USA > New Jersey > The Catholic Church in New Jersey > Part 10
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There are now ten flourishing parishes in the field in which
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Father Rogers first came to labor; and where he found less than five hundred Catholics there are now fourteen thousand seven hundred.
St. Peter's Church, Jersey City.
THE early history of Catholicity in Jersey City is so entirely lost that it is next to impossible to obtain from the mass of con- flicting traditions any reliable details. Powles' Hook was certainly visited very early, not only by priests but, as we have seen, by Bishop Carroll. The few Catholics resident there either went to New York by boat to St. Peter's or were attended by priests from that church. It is said that Mass was first celebrated in the city in 1830.
The Associates of the Jersey Company, incorporated by the legislature, November 10th, 1804, moved by a desire to forward their own interests, as much as by public spirit, decided, 1829, to give to the different religious bodies land for the purpose of erect- ing schools and churches. They were convinced that the differ- ent denominations would erect edifices whose beauty would en- hance the value of the ad- joining properties, and their presence would advance the moral welfare of the inhab- itants. Four lots were deed- ed to the Catholics on Grand Street, March 10th, 1831. At this time it seems that they were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Cathedral, in Mott Street. The Rev. William Byrnes, the first pas- tor, accepted the gift of land from the Associates. His flock was very poor. John McIver took the contract to build the church, and work was begun in 1837. The FIRST ST. PETER'S CHURCH, Grand Street, Jersey City. site was on the edge of a morass, and as the gift was coupled with the condition of erecting a stone building, sufficient care was not taken to drive adequate piling. The building had not advanced far when it col-
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lapsed, and with it the hopes of the little flock, who saw their scanty earnings and their hopes buried in the ruins. The misfort- une, however, proved a bless- ing. It stirred the sympathy of their fellow-citizens, who came to their aid with money, and moved the Associates to modify their conditions. In 1836 Father Byrnes was obliged by ill health to leave the parish, and died at Platts- burg in 1837. He was suc- ceeded by the Rev. Hugh Mohan, who so advanced the work that services were held in the church in 1837. It was dedicated by Archbishop Hughes in 1839, assisted by Bishop Fenwick of Boston. There were then about one hundred Catholics in the con- REV. JOHN KELLY, gregation. Then began the Pastor of St. Peter's Church, Jersey City (from 1844 to 1866). Born 1805. Died 1866. struggle for existence which marked the genesis of each new parish, disheartening alike to the pastor and the flock. From 1831 to 1844 a series of priests seems to have ministered to the wants of the community. We find the names of the Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, afterward bishop of Hartford, who went down at sea in the ill-fated Pacific, January, 1856; the Rev. Walter Quarter, who removed to Chicago when his brother was made bishop of that See, but returned to New York and died there December, 1863; the Rev. Patrick Kenny, of a frail constitution, who after a brief stay went to Charleston, S. C., where he died in 1845; the Rev. John Rogers, the vener- able patriarch of New Brunswick. In 1844 came the saintly Father Kelly, who offered for the blacks of Liberia the sacrifice of his life, but which the Master did not accept, reserving him for a greater field. If his was not the martyr's death, none that bears the martyr's palm in Paradise excelled his motive and his charity. The Rev. John Kelly was born in Trillick, parish of Kiliskerry, County Tyrone, Ireland. His was the blessing of so many great and holy men-a good mother, noted for her gentleness and amiability. His early years were characterized by that sincere, 7
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earnest piety which was the charm of his manhood. Every good work attracted him, teaching catechism, reciting the rosary, visit- ing the sick, and journeying even to distant Lough Derg on pil- grimages. That he was a leader in the Rosary Society at the age of fifteen, and a director of the Way of the Cross, and long before he entered the seminary, at the request of his pastor, who was very infirm, instructed the adults of the parish in Christian doc- trine, stamp him at once as a youth of rare and exceptional piety. When the young catechist left for the seminary in 1823, the grief of the parishioners was as great as if they had lost a devoted pas- tor. Father Kelly came to America in 1825. He was admitted to Mount St. Mary's in 1826, and joined the Jesuits, in Frederick, in 1828. But his health failed him, and he returned to the "Mountain," in 1830-31, and was ordained by Bishop Dubois, September 14th, 1833. His first appointment was St. Patrick's, New York, May 8th, 1834; but, in the autumn of the same year, he was sent to the northeastern part of New