Houseal, Bernard Michael

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Michael_Houseal
  • Wiki Biography:
    • Reverend Bernard Michael Houseal ; 1727 in Heilbronn, Germany – 9 March 1799 in Halifax, Canada) was a German Lutheran minister in North America, and the first resident minister of Frederick, Maryland. He preached at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Maryland (1752) and was the first German minister of Little Dutch Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a Loyalist refugee who escaped New York with his family and slaves.
    • In 1770, he went to New York City where he was the Senior minister in the Trinity Lutheran Church. He became a Governor of New York College (present-day Columbia University) and a corporator of the New York Hospital. He was one of the addressers of Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe. Houseal was an outspoken Loyalist and his house and church were burned by the rebels. After 14 years in New York City, he left for Nova Scotia as a Loyalist refugee (1784).
    • During the first year Houseal was in Nova Scotia, he then went to London to be ordained in the Church of England (1785) and while preaching at the Savoy Chapel, Prince Edward requested he become chaplain of his regiment, after which they both came to Halifax. His son, Michael, served as the Duke of Kent’s Aide-de-camp and was an author. Rev. Houseal’s preaching was so popular that the congregation outgrew the Little Dutch Church and St. Georges Round Church was built. The Church was completed two years after Houseal died. Houseal is buried beneath the Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church (1799). After his death, Prince Edward arranged for his wife and children to live in England.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=3539
  • Find A Grave: Cannot locate