History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 37

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 37

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The men that formed this committee were : Messrs. Streeter Evans of Essex, Gilbert Pillshury of Hamp- den, John Littlefield of Foxboro', Joseph Hiss of Boston, Nathau King of Middlehoro', Joseph H. Lapham of Sandwich, Stephen Emery of Orange. The Catholic historian, John G. Shea, thus character- izes it : 'The iufamous conduct of this committee, and the examinations to which it led, covered with opprobrium the instigators of this inquisitorial mea- sure. In their visit to a house of sisters of Notre Dame, at Roxbury, the members of the committee acted with the grossest indecency ; in their excursion to Lowell, one of the committee was accompanied hy a loose woman [Mrs. Moody, alias ' Mrs. Patterson '], whose expenses he charged to the State ; and these very fair samples of Massachusetts' guardians of pub- lic morals, going to see whether any disorders existed in Catholic convents, themselves gave every example of dishonesty and debauchery. The whole Know- Nothing party blushed at the dishonor they had drawn upon themselves ; and to satisfy the public clamor expelled Mr. Hiss, one of their members, making him the scape-goat." Mr. Charles Cowley, of this city, in his " History of Lowell," relates the " Pat- terson" episode still more plainly, thus summing up his account : "The results of the visit were, to make Hiss notorious, aud the Legislature ridiculous, and to furnish some sensational cuts for the comic and pic- torial newspapers."

However, as has been well said, " Man cannot be kept in a state of constant fury against his fellow- man, especially when the latter is inoffensive and innocent; and when the passions are no longer ex- cited by the leaders of the movement, natural benev- olence resumes its course. There are moments when apostles of error stop from weariness, and others, when political reasons make it prudent to wheedle Catholics by presenting real toleration and not a sham. And lastly, God wishes to give his Church some days of repose amid the trials of the crucible in which the faithful are purified."

The Know-Nothing frenzy subsided ; and it be- came evident that Catholics were ready to at least forgive its injustice and malevolence ; and to forget them, unless recalled by similar outrages, which-God forbid !

To return again to St. Patrick's school. The num- ber in the different departments, free-school, acad- emy and boarding-school, rapidly increased, and, with them, necessarily the number of Sisters, so that school and convent accommodations in a short time became inadequate, and once again evoked assist- ance from the ever-generous hand of Father Timothy O'Brien, who seems to have taken the schools under his special care. Soon after the dedication of the church, work was commenced for the erection of a large frame school building. Father Timothy's intention had been that it should be finished for the opening of the September term of 1855, but he was disap-

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pointed not only in that, but in cver witnessing its completion ; for he was called to the reward of liis labors, as has been said before, on the 11th of Octo- ber, 1855.

Shortly after his death a handsome granite monu- ment was placed over his remains. A Lowell paper datcd July 10, 1856, thus commented upon it : "On leaving the church-yard we noticed that the monu- inent to the late Rev. Mr. O'Brien, which has been in the course of erection for some time past, is com- pleted and placed over his remains immediately op- posite the main door of the church. The monument has that suitable appearance and grand solemnity about it which the granite alone can give, making it in all respects an appropriate testimonial of the respect in which the late clergyman's memory is held. It was built and placed where it now is by the congregation of St. Patrick's."

Soon after Father Timothy's death Rev. Thomas R. McNulty was sent from St. Augustine's Church, South Boston, as assistant to Father John O'Brien, and remained in Lowell until February, 1857, when he was transferred to Milton, where he founded St. Gregory's Church, Dorchester Avenue.

Another assistant, Rev. T. P. McCarthy, was sent to St. Patrick's, November 26, 1856, and remained till May, 1858, when, his health failing, he retired ; and soon after died in a religious retreat in the West.

The school building in which Father Timothy had been so deeply interested was completed in the fall of 1855, and immediately occupied.

The convent also-intended for five Sisters where now there were twice that number-was not large enough. The fall of '56 saw the beginning of a brick convent, which still remains, though with later additions considerably larger than the first building, which latter, at the time of its completion, seemed ex- travagantly commodious. Soon, owing to the rapid increase of pupils in the different departments, every available space was occupied. In 1864 the building was again enlarged, and in 1865 the Academy was in- corporated under the title St. Patrick's Academy. It seemed, however, a difficult matter to keep the ac- commodation proportionate to the ever-increasing pupils. A short time after the foundation-stone of the present building was laid, and before many months, a substantial structure of brick, finely pro- portioned and handsomely finished, was completed, needing nothing but an cxtensive play-ground and pleasant surroundings to make it an ideal boarding- school. In these last it was for a time lacking ; but, gradually, some unsightly buildings that surrounded it werc purchased and removed ; and, at length, sufficient land had been procured and handsomely laid out to make the surroundings correspond with the Academy itself.