York to assume charge of a district about half as extensive as Ireland. He said the first Mass in Saratoga in the house of John Costigan. In 1836 Father Kelly was at Sandy Hill and Saratoga, and pastor of Albany from 1837 to 1841, when he set out for Africa. During the Revolution many negro slaves had sought refuge in the ranks of the British army and returned with them to England. Some London philanthropists, with a view of bettering their condition and enabling them to establish their own government and to check the slave trade, restored these negroes to the continent from which they or their fathers had been so rudely torn. Thus was founded Monrovia at Cape Mesurado, and the whole country which it was hoped to colonize was called Liberia. This move- ment spread to the United States, and encouragement was given to free negroes to emigrate to Africa and a powerful society was organized to promote this scheme. A separate society was formed in Maryland with a view of colonizing another territory in Africa in 1833. The attention of the Holy See was called to the sad spiritual condition of these unfortunate colonists by the fathers of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, and as the Jesuits were unable in 1834 to take over that mission, Propaganda ex- pressed the desire of the Holy Father that the bishops of New York and Philadelphia should each send a missionary to that field. The Rev. Father Kelly, together with the Rev. Edward Barron and a young catechist, Dennis Pindar, sailed from Baltimore, December 21st, 1841, for Mesurado. It is impossible to exagger-
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ate the sufferings this little band endured in the terrible climate. Father Kelly's heroic courage and faith sustained him in his fruitful labors, but at length human fortitude was forced to yield, and Father Kelly was carried on shipboard in a dying condition in 1844. The voyage restored him to health, and he was ap- pointed pastor of Jersey City, November 12th, 1844, with a parish of about five hundred souls. His zeal for souls, his care of the
ST. PETER'S CHURCH, JERSEY CITY. Old Parochial school on the left. St. Peter's College on the right.
children, instructing them in simple and impressive language-so that to-day these children grown to manhood still speak of his explanation of the catechism-his love for the poor, were the edi- fication of all and the inspiration of the many young Levites he raised up to continue his work in the Lord's vineyard. Mean- while the circle of his flock enlarged, and to meet the demands of religion he built churches and laid the foundations of the new parishes of Hoboken, Hudson City, Bergen Point, etc. He died, poor and in debt, April 28th, 1866. He was succeeded by one of the children of the parish, the Rev. Patrick Corrigan, who deco-
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rated the present St. Peter's, built by Father Kelly, and handed over to the Society of Jesus the new and the old churches, four cottages, and the parish school, representing a valuation of $250,- 000. Father Corrigan's desire to see a Catholic college in Jersey City was realized in the erection of the present imposing college by the Rev. V. Beaudevin, S.J. Among the graduates now labor- ing as priests in the diocese are the Rev. Charles Mackel, S.T.L., professor of dogmatic theology in the diocesan seminary, and the Rev. Joseph P. A. McCormick, Ph.D., pastor of Netcong. Among the children of the parish raised to the dignity of the priesthood are the Rev. H. A. Brann, D.D., pastor of St. Agnes', New York, and the late Rev. Thomas J. Toomey and the Rev. Walter M. A. Fleming. The old St. Peter's was sold to the Sisters of Charity, and on its site was erected the present St. Aloysius' Academy and Home. A fine new school was opened in 1898. The follow- ing fathers of the Society of Jesus have been pastors: the Revs. V. Beaudevin, John McQuaid, Peter Cassidy, John Harpes, Joseph Zwinge, and John W. Fox, who is assisted by the Revs. Matthew McDonald, Bryan, Kearney, and Edward McTammany, of the same society.
Among the old reliable chronicles is one that refers to a lec- ture that the Rev. Dr. Pise was to have delivered on St. Patrick's Eve, 1843. The learned doctor embarked on the boat, which usually took ten minutes to cross the river, but owing to a tre- mendous snow-storm, which heaped the streets with snow, "it was driven down by the strong wind and tide, in such a manner that after laboring for nearly two hours to gain her destination, she succeeded at length, with the greatest difficulty, in reaching the shore. It was then too late for the service." We are also in- formed of the publication of "Seven Letters," by James Walsh, publisher, Jersey City. "These letters, containing much useful matter on religious doctrine, have been published by Mr. Walsh in a small, cheap volume. His undertaking should be encouraged, especially as he put forth his book under the patronage of the excellent pastor of the church of Jersey City, and his brother, the pastor of St. Mary's. To these reverend gentlemen (Father, later Bishop, Quarter, and his brother, Father Walter Quarter) the letters are dedicated " (Catholic Expositor, March, 1843).
