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McPherson, Aimee Semple
1890 - 1944
Aimee (Kennedy) McPherson was born October 9, 1890. "Kosy Kot" the family house, still stands two miles west of Salford. At the age of twelve she drove her horse and cutter five miles to Ingersoll to win a Women's Christian Temperance Union public speaking contest. A year later she was in demand as a local public speaker. Her base then was the Salford Methodist Church, which frowned on entertainment in theatres. In 1907, Aimee won a boat trip contest down the St. Lawrence River for selling subscriptions to the Woodstock Daily Sentinel-Review newspaper. She became a celebrated evangelist and faith healer and led revivalist meetings in Ontario. Aimee then barnstormed the United States, drawing large crowds to tents, concert halls and sports arenas. Capitalizing on her vast popularity, she founded the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and built the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles in 1923. Sister Aimee preached her message of Christian love daily in the temple's 5,000-seat auditorium and over its radio station. She staged morality plays, healed countless invalids, and oversaw social relief programs. Aimee fell in love with David Hutton, the announcer for her service, and a married man. Under pressure from the tabloids, and her mother, Aimee mysteriously disappeared while swimming at a beach. After five weeks and reports that she must have drowned, her funeral was held. She was later discovered wandering along the Arizona/Mexico border, claiming to have been kidnapped. It was suspected that she had been away with Hutton. They were later married; but the marriage only lasted three years. Scandals and financial troubles beset McPherson at the height of her fame; but the Four Square Gospel Church flourished. In 2001, Four Square was one of the fastest growing denominations worldwide, serving over two million attendees, in 63 countries. Aimee died at the age of 53, and was buried in an ornate marble tomb, after an elaborate funeral.
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