USA > Maryland > A Century of Growth [electronic resource] or, the history of the Church in Western Maryland > Part 5
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cowl was long and pointed, others claiming that it was exactly conformed to the shape of cowl worn in their day. Being unable to settle the question, they agreed to differ, and both shapes of cowl were per- mitted. Those who adopted the brown habit, with "capuche," or point- ed hood, soon began to be known as Ca- puchin Franciscans, and gradually the name was shortened into Capuchins. The variety of names, however, did not interfere with the privileges ' granted by the Church to the Franciscan Or- der, and, as a con- sequence, the Fran- VERY REV. P. HYACINTH. ciscan "devotion of Portiuncula" was introduced in Sts. Peter and Paul's congregation. This devotion takes its origin and its name from the Church of Portiuncula, one of the churches of Assisi, with which the seraphic St. Francis was connected. Tradition says that in this church our Blessed Lord appeared to the saint in the year 1221, and, according to Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, "bade him go to the Pope, who would grant a plenary indulgence to all
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sincere penitents that would devoutly visit the church." Later the same privilege was extended to all the Fran- . ciscan churches canonically established. At present the indulgences can be gained in all churches in which the "Third Order of St. Francis exists according to the canons." This exercise may be said to be the specific devotion of the Capuchin congregation in Cum- berland. It is very popular, not merely with the German congregation, but also with hundreds of other pious Catholics of Western Maryland.
St. Anthony of Padua could not be overlooked by the members of his own Order. He has been called "the wonder worker of the Franciscans." His feast day is solemnly observed in the monastery and by the congregation. St Anthony and St. Francis are among the most popular saints of this century, and it is one of the best signs of the times that devotion to both of them is on the increase. These saints were men of strong faith and marvellous self-denial- men in whose lives the supernatural was visibly pre- dominant. Both have precious lessons to teach the twentieth century, and may God in His goodness grant to the twentieth century grace to listen to their message! Tennyson, who can hardly be accused of exaggerated devotion to Catholic saints, has exclaimed : "Sweet St. Francis of Assisi! would that he were with us again!"
In the year 1888, an addition was made to the monastery; this was rendered necessary on account of the growth of the community. In the same year
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Sts. Peter and Paul's Church was solemnly con- secrated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Kain, of Wheeling. His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, was present in the. sanctuary. The church had been consecrated in the year 1858, but it had been so modified in the subsequent renovations and em- bellishments that a re-consecration was deemed necessary. In the year 1893 the corner-stone of the new hall was laid with solemn cere- monies. The work of building went on rapidly, and in a short time the con- gregation could boast of one of the best equipped halls in the VERY REV. P. FRANCIS. archdiocese of Balti- more. In prepara- tion of the golden jubilee of the organization of the congregation, the church was frescoed, the gallery enlarged, and a magnificent new organ was con- structed, " a perfect instrument, of great strength and manifold combinations." On July 3, 1898, the golden jubilee of Sts. Peter and Paul's Church was celebrated. His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, sang a Pontifical High Mass. Every item in a
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magnificently arranged program was perfectly carried out. Former pastors and assistants were there; many priests who had been raised in the parish came back to take part in the jubilee; nearly all the diocesan clergy of Allegany County honored the occasion by their presence. The State was represented by His Excellency, the Governor; the country at large, by a United States senator; the Court, by an associate judge and many lawyers. The beautiful combination of electric lights, wax candles, flowers and gorgeous gold vestments, all united to form a picture truly grand and to recall the inspired words: "Arise and be enlightened, Jerusalem, for thy light is come: and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee. Lift up thine eyes round about and see; all these are gathered together: they are come to thee: and the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and the kings in the bright- ness of thy rising."