The one most closely connected with Father John in all thesc improvements-Sister Desiree, the worthy Superior who had led the little band of five to the

humble convent in 1852-was cut down in the midst of her usefulness on the 16th of October, 1879, re- gretted by the people of Lowell as one whose dearest aspiration had been for God's glory and the spiritual and temporal welfare of all ; a comfortress and assist- ant in poverty, suffering or sorrow; a watchful and loving mother to the young committed to her care ; a kind friend and wise counselor to the many who had sought her guidance.

In addition to the pupils at the different schools, hundreds of women and girls had been gathered together in religious societies, largely through her efforts under the direction of the pastor. Of these, the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception was organ- ized as early as 1854, with the following officers: Prefect, Miss M. O'Connor; Secretary, Miss Georgiana Cummiskey. It now numbers six hundred and fifty members, with Miss Ellen Dinneen as Prefect, and Miss Elizabeth Johnson as Secretary ; and is a source of encouragement and assistance in every good work in the parish. The Sodality of the Holy Family, for married women, was formed about the year 1861, with Mrs. Catherine Haviland, Prefect, and Mrs. Catherine Ring, as Secretary. It now numbers over three hun- dred members, with Mrs. Marcella Courtney as Prefect, and Mrs. Sarah Kelley as Secretary. This latter Sodality has taken upon itself "the praise- worthy task of clothing poor children and rendering destitute homes more comfortable."

1857, " the year of the panic," was a sad one for the poor throughout the country ; and nowhere did they suffer more than in manufacturing cities and towns. In Lowell, several mills were closed and much poverty, and suffering resulted, which the priests and the sisters at St. Patrick's did all in their power to alleviate. In many instances, whole families were kept for weeks by their bounty ; food being dispensed at all hours from parsonage and convent to men, women and children without regard to race or creed.

The opening of the mills, in the spring of 1858, soon restored prosperity and happiness, which remained undisturbed until the spring of 1861, when the Catho- lics of Lowell, in common with all their fellow-citi- zens, felt the shock and the grief of the attempted dissolution of the Union.

Notwithstanding the slur that had been cast upon the loyalty and military abilities of the Irish race in Massachusetts six years before, we find some of them -Catholics, as the Irish and their descendants gener- ally are-in the militia which responded to the first call of the President, when the "gallant Sixth Mas- sachusetts," containing four Lowell companies, started April 17, 1861, for the defence of the Nation's capital. One of these, Timothy A. Crowley, may be taken as indicative of the calibre of most of the others. He was Lowell born, but of Irish descent. At the depart- ure of the company, a local paper said of him : " The color-bearer of the Sixth Regiment is Timothy A. Crowley, a private in the Watson Light Guards of

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this city, a gallant and patriotic soldier, well-known to our citizens. The flag will be safe in his hands [ride Gov. Gardner's inaugural, six years before], and he will defend it with his life." He weut out as corporal in the Watson Light Guards iu their three months' campaign, and bore the colors of the Sixth Regiment during the Baltimore riot of 1861 "with a steady courage that attracted the admiration of all." During the struggles of that regiment he won from a war correspondent of the Boston Journal the tribute of being " as noble a fellow as ever wore a uniform of the old Bay State." Having returned with his regi- ment, he soon organized a company, which he led forth from Lowell; and having displayed even greater bravery as an officer than as a private, he met his death at New Orleans, October 5, 1862. His remains were brought to Lowell, and a High Mass of Requiem offered for the repose of his soul at St. Patrick's Church, from which he was buried with public hon- ors, in St. Patrick's Cemetery, October 26, 1862.

That the Catholics of Lowell, a majority of whom were of Irish birth, were fully awake to the demands of the hour, we learn from the following "Call" which appeared in the local papers the very evening on which the first blood was shed in the Union cause : " Adopted citizens, arouse ! The cry of war resounds throughout the land ! The flag of our country, which we have sworn to support and defend, has been assail- ed! Now is the time to prove our devotion to the be- loved Constitution of our country. Therefore, all those who desire to join a militia company will assem- ble at the hall of the Independent Guards, corner of Lowell and Suffolk Streets, this Friday evening, to affix their signatures to a document for the above purpose."

