USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 54
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Reference has already been made to the services which were carried on at Parkville under the direction of the earlier rectors of Trinity Church. During the rectorship of the Rev. Francis Goodwin a com- modious brick chapel was built for the mission, and it was consecrated Nov. 11, 1868. The clergymen in special charge of the mission have been the Rev's James B. Goodrich, Clayton Eddy, and J. H. Barbour, in the order named; and the work has grown to have an important influence upon the whole immediate community.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
The extension of the church into other sections of the city followed, under the stimulus of a missionary and colonizing spirit which pre- vailed in the five years from 1865 to 1870. Sunday schools were started, - one in the neighborhood of Colt's armory, and another in the cabinet of Trinity College, - and mission services were begun in the northern part of the city. Under the charge of the Rev. H. W. Nelson, Jr., the Sunday school near the Colt's armory devel- oped into a flourishing par- ish in the year 1866, which took the name of "The Church of the Good Shep- herd ;" and a beautiful stone church -a full de- scription of which was pub- lished in a pamphlet by Messrs. Brown & Gross, in 1869 - was built and given to the parish by Mrs. Sam- uel Colt, as a memorial to her deceased husband and children. The corner- stone was laid Sept. 4, 1867, and it was conse- crated Jan. 25,1869. After CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. an incumbency of twelve years, the Rev. Mr. Nelson resigned in 1876, and was succeeded by the present rector, the Rev. J. Henry Watson, May 6, 1877. The church has the only chime of bells in the city, and its rare beauty has made it one of the principal objects of interest for visitors to the city.
The Sunday school started in the cabinet of the former buildings of Trinity College in 1867, owed its origin to the Rev. Prof. J. T. Hunt- ington. After a short time it was removed to a point farther south, on Washington Street ; and in 1868 a lot was bought at the corner of Park and Washington streets, on which a church was built, which was dedicated Nov. 15, 1868. In the mean time a parish had been organ- ized, which was called the Parish of the Incarnation, and the Rev. Mr. Huntington became its rector. He resigned in 1870, and was suc- ceeded the same year by the Rev. Cyrus F. Knight; after whose resig- nation, in 1878, Mr. Huntington again became rector. In 1869 the capacity of the church was doubled by the building of transepts and a chancel, -an Easter offertory of nearly six thousand dollars being given for the purpose. In 1880 a parish-room was added.
The mission services in the northern part of the city, which had been continued from their beginning, July 4, 1869, led to the erection of a church on a spacious lot given for the purpose by Mrs. William Mather. The church was opened for service St. Thomas's Day, Dec. 21, 1872, the corner-stone having been laid Sept. 27, 1871. A parish was organized in July, 1870. The church is a memorial to the late
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Rt. Rev. Bishop Brownell, the third bishop of the diocese. The Rev. C. H. B. Tremaine, who had seen the work grow into a settled parish under his indefatigable labors, resigned the rectorslip in 1875, and was succeeded by the Rev. E. C. Gardner in 1876. He resigned in 1881, and was succeeded by the present rector, the Rev. P. H. Whaley.
That which marks the third period named - that is, the adjustment of the church to changes in the city and in the times - has shown itself in various ways : by the absorption of the city missionary work of St. Paul's into the other parishes, more particularly into Christ and St. John's churches ; by the provision of rooms for work and social gatherings in several of the parishes; by the reorganization of the Parish of the Incarnation, June 3, 1878, with the name of St. James's Church ; by the re-occupation of St. Thomas's Church, July 15, 1883, after holding services for a while in a chapel ; by the establishment of church institutions ; and by the increase of church privileges.
The general institutions that have grown up with the extension of the church in the city are : The Widows' Home, No. 133 Market Street, incorporated 1860, the gift of Mr. George Beach, and the Church Home, No. 76 Bellevue Street, incorporated in 1876. There are also two church schools in the city. The Church City Mission Society, organized in 1850, and the Church Guild of Hartford, organized in 1867, although now superseded, have left permanent results.
From the first, Hartford has been an important centre of life for the whole Protestant Episcopal Church. The establishment in it of Wash- ington - now Trinity - College is spoken of elsewhere. For many years the Bishop of the Diocese made it his home. Seven of those who have been rectors of its parishes have been consecrated to the episco- pate. Some of the earliest foreign missionaries were ordained in and sent from Hartford, and it has furnished a noted and unfailing source of contributions for domestic missions in all parts of the United States. The Church Scholarship Society, the Society for the Increase of the Ministry, and the Bureau of Relief have their headquarters in Hartford.
