Untitled - Memorial University of Newfoundland

h e r pare nt s left the Army i n 19 02 since he r f a t h e r , a Quaker ,
disagreed wi t h his father-in-law ' 5 a bsolute authority a s well
as the Army's Br i tish, authoritarian c ha r ac t e r . This,
combined with doctrinal differences, l ed t o the split . The
Booth-Clibborns thereafter conducted independent evangelistic
campaigns around the wor ld . 1 Exper i e nci ng rej Ic I c us co nver-
sion at six, Victoria c laimed t o r eceive at 14 a supernat ur al
ca ll t o pr ea c h . " I knew i n my hea rt t hat I WilS c a lle d , " she
wrote, "and from that da y t o this I have never so ug ht f or my
ministry the consent or a pprova l of man". 8 She bega n a ccom-
pa nying her mother o n p reaching en ga gem ents. In 19 18 Vict oria
married Cornel i us A. Demarest (1882 -1 959), a Presbyterian
layman . The couple then formed a n evangelisti c team .
Cornelius be c ame mus i c director a nd manager, a nd Vi c t oria,
preacher.
I n t he winter o f 1919 the Demarests 9 accepted an Lnvi t a -
t ion f r om the St . J ohn ' s Methodist c hurche s to c ond uc t 11
campaign. David G. pitt suggested that the c a mpaig n was
" thought ne cessary t o recoup what were pe rceived a s fl a gging
spiritual energies, a result of the pressures a nd d istraction s
of waru. 1Q Euge ne vaters characteristically maintainl,!d t ha t
Demarest "wa s God ' s instrument in the last great r ev i v al i n
t he Me t hod i s t churches" in St. John'S ." I n his opinion ,
Demarest's preaching marked the c Li max to a l ong l i ne o r
revivalism within Newf oun dl an d Methodism. 12
98
The church aUditorium, which seated more than 1,600