Sanctity, hidden under humility and learning, united with modesty, are characteristics of the Capuchin monks. Of the Fathers who have labored in Cum- berland, all have been men of ability; some have been men of extraordinary ability. As examples, we may cite the Very Rev. Father Hyacinth, who, on account of the fidelity and courage shown during the " Kultur-Kampf," was a marked man. He suffered much for his faith, but, remembering the words of the Apostle, "You must obey God rather than men," he went on boldly with his work. Again and again he was thrown into prison. On the Feast of All
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Saints, 1884, he was arrested at the altar, dragged to the penitentiary, and incarcerated for ten months. He was finally exiled from his native land. It is natural to suppose that so courageous and devoted a priest was highly venerated by his Cumberland congrega- tion. He is at present stationed at the Cathedral of Muenster, Westphalia, living in peace and quiet, whilst his enemy, Bismarck, has long ago gone to his judgment. Father Hyacinth had the greatest confi- dence in the Providence of God, and he was never disappointed.
Father Francis, also, was a man of great culture, speaking many languages fluently; of great zeal, labor- ing indefatigably for souls; a profound theologian, with a bright mind, of wonderful clearness. We may form an idea of the state of science among the Capuchins from the fact that when, in the year 1891, the Very Rev. General, Bernard Andermatt, arrived from Rome, he was most cordially received by the community, with appropriate addresses in English, German, French, Latin and Greek. A fitting tribute to the successor of St. Francis of Assisi! Neither are the good Capuchins behind the age in the cultivation of the natural sciences. In the year 1887 a well was dug for the use of the school children. The water was first used for drinking purposes in December. As there is always more or less typhoid fever in Cum- berland, chemists analyzed the water of the well and declared it "highly injurious to health, owing to the great quantity of chlorine contained in it." The
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experts, who, no doubt, prided themselves in their science, were amazed when Father Francis modestly informed them "that he and all the Reverend Fathers were aware that there was a great quantity of chlo- rine in the water; but while chlorine formed from animal substances is detrimental to health, chlorine formed from vegetable substances is admitted to be harmless. The well is over one hundred feet deep, and is sure- ly safe from animal substances." The truth is the school children have used the water for more than ten years, and have not been there- by injured.
The Capuchin Fa- VERY REV. FATHER PETER. thers have proved themselves on many occasions excellent business men. Here is an example: In 1893, George Hammerschmidt died, bequeathing to the church $3,550 in cash and real estate valued at $4,000. Expert lawyers declared the will void and illegal because it contained the religious and not the secular name of the legatee. The good Fathers at once had the name ratified by the State
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Legislature, which legalized the will, obviated all diffi- culty, and the community used the money.
The century closes with Father Peter as pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul's. He is well known and well liked by his whole congregation, and, though a young man, he is already a successful pastor. "Better praise no man could have earned; better life no man could have lived."
ARTICLE IV.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, MT. SAVAGE.
About ten miles in a north-westerly direction from the county seat of Allegany County, situated on the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, nestles peace- fully, in a narrow valley, the far-famed town of Mt. Savage. Although the little city has not been blessed with a classic name, this seeming disadvantage may be overlooked in the other numerous blessings which it enjoys. Mt. Savage is, in the best sense of the word, a prosperous town, whose people, socially and intellectually, are not surpassed by the people of any section of Maryland, and if we view the commercial side of Mt. Savage life, we find a perfect hive of industry. Nature has been prodigally bountiful, having buried, in the surrounding hills and valleys, a seem- ingly inexhaustible quantity of fire-clay, which is said by scientists to be a mine of wealth on account of
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its superior quality and its remarkable freedom from impurities. The Enamel Brick Company, whose ex- tensive works are located in Mt. Savage, can supply, at all seasons of the year, to ready hands, any amount of work. The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Rail- road Company have erected here their machine shops, furnishing employment to many skilled workmen, and the round-houses of the same company keep in Mt. Savage the majority of the trainmen. These public works, with their accompanying prosperity, give an appearance of peace and comfort to every home cluster- ing along the hillsides of the funnel-shaped town of Mt. Savage. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Mt. Savage, although only a hamlet, was comparatively well known. As early as the year 1825 it had become a village of some note, and about ten years later the town assumed a national importance on account of a rolling-mill which was erected there. It is worthy of record that Mt. Savage has the honor of being the town where were rolled the first rails made on the Western Continent. This event was made memorable from a medal which was awarded to the old rolling-mill by the "Franklin Institute." Two blast furnaces were added to the industrial young town as far back as 1840. The population of Mt. Savage had gone beyond four thousand towards the beginning of the year 1850. There is scarcely a trace of the old rolling-mill now. The blast furnaces, too, finally failed and were abandoned, but not before the brick works had begun to employ a large number of hands.