It is impossible in a brief sketch to give the names of the large number of faithful laity of the church in Hartford. They have been called to fill national and State offices, and have associated many hon- ored names with the literary, professional, and mercantile life of the city. They are found among the originators and supporters of all the general Christian institutions of the city. The Hartford Sunday-School Society, organized in 1818, the Retreat for the Insane, the Hartford Hospital, the Orphan Asylum, the Union for Home Work, and the Old People's Home number the laity of the church among their earliest, most constant, and most generous benefactors. There have been the following complete individual gifts : The Church of the Good Shepherd, by Mrs. Elizabeth H. Colt ; the Elizabeth Chapel, by Dr. G. W. Russell ; the Chancel Chapel and Parish Building of Christ Church, by Mrs. James Goodwin and Miss Mary Goodwin; the Northam Memorial Chapel and the Northam Hall at Trinity College, by Mr. C. H. Northam ; the Market Street Widows' Home, by Mr. George Beach ; and large legacies to Trinity College and other institutions, by Mr. Chester Adams, Mrs. S. B. Wendell, Mrs. Susan R. Northam, and others.
Scan . Nichols
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
BY THOMAS MCMANUS.
IN 1785 Dr. John Carroll, a priest of Baltimore, and brother of the Hon. Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, reported to the Propaganda, that the number of Catholics in the United States was about twenty-five thousand, and the number of priests was twenty-four.
The Diocese of Baltimore was created in 1789, and comprised all of the then existing United States ; on the 15th of August, 1790, the Rev. John Carroll was consecrated its first bishop, and until 1808 he was the only Roman Catholic bishop in this country. In that year four new diocesan sees were erected ; namely, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown.
The Diocese of Boston comprised all of New England, and was until 1825 governed by Bishop John B. Cheverus, who was translated to Montauban, and afterward to Bordeaux, where he was Cardinal Arch- bishop. The Right Rev. Benedict J. Fenwick was bishop of Boston from 1825 until 1846. In 1843 the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island were made a new diocese, with Hartford as the episcopal sce, and the Right Rev. William Tyler was consecrated the first bishop on the 17th of March, 1844. Bishop Tyler found in Connecticut, on his arrival here, three priests, four church buildings, and about five thou- sand souls. The laity was made up principally of emigrants from Ireland and their families, although there was in Hartford a respec- table number of Catholics, who like Bishop Tyler himself, were converts from Protestantism and natives of New England.
Mass was celebrated in Hartford in June, 1781, by Abbé Robin, the chaplain who accompanied the French auxiliaries under Count de Ro- chambeau, in their march across Connecticut from Providence to Phil- lipsbourg. This event occurred on some day between the 22d and 25th of June ; since it appears from the Count W. de Deuxpont's Journal of his "Campaigns in America," that the French army halted during those days in Hartford. An eye-witness to the ceremony, informed the pastor of the Roman Catholic church at Hartford of the fact fifty years afterward, and pointed out to him the very spot where the Mass was said, on the meadows now belonging to the estate of Colonel Samuel Colt. It is more than probable that outside the soldiers them- selves there were no Catholics present at the Mass.
In 1813 the Rev. Dr. Matignon, a French ecclesiastical refugee, was stationed at the Roman Catholic Church in Boston, and having occasion to make the journey to New York, passed through Hartford. Reaching here on Saturday night, he was obliged to remain until Monday morning. The Puritan strictness that prohibited travel on the Lord's Day did not prohibit the courtesy of inviting strangers to occupy the local pulpits. Dr. Strong, pastor of the First (Centre) Church, extended the hospitali- ties of his church and pulpit to the good priest, and tradition says that Dr. Matignon preached therein on a Sunday evening. A few Catholics
Laureun . Momento Bishop of Hartford.
