Hiram Alfred Cody: A Life Remembered by Kevin Crannie
Hiram Alfred Cody was an Anglican priest, missionary, and prolific Canadian author. He was the only son of Loretta and George Redmond Cody. Cody grew up with the view that small town life suited his temperament. One of his desires was to hunt, to wander through the woods by lake and stream on springing snowshoes visiting his line of traps and bringing home the furry prizes. Cody's early education was in a one-room schoolhouse in Thornetown, New Brunswick. Cody considered becoming a civil engineer, but his father was anxious for him to take Holy Orders. After taking Latin lessons from the rector of the Parish Church at English Settlement, Cody became enamoured of what the church had to offer. In October of 1893, Cody arrived at King’s College in Windsor, NS, which was a university for religious students. Cody was profoundly influenced by Sir Charles G.D. Roberts. Cody completed his Divinity course in December, 1896 and received his degree in June, 1897. After his ordination as Deacon in Fredericton, New Brunswick on December 20, 1896 he was assigned to the parishes of Greenwich and Westfield with the mandate to work beyond the parish boundaries up and down the River Saint John River. He was to assist, and was meant to succeed the Rev. Dr. D. W. Pickett. As a means of communicating to the people of the parish, he put out a monthly magazine which he called, “The Church Bell”. As a young Anglican priest, he responded to a call from the Yukon to minister to natives at Whitehorse. Shortly after his marriage to Jessie M. Flewelling, the couple arrived in Whitehorse in the fall of 1905. One of Cody’s many successful novels was An Apostle of the North: Memoirs of the Right Reverend William Carpenter Bompas which recounted his days in the Yukon. While there Cody began to keep extensive journals about his experiences. He served in the ministry for 43 years. Though he had written short stories in his younger years, Cody's focus on fiction came later in his life. H.A. Cody published 25 books, in addition to several poems and newspaper articles. Cody appeared on the best seller lists in the 1920's and 1930's with Robert Service and Ralph Connor. In 1909, Cody with his wife, Jessie, returned to Saint John, where he took up rectorship of St. James’ Anglican Church in the west end. He spent thirty-three years in the church, remaining there until his retirement. Cody’s novels and poetry were written and published between 1908 and 1937 during the infancy of Canadian publishing. While more commonly recognized for his work in the ministry than for his writing, Cody was one of Canada's most widely read authors. His publications, like those of the best selling Ralph Connor were amongst the first to be mass-produced in North America due to their accessible prose, Christian themes and appeal to a broad audience. His works popularized Canadian themes and content; several of his later works draw on his boyhood experiences in rural New Brunswick. In 1927 Cody was appointed Archdeacon of Saint John; he served until his retirement in 1943. Although his health failed drastically throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, he still kept up a busy schedule both in writing and in church affairs. In 1942, Cody retired from the ministry and started to write his autobiography. He never got to finish it because of a stroke that led to his death on February 9, 1948, in his 75th year. From the little stone church where he had been rector for 33 years, he was taken to Fernhill Cemetery, the habour of the old grey city of Saint John a short distance away. The following lines sum up his life: “My ideal of life as a boy was one of adventure in which a married man and a clergyman had no part. I have long since found out my mistake, for I have learned by experience that married life, as well as the ministry, will supply adventures sufficient for one lifetime” (qtd. in Jones 11). These words by The Rt. Rev. Larry Robertson, DD, Bishop of Yukon, best illustrate Hiram Alfred Cody: A Life Remember: "I was elected as Bishop of Yukon in 2010 and one of the first books I read was An Apostle of the North: Memoirs of Bishop W. C. Bompas. I have enjoyed reading many of Cody's "North Westerns" They helped me begin to feel the emotion and excitement of the early days of the Yukon. H. A. Cody still leaves a mark on the Yukon and it's people." Correspondence with Bishop Isaac O. Stringer and the Rev. A. E. O'Meara relating to Cody's work as a missionary amongst the Indians of the Yukon. Included is a typescript biography of H. A. Cody entitled The Ven. H. A. Cody, M.A., D.D.
H. A. Cody was one of Canada's widely read authors. His publications, like those of the bestselling Ralph Connor, were amongst the first to be massed-produced in North America due to their accessible prose, Christian themes and appeal to a broad audience. While H. A. Cody is not considered a pioneer of Canadian literature, his novels skillfully and gently capture the interest and spirit of the age in which he lived and wrote. The following print publications have been reproduced to give readers a glimpse into the life and heart of H. A. Cody from their respective authors.
