Mountain, George J. (George Jehosaphat), 1789-1863 : George Jehoshaphat Mountain was born 27 July 1789 in Norwich, England. It has been written that the arrival of the Mountain family in Quebec City, on 1 November 1793, marked an important step in the establishment and development of the Church of England in Canada. His father, Jacob, was the first bishop of the diocese of Quebec and George himself was the third. George Mountain and his brother, Jacob, both returned to England for their education and by the time he came back to Canada in ca. 1811, his decision to enter the priesthood was firmly made. He placed himself as a student under his father, the bishop, and was ordained as deacon on 2 August 1812.
He assisted Salter Jehoshaphat Mountain, the priest in charge of the Cathedral of Holy Trinity, following his ordination as well as volunteering for sentry duty on the walls of Quebec City during the War of 1812. On 16 January 1814, he was admitted to priest's orders and until August of that year, he served as "Evening Lecturer" of the cathedral in Quebec. Over a short span of time, Mountain had attained a position of seniority among the clergy of Upper and Lower Canada. On 14 February 1836, he was consecrated at Lambeth Palace, London as suffragan bishop in the diocese of Quebec under the title of bishop of Montreal. In 1837, he formally succeeded Bishop Charles James Stewart as bishop of Quebec, but he continued to use the title bishop of Montreal until 1850, when the diocese of Montreal was created.
The diocese of Quebec at the time, stretched from the New Brunswick border to the westernmost reaches of Upper Canada. As a result, Mountain travelled extensively as bishop to maintain diocesan unity. He also travelled to new areas trying to expand the diocese and, as such, he travelled to the Red River in 1844, Iles-de-la-Madeleine in 1850 and to the Labrador coast in 1861. Mountain was also responsible for the subdivision of the original see of Quebec. As bishop, he experienced very little in the way of controversy, although his ministry had to deal with the issue of the disposal of the proceeds from the clergy reserves. The Church of England's claim that the revenue from the reserves should be entirely at their disposal, was supported by Mountain, despite the protest of other Protestant groups. He also stood up in opposition to the Annexationist movement in 1849.
It is said that his whole ministry was given to the alleviation of human suffering and degradation and his social service efforts with immigrants and the conditions in jails and hospitals earned him much praise. He died on 6 January 1863, when a severe cold developed into pneumonia.
