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The Reverend James Sims was born ca.1812 in Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and was largely self-educated. On June 1, 1836, he married the widow Janet Harvey Robertson and in 1837 came to what is now Canada with a large party of relatives: his father and mother, his wife and step-children Alexander, John and Jane Robertson, his brothers Peter and Andrew, his sister Margaret, and nephews James and Peter Sims.
In the spring of 1838 the family settled as squatters in Queen's Bush near Hawkesville, Wellesley Township. The journey was likely complicated by the birth of James and Janet’s first child, Janet Sims, born March 1, 1838. They later had three sons: James Campbell Sims (1842-1929), Peter Harvey Sims (1844-1920) and William Andrew Sims (1846-1930). The family worked to clear a homestead on the land with James working as a labourer in surrounding areas when needed. He was ordained a minister on October 5, 1841, after joining the Baptist Church in Blair, and began working as an active itinerant preacher. In addition to preaching at the church in Blair every other weekend, he oversaw marriages, funerals and baptisms, and supported both Black and white residents in and around the Queen's Bush. He left the Baptist Church in the 1860s to join the Christadelphian faith.
Excerpts from Waterloo Region Hall of Fame describe him as "a significant religious and educational leader in Waterloo County in the 1800s. [...] Sims was perhaps best known for his significant leadership role in promoting public education. In 1853, when Waterloo County was established, he became the first Superintendent of Schools for the Townships of Woolwich and Wellesley. He also became the first Chairman of the Board of Public Instruction.”
James Sims died October 31, 1880 and was buried in Kitchener's Mount Hope Cemetery.
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- Created JSB September 2019
- Revised September 2021 by DR.
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- Brown-Kubisch, Linda (2004). The Queen's Bush Settlement : Black pioneers, 1839-1865.
- James Sims - Find a Grave
- Rev. James Sims - Waterloo Region Generations
- Reverend James Sims 1812-1880 - Waterloo Region Hall of Fame