June 29, 2007, a memorial celebration was held in Gagetown, New Brunswick to honour the 135th anniversary of H. A. Cody's birth. Many of H. A. Cody's descendants were in attendance, among them Dr. Thane Cody (1932-2014) who arrived from Florida. H. A. Cody's only book of verse, Songs of a Bluenose was published in 1925 by McClelland & Stewart. A sequel was published under the title More Songs From A Bluenose (110 poems) in 2007 by the Queens County Historical Society and Museum; edited by Thane Cody and Dawn Bremner; Forward by Ted Jones. Thane's introduction to the book concludes with these comments: "H. A. Cody's creative mind was displayed time and again in his novels, but I think even more so in his poems. These are poems dealing with religion, nature, love, war, the sea and ships, human nature, and humour. Some of the poems are as relevant today as they were in the 1930's and 1940's. I hope that those who read this collection will enjoy this poetic journey back in time as much as I have." George Redmond Cody was born on January 1, 1831. His parents were James William (II) (1800-1887) and Deborah (Wiggins) Cody (1810-1868). It was along the estuary of the Canaan River, the eastern side of Washademoak Lake, that James William Cody started his large accumulation of land and Deborah gave birth to their twelve children - eight sons and four daughters. [1] George Redmond and his brother, Hiram, talked seriously about boat-building plans but they went in another business together instead, building a lumber-mill and a grist-mill on the two banks of the Salmon Creek Brook which flowed through their property into the Washademoak, the brook being dammed to give the power. They also had a blacksmith shop and a shingle shop and these, along with the two mills, bore the name H. & G. CODY. [2] All his life George Redmond Cody was a member of the Masonic Lodge, "a staunch member of the Church of England, and a strong supporter of the Conservative form of Government. His knowledge of public affairs was extensive, and he took a keen interest in the leading events of the day." The families that came to settle in the community of Codys Station were predominantly Baptist; the several Cody families belonged to the Church of England; the remaining households were Presbyterian. [3] At 3 o'clock on the morning of Friday, November 10th, 1916, a telegram message arrived at 252 St. James Street, saying that George Redmond Cody had died a few hours earlier in his 85th year. H. A. Cody left on the 7 a.m. train and reached the Washademoak about 10:30 a.m. On Sunday, November 12th George Redmond was buried in the family plot, located near the center of the little Anglican churchyard at Highfield, on a hillside overlooking an expansive view of Queens County. The grave of his brother Hiram, who had died 27 years before, was close by. [4] Loretta Augusta Doney was born February 6th, 1842. Her parents were Charles and Mary (Cowan) Doney who lived in the Parish of Johnston, in nearby District #1. The Doney's flourished here as merchants, farmers, and lumbermen. A Post Office was operated from the premises for the Parish of Johnston. Four older Doney sisters (Julia, Martha, Easter, and Mary Jane) had already left home when the 1861 census was taken, leaving Loretta Augusta (who was to become H. A. Cody's mother), her parents, and her two brothers. In 1864 an Anglican wedding was solemnized when George Redmond Cody married twenty-two-year-old Loretta August Doney. [5] Loretta gave birth to their three children - two daughters and one son: Mary Florence (1865-1935); Julia Deborah (1869-1974); Hiram Alfred (1872-1948). On Tuesday, March 12, 1919, H. A. Cody, together with his son Douglas, went up to Codys Station in the morning and had a nice quiet afternoon looking over old papers. The following day Wednesday, March 13th, H. A. Cody look over old books, discarded some and kept those most useful. This was Cody's last visit to the homestead as it passed on to Harry Somerville April 1 of that year, who paid $3,000 for it. Loretta Augusta moved to 5 Clarendon Street, Saint John. [6] In the months and years following George Redmond's death, Loretta's health failed and suffered a great deal. On Tuesday, January 25st, 1921 Loretta Augusta Cody died at 7 o'clock in the morning at 5 Clarendon Street in her 78th year. The funeral service was held on Thursday, January 27th at 3 p.m. Rev. R. P. McKim of St. Luke's Anglican Church, Saint John, conducted the service. The body was then placed in the receiving vault of Fernhill. [7] On Friday, April 29th, H. A. Cody, together with Mary and Julia, left on the 7:20 a.m. train for Highfield with their mother's body. Loretta August Cody is buried next to her husband, George Redmond Cody, in the family plot located near the center of the little Anglican churchyard at Highfield, Queens County. "Thus mother's body is at last laid away by the side of dear father. Thank God for their noble lives." [8] The University of King's College is Canada's oldest chartered university, founded by Reverend Charles Inglis, the first Bishop of Nova Scotia, and other Anglican United Empire Loyalists in Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1789. The university is renowned for its Foundation Year Programme, a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of Western culture through Great Books, designed for first-year undergraduates. A fire destroyed the original university in 1920, and the institution relocated to Halifax in 1923. The relocation was made possible with the help of Dalhousie University, which has since maintained a joint faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with King's. King’s College was established to prevent young men from becoming alienated and traveling abroad to receive an education. For the first 100 years of its existence, all King's students were male. Miss Frances Woodworth, who