Frederick Fauquier

Fauquier was born in Malta on 29 July 1817. He was orphaned at a young age and adopted by an aunt who lived in Hampton, London, England. Fauquier received his formative education in Richmond, London.[1]

In 1836 Fauquier emigrated to Upper Canada and settled as a farmer in at East Zorra. He married Sarah Eliza Burrowes, daughter of Colonel Burrowes of the British Army in approximately 1846. Burrowes and Fauquier had two sons.[1]

Fauquier attended the Diocesan Theological Institute in Cobourg in 1842 and studied under Archdeacon A.B. Bethune.[2] He was ordained as a Deacon in 1845 and was ordained by Bishop John Strachan as a priest in 1846. Fauquier was appointed as the incumbent of his home parish at Huntingford, Ontario in 1875.[2]

In 1873 he was appointed to the episcopate as the inaugural Bishop of Algoma. He was consecrated as bishop in St. James' Cathedral, Toronto in 1873 and following his consecration he traveled to his see city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.[3] Within three weeks of his appointment Fauquier traveled to England to raise funds for the new Diocese of Algoma. His trip resulted in support from the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, the Colonial and Continental, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and many individual donors.[3]

Fauquier was involved in missionary work to First Nations communities in Northern Ontario. He assisted in establishing and maintaining missions at Sheguiandah, Garden River First Nation, and Batchewana First Nation. He was also involved in the administration of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School.[4]

Having become a Doctor of Divinity (DD), he died in post on 7 December 1881.[5] During Fauquier's time as Bishop the Diocese of Algoma grew substantially with the number of clergy doubling, congregations increasing from fifteen to ninety and churches from nine to thirty-four.[6]

Fauquier is buried in the Shingwauk Memorial cemetery, located on the current campus of Algoma University and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig. The Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel at the Shingwauk Indian Residential School was named after him.[7]