A transcription of a page 1 article from 9 Jun 1898 Waterford Star.
[Compiler's Comment: This obituary is assumed to be the longest ever published in a Norfolk newspaper. The following text all but filled an entire page. The opposite page was devoted to reproducing a likeness of Rev. Slaght. Some paragraph breaks inserted by the transcriber]

Waterford's Grand Old Man has passed away

The end came peacefully after a long and useful career

Thou hast all seasons for thine own O' death.

The death on Friday of the Rev. Aaron Slaght, though not unexpected, caused a thrill of sorrow to pass through the whole town and community, so closely had he been connected during a long and busy life, with the moral, educational, religious and business life of the place.

The deceased had been unwell all the winter, but he would frequently rally and exhibit the remarkable physical vigor with which he was endowed.

On the Monday preceding his death he was so low that his departure was momentarily expected, but the next day he rose and shaved himself. But from the nature of his maladies he could not long sustain the life that was suspended on a brittle thread. He gradually sank into an unconscious and painless condition and passed away on Friday.

The funeral on Monday was one of the largest ever seen in the town. The church was packed to the doors and many could not gain an entrance, people of all classes and denominations, coming from various parts of the county to pay their last tribute of respect to a good man.

His Honor Judge Robb, County Crown Attorney Ansley, County Registrar A. J. Donly, John Charlton, M.P., E. C. Carpenter, M.P.P. and others from Simcoe were present. A large number from the Round Plains, to whom the deceased ministered as pastor of the church three, were in attendance. The schools were closed for the afternoon and the stores were shut during the funeral services.

The choir gallery, the organ and pulpit platform were draped in black and on the pulpit was a vase of immortelles. The flowers were exquisitely beautiful. Among them were a magnificent crescent and star, bearing the legend "With love of the Baptist church," a pillow bearing the inscription "Our Pastor," a token from the Round Plains Baptist church, beside these were other beautiful flowers.

On the platform were Rev. Dr. Murdoch, the pastor of the church, Revs. Haviland, Waterford; Dack, Simcoe; Porter, Brantford; Mann, Bloomsburg; Burtch, Villa Nova, and Mason, Tyrrell. Rev. S. G. Harris, of Boston delivered a prayer. Mr. John Charlton, M.P., spoke in eulogistic terms of the dead minister, who said he had been an intimate friend for 25 years.

The services consisted in prayer, scripture reading, short addresses by the ministers present, and the singing of a number of appropriate hymns by the choir. The whole service was a solemn reminder of our common morality and that man's work either for good or evil will live after he has passed away. After the service the interment took place at Greenwood cemetery.

An Epitome of the Career of the Rev. Aaron Slaght

Tis infathy to die and not be missed.

This will not be the fate of the man who has just passed away. His life has been one so active and so useful that he will be missed by many with whom he has been closely associated in many kinds of work for the good of his neighbors, his country and mankind. Among the prominent natives of Norfolk County the deceased stands in the front rank for force of character, intellectual grasp, moral stamina, religious earnestness and purity of life. By reason of these great qualities he exercised a marked influence on the social, clerical and religious life of the community in which he resided.

Mr. Slaght was born near Waterford on the 18th of August, 1822, and had he lived til that date this year he would have been 76 years of age. His father, Aaron Slaght, came to this part of the country with his parents when but three  years of age. He was of German extraction, but the mother of the deceased was of English descent.

During his boyhood he worked on the farm and in this healthy employment he acquired that physical strength and vigor which has enabled him to live the active, energetic and tireless life which has now terminated in his translation to the realms of joy and ever-lasting peace.

His early education was obtained at the common school of the neighborhood and was necessarily defective in the ratio of the imperfection of such schools as compared with the schools of today. The future preacher's robust intellect and enquiring mind soon led him beyond the curriculum of the school and the scholarship of the teachers under whom he studied.

At an early age Mr. Slaght united with the Baptist church and it was at the request of this church, which recognized his talents, that he entered in 1842 the Baptist College at Montreal to study for the ministry. The regular four years course at this institution he completed successfully in three years, besides attending lectures on scientific subjects at McGill University. In 1884 [sic, presumably 1844] in recognition of his having completed the Theological course at Montreal he received the diploma of graduation in that department from the Toronto Baptist College. 