was from Windsor was the first woman to enter King's in 1893. [1] Convocation Hall constructed between 1861 and 1863 is the oldest surviving building on the original campus of King’s College. It is situated in an isolated location so as to remain protected from the threat of fire. Convocation Hall was used as the museum and library at King’s College from the time of its completion in 1863 until 1923, when the college moved to Halifax. King's College was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1923 because: it was founded in 1789, it is the oldest university in what was to become Canada, and educated many distinguished leaders in church and state. Hiram Cody enrolled at King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, in October, 1893. Here he came under the influence of Charles G. D. Roberts, who even then was a nationally renowned writer. The young Cody was greatly impressed by Roberts and years later wrote "What a pleasure it was to attend his lectures! There was nothing dry, nothing formal, but pulsing life and interest, so that the hour seemed but a few minutes. Nearly every student who came under his influence resolved to devote his life to literature and become an author." [2] Cody later became the editor-in-chief of its newspaper. Known on campus for his exceptional writing, he was described by his classmates as “clean, reliable, earnest and as having been persona grata with the college staff”. [3] Cody's B. A. course in Divinity terminated in December, 1896, after which he left for New Brunswick and home. It had been just a little over three years since he had come to Windsor in the Fall of 1893. As was the custom at King's, he would return in June, 1897, to receive his degree. Cody was the valedictorian for the class of 1897. [4] Cody was to make two more visits to Windsor, the final one being ten years away, enough time to accomplish recognition for a second degree from his Alma Mater. [5] From June 27-29, 2014, the University of King's marked it 225th anniversary, over 500 guests, including three former presidents, past and future faculty, alumni from the 1940s to the present, and current students gathered on the quad to celebrate the anniversary with a weekend of festivities. On January 4, 1897, H. A. Cody became rector of the Parish of Greenwich, in the Diocese of Fredericton, having been licensed on January 1st as incumbent of that parish by Bishop Kingdon un May 19, 1904, [1] His first aim was to strengthen the parish of Greenwich and at the same time extend the field of work beyond the parish boundaries to Gagetown in the north and to Westfield in the south, a distance of forty-five miles. there were only two Anglican churches, St. Paul's, the old parish church of Oak Point (for over one hundred years the only one in the parish), and St. James' Church at Brown's Flats (which held its first service on April 18, 1886). [2] Cody's feelings were strong on the matter of building churches. April, 1900, Cody began work on building his first church in Speight Settlement. By August the new church was moving along towards completion and the first Divine Service held in the new church was on Sunday, October 21st. The Organist of St. Paul's Church and part of the Choir, and also some members from St. James' Church Choir were present. By early 1901 the church had not yet been consecrated and a burial ground was still to be considered. Cody named the little church after Saint Alban, the first British martyr. On March 10, 1901, the first Communion Service was held, perhaps the first public Communion Service held in the Settlement. May, 1903, after a delay of over two years from the time of sale at Fredericton, the one acre of land in Speight Settlement and on which the new church rests, had been granted by the Crown to the Rector, Church Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul's Church, Greenwich, and duly received by the Rector, and was recorded at Gagetown. [3] Cody's work at the Settlement was not done yet. In 1903, The groundwork for a second church under the leadership of H. A. Cody soon began to take shape at Queenstown. Cody named the church after Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The Hewlett sisters of Queenstown present the East window and a splendid organ, and "liberally contributed, although the church people there gave a great deal and did a large amount of voluntary work." [4] On Sunday morning, March 27th, 1904, the first service was held in the new church, although the East window was not in, nor the building completely furnished. According to Cody, "the service was very hearty, and a large congregation was present. The three hymns, 'Holy, Holy, Holy' 'Forever with the Lord,' and 'Our Blest Redeemer,' were sung," and the 122 Psalm was very appropriately chosen for the occasion: "I am glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the Lord." [5] While St. Alban's and St. Stephen's were being built, Cody in no way neglected St. Paul's (Oak Point) nor St. James' (Brown's Flats). It was evident to Cody that some changes were needed in St. Paul's Church. The building which had stood on that windy Point for over 61 years - and which cost the earnest builders so much needed to be repaired. The plaster on the ceiling and walls was very loose and kept falling off from time to time, and also the roof was not too sound as it should be. It was therefore suggested that a fund be started for the purpose of repairing the parish Church and making some necessary changes. [6] St. Paul's Church received a new roof on which was placed a liberal coat of fire proof paint. The interior of the church had been greatly improved by having the ceiling repaired and tinted with alabastine. On Saturday, June 27, 1904, a number of people met and cleaned the church thoroughly and did the necessary work to the Burying Ground. [7] The first part of May, 