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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
had come to Connecticut by the year 1823, and had settled in and around Hartford, - chiefly young men and women who were employed in the service of farmers and families. Colonel James Ward and Mr. Samuel Tudor interested themselves in behalf of the Catholics; and when Bishop Cheverus visited this place in that year (1823), they ob- tained for him the use of the Hall of Representatives in the old State House, where he celebrated Mass and preached a sermon. Occasional visits were made by the Rev. Dr. Power, of New York, at which times Mass was celebrated in a house1 that stood on the west side of Main Street overlooking the old Centre Church burying-ground. In 1828 Bishop Fenwick sent the Rev. R. D. Woodley, his nephew, to this city to reside, as the first parish priest of Hartford and the first resident priest of Connecticut.
During the following two years, several priests were sent to Hart- ford, some of them in the capacity of assistants ; the jurisdiction of the parish extending from New York to Rhode Island, and from Long Island Sound to the interior of Vermont and New Hampshire. Among these were Fathers O'Cavanagh, Welch, McCool, and McDermott. In 1830 the Rev. James Fitton was appointed pastor, and held the posi- tion until 1837, when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Brady. Father Fitton lived to participate in the centennial celebration of the first Mass in Connecticut, at St. Peter's Church, Hartford, on Sunday, June 26, 1881, on which occasion he delivered the historical discourse. He died at Boston on the 14th of September, 1881.
In November, 1828, Bishop Fenwick purchased a small lot of land on the east side of Maiden Lane (now Welles Street), intending to build a church thereon. This lot is some twelve rods south from the present junction of Mulberry and Welles strects. Before the work began, an opportunity to do better presented itself, the church building that had been occupied by the Episcopalians being. offered for sale. This edifice was of wood, and stood on the north corner of Church and Main streets. One of the conditions of its sale was that it should be removed from that site. Bishop Fenwick made the purchase, and the building was drawn over to a small lot only a few feet larger than the church itself, on the north side of Talcott Street. A brick base- ment was built underneath, and one half was divided into apartments for the pastor's residence.
On the 17th of June, 1830, this, the first Roman Catholic church in Connecticut, was dedicated by Bishop Fenwick, by the title of "The Church of the Most Holy Trinity." Father Fitton soon established a parochial school in the basement, and Miss Agnes Whiting, of Boston, was the teacher. A newspaper entitled the "Catholic Press," published by Alfred Tally at his office on the corner of Main and Pearl streets, was removed to this basement, but proved a financial failure ; and in 1832 it was transferred to Philadelphia, and continued for many years under the name of the " Catholic Herald."
Father Brady resided in the church basement until 1840, when he built a residence for himself next east of the church. In 1839 he pur- chased a small lot for a cemetery at the extreme western end of the Old North Cemetery, and in 1848 he added another piece of equal size.
1 It was No. 204 Main Street. See Fitton's "Sketches of the Establishment of the Church in New England," pp. 190-193.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
In 1842 he founded a temperance society that for many years included every adult member of his congregation. A literary and debating society was also established at the same time, which flourished for many years, holding its semi-weekly meetings in the basement of the church.
The benevolent societies founded under Father Brady have shown greater vitality. St. Patrick's Society was chartered in 1842 and St. John's Society in 1848, and both are still flourishing.
In the fall of 1843 the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island were made into a new diocese, with Hartford as the episcopal city, and Bishop William Tyler was consecrated its first bishop on the 17th of March, 1844, in the cathedral at Baltimore. He came to this city on the 12th of April of that year, but resided here only a few months. The city of Providence was much larger than Hartford, and contained many more Catholics, besides two churches, and the bishop obtained the necessary permission to make that city his residence. During the remainder of his life he seldom had occasion to visit Hartford, and the people here saw him not oftener than once or twice a year. He died in Providence, June 18, 1849, in the forty-fifth year of his age. Bishop Tyler was a native of Derby, Vermont, and became a Catholic when about fifteen years of age.
In 1847 Father Brady visited Ireland for the purpose of once again seeing his mother, and returned after an absence of seven months, his place here in the mean time being filled by Father Riordan, a talented young priest from the south of Ireland, who was transferred to Spring- field, Mass., on Father Brady's return. In 1848 Father Mathew, the Apostle of Temperance, visited Hartford and remained a week, preach- ing every evening and administering the pledge to thousands.
