Young Man With a Horn

You may recall a few weeks back I wrote about Mrs. Clement King, aka Mary Jane Porter, who was one of the original members of Verdun Methodist Church when it started up in a private home in 1899.

As I found out about Mary Jane, turning up numerous pictures of her over the years, I became aware that her husband, Clement, was conspicuously absent from the picture archive. Their great-granddaughter, Dianne Nolin, kindly shared the family group below showing Clement and Mary Jane around 1902 or 1903 with their daughters Stella and Sarah (Sadie). Youngest daughter Bessie was not yet born, nor was a son, Robert. Another son, named Melvin Clement, had been born between Sadie and Stella but died at 2 months. Clement King was born in 1868, and married Mary Jane in 1893.

This King family portrait was taken at Ed Gagne Photo Studios, 745 Wellington Street in Verdun. c1902

I learned from Dianne that Clement was a carpenter by trade, and also that he owned several buildings in Verdun. A plot of land on Gordon Ave. was purchased by the Verdun Methodist congregation in 1902, and the golden anniversary booklet (1949) states that “the labour was voluntary by the men of the congregation”. I feel certain Clement King was one of the men wielding a hammer, literally building a church for his family and community. When it came time to build a somewhat grander church next to the first one in 1908, they hired a contractor; still, I can imagine Clement taking a keen interest in the project. The second Verdun Methodist Church was dedicated exactly 111 years ago, on December 13th, 1908.

Clement took enough of an interest in that building that in 1922, at the age of 54, he was up on the roof making repairs. Family lore has it that he fell off and although he was not instantly killed, he later died of his injuries, leaving Mrs. Clement King a widow until she died in 1957. Around the time the Verdun United Church was built at 650 Woodland Ave. (1930), the family dedicated a stained glass window to Clement and to his mother Mrs. Elizabeth (Nichols) King. This panel can be seen at the back of the SouthWest United sanctuary today.

Besides being a carpenter, Clement was apparently musical. The anniversary booklet mentions that, at the very first meeting in 1899, “there being no organ, Mr. Clement King led the singing with his silver cornet. “ The historical sketch contained in this 1949 booklet was prepared by four people, including Sadie Mavor, Clement’s eldest child.

I guess Clement’s untimely death explains why there are not a lot of pictures of him. There is, however, among our collection of glass slides, a portrait of a young man with a horn, a cornet in fact. No name, just the caption “Age 25”. It is my belief this is Clement King. If so, it would have been taken around 1893, the same year he married Mary Jane, and some years before he played the hymns for the first service of Verdun Methodist Church. Compare the faces in the two photos and tell me what you think.

Amy

The King stained glass window being installed at SouthWest in 2007, and (below) a close up of the dedication.