1904, was filled with "farewell." On Monday evening, May 16, 1904, Cody's last service in Queenstown was held in the new St. Stephen Church. [8] Cody's work as Incumbent of Greenwich was over, as he prepared to take up work at White Horse, in the Diocese of Selkirk, in response for missionaries in The Yukon by Bishop Bompas. In the Fall of 1899 one of the Hewlett sisters of Queenstown presented H. A. Cody with "a splendid single carriage." It would be left behind and so would the horse that been hitched to it so many times - Tom Thum, when Cody expressed his intention of leaving St. Paul's Church parish to take up work in the Diocese of Selkirk. "It was the country parson who appreciated to the fullest extent the value of the horse," Cody was to write, "for without this faithful animal it would have been most difficult for him to carry on his work. Tom Thum was a light riding horse and performed a long service in a hard country parish. But he stood up well to the strain. He was of good old Morgan stock, and his father was at one time a circus horse." Cody had raised him from a colt on the family farmstead, breaking him to harness, so they knew each other well. [1] At Greenwich, Tom Thum "never failed in his service except one when he had the horse-ail, and once when he was injured through a fall when he caught his foot in a crack in the ice which laid him up for several weeks." The rest of the time Cody and his horse were inseparable companions, experiencing one adventure after the other. Of all their thrilling situations, one was never to be forgotten by the master, and it came to be included in "Thrills of a Country Parson." It happened one night in midwinter when returning from a long journey to the upper part of the parish, and involved an encounter with a runaway horse. Cody remembered his, not merely as a tale of adventure, but as something far deeper, the memory of which became an inspiration in his life, along with a recurring vision of Tom Thum and the difficult service the horse underwent: "Often his coat became grey like his master's from sleet or driving snow, his feet weary, and his shoes worn. But his magnificent spirit never failed. Many were the lessons he taught me, and the memory of those days can never fade. May there not be a reward for such a true friend in another land than this?" [2] Cody and Tom Thum drove on an average of five thousand miles a year, and although there were days and nights of stormy weather, "there were also time of golden sunshine when the clear frosty air was an exhilarating tonic," Cody was to recall, "and how pleasant to hear the musical chime of the sleigh-bells, especially when the road ran through a wooden region, when the sound echoed back from the tall, friendly trees. Then on a clear night, to look up and see 'the floor of Heaven thick inlaid with patines of bright gold,' I was no longer lonely, but felt like the psalmist of old when he considered the heavens, even the moon and the stars." There were also the "quiet thrills" of sharing the other seasons - "the fresh beautiful unfolding of Spring, the joy to ride along the road and behold the orchards adorned with their mantle of billowing blossoms, and to drink in the invigorating perfume which only Spring can give." [3] Two years after going to Greenwich, Cody launched a monthly parish magazine to assist him in his work, "by keeping all in touch with parochial affairs, and for the instruction in the Faith." It was called The Church Bell and its motto was taken from Ephesians 6:22 - "That ye might know our affairs." All the parish notes and other items for the inside cover were written by Cody [1] The Church Bell was perhaps the only regular monthly parish magazine of a Church of England in the city of Saint John and perhaps one of the very few in the whole Diocese of Fredericton. At the end of the first year there were 140 paid-up subscriptions but a total of 220 magazines were distributed. The annual cost of publishing was $100, this amount being supported by advertisements in the magazine. However, The Church Bell did not cover everything pertaining to the parish; it was The Saint John Standard that carried the special addresses which Cody gave in 1910. [2] In 1939 The Church Bell (Saint John edition) reached it 30th year of publication, Editor Cody still faithfully preparing each monthly issue, taking it personally to the Paterson Printing Company on Union Street, seeing that it was stapled to its British supplement (The New Day), and then delivering most of the copies himself from door to door within the parish. However, the October-November issue for 1940 carried the following note: "Owing to the bombing of the publishing firm in London, this number of The Church Bell is issued without the usual English magazine. This is the first time it has been omitted in 30 years." All of H. A. Cody's own personal copies of The Church Bell (the Greenwich editions and the Saint John editions) were professionally bound (two or three years per volume) and the Saint John volumes were later presented to St. James' Church. Besides continuing to live up to its motto, "That ye might know our affairs" (Eph. 6:22), The Church Bell also continued to provide its founder with a necessary outlet for a small part of his writing. His annual reports appeared in the January issues, concluding with statistics from the parish registers; for 1932 Cody wrote: ". . .there have been 23 baptisms, 14 weddings and 21 burials. There were 70 celebrations of the Holy Communion, at which 1,211 persons communicated. There were 107 Sunday and 47 week-day services, with a total attendance of 20,052 during the year. There were over 1,100 parochial calls made, many of them upon the sick persons." [3] The last published edition of The Church Bell was on January 25, 1943 - The Final Farewell Edition. Archdeacon H. A. Cody wrote The Rector's Report for 1942.
