The symbol of the Church of Scotland is a burning bush:
The Free Church of Scotland, was formed in 1844 in Canada West (Ontario) and the Maritime provinces.
It was the predominant form of Presbyterian Christianity in mid-nineteenth century Canada, and
was consolidated by the secessionist sentiment of evangelicals known as The Awakening.
Records indicate Catharine's family did not join this breakaway movement.
Moderates and gentry remained in the established church, the Church of Scotland.
Catharine MacNeill Ross lived in Zorra, Oxford, Canada West,
and attended the Church of Scotland in 1861.
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The same 1861 census lists Catherine's father John MacNeil 60 miles east in
Bradford, Simcoe County. He also attended the Church of Scotland.
The established Church of Scotland held traditional views
dating back to the Scottish reformation of 1560.
Catharine's in-laws belonged to the Free Church, so her husband Andrew Ross
may have adopted the church of his wife's family.