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The Early History of Catholicity in Jersey City.
BY MR JOHN MCGUIGAN, LATELY DECEASED.
IN the early days of Paulus Hook there were two factories which gave employment, the glass works owned and conducted by George and Phenice Dummel, and the American pottery works carried on by David Henderson & Co. Many of the men em- ployed there were Catholics and their families. As they had no church of their own they were glad to go to New York, some- times to St. Peter's, and at others to St. Patrick's in Mott Street. This last church had the preference, from the fact that my uncle Philip O'Brien had a house at the corner of Mott and Hester streets, where old friends and acquaintances, and the lately arrived immigrants were wont to meet after Mass. After a few years the men went to their masters to request their good offices in obtaining for them a site for a church. A committee, consisting of Bernard McQuaid, Thomas McGuigan, and Thomas McCann, waited on the Messrs. Dummel and Henderson, and asked them to assist them. To this request they cheerfully gave their con- sent, to encourage the men in their employ. Application was at once made to the Associates of the Jersey Land Company for a church site. Their request met with favor, and a free grant of four city lots was given to the following denominations: St. Mat- thew's Episcopal Church on Sussex Street, the First Reformed Church on Grand Street, Trinity Methodist Church on York Street, and St. Peter's Church on Grand Street. This was done to avoid giving offence to any, and to manifest the broad and lib- eral spirit of the Associates. When this was made known to Bishop Dubois he was more than glad, and he promised to give all the assistance in his power to the establishment of a mission here. He determined at once to provide a monthly Mass. This arrangement was duly announced in the Cathedral, and the Rev. John Conroy, uncle of the late Bishop Conroy, of Albany, was appointed to this work. Accordingly, on the first Sunday in Ad- vent, the last of November, 1829, holy Mass was offered for the first time in Paulus Hook. The place chosen for this important first step in the onward march of Catholicity in the now great Catholic county of Hudson was an unoccupied back room in the house now known as 52 Sussex Street, Jersey City. [The house was the home of Bishop McQuaid's father, and the Bishop re-
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members that he was put out of the house to make room for his elders, to his great wonderment and surprise, as he then did not know what Mass meant, and peeked through the shutters to see what was going on .- THE AUTHOR.] After that, Mass was said on the opposite side of the street at No. 51, the site of the Coyle buildings, in the home of Bernard McQuaid, the father of Bishop McQuaid. The old house was torn down some forty-five (1886) years ago. At the first Mass there were present twenty-four adults, and their names were as follows: Bernard McQuaid and Mary, his wife; Thomas McGuigan and his wife Ann; John Bradley and Margaret, his wife; John Carr and Mary, his wife; Edward and Mary Teague; Michael McLoughlin and Katherine his wife; George and Mary McAleer; John and Ellen McIver; John and Mary Hunt; Thomas and Jane McCann; Thomas and Ellen Brophy; Owen McCann; Bridget McGuigan, married shortly after to Daniel Slevin, the parents of ex-Alderman James J. Slevin, New York, and Ann Mimm, who, with three exceptions, were natives of the county Tyrone, Ireland.
As the number of Catholics increased a larger place became necessary, and divine service was held in a part of an unoccupied house belonging to the late Michael Lynch, 43 Morris Street, now occupied by the Thomas Goddard Columbian Iron Works. The old building disappeared long ago.
The old boarding-house of the apprentices of the glass works south of the Morris Canal lock, now 163 Washington Street, and at present a portion of the sugar works of Matthies & Meickers, was the next place of worship.
A fourth move was made to the house of John Hunt, where 426 Grove Street now is. While services were held at this place a movement was started by a certain faction of the other denom- inations to induce the Catholics to exchange their church, then in process of construction, and its site for the old carpet factory on Grove Street together with the land attached to it for a cemetery, with a view of converting the church into a court-house. Then, like David's ark, it moved again for a short time to the hotel of Michael Hatch, 89 Railroad Avenue, near Grove Street.
