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The Baptists at the northern end of the Brock Road, the Wixons, Barclays, and Johnsons were members of the Markham Baptist Church until 1821 when there appears to have been some disagreement. The dissenters formed their own congregation. Again from "Past Years in Pickering" we quote: "On October 27th, 1821 a meeting was held at Joshua Wixon's in Pickering, of which the following minutes are recorded:.......". The local Baptists flourished and still maintain their church in Claremont. The Presbyterian Church was a little later in becoming established for the first Scottish settlers did not arrive until the late 1820's. In 1832 the Secession Church sent out three missionaries, one of whom died of cholera in Montreal before reaching his church in Upper Canada. Our Presbyterians were fortunate in having as their founder the Rev. Robert Thornton, a clergyman of the highest moral character, and a distinguished graduate of St. Andrew's University. Centering his ministry at Thornton's Corners, on July 6th, 1835 he extended his parish westward and held a Session meeting in Squire Ley's School with William Dunbar, John Agnew and James Greig elders. Dr. Thornton was engaged as pastor for Pickering congregation at a salary of 25 Pounds per annum, preaching alternate Sundays at Ley's School and the School House on the 2nd Concession opposite the present Erskine Church. In supporting the views of the Reform party with regard to Clergy Reserves and Schools, he lost the support of one of his elders, James Greig. The latter was asked for his resignation by the congregation during the trouble of 1837 which would indicate that most of the Presbyterians, like Dunbar, were Reformists. A letter written by Dr. Thornton (he was granted a degree of Doctor of Divinity in recognition of his distinguished missionary efforts by Princeton University) tells us of the life of all the "Saddlebag" clergy of the pioneer period, from William Jenkins infrequent visits after 1817 until the Presbyterian Church here was formally established in 1835. (Ref: "Past Years in Pickering, Wood.) "With the exception of a narrow strip, far from continuous along the southern frontier, Canada was then a vast wilderness...The clearings were so few and far between as scarcely to interrupt the wilderness monotony. And as for roads, with a few exceptions, they were yet in the future. The road was made merely by cutting and partially clearing of the trees which had covered its surface. To keep these few highways, such as they were, was incompatible with the objects of the missionary and nature of his work. We had to wend our way through forest paths and from clearing to clearing, where the only mode of locomotion was on foot. We had then not only no certain dwelling place but no certain field before us. Avoiding everything like inroads upon the few localities where the gospel had obtained a footing, we proceeded in quest of Presbyterian settlers, without the least direct information as to where they were to be found or whether we should be desired. Committing ourselves to God, we just advanced where He broke up our way." None of the above organizations of Christian congregations were recognized by the Government of Upper Canada. And although several of the Sects established here had connections with the United States, none of them seem to have been served by "Yankee" itinerant parsons with the exception of the Lay Preacher of the Christian Church, Asa Morison. Egerton Ryerson was United Empire Loyalist, George Barclay, leader of the Baptists, was a Scottish graduate of Edinborough University, and Doctor Thornton was a graduate of St. Andrew's University. They were all British in their backgrounds and their loyalties. Yet, because of the fact that they were non-Conformists they were not allowed to conduct marriage services during the early period; they were not eligible to teach school in the York Grammar School, let alone King's College; and they received no share of the enormous grant to the Anglican Clergy and Anglican Church derived from the revenues of one-seventh of the land of Upper Canada. The fact that they were all highly moral, well-educated men interested in the reform party did much to make the large proportion of Pickering landowners aware of the poor school system, and the unequal treatment of the children of the non-conformists who were all taxpayers. While the clergy of Pickering were probably not interested in MacKenzie's irrational methods of obtaining reform through force, nevertheless their sanction of the platform of the Reform Party had great influence in Pickering. As a result, the landowning, church going farmers of Pickering were not only Reformers, but considered the absentee landowning Family Compact highly immoral and dishonest in their method of maintaining control of the government through Sir Francis Bond Head. The rebels of Pickering undoubtedly felt that God was on their side and must have gone through a dreadful period of disillusionment after the horrible fiasco was over and MacKenzie escaped to the United States. The Anglican congregation of Pickering was gathered together informally too by an itinerant preacher, the Rev. Adam Elliott, who was loved by all for his services in Ley's School during the period 1832-35. The church was not built until the 1840's and the congregation during the early period, according to the Rev. Canon Shepherd, the present rector, was very small. The other recognized Church of Upper Canada, the Roman Catholic Church came to the District during the 1840's. The early Catholic families, notably the O'Connors who settled on Lot 1, Con. 3, in 1832. (Ref. Miss Helen O'Connor), walked to York to Church and carried their babies there for christening. The number of Catholics were small; most of the Irish settlers came during the late 1830's and l840's.