Fonds F3270 - John Maclean fonds

John Maclean (1851-1928) was a Methodist minister, missionary, author, editor and archivist. He was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland. His early education was sparse but most notably he studied at Burg Academy in Dumbarton. He emigrated to Canada in 1873. Two years later he was received on trial at Victoria Collage, in Cobourg Ontario and served at the following charges during his probation: Vienna, Park Hill, Arkona and Grafton. Before his probation ended Rev. John MacDougall requested he accept a missionary appointment to the Blood Indians at new mission at Fort MacLeod, North West Territories. He accepted the call and was ordained by the London Conference of the Methodist Church meeting in Hamilton on June 6, 1880. The following week he married Sarah Annie Barker. He served at the mission in Fort MacLeod and then at a mission house near to the Blood Reserve until 1889. While serving as a missionary he took great interest in Native culture and ethnology and kept correspondence with early ethnologists. During this time he furthered his education and received a B.A. from Victoria in 1883, an M.A. in 1887 and a Ph. D. in church history from the Wesleyan University, Bloomington Illinois in 1888. He subsequently served as a minister at the following charges: Moose Jaw, Port Arthur, Neepawa, Carmen, Morden and Winnipeg. While working as a minister he held several offices within the Methodist Church including: Conference Journal Secretary and Secretary, President of the Manitoba and Northwest Conference, delegate to General Conferences and Immigration Chaplain of the Methodist Church in Winnipeg. In 1902 he was elected as editor of The Wesleyan periodical in Halifax and served until 1906. In 1918 he was appointed Chief Archivist of the Methodist Church in Canada and remained in that position until his passing in 1928. During his lifetime he also held various educational positions such as public inspector for Southern Alberta, member of the North-West Board of Education and member of the Northwest Board of Examiners for Teachers. In addition to his previous body of work, Rev. Maclean was also a historian and author and published books related to Canadian history, western subjects, and education, as well as church histories, devotional books, religious tracts and literary works.