The mission next removed to the old Town Hall, 110-112 Sussex Street-the old church edifice occupied by St. Matthew's congregation-from which they moved when they took possession of their new church. They very kindly allowed the Catholics to use it until St. Peter's Church, then building, was finished. When the building was enclosed, and nothing more than bare
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walls greeted the vision, possession was taken of it, and the first Mass celebrated on Christmas, 1835. Here for a generation was the faith fostered and propagated, and only when increased num- bers and the prosperous condition of the parishioners demanded a more fitting abiding place for the eucharistic God, was the site which cost the early Catholics so many sacrifices and so much effort abandoned and sold to the Sisters of Charity. Upon its site they reared the present St. Aloysius' Academy and Home.
The priests who attended this little flock were: The Rev. John Conroy, St. Patrick's; the Rev. John Powers, St. Peter's; the Rev. Michael Moran, St. Ann's; the Rev. Charles Constan- tine Pise, St. Peter's; the first pastor, William Burns; the sec- ond, Father Michael Mohan; the third, Father Walter C. Quar- ters; the fourth, Father James Kenny; the fifth, Father James Murphy ; the sixth, Father John Kelly; and the seventh, Father Patrick Corrigan. Under him the church property was passed to the Jesuit Fathers, in whose care it has ever since been.
SCHOOLS.
The first Sunday-school was organized in the old Town Hall by Morgan Nowlan, Michael Ward, and Patrick Powers in 1836. The first parish day-school was organized in the basement of a house on Newark Avenue near Warren Street by John Carr, who after his death was succeeded by Patrick Buckley, and afterward by Morgan Nowlan-all passed to their reward. For some time the school was as migratory as the church. The next place of assembly for the children was the basement of the church, thence to the old Washington Temperance Hall, under the care of Timothy McCarthy, and back again to the basement of the church which was fitted up for that purpose. After the passing of Mr. McCarthy Mr. James Brann was placed in charge of the school, and with the assistance of some lady teachers remained in charge for some years, until the parish school was built on the corner of York and Van Vorst streets, when it passed under the care of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Charity. Many thousands of children have been educated within its walls, and much money has been raised for the support of schools and church, by means of fairs, picnics, etc., during the many financial struggles and strenuous efforts to place on a solid foundation Catholicity in this now prosperous city.
There are many incidents of interest in connection with the
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foundation of the church. After receiving from the Associates the free grant of the four lots, the committee was informed that, as the Company was chartered by the State, the deed would have to be recorded in Trenton. Mr. Samuel Collody, the father of one of our late County clerks, very graciously offered his legal services. He accompanied the committee in the stage-coach to Trenton, had the deeds properly recorded, and gave his services gratuitously. Both the gentlemen of the committee and the con- gregation were much gratified with this act of kindness. On their return the committee was empowered to present the deed to Bishop Dubois, who showed it to the congregation of the Cathe- dral at the ten o'clock Mass, and exhorted the people to assist the nascent parish in every way they could. Cheered by this action of good Bishop John, the Jerseymen began at once to prepare the ground for the church by filling in the lowland. All went to work with a good will. Mechanics and laborers offered materials and labor. As the land was near the meadow it was low, and a number of horses and carts came across the river daily, and gave their services free to the priest and committee. The Associates also gave another sign of their good will by granting free ferriage to all the volunteers night and morning. God seemed to smile with favor on their efforts, and the work progressed from day to day. The good priest was on hand every day encouraging every- body by his presence and his kind words. Nor were the noble women behindhand, and they showed that they were not to be outdone in the good work. The good priest called on them from day to day to provide dinners for volunteers. He would knock at the door of Mrs. So-and-So and tell her, "I will send you three, or five, or ten men for dinner to-day." And they went to work with a will to see that nobody went away hungry. The cheery " All right, Father !" greeted his request everywhere. High sand- hills characterized the site of Jersey City at that period, and most of the property was in the hands of the Associates, who werc only too well pleased to give away the sand that the lots might be graded. While the work of grading was going on, the Bishop au- thorized the committee to call a meeting of the parish and, in accordance with the deed of gift, to elect a board of trustees. Seven trustees were chosen, who prepared the plans which they submitted to Bishop Dubois. Having received his approbation, the contract for the stone work was given to John McIver, and the carpenter work to B. Wooley. Robert and James McLough- lin took the contract for the tinning, which ended disastrously for
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them. They put a lien on the building, and under it, it was sold by the sheriff. It was bought in for the parishioners for $500 by Michael Malone, who risked his money for the welfare of the parish. But the trustees and the zealous pastor gave themselves no rest until they had raised the desired sum and paid back every- thing to their generous protector. Almost double the amount was raised in ten days, when the news of the sale became known.