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St. Patrick's Church, a heavy stone structure, promi- nently elevated on the summit of a high hill, looks majestically down on the people below in the valley. The building is severe in its architectural outlines, but impressively massive. No great stretch of imagina- tion is required to endow this grand old parish with the gift of speech and to hearken to the lessons of wisdom which she could address to her younger sisters : " Hear me, for I am very old. I had grown wise before you learned your first lessons of wisdom. With the sacredness of age and the plaintiveness of experi- ence, I pronounce upon you all my blessing. Strong in faith, after the example of my glorious patron, I have become pre-eminently the mother of priests. There is scarcely a church in this vast archdiocese that has not heard the voice of one of my priestly sons at the altar. I am the fruitful mother of faith- ful priests, whose lives reflect the mingled light of faith and science. Here they learned their first lessons of sanctity from their mother's lips; here they caught the first inspirations of zeal, as they sprang fresh, warm and strong from their mother's heart." And the old lips became mute in the grandeur of silence and the glory of past achievements, whilst her youth- ful sisters cried out, with ecstatic joy, "There is life in the old land yet."
The old parish of Mt. Savage was first known by the name of "Arnold's Settlement," after Archibald Arnold, the proprietor of a hotel located on the old road called the "Turkey Foot Road." Archibald
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Arnold was the father of the venerable Mrs. Cronin, of Frostburg, and the grandfather of Rev. John Cronin, the celebrated Redemptorist priest To Mrs. Cronin and Father Cronin, her learned son, we are indebted for many facts connected with the early history of this grand old parish.
The first Mass cele- brated at Arnold's Set- tlement was said at the home of Archibald Ar- nold, by the Rev. Stephen Theodore Badin, in the year 1793. According to the souvenir volume of St. Mary's Seminary, of Baltimore, Father Badin, the first priest ordained in the United States, May 25, 1793, " had al- ready studied theology at Orleans, in France, be- REV. STEPHEN THEODORE BADIN. fore he came to America. He was sent to Kentucky, where he exercised the holy ministry with great zeal and success till his death in 1853." John O'Kane Murray, in his Church History, speaks as follows of Father Badin : In 1793 he was sent to Kentucky. Leaving Baltimore on foot, with staff in hand, the enthusiastic young priest set out with one colleague, and, by almost impassable roads, through a rugged wilderness, travelled to Pittsburg." We must
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conclude that Father Badin travelled by Braddock's Road, the great thoroughfare across the country at that time. On this journey he would pass very near Arnold's Settlement, and having with him vestments, missal, and the few necessary adornments for the altar, he was naturally delighted to find a Catholic family and say Mass at their house. Mrs. Cronin, although ap- proaching her ninetieth year, does not, of course, remember Father Badin, but she "remembers very well having heard of his visit and of the first Mass said by him at the Settlement." Mass was said from that time, off and on, at the Settlement; before the first church was built it was celebrated at the Arnold Hotel. There were few Catholics-in fact, very few settlers-in this section before the "National Pike" was built, and even after the completion of the Pike, Arnold's Settlement derived little advantage from it, "except that the number of travellers passing east and west consumed a great quantity of mutton, veal and venison, and needed hay and grain for their teams."
About the year 1810, the Rev. Nicholas Zocchi, an Italian priest of great learning, began to visit the Settlement. He came from Taneytown, in Carroll County. Father Zocchi baptized Mrs. Cronin probably about the year 1811. At this early date the princi- pal families were the Arnolds, Mattinglys, Logisdons, Mckenzies, Deans and Porters. Father Zocchi was for forty-one years pastor of Taneytown, where he died in the year 1845, in the seventy-third year of
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his age. His remains rest in the cemetery at Taney- town. He is remembered as a holy priest, very paternal in manner. He was in the habit of settling all disputes arising among his people. If one party came to him with a complaint he would send for the other; then listen patiently to what both had to say. He carefully distinguished between misunder- standings and real grievances In this way he gener- ally succeeded in a compromise verdict, and made both parties shake hands before going home. He is said to have possessed a great charm of manner, and when he left the world, he left an unblemished name behind him.