It is needless to say that the call met with a ready response. Sixty-six men that evening, and four more next morning, enrolled themselves as defenders of the Union. Saturday morning the company was accepted and the charter received, and the following officers appointed :- Captain, Patrick S. Proctor ; First Lieu- tenant, Matthew Donovan ; Second Lieutenant, David W. Roche; Third Lieutenant, Thomas Claffey ; Fourth Lieutenant, Edward Murphy.

This company, afterwards known as the Hill Cadets, is thus referred to in Cowley's "History of Lowell :" -" The Hill Cadets-the first company organized in Lowell during the Rebellion-were principally men who had belonged to the Jackson Musketeers,-who had been deprived of their arms by the Know-Noth- ing Governor Gardner,-and who had been calumni- ated even as late as the preceding January, as being ready to take part with South Carolina against their own adopted Commonwealth. It was not until they received the shock of a bloody civil war, that the na- tive and foreign-born began alike to feel that, in spite of all their little differences, they were all Americans at heart-loving their country with a warm and equal love, and ready to peril all in her defence."

Of the officers of the Hill Cadets, Matthew Dono- van's bravery led to his promotion to the rank of ma- jor; David W. Roche was subsequently transferred to Company A of the same regiment, and promoted to a captaincy. He was killed at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863; his remains brought to Lowell and interred, as had been Captain Crowley's, August 3, 1863. Thomas Claffey's career is thus described by a local historian : -" On December 13, 1862, the Army of the Potomac uuder General Burnside advanced on the defences of Fredericksburg, but only to be driven back, after a sublime exhibition of its courage and a lavish outpour- ing of its blood, to its original lines. Among the killed in this engagement was Captain Thomas Claf- fey, of Lowell. He was born in Cork, Ireland, and came to Lowell when a boy. At Fredericksburg, the command of his company devolved on him, and here his gallantry won him a commission as brevet captain. This honor, however, was conferred too late. Early in the engagement, he for whom it was intended fell, shot through the mouth and neck, and so, amid the cloud and thunder of battle, the impetuous spirit of Thomas Claffey took the everlasting flight. His body was not recovered."

This was not the only company made up of Lowell Catholics of Irish blood. Before the close of that same first month of the war, still another call was issued, and answered, to form a company to be at- tached to the Irish Brigade of Boston ; and, on the . 1st of May following, the Butler Rifles-Co. G of the Sixteenth Infantry-was organized, including a large number of men of either Irish birth or parentage, and with Thomas O'Hare its first lieutenant, and afterwards its captain.

Nor were the Catholic women of Lowell lacking in patriotism, and loyalty to the Union. Side by side with their Protestant sisters, and with devotion by no means less marked, did they work in their own wo- manly way for their country's defenders, as the follow- ing extract will show :- "The ladies named below, belonging to the different Catholic churches in this city, have patriotically volunteered their services as a committee to furnish the soldiers of Captain Proctor's company with flannel garments, and invite the co-op- eration of other ladies who may wish to unite in the same benevolent work.

"The committee will meet in the vestries of the several churches to-morrow afternoon, for the purpose of making further arrangements. We learn that the city government have granted the use of their rooms in the government building as a workshop for the ladies engaged in this enterprise. The following are the names of the committee :- St. Patrick's Church, Mrs. Hogan, Mrs. P. Haggerty, Mrs. T. D. Smith, Miss B. Proctor, Miss M. A. Doyle, Miss M. Shea, Mrs. D. Crowley, Miss L. Enright. St. Mary's, Miss B. Car- roll, Mrs. T. Lucas, Miss M. Pender, Mrs. J. Warren, Mrs. P. Lynch, Miss M. Deehan, Mrs. J. Heland. St. Peter's Church, Mrs. J. Quinn, Mrs. B. Costello, Miss

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J. McEvoy, Miss L. MeEvoy, Miss M. McGuiggan, Miss M. McNulty, Miss Kate McEvoy.

Well, indeed, might the Lowell Advertiser of Thurs- day, May 2d, state : "The fidelity of the Irish to the general government is indisputable. No class of our pcople excel them in patriotic devotion to the land of their adoption." And with confidence did the pioneer Catholic organ of the State, the Boston Pilot, of the preceding week assert : " The Irish adopted citizens are true to a man to the Constitution. No exception to the ancient character of their race will now be dis- covered. This is their real country. The govern- ment of the United States is their favorite system of national policy. They have taken a solemn oath to bé loyal to America against all other nations in the world. Here they flourish in all their undertakings. Here they are deeply fixed with their wives and fam- ilies, whom they support from profits of their perma- nent engagements in the various pursuits of business in the State. Here are rooted all their hopes of hap- piness, honor and emolument from farming, from commerce, from artisanship, from public toiling, from politics and from the professions. They have too much at stake here-too much of their honor and too much of their other interests-to be traitors to the country."