During his residence in Montreal he was continuously employed in preaching in the neighboring localities and on graduating in 1845 took charge of the Baptist church at Quebec. In 1846 he returned to Waterford and organized the Baptist church hear. of which for 36 year he was the honored and beloved pastor.

During his pastorate the membership increased from eight constituent members to over three hundred and fifty and the present church edifice was erected and entirely paid for.

For several years he was superintendent of the Sunday School and teacher of the Bible class and in addition to all his faithful labors in his own church he frequently preached at surrounding villages laying the foundation of many present Baptist churches. He was one of the pillars of the Baptist denomination of Ontario.

The following is a portion of an address delivered by Mr. Slaght at the 50th anniversary service of the Baptist church in June, 1896:

At the age of 17 I professed hope in Christ and became a member of the Old Windham Free Communion Baptist church and in 1842, soon after I was 20, I left home for Montreal college by the request of that church, to take a course of training for the ministry and immediately began preaching in out stations in that city and elsewhere by the request of the faculty. On the completion of my Collegiate course in 1845, I returned home and began regular services in Waterford. 

During the vacation of the previous year on my visit home I conducted a service or two in the old chapel. Since my ministry began, among the hundreds who I have buried was the first actual settler in this Township. on the mother's side, and also the first man who began any improvement in our own village. 

On June 13, 1846, the Baptist church of Waterford was planted and seven out of the eight constituent members have been called home to rest and I alone am left of the number. The other seven composing the church were, Mrs. A. Slaght sr., Hugh Slaght, T. W. Clark, Mrs. Leonard Sovereign, Mrs. John Bertran, together with Deacon J. Ellis and wife. The first year the church increased to 13 in number and the first person baptized into its fellowship was Dr. Wadsworth, a leading physician of the place and who is still living, although removed from the locality.

Additions became more common both by letter and by baptism and in 1850, when the number reached nearly 40, the church united with the Grand River Association, after which its growth became more rapid. 

My pastorate was continuous, with the exception of nearly one year, when, at my request, a young minister from Rhode Island, who presented excellent testimonial, was engaged on trial. After a few months, during which time I did most of the pastorate work, it was ascertained that he had been expelled from both his church and the ministry, before coming to this country, for gross immorality. I was requested, by a unanimous vote of the church to again resume the pastorate, which I did and continued that relation until 1882.

In compilation of reports the year books of 1881 and 1992 showed a membership of 342, as taken from the minutes of the association, held in June, 1881. A number were added to the church between this date and my resignation as pastor, making the total membership up to that date nearly 360.

Rev. Ira Smith became my immediate successor in the pastorate and not long after, a number of young people united with the church and he wrote me stating that the most of them dated their conversion prior to my closing the ministry with the church. But a single year occurred, stretching over the period of the 28 of my ministry to the church, in the hand of the Lord was not with us in conversions and additions to the church.

Soon after its organization, the old chapel, which had been constructed and was owned by Job Loder and which was used for all public gatherings, became the property of the church, and immediate steps were taken for its repair. A subscription was taken up amounting to £135, 10s, Halifax currency, to which was added the proceeds of a tea meeting, making a total of nearly8600, which was expended in improvements.

The Methodist church had enjoyed the use of the chapel previous to its passing into the hands of the Baptist church and they were invited to continue their regular services, which was done for several years, until by mutual arrangement their own church edifice was constructed.

The old chapel, after several years became too limited for the accommodation of the congregation, and a Church Committee was appointed to secure means and build a new one. The call was met by a noble generosity from the community, which resulted in the construction of the present commodious building in 1877, at a cost, with all furnishings of about $15,000. At the close of my pastorate, several years after the building was completed, the church was practically free from debt.

The dear old man used to delight in telling of his experiences when and a boy later when he began the ministry. He used to tell of the first little church erected where the Baptist church now stands, it being constructed of logs with planks for seats and was also used for public as well as religious purposes.