During the year 1812 and afterwards, the Settlement was visited occasionally by Rev. Matthew Ryan, of Hagerstown. He is not to be confounded with Father Timothy Ryan, who came later. He was a very old priest, but, notwithstanding his age, he frequently rode on horseback from the Washington County missions to attend the Settlement. His long, active, missionary services finally shattered what had been a strong con- stitution ; his eyesight gradually failed, and before his death he was totally blind. In 1819, Father Timothy Ryan, a young priest, began to attend the mission. He came-probably three or four times a year-for at least five years. He was also attending Cumberland and the adjacent missions of Virginia. He died at Hagerstown in the year 1837. During the visits of the Fathers Ryan the first church was built at "the Settlement." " It was very small-not
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much larger than a decent-sized parlor. It was con- nected with the Arnold Hotel, and on the side oppo- site the altar was the old-time regulation fire-place."
About the year 1824, the Rev. Francis Roloff began to visit "the Settlement," probably four or five times a year. Father Roloff was the eleventh seminarian enrolled at St. Mary's Seminary. He was ordained by Archbishop Carroll in 1808, and at once began his missionary labors. In 1828, Father Roloff left Alle- gany County and went to Wheeling, Virginia, at that time a part of the diocese of Baltimore. A year later Archbishop Whitfield appointed him to the missions along the Ohio River. The first records of the Wheeling Cathedral were begun by this good priest. He opens the records by noting that, in November, 1828, he arrived at Wheeling, and in 1829 he re- ceived definite charge of the place. This is the oldest record in possession of the Cathedral, and, no doubt, Father Roloff was the first priest that was in charge of Wheeling or permanently resided there. His name is scarcely remembered in Western Maryland. No one is able to give any information concerning either the priest or his work. Rev. A. A. Lambing, of Wilkinsburg, Pa., the brilliant Church historian, has kindly informed us that "in the year 1833 Father Roloff was stationed in Bryantown, Md. He was changed from there in 1842, and, two years later, he became assistant at the Cathedral in Boston. This is the last place that his name is found in the list of priests."
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Personal recollections and traditions handed down are the only obtainable history of the old Arnold · Settlement. The reminiscences concerning the differ- ent pioneer priests and the early settlers are very interesting when heard from the aged people who were a part of the history of those days. Much has been lost by death, and in a short time the few re- maining links binding the present to the past will be broken.
In 1829, Father Francis Xavier Marshall began to attend the Settlement conjointly with St. Mary's Church of Cumberland. He spent a great portion of his time in the upper part of his parish. He seems to have been a man of simple tastes and fond of rural life. During the six years of his pastorate he built a new brick church, and as Father Marshall was an ex-Jesuit, he dedicated the church under the name of St. Ignatius. The lot on which the church stood was donated by Archibald Arnold, and is still a part of St. Patrick's Cemetery. The old portion of the cemetery was the church-yard proper, given by Mr. Arnold; the new portion was given by Hon. John S. Combs about the year 1878.
During the pastorate of Father Marshall the congre- gation grew rapidly by immigration. When the iron- works and mines were started they brought many iron-workers, miners, mechanics and laborers to the town. It is no exaggeration to say that the majority of the new-comers were Catholics. The growth of the parish caused Father Marshall to make an addition
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to the little church. He was unexpectedly called away to labor in other fields towards the end of 1835.
For the next five years the parish was attended by the Rev. Fathers Henry Myers and Bertrand S. Piot. It was looked upon as a mission of Cumberland, although, in reality, the Mt. Savage congregation far outnumbered the congregation of Cumberland. Father Leonard Obermeyer of Cumberland, attended the parish occasionally, and Mt. Savage owes him a debt of gratitude because he saw her greatness and ad- mitted it at once.
