Alexander Neil Bethune
Encyclopedia
Alexander Neil Bethune was a Church of England clergyman and bishop and the son of the Reverend John Bethune. He and his wife had ten children. They included Robert Henry Bethune
Robert Henry Bethune
Robert Henry Bethune was a Canadian banker born in Cobourg, Upper Canada. He was a son of Alexander Neil Bethune....

, a noted banker with the Dominion Bank. He was a brother to John
John Bethune
John Bethune was a Canadian Anglican clergyman and acting principal of McGill University from 1835 to 1846.-Biography:...

, also a clergyman, who was acting principal of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 from 1835 to 1846. He had other notable brothers. James Gray
James Gray Bethune
James Gray Bethune was born in Upper Canada. He was the son of an Anglican priest, the Reverend John Bethune....

 was a businessman, Angus
Angus Bethune (fur trader)
Angus Bethune was the oldest son of the Reverend John Bethune. He had several distinguished brothers, Alexander Neil, who became Anglican bishop of Toronto; John, Anglican clergyman, dean of the diocese of Montreal and principal of McGill University; James Gray prominent Upper Canada businessman;...

 was prominent in the fur trade and Donald
Donald Bethune
Donald Bethune was a lawyer, judge, entrepreneur and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Williamstown in Upper Canada in 1802, the son of Reverend John Bethune. Donald was part of a prominent family which included four bothers of note...

 was an important political figure in Upper Canada.

Alexander Neil was ordained in 1824 and was in charge of the parish at Grimsby, Ontario
Grimsby, Ontario
Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is a part of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara escarpment...

. In 1867, after a long and successful career, he was consecrated as bishop of the diocese of Toronto by the Reverend John Strachan
John Strachan
John Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...

.

Alexander Neil Bethune inherited a diocese that was quite fragmented from methods and policies attributed to Strachen. These circumstances made his episcopate appear less successful. He was a humble man and some saw this as a weakness causing his message to be lost his generation.

Bethune died in Toronto in 1879.

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