Mr. Slaght at that time had to walk through the woods to reach the church from his home, although it was not more that a quarter mile away, often going barefooted and without a coat. At that time he used to carry shaving to the church, build a fire and frequently drive the sheep out of the edifice. 

He used also to tell of the early settlement of the Township as related to him by his parents. The first settlers of Townsend came from the south. The Culvers were the first settlers of the Township. A few trappers who lived with the Indians had made temporary houses there previous to the arrival of the Culvers, but it was the Culver family who settled upon what is know as the "Hart Farm" south of Bloomsburg, which was the first farm ever tilled in Townsend. 

The Culver family crossed the Niagara River by fording it and coasted along Lake Erie until the harbor at Dover was reached. They then penetrated the dense forest, following an Indian trail until they reached the spot above mentioned. Here they pitched their tent, that is to say, they drove stakes into the ground and formed a rough wigwam in which they abode until a log house was built. Traversing the forest in those days was a slow and difficult process. It was the custom in those days to place the young children in baskets, which were slung in pairs over the back of a cow. In this fashion did the youthful Culvers make their entry into Townsend.

The Culvers were followed by the Beemers (Abram, John and Henry) who settled near what is now Colborne in 1789, and the Sovereens (Lemon, George and Matthew), Job Slaght, Ezra Parney, ____ Avery and Job Loder.

At the time when the Clergy Reserve question was agitating the public mind, Mr. Slaght actively engaged in the discussion, arranging for meeting at various points in the county, prominent among which was one held in Simcoe in 1851 at which were present many prominent ministers of all denominations.

Nor was it along in religious work that his influence was felt. While doing all in his power for the furtherance of education in the Baptist schools of Ontario, he also interested himself in the common schools in his own locality. For a number of years he was a member of the Board of Instruction for examining and granting certificates to school teachers, and local Superintendent of schools for the Township of Townsend. He visited frequently the various school sections in the township, lecturing on education annually in each school section, and receiving and making up the public reports of these schools.

Tho' so active in religious and educational matters Mr. Slaght found time for other pursuits. He managed his large farm and nurseries of ornamental and fruit trees and vines, and with his father was for over twenty years owner and manager of the Waterford mills, dealing in lumber and grain.

In 1882, when he resigned the pastorate of the Baptist church here, he went to Colorado where he had charge of a large mining interest, at the same time continuing his work as a minister in the surrounding mining towns. After a few years he returned to Canada. In 1890 he was appointed inspector of mines for Ontario and annually he has visited the mines of the northern part of the Province and submitted his reports to the government.

In politics, too, he took a lively interest, being a loyal Reformer. In 1872 his friends urged him to enter the lists as a candidate for the House of Commons, but this he declined to do, working assiduously instead, in the interests of Hon. John Charlton.

On the death of the late Francis Walsh, Registrar of Norfolk County, Mr. Slaght applied for that position. He had ever been an ardent worker for the Liberal party and his friends felt he deserved the office, but his opponents made use of the fact that he had only just returned to Canada after several years' residence in Colorado. As a result, all efforts failed to secure for Mr. Slaght this office, with his usual good will, however, he accepted the decision.

When urged by the Conservatives to become their candidate for Parliament, to run against Mr. Charlton, he scorned the idea and remained loyal to his party. His influence did much in making the Liberal party in Norfolk what it is today. He advocated unity and was frequently the means of allaying differences which might hinder and weaken the party cause. He sought the welfare of his country and claimed, that though a minister, he should exercise his rights to vote for what he considered would most benefit his fellow country-men.

In the church and Sabbath School work in educational and political matters, his has been an active life.

Until his recent illness, though so well advanced in years, Elder Slaght, as he was affectionately called by his friends, was hale and hearty. Nearly every Sunday he conducted services at Round Plains and frequently preached in other churches in the surrounding country.

For a number of years he has carried on the evaporating business, overseeing the work himself.

At the Baptist Sunday School anniversaries his has been a familiar face and young and old alike will miss him. His generous nature and and cordial word of greeting endeared him to all and everyone who knew him will feel that another "Grand Old Man" has passed away.

Copyright 2006-2012 John Cardiff