In 1849 Father Brady purchased the lot on the corner of Church and Ann streets, and immediately began the erection of a stone edifice which was completed and dedicated in December, 1851, by the title of "St. Patrick's Church ;" and after this date the old church on Talcott Street was used only for early service on week-days. On the morning of May 12, 1853, it was discovered to be on fire, and in a couple of hours was entirely destroyed, together with the baptismal records, that were kept in the vestry. The marriage records were by good fortune in the pastor's house, and so escaped destruction.
The Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, of Rochester, New York, succeeded Bishop Tyler, and was consecrated Nov. 10, 1850. Like his predeces- sor, he elected to reside in Providence. He was a good scholar, an indefatigable worker, and spared no pains to furnish his diocese with priests, religious orders, teachers, and educational and benevolent insti- tutions. He visited Europe in December, 1855, for the purpose of pro- curing teachers for the boys of his diocese, and Jan. 23, 1856, he sailed from Liverpool on the steamer "Pacific" for home. The fate of the steamer and her passengers is an unsolved mystery. Nothing was ever known concerning the ship from the day it sailed from England.
In 1851 a community of the "Sisters of Mercy " was established in Hartford, who occupied a house on Franklin Street for a few years, re- moving thence to Trumbull Strect, where they remained until the con- vent building, next west of St. Patrick's Church, was completed in the spring of 1855. Besides visiting the sick and distressed, they took charge of the orphans and also of the girls in the parochial schools.
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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
In 1852 a tract of ten acres was purchased, lying west of Spring Grove Cemetery, and appropriated for burial purposes and known as Cathedral Cemetery.
Father Brady became involved in a controversy with his bishop in the summer of 1854, that resulted in his suspension from duty, and caused great uneasiness and discomfort among the Catholic people of Hartford. As is too often the case, many of the people took sides with- out comprehending the merits of the questions in dispute, and thus contributed not a little to prolong the unfortunate condition of affairs. Towards the end of the summer the differences between Father Brady and his superior were becoming apparently reconciled. On Sunday, Nov. 12, 1854, Father Brady sat in the vestry of St. Patrick's Church during Mass, and heard the Rev. Lawrence Mangan, his former curate, who had been in charge of the parish during his suspension, announce to the people that the Very Rev. James Hughes, formerly of Provi- dence, would be their future pastor. Father Brady at the time was daily expecting to be reinstated, and the shock of this disappointment was too much for him to endure. He went home, took to his bed, and on the following Thursday, November 16, the people of Hartford were startled by the news of his death. Two days after, he was buried in front of the eastern entrance of the church. The grave was unmarked by any monument for several years. At length a modest brown stone tablet and cross were placed over it at the eastern door.
Father Hughes was about twenty-six years of age when he came to Hartford, and he had been for some time the vicar-general of the diocese. Ile at once commenced the erection of St. Catharine's Orphan Asylum, next west of St. Patrick's Church. The parochial schools were kept in the basement until 1865, when the present school building on Franklin Street was erected, and soon afterward St. James's Orphan Asylum for boys was built.
After the death of Bishop O'Reilly the see remained vacant until March 14, 1858, when the Rev. Francis P. McFarland, pastor of St. John's Church, Utica, New York, was consecrated bishop in the cathe- dral at Providence, and like his two predecessors he selected that city as his residence.
In 1852 a young priest named Peter Kelly was ordained at St. Patrick's Church, and for some months was stationed here as assistant to Father Brady. In the fall of 1859 Bishop McFarland divided Hartford into two parishes, with Little (Park) River as the dividing line, and as- signed Father Kelly as pastor over the territory on the south side. The announcement was made to the people by the bishop on Sunday night, and by the following Sunday the priest and people of the new parish had provided the church, having purchased the Old South school-house on Main Street and converted the upper floor into galleries. Mass was said there for the first time in just one week from the day of the bishop's announcement of the new parish. Without interference in the old part, an addition was built doubling the capacity, and the whole was completed and dedicated Dec. 4, 1859, by the title of "St. Peter's." The adjoining premises on the north were purchased for a pastoral residence, and in 1861 a parochial school-house was built in rear of the church and furnished with competent teachers. Father
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
Kelly, in the fall of 1862, was, at his own request, transferred to Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and the Rev. John Lynch, of Birmingham, was sent to St. Peter's. In 1865 he built the present stone edifice of St. Peter's church, surrounding the old one, and so skilfully managed the work that no interruption of Divine service was necessary. From the even- ing when Bishop McFarland first announced the erection of the parish to the present time, no Sunday has passed that Mass has not been cele- brated under the roof of this church.