The year 1845 found the new railroad, extending from Mt. Savage to Cumberland, almost completed. The blast furnaces and rolling-mill were running at their full capacity; the population of the town was approaching very near to four thousand; the farmers in the neighboring valleys were enjoying an unpre- cedented period of prosperity; there was a perpetual demand for all farm produce. The Mt. Savage Rail- road connected, through the Baltimore and Ohio, with the East, and by the National Pike the people were brought in direct touch with the West; the future, accordingly, loomed up prosperous and bright.
This was the state of affairs when the Rev. Charles C. Brennan was sent by Archbishop Eccleston as assistant to Father Obermeyer, of Cumberland. Father Brennan was a young man, strong and zealous. He was not quite a year old in the priesthood, having been ordained from St. Mary's Seminary in 1844. Father Obermeyer and Father Brennan found them-
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selves in a position similar to one recorded in Holy Scripture: "Abram therefore said to Lot: 'Behold, the whole land is before thee; depart from me, I pray thee.' If thou wilt go to the left hand, I will go to the right; if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left. And Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, which was watered throughout. And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the East, and they were separated, one brother from the other. Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and Lot abode in the towns that were about the Jordan." Arch- bishop Eccleston was pleased with the Abram-Lot arrangement, and Father Brennan became the first resident pastor of Mt Savage, with Eckhart, Barrel- ville and Wellersburg as outlying missions. He is remembered as a pious, kind, prayerful priest. He remained nearly ten years in charge of the parish.
In March, 1856, the Rev. James Carney was ap- pointed pastor of Mt. Savage by the Most Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick, Archbishop of Baltimore. Father Carney had made his course of philosophy and theology at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and in 1853 was ordained priest by Archbishop Kenrick. He was appointed assistant at St. Patrick's Church, Cumberland, and in that capacity he served for a short time before his promotion to the pastorate of Mt. Savage.
With Father Carney ends the history of the Church at Arnold's Settlement. Nearly all the congregation
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were by this time living in the Mt. Savage valley, and the church was too small and too far off. Father Carney had begun to arrange for the building of a new church. Everyone was loud in demanding a more convenient location than that of the old one ; but, aside from this demand, all was dissension, some wishing one site, others, another. The question of location was finally settled , when the Mt. Savage Iron Company donated one-half acre of ground as the site for the new church. Father Carney was called away from this field of labor in July, 1861. He died shortly after his removal from the mountains.
The excavation for the foundation of the building REV. JAMES CARNEY. was begun towards the end of 1862, and the corner- stone was laid a year later. At the same time the name of the parish patron was changed from St. Ignatius to St. Patrick. This was intended as a neat compliment to the generosity of the Irish immigrants.
It is worthy of note that William Cullen Bryant, the famous poet, visited Mt. Savage in the year 1860; on this occasion he called on Father Carney at the Settlement. In a letter, dated at Mt. Savage, to the New York Evening Post, he speaks as follows: "The
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people here inhabit a region of considerable fertility ; their fields yield good crops of wheat and other grain, the finest hay and sweetest pasturage for their herds. These farmers are Catholics; and almost in sight of where I write, in one of the pleasantest and greenest nooks of the hills, stands their old church and the house of their priest, surrounded by trees."
The Rev. Richard Brown became the immediate successor of Father Carney, and remained in charge until June, 1868. During this pastorate Mt. Savage reached the climax of her glory. The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company had been char- tered in 1850, and had bought the railroad already built from Mt. Savage to Cumberland. In 1854 they extended their road to Frostburg, and, in 1859, laid the tracks to Lonaconing, connecting with the old George's Creek Coal and Iron Company's Railroad, which they purchased in 1863. Thus they obtained a. direct line through the heart of the coal-fields of the State, and, by the transaction, made Mt. Savage the principal and the most prosperous town between Cumberland and Piedmont. The Catholic congre- gation, of course, were partakers of this prosperity. Father Brown was sufficiently observant to grasp the opportunity, and courageous enough to go on with the work of building the new St. Patrick's Church. Father Brown was the architect of the church, and used his own judgment in planning every detail of the structure. As far as use, convenience and strength go, the plan was not a bad one, but there was very
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