Cody met his future bride when he started to teach Sunday School at St. Paul's. She was a young girl with a tiny figure, copper-colored hair, and a round pretty face. Her name was Jessie and she was the second of the three daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Flewelling, both parents being of Loyalist descent, her mother having been an Inch. The Flewelling farmstead was about a mile above James N. Inch's store, the rest of the family consisting of Jessie's two brothers, Fred and Frank (Fred and his father were vestrymen at St. Paul's), and her two sisters, Hazel and Lillian. All three girls were in the same Sunday School class when Cody first began teaching, but it was Jessie who was most interested in religious study, excelling to the point where she was capable of becoming a teacher herself in the Fall of 1900, when she was only sixteen years old, she consented to take the Infant Class. [1] That winter Jessie and another teacher, Miss Jessie Belyea, began to prepare themselves for a divinity examination which might give them the first certificate of a three-year course. They were examined on June 28th, 1901, in their own parish and on August 1st they travelled with Cody and several other teachers to Apohaqui, in the parish of Sussex, where they attended the Kingston Deanery Sunday School Teachers' Union in the Church of the Ascension. The special feature of the meeting was the presentation of certificates to the twelve teachers, who had passed the first year of the course of three years in the Union. Miss Jessie Flewelling and Miss Jessie Belyea both received certificates. [2] On Monday, July 7th, 1902, Jessie Flewelling received her second certificate having successfully passed the K.D.S.S. teachers' examination. [3] But it was really the Sunday School that brought Jessie Flewelling and H. A. Cody closer together. On July 15th, 1903, the Kingston Deanery held it annual meeting of the Sunday School Teachers' Union in Bloomfield in the parish of Norton, and Jessie Flewelling, "having completed her three years' course in the K.D.S.S. Teachers' Examination, received a fine Diploma." [4] Jessie gave birth to their five children - four sons and one daughter: Douglas Flewelling Cody (1907-1982) ; Kenneth White Cody (1911-1942); Norman Redman Cody ( 1914-2000); George Albert Cody (1920-2007); Frances Margaret Lillian Cody (1924-2010).
Jessie Cody passed away on September 2, 1967, at the age of 83, and was buried beside her husband in Fernhill Cemetery, Saint John, New Brunswick, the grave of their son Kenneth nearby. On Sunday, June 19th, 1904, H. A. Cody arrived in Whitehorse and his first letter to come out the Yukon Territory was date Wednesday, June 22 and was sent to The Church Bell in Greenwich, New Brunswick. It was received in the summer and was published in the August issue for that year. [1] In Whitehorse Cody divided his time between two completely segregated groups of people - the Indians and the whites, going back and forth between the two communities. During the latter weeks of 1904 he made over forty-five church calls in the white community, each name being added to a carefully dated list in the back of his journal. [2] In the Yukon Cody was exposed to log cabin churches, Indians, Mounted Police, backwoods miner's cabins, dog teams, a primitive social life, and bitter cold winters. It was this period of Cody's life that gave him the experience for many of the best selling novels and popular lectures he would produce in later years. [3]
Since its construction the Old Log Rectory has been used almost continuously as a residence for clergy. The Old Log Church as become a quaint little museum, a fitting memorial to those pioneer clergymen who work so valiantly to establish the Church of England in the North at the turn of the century.