Father Lynch literally wore himself out with hard labor, - a fate by no means uncommon to the priests of this diocese. By spring, 1869, he was so broken in health that his friends insisted on his resting for a time, and he visited Europe, returning in early spring, 1870. During his absence the Rev. John Cooney was in charge of his parish until the appointment of the Rev. Lawrence Walsh, who was here at the time of Father Lynch's return. Father Lynch went back to Birmingham, where he labored as industriously as ever, though an invalid, until he was called to his reward in October, 1878.
In February, 1872, the new diocese of Providence was erected, em- bracing Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts, in consequence of which Bishop McFarland removed his residence to his episcopal city of Hartford. His home was on the corner of Woodland and Collins streets, and his door was hospitably open to all citizens. In a surprisingly short time he became acquainted with his own people and with a very large portion of the non-Catholics. He possessed wonderful powers of fasci- nation, and reminded one very much of Governor Thomas H. Seymour, whom he greatly resembled in voice and conversational manner. The bishop brought with him as chancellor the Rev. Joseph B. Reid, a young priest who was an invalid. In looking about for a suitable site for his contemplated cathedral he fixed his choice on the Morgan Farm, so called, on Farmington Avenue, and purchased it from the owner, Major James Goodwin, in the summer of 1872. He began soon the foundations for the convent building and pro-cathedral. The corner- stone was laid in May, 1873, and the cathedral chapel was completed and dedicated on Thanksgiving Day in that same year, while the con- vent portion was not ready for occupancy until early in the spring of 1874. As soon as the chapel was ready, the parish of St. Joseph's was formed, embracing the western portion of the city. The first pastor was the Rev. E. M. Hickey, and after him the Rev. M. Kelly, who re- mained until the death of Bishop McFarland and the coming of his successor. Bishop McFarland's health began to fail in the fall of 1873. In the spring of 1874 he visited Aiken, South Carolina, and afterward Richland Springs, Virginia, but without avail. He was able to officiate and preach until about the middle of the summer, but soon became un- able to leave the house, and finally died from weakness and exhaustion, Oct. 12, 1874. His body was buried in front of the west wing of the convent building. The grave is marked by a little arbor, conspicuous from the street. He left all that he possessed, including his extensive and valuable library, to his cathedral church and its institutions, ex- cepting a few insignificant sums given as mementos to his brothers. His memory is venerated by his people as that of a saint.
Bishop McFarland had twice declined the office of bishop, and it was
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KILBURTE & CROSS
FMMRICK
ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL, FARMINGTON AVENUE.
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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
finally forced upon him by mandamus. His successor, the Very Rev. Thomas Galberry, was president of the Augustinian Convent at Villa Nova, near Philadelphia. He received his appointment to the vacant see in February, 1875, but declined the honor. He, also, was com- pelled to accept, and was consecrated in St. Peter's Church, Hartford, March 19, 1876.
On Saturday night, Jan. 23, 1875, St. Patrick's Church was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt on the old foundations more magnificently than before. The basement was ready for occupancy in the spring of 1876, and the completed church was dedicated on the 26th of November of the same year. Before the basement was ready a part of the people were accommodated in the Chapel Hall over the school-house on Franklin Street, and High Mass on Sundays was celebrated in Allyn Hall.
Bishop McFarland in- 1872 brought to this city the Rev. Joseph Scháále, to minister to the wants of the German Catholics. He pur- chased a lot on the northwest corner of Winthrop and Ely streets, and a German congregation was organized by the name of "The Church of the Sacred Heart." As yet it has been impossible to build a church. Mr. John Allen, a Protestant citizen of Hartford, who recognized the great inconvenience that the Catholic people living west of the New Trinity College suffered because of their remoteness from the nearest church, generously gave to the pastor of St. Peter's parish a site for a building of suitable size. Father Walsh immediately began work, and it was dedicated Nov. 30, 1876, by the title of " Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole." It was attended from St. Peter's until 1881, and afterward from St. Joseph's, until the latter part of 1883 when it was made a parish church, the Rev. John F. Lenihan pastor.
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