Emma Churchill

Infobox Person
name = Emma Churchill


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = 1862
birth_place = Portugal Cove, Newfoundland
death_date = 1957
death_place =
occupation = Salvation Army officer
spouse = Charles Dawson
parents =
children =

Captain Emma Churchill (1862 – 1957) was the founder of The Salvation Army in Newfoundland. She was born in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland but moved to Ontario with her parents in 1882. In 1884, she joined The Salvation Army, becoming the 11th officer commissioned in Canada. When she married Captain Charles Dawson, she changed her name to Emma Dawson. In 1885, Emma and Charles went to Newfoundland on their honeymoon. On September 3, 1885, at the Methodist church in Portugal Cove, they held the first Salvation Army meeting ever to take place in Newfoundland. Because of the success of this meeting, the YMCA in St. John's asked the Dawsons to hold similar meetings there. This engagement extended their Newfoundland visit to five months. The Dawsons then contacted Canadian Headquarters in January 1886 requesting that officers be assigned to continue conducting the meetings. That same month, four female officers arrived in St. John's.