On Sunday, January 23, 1910, H. A. Cody preached in St. James' Church for the first time. At the 11:00 a.m. service his text was from 1 Kings 17:12 - "A Little Oil" (a popular one from his Yukon days), and the 7:00 p.m. evensong he used St. Luke 19:13 - "Occupy Till I Come." [18] The Parish of St. James, located in the southern part of the city known as Lower Cove or the South End, was a wilderness before the coming of the Loyalists in 1783. The first church erected in the parish was a wooden structure situated on Main Street (now called Broad Street) with a view of the harbor. It was consecrated in 1851 by the Bishop of the Diocese, the Rt. Rev. John Medley. This was a residential section of Saint John, where many important businessmen had their homes, although it was on Main Street that the notorious Benedict Arnold had lived for a time. It was also a part of the city that was reserved for fortification, three to four hundred troops being moved from Fort Howe (situated in the North End of the city) and stationed at Barracks Square in the extreme south of the parish. This meant that St. James' was a Garrison Church, surrounded by a military compound (an armory still stands near the church), and that the appointed rector was the chaplain of the Imperial Forces. The military service at that time took place at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays and people came from all parts of the city to attend. The church was usually filled for this service, one half of the pews being free and the other half reserved for the troops of the garrison; members of the Artillery formed the choir. Later in the day, two other services were held for civilians, one at 11:00 a.m. and one at 3:00 p.m.; in the evening there was a service at the Marine Hospital, which was situated on the site of the present Turnbull Home. [19] During the Great Fire of 1877, nearly all the houses in the South End were destroyed and so was the Garrison Church of St. James. But the congregation set about immediately to rebuild (the Governor of the province, Sir Leonard Tilley, laying the cornerstone) and by 1879 the present St. James' Church, erected from limestone quarried near the city, was consecrated by Bishop Medley. It had a seating capacity for 500 people and was, for the most part, a free church, only a few seats reserved for the use of the Wiggins Orphanage and the Protestant Orphans Home (apparently there was no special provision for the troops). Also, there was no middle aisle in the church, this being the Congregational style and not Anglican. [20] As time went on, only the interior of St. James' changed: the original plaster ceiling was replaced by clear spruce, finished in its natural colour; the arches and cross pieces, as well as the seats and woodwork, were finished in oak, serving to set off the lighter colour of the ceiling; the chancel rail was straightened, leaving more room in the choir, and a new railing in the front of the choir was provided by a parishioner who also gave an oak lectern. The pulpit was of oak, given in memory of a son of one of the rectors. In 1881 the first organ was installed; in 1889 the Sunday school building was enlarged, the sexton's living quarters being located beneath; by 1909 the gas lights were replaced by the present electric system. In 1910 the only major item of importance that was missing was a bell for the belfry. [21] February 27, 1927, H. A. Cody was installed as Canon of Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton and Archdeacon of Saint John. [22] The induction service at the cathedral preceded the regular morning service. H. A. Cody, the Archdeacon-elect, walked with the procession of the choir and the clergy, the Dean and the Bishop, into the cathedral, the Chancellor also having a place in the procession. "The chancellor of the diocese, J. J. Fraser Winslow, K.C., wearing his gown of office, first read the proclamation from the chancel steps, this being the official notice of the appointment of Rev. Mr. Cody as archdeacon. Very Rev. Dean Neales then assigned the new archdeacon to his seat in the chancel and His Lordship Bishop Richardson then asked the blessing upon the new archdeacon. It was a most impressive and interesting, although brief, ceremony." Thirty years earlier Cody has been ordained a deacon in the same cathedral, and now on the evening of his second ordination he "gave an eloquent discourse to a large congregation in his first sermon as archdeacon," his text being from Zechariah 11:7 - "I took me two staves, the one I called Beauty, the other I called Bands." (The sermon was one that he had give three times before in Saint John - Trinity Church, June 19, 1921; St. James' Church, September 25, 1921; Stone Church, May 16, 1926 - and his notes for this particular sermon are still in existence) Cody's poem "Beauty and Bands," which concluded the sermon, was published later in Church Work (November, 1927). [23] The appointment of H. A. Cody as the Venerable Archdeacon of Saint John broke new ground in the parish of St. James'; it was the first time in its history of over seventy-five years that any one of it rectors had been selected for ecclesiastical honors, although Rev. George Osborne Troop and Rev. Charles John James had become Canons and Rev. A.D.A. Dewdney had become a Bishop after they had gone elsewhere. According to the press, Cody was "following in the footsteps of men of outstanding mark and ability in the Councils of the Church, chief among them being Archdeacon Brigstocke, Archdeacon Raymond and Archdeacon Crowfoot, his immediate predecessor. [24] Cody was now an officer of and an assistant to the Bishop, and whereas he was appointed by the Bishop under the Statutes of the Cathedral Chapter and held his commission from the Bishop, he was responsible, not to the Synod, but to the Bishop, to whom he would be making reports, in writing, at least twice each year, or as often as he would have important matters to communicate. His duties as archdeacon were outlined in The Bishop's Charge (1909). [25] H. A. Cody first tendered his resignation as rector of St. James' Church on Monday, January 5, 1920, but at a church meeting a week later "the Vestry would not listen to such a thing." Instead, H. A. Cody was offered a salary increase of $300 and a leave of absence for July, August, and September. He accepted, withdrawing his resignation. [26] Perhaps it was the Vestry's offer that also made it easier for Cody to send a negative reply to a telegram from his college classmate, H. I. Lynds, who had a church in Lockport, New