In an editorial in the Lowell Advertiser of that time reference is thus made to the Irish volunteers and to their treatment a few short years previous : " We can . conceive of no more withering rebuke to the State of Massachusetts, than is paid it in the promptness with which the men who compose these companies have come forward, in the dark hour of our country's peril, to defend it from the attacks of domestic traitors, to uphold our flag, and under its protecting folds to bat- tle for the right. What better evidence is wanted to satisfy Americans of the error they have committed in doubting the patriotism of these men, and denying them the same political and social rights enjoyed by all other classes of citizens. Let us hear no more of such illiberal sentiments from Massachusetts. They have too long been a disgrace to the intelligence of the State, both at home and abroad ; and may we not hope that the extra session of the Legislature about to be called, will take, at least, the initiatory steps in purging out all unjust laws affecting their rights.

"At any rate, we cannot doubt, that in whatever post of danger or of peril they may be placed, in the fearful struggle through which we are now passing, they will do their duty bravely, with honor to them- selves, and credit to our city ; and that they will show to us, of the manor born, that the love and patriotism which Irish adopted citizens have always claimed to cherish for our country and its free institutions have During all these years several worthy priests had been sent to Lowell to assist Father O'Brien. In June, 1858, came Rev. M. X. Carroll, and remained until February 28, 1859, when he went to Mansfield, and after some time was transferred to his present been no idle boast. They will show us, too, the in- justice of the disbanding of the so-called Irish mili- tary companies of Massachusetts by a Know-Nothing administration, for the poor reason alone, that they happened, perchance, to be born upon another soil place at the Boston Cathedral; Rev. P. O'Donoghue

and exercise the constitutional right to offer up their prayers to God before a Catholic altar."

The Hill Cadets made their first appearance in their new uniform on Sunday, May 5, 1861, when they assisted at Mass at St. Patrick's Church. The Mass was celebrated by the pastor, Rev. Jolin O'Brien, and when, at the Consecration, the drum beat and the men presented arms before the Lord of Hosts, the God of Battles, it was a most impressive scene, reminding one of the Ages of Faith, when the Crusaders dedi- cated their arms to the Holy Cause, and sought at the altar of God inspiration and encouragement to battle for His Holy Land and Holy Name.

Their next public appearance was the following Thursday evening, when they marched to the residence of Paul Hill, Esq., a gentleman who had been very active in their behalf and in whose honor they took their name. They were presented on that occasion with a handsome flag, the presentation ad- dress being delivered by John F. McEvoy, Esq.

We next hear of them the 23d of June, and also of a delegation of the Butler Rifles, as attending, at St. Mary's Church, the funeral services of Rev. Joseph Gray, a highly esteemed priest, who died suddenly, June 21st, at the residence of Rev. Father McDer- mott, and whose remains now lie in St. Patrick's Cemetery, where a monument has been raised in his memory " by the Catholics of Lowell, under the au- spices of the Young Men's Catholic Library Associa- tion." A few days after, Monday, July 8, 1861, the Hill Cadets and the Butler Rifles left Lowell for Camp Cameron, Cambridge, and were attached to the Sixteenth Regiment, with which they soon went to the front, and bravely and honorably served for three years, returning July 21, 1864, after having taken part in the battles of Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Chan- tilly, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Locust Grove, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Har- bor and Petersburg,-" a record their children and their children's children may look back upon with pride."

And so we might continue a roll of honor from of- ficers and privates, in army and navy, radiant with the loyalty and bravery of the Catholics of Lowell, some of whom sleep in unknown graves on Southern battle-fields, "Southern dews weeping above them as gently as though they lay in their Northern village church-yards ;" some of whom repose this June morning 'neath flag-marked and flower-strewn graves in St. Patrick's Cemetery ; some of whom we, hap- pily, have yet amongst us; and still others of whom have been called hence to serve again their country in various positions of honor and trust.