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I have already mentioned the fact that the land had to be filled in on account of its proximity to a morass; but in so doing no piling was used. When the heavy masonry had reached its highest limit, and awaited the timbers for the roof, in the fall of 1834 there occurred a furious equinoctial gale, and the deluge of water caused the west wall to fall out into the meadow. This was a bad set-back, and delayed the completion of the building another year. You will understand some of the crosses which the early pioneers endured in striving to plant the seed of faith in this city. Another blow was the removal of the glass works. Coal began to be introduced and used as a substitute for wood ; and on this account the numbers of the parish were diminished by about one-half. Many were forced to seek employment else- where. Then came the financial crash of 1837. Business was at a complete standstill. No work, and no money, and a great deal of suffering were for our people some of the consequences of the panic. As they had no money for themselves, they had nothing for the Church. Hence, everything dragged along until the ar- rival of Father Walter J. Quarters in 1840, who infused new life and hope in the breasts of the almost desperate children of the Church. Times improved, men had employment, and as Father Quarters had already considerable experience in church building in New York, he closed a contract with Hugh Clark to finish the church and have it ready for occupation as 'speedily as possible. Our people responded generously to the appeal of the jovial, light- hearted priest, who made friends not only with his own, but with many of those outside of the Church. His New York friends, too, gave him substantial and welcome assistance. He began to organize a church choir, opened a class for vocal and instrumental music, and started a catechism class to prepare the children for first Communion and Confirmation. And on June 7th, 1841, many of them were confirmed. His next move was the purchase of an organ, and James Walsh was appointed organist and choir- master. When his brother William was chosen for the Episcopal See of Chicago Father Walter severed his connection with Jersey
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City, much to the regret of all, to accompany the new bishop. He was succeeded by that saintly man, the Rev. John Kelly, who labored so fruitfully and zealously, until God called him to his reward in April, 1866.
If I may be permitted I will tell something about the offshoots of this first nursery of Catholicity in Jersey City.
The second church erected in Hudson County was St. Mary's, Hoboken, at the corner of Willow and Fourth streets, recently vacated for the new church of Our Lady of Grace. Mention should also be made of St. Joseph's, a little frame church, on Monroe Street, and the magnificent St. Mary's Hospital on Wil- low Avenue.
The third church built was what was known as St. Mary's, a brick structure on the corner of Erie and Tenth streets. This was attended by Fathers Kelly and Coyle, and while the building was going up, Mass was said in the house of Patrick Gibney on Ninth Street.
The fourth church was known as St. Bridget's, a small frame building on St. Paul's Avenue, near Palisade Avenue, and was in- tended for the accommodation of the men who were engaged in building the tunnel in 1856. This was likewise attended from St. Peter's, until it was handed over to the revered and much- lamented Father Aloysius Venuta. On the completion of the tunnel he sold the old church, and built the new St. Joseph's on Baldwin near Pavonia Avenue. After a few years the old gave way to the magnificent new church, a monument to the zeal of the pastor and the devotion of the flock.
The fifth church was St. Mary's, Bergen Point, on Evergreen near Linnett Street. Mass had already been celebrated in the homes of John Welch and James Jackson in Centreville, by Fathers Kelly, Venuta, and Neiderhauser, and perhaps others, until the Passionists took charge of the parish. They were suc- ceeded by the Rev. James Dalton, who did not long survive his appointment.
The sixth church was St. Paul's, Greenville, on Bergen near Danforth Avenue, built by Father Geissler and others. Mass had been offered in the house of Lawrence Murtha, who served the priest, and whose good wife attended to all the other essen- tials. The names of Henry Lembeck, Monroe Lignot, Henry Stoecklin, and others should never be forgotten by the Catholics of Greenville.
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