York, at that time and who wired Cody about a vacancy in Newark. New Jersey, "salary $2400, nice stone rectory, cultured & wealthy people." This must have been appealing to Cody; he was the only Anglican rector in Saint John who did not live in a permanent rectory maintained by the church. The rent for the duplex at 252 St. James Street was paid for from his own personal finances, and on January 27th he receive word that there would be an increase of $100, making an annual rent of $458. Cody's reaction: "it is certainly an imposition!" [27] Archdeacon H. A. Cody had written his resignation on New Year's Day, 1943, the 112th anniversary of his father's birth date. It was not an easy task for him to do. Several weeks prior to the resignation he had been under a doctor's care, being continually confined to his bed for two and three days at a time, hoping to muster enough strength to carry through with each upcoming event. [28] It was early Monday evening, February 9th, 1948, when death came for the Archdeacon. He was in his 76th year. [29] In his priest's vestments, the body of H. A. Cody rested at Brenan's Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, until Thursday morning (February 12th) when, at 9 a.m., it was taken to St. James' Church to lie in State. "Service of the Holy Communion for the family and clergy of the Deanery of Saint John followed. The celebrant was Rev. H. Ploughman, present rector of St. James', and he was assisted by Rev. W. P. Haigh, rural dean of Saint John, and Rev. C. J. Markham, rural dean of Kingston. Mr. Markham acted as epistolary and Mr. Haigh as gospeler." [30] Entombment was at Fernhill Cemetery (East Saint John) beside Kenneth's grave. Eventually a large granite stone marked the gravesite and H. A. Cody was left to his peace, although the busy harbor of the old grey city of Saint John was but a short distance away. [31] In 1951 St. James' Church marked its 100th anniversary, and on October 22nd of that year Bishop Moorhead delivered the sermon at a special service held to honor the memory of the late rector. He began by saying: "To the glory of God and in loving memory of Hiram Alfred Cody, Archdeacon of Saint John, and rector of this parish for 33 years. We have dedicated a rich and beautiful Altar Rail erected by the parishioners and friends of your late rector, and also a very beautiful and suitably bound Prayer Book given by the clergy of the Archdeaconry of Saint John. We have come here tonight, in this anniversary week, to honor the memory of Archdeacon Cody in this sacred service, and to thank God for his life and work in the Parish of St. James." [32]
"When I first came to the Diocese I served as Eucharistic Minister at St. James. It was during the time of Rod Brant-Francis who was a Church Army Officer and therefore could not celebrate Holy Communion. I hear many stories of Archdeacon Cody from some of the older folks who were there at the time. It was a sad day for me when the church closed and I know the Vestry at the time wanted to discover ways in which the building could be used for the benefit of the community in the future. I became Archdeacon of Saint John shortly after the closure and along with the Bishop have worked to try to fulfill that desire. To that end over the last 4 years we have been working with a coalition of community organizations to develop a home for homeless youth on the site. Initially our hope was to re-purpose the old church building, but after a detailed study by an architect and a structural engineer it was decided that a new building on the site would be a better solution. The intention is to use some of the stone from the church building in the new construction. The only inhibitor might be the state of the material. In addition the Cody window has been saved and should be re-positioned at the front of the building. When it came to demolishing the building it was discovered that it was in much worse condition that was apparent. The roof trusses were very contaminated with dry rot and the mortar in the brick work had turned to sand. The demolition company had scheduled 3 days for their work, it was completed in less than a morning. The old hall was taken down several years ago and two low income housing units sit on that part of the site. With regard to the furnishings many of them were taken to the Church of the Resurrection in Grand Bay to be incorporated into a new building. These included the organ which has been included in their Nave. The Communion Table, as I understand it, will soon be taken to the Church of St. Augustine in Quispamsis, where it will replace the one they use at present. The wood from the pews was used for salvage. The stained glass windows were professionally removed and are currently safely wrapped and stored in the basement of Trinity Church along with the memorials. Most of the windows are of high quality. They were made by N.T. Lyon who made the windows for the Peace Tower in Ottawa. I cannot say what will ultimately happen to them, but I imagine they will be incorporated into another building at some point. Attempts were made through long standing congregation members to contact the descendants of people who had given memorials to the church and some were re-claimed by families. As I said the others are in Trinity. The bell is currently in storage in the yard of John Flood and Sons, the contractor for the youth house. It future is unclear. A local retreat house has asked for it, in addition the Bishop would like it to be placed in front of the new building. We await developments. I am unsure what happened to the pulpit. The one that was there at the end was only a partial pulpit, a three panel structure with a book rest on the top. The font is also in storage. It is the intention to have some form of recognition on the site re the former Broad Street St. James Church building. As yet the nature of it is not yet decided." [33] On Monday, March 16, 2015, Safe Harbour, the shelter located on Broad Street, which sits on the former site of St. James Anglican Church, which was donated by the Anglican Diocese, held at open house to the public officially opening its doors. Due to a lack of funding, the 1.2M Safe Harbour youth shelter closed its doors on Friday, January 29, 2016. The provincial government rejected a request for a loan guarantee to cover a capital shortfall of about $550,000. The loan is needed in order to have a lien filed by the contractor lifted. The government has also denied a funding request of about $200,000 — approximately half of the annual operating costs.