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was also here from December, 1858, to February, 1859, when his place was filled by Rev. E. O'Connor, who remained uutil June, 1861, and uot long after died in the Milwaukee Diocese. Rev. Emiliano Gerbi, O.S.F., next came to Lowell iu June, 1861, and, having served until April, 1862, was sent to St. Mary's, Charlestown, and thence to the Gate of Heaven Church, South Boston, where he died. In June, 1862, Rev. Peter Bertoldi came to St. Patrick's, whence he was transferred, July, 1864, to St. Peter's Church, Sandwich ; Rev. Peter Hamill came soon after, September, 1864, and remained until Decem- ber, 1864, a short time before his death. Rev. James McGlew, the present respected pastor of the church of St. Rose, Chelsea, spent a few months at St. Pat- rick's, from January, 1865, to July 1st of the same year, when he was appointed to St. Mary's Church, Ran- dolph, and afterwards, as has been stated, to Chelsea. Rev. Charles F. Grace next succeeded, in July, 1865, remaining until July, 1868, when he was transferred to Great Barrington. About a year after his coming, the congregation, which had greatly increased, re- quired the presence of another priest, and Rev. Den- nis C. Moran, having been appointed in August, 1866, remained until March, 1868, when he was placed in charge of St. Mary's, Uxbridge, also of Whitinsville, where he built a fine church, the pres- ent St. Patrick's, after which he was appointed to the pastorate of St. Charles' Church, South Adams, which position he still occupies.

Meanwhile another care had come to the priest of St. Patrick's-that of the Catholics of Chelms- ford. Finding them quite numerous, and realizing the distance they had to come to Mass, Father O'Brien purchased a Protestant Church in East Chelmsford, which he moved to a central posi- ion in North Chelmsford, where it still remains, under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist, at- tended by priests from St. Patrick's Church, Lowell.

Before Father Moran's departure it was found that two assistants would be necessary ; and, at the earnest solicitation of Father John, his nephew, Rev. Michael O'Brien, St. Patrick's present rector, came from Rochester, N. Y., to Lowell, June 29, 1867. The de- tails of Father Michael O'Brien's career, previous to this event, will be found elsewhere; but from this time forth little can be said of him apart from the history of St. Patrick's Church, to whose welfare and advancement-spiritual and temporal-all his best energies have been unselfishly devoted.

The year following Father Michael's coming saw another good work of Father John O'Brien's com- pleted-a hospital for the sick and suffering. In the fall of 1866 he purchased the "Livermore Place," in Belvidere, the "Old Yellow House," built by Timothy Brown, 1770, and later occupied by Judge Livermore. Together with the adjoining land, the cost was $12,000. This he presented to the Sisters of Charity, and had it incorporated under their auspices March

29, 1867, with the name St. John's Hospital, at the Sisters' request, in order that it should allow, at least, its title to pay him some tribute of appreciation and respectful remembrance. In 1868 the building was completed and opened. The report for 1879 says of this noble institution : "Its doors are always open to cases where individuals are suddenly stricken down or injured by accident in the mills, or on the railroads, or by any other means."

Shortly after the establishment of the hospital-for its benefit, and also for the beuefit of persons living in its neighborhood, which is quite a distance front St. Patrick's Church-a chapel was erected close by, and for a while attended by priests from St. Patrick's. Not long after this, the spiritual care of the French- speaking Catholics having been committed to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, fathers of that society came to Lowell, and also took charge of the little hospital chapel, which has since developed into the beautiful Church of the Immaculate Con- ceptiou.

Some time previous to this, Father John had made extensive additions to St. Patrick's Cemetery, which, when he came to Lowell, consisted of only a few acres that had originally been set apart for burial purposes by Lowell's first Catholic pastor, Father Mahony. For this purpose, a large tract of land in the vicinity of the first one was purchased, and it has since been greatly increased by the present rector, who has continued Father John's admirable arrange- ment and appropriate ornamentation, until St. Pat- rick's Cemetery-the only Catholic one in Lowell- now consists of about seventy acres, is excellently laid out, has numerous handsome monuments, and is second to none in the city. Within its sacred enclos- ures lic the remains of Rev. Fathers Gray, McDer- mott, Crudden, Phaneuf, Trudeau and Ryan, over each of whom a monumeut has been raised-that over the last-named clergyinan having been crccted by the kindly remembrance of Rev. Michael O'Brien. There, also, repose several of the good Sisters of Notre Dame and of Charity, the greater part of whose pious lives was devoted to the welfare of the Catho- lics of Lowell ; besides all the laity of the city who have died in the Catholic communion, realizing, be- yond a donbt, that "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 37

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226