethune....

 was a businessman, Angus Bethune

Angus Bethune (fur trader)

Angus Bethune was the oldest son of the Reverend John Bethune. He had several distinguished brothers, Alexander Neil, who became Anglican bishop of Toronto; John, Anglican clergyman, dean of the diocese of Montreal and principal of McGill University; James Gray prominent Upper Canada businessman;...

 was prominent in the fur trade and Donald Bethune

Donald Bethune

Donald Bethune was a lawyer, judge, entrepreneur and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Williamstown in Upper Canada in 1802, the son of Reverend John Bethune. Donald was part of a prominent family which included four bothers of note...

was an important political figure in Upper Canada.