The New Brunswick Provincial Government announced November 23, 2016, that Safe Harbour Transitional Youth Services, will reopen in March, 2017. Safe Harbour Transitional Youth Services is operated by Partners for Youth, an organization dedicated to helping young people who are facing challenges. Oak Point, a jut of land extending into the St. John River twenty miles north of the city on the right bank, is covered with oak trees and outlined with sandy beaches. It was here that the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and the boys from The Wiggins Male Orphan Institution would come each summer and pitch their tents. A lighthouse is located at the tip of the point and old St. Paul's Church and the old Loyalist burial ground stand at the base of the point. Farther back there is Bide-a-wee on one side and George B. Pickett farmstead on the other. The original property upon which Bide-a-wee stood went down to the shore in front of the house and part way out to the point. The rest of the Point was owned by Mrs. Bessie Francombe, James Balmer, and Annie Cunnard; the three children of Mathew Balmer. [4] H. A. Cody replaced the Rev. David Wetmore Pickett in the parish of Greenwich in 1897. Upon retiring, the Rev. Pickett continued to live in the babbled cottage that had once been attached to the St. Paul's Church rectory which had since burned down. Upon his death in 1909, Rev. Pickett left his place to the last child, who had been named after his wife, Helen. The Reverend had nicknamed his last child Dot, "a full stop", and the Cody family came to know and love her as "Aunt Dot", the children remembering her as a little person who was only four feet tall, the table and chair legs having to be cut down for her convenience. She was a nurse in Saint John and in 1912 she let the Codys spend the summer at her place at Oak Point or, as H. A. Cody called it, "Miss Pickett's nice cottage, 'Bide-a-wee'." He was no stranger to the place, having made numerous visits there while he was rector of the parish. [5] In April 1913, the Codys purchased Bide-a-wee, furnished, for one thousand dollars, including it land (approximately 25 acres), the barn, the stable, the blacksmith's shop, the woodhouse and the sheds. It became their summer home for the rest of H. A. Cody's life, the family never missing a summer until his final illness.
During the last few years of the war, the Federal Government took over Oak Point to use it for naval purposes. When World War II was over, the Cody children made occasional visits to Bide-a-wee, but in the late 1940's the Saint John River Hotel Company sold its property to Jack B. Jones, who eventually purchased Bide-a-wee in 1961. Today the Provincial Government own the Point, using it for a tourist park and camping site. Bide-a-wee still stands in the background, Jack Jones dying in 1976 and leaving the property to his housekeeper, Miss Joanne Garnett, who continues to live there. [17] After H. A. Cody's death on February 9th, 1948, Jessie and her daughter Frances continued to live in the little apartment at 315 Union Street. It was here that Jessie Cody made her last few visits to Oak Point. [1] After her daughter's marriage, Jessie Cody went to live on Orange Street in Saint John with a female companion, and then, at her own request, spent the last few days of her life at the Turnbull Home, formerly the Home for Incurables, situated beside 252 St. James Street. Jessie Cody died on September 2nd, 1967, at the age of 83, and was buried beside her husband in Fernhill Cemetery, the grave of their son Kenneth nearby. [2] Jessie Cody was the last of seven Codys to date to be buried in Fernhill. Besides her husband, her son, and herself, all buried on "Fourth Path," there are: Samuel Edward Cody and his wife Alice Jane (H. A. Cody's uncle and aunt) on "Stevia Path"; and on "Dahlia Path," Justus and Lily Cody, children (who died in infancy) of William Stanley Cody and his wife Phoebe Jane (also H. A. Cody's uncle and aunt). [3] |