USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
The cornerstone of the second church was laid by Bishop Dubois of New York, January 14, 1836. It was a plain brick edifice with a gable in front and a simple wooden cross. There was no tower or steeple, and the windows were of the plainest kind, and no attempt was made at decoration. It was consider- ably smaller than the present church, beginning a little back from the sidewalk and extending only as far as the rear columns of the present edifice. The church was probably dedicated by Bishop Dubois on his visitation in the summer of 1837, although there is no record of the fact. Rev. Francis Ferrall became pas- tor October 25, 1839. Father John Loughlin, who afterwards became the first bishop of Brooklyn, assisted Father Ferrall from November 1, 1840, to Janu- ary 3, 1841. Upon the death of Father Ferrall, Rev. Thomas Martin, O. P., was transferred from Newport and Schuyler and became pastor of St. John's church, January 10, 1841. He organized the first temperance society in Utica, and was noted for his zealous efforts in suppressing the frightful evils of drunk- enness. Rev. Joseph Stokes became pastor May 11, 1845.
Rev. Francis P. McFarland had the longest and one of the most important pastorates in the history of the parish. He was the first product of our own soil-the first American pastor of St. John's church. He came to the parish May 1, 1851. In 1858 he was made bishop of Hartford, Connecticut. It was during Father McFarland's pastorate that the Christian Brothers came to Utica It was their first foundation outside of New York City. The beautiful school building on the corner of John and Elizabeth streets, which belongs to the church, was built during his pastorate. Assumption Academy for boys was opened Sep- tember 1, 1854, and today its long line of graduates are found among the citi- zens of Utica and elsewhere in every walk and profession in life. The jubilee of this institution, which was celebrated May 15, 1904, with so much enthusiasm, was a striking proof of what it had accomplished in the last century.
Father Thomas Daly became pastor April 25, 1858. The society of the Chil- dren of Mary was organized by him and placed under the direction of the Sisters of Charity. The society was organized December 8, 1858, and is still in existence
342
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
and in a most flourishing condition. His next care was to provide a home for orphan boys, and under his direction the Christian brothers opened an orphan asylum for boys in a portion of the school building March 25, 1862. Mass was said in the second church for the last time on Sunday, June 8, 1868. On the following day the work of tearing down was commenced.
The cornerstone of the present St. John's church was laid by Father Daly June 27, 1868. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Dr. Keating, pastor of Newport, N. Y. The papers and coins which had been placed in the cornerstone of the second church were found to be in a good state of preserva- tion, and were deposited, with the other articles, in the cornerstone of the pres- ent church. For a few years the congregation was compelled to make use of the court house and the sisters' school building as places of worship. The work was pushed as rapidly as possible, and, although not entirely finished, the new church was opened on Christmas, 1869, by Father Daly. The old Barrows house, which had served as a rectory for nearly twenty years, was also torn down during the year 1869, and the present elegant and spacious residence for the clergy was constructed. It became necessary in the summer of 1869 to make provision for the orphan boys in another place, the school building being found to be totally inadequate, and a large and commodious building was erected on the corner of Rutger street and Taylor avenue. The Assumption Academy build- ing was henceforward devoted exclusively to educational purposes, and the or- phan boys were transferred to the new asylum, now known as St. Vincent's In- dustrial school.
In 1871 the narrow strip of land running along the gulf from South to Pleasant streets, and known as "the Farm" was purchased, as a permanent rest- ing place for the departed members of the parish. About this time St. Agnes' Cemetery Association was formed and Father Daly was one of the original trus- tees. The five acres of land belonging to the church which had been purchased for burial purposes in 1844, and the additional lots purchased by Father Mc- Farland, were conveyed to this new corporation, and that portion of the farm bounded by South, Third, Arthur streets and the gulf, was sold by the church to the trustees of St. Agnes' Cemetery Association. The remainder came into possession of the Christian Brothers in 1866, when they purchased the asylum property from Bishop McNeirny.
St. John's new church was dedicated October 2, 1872, by Rt. Rev. John J. Conroy, Bishop of Albany, assisted by Coadjutor Bishop, Rt. Rev. Francis Mc- Neirny. Rt. Rev. Francis P. McFarland, Bishop of Hartford, the light of the second church, came back to preach the dedication sermon of the third. Among the bishops present at the dedication was Rt. Rev. John Loughlin, Bishop of Brooklyn, one of the former assistant priests of the second church. In 1880, in consequence of ill health, Father Daly was succeeded by Rev. James M. Ludden.
Rev. J. S. M. Lynch, pastor of Warrensburgh, N. Y. was transferred to Utica and took up his duties as acting pastor February 18, 1882. As Father Lynch was an entire stranger in the parish and as the people were tired of the dis- tracted condition of the church peace and order were soon re-established. Father Lynch took up the subject of schools for the Catholic children and after a while succeeded in establishing free schools for these children. It was soon announced
343
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
that Catholic children would be expected to attend these parochial schools unless some legitimate hinderance prevented. This produced a large increase in the attendance at these schools. Early in life Father Lynch had been a teacher and his experience in that vocation enabled him to solve the question pertaining to the schools and to put them on a proper basis. When Rev. Patrick A. Ludden became Bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse he selected Father Lynch as his Vicar-General and this required him in 1887 to sever his connection with St. John's Church.
Rev. James J. Moriarty, LL. D., served as pastor from May 18, 1887, till December 4, 1887. The labors of Father Moriarty in this church were of short duration, for he died December 4, 1887, at his residence corner Broad and Second streets, where he had taken up temporary quarters since coming to Utica.
Rev. Thomas F. Cullen was pastor from January 9, 1888, till May 9, 1891. Father Cullen was the first pastor who was born within the limits of the present diocese of Syracuse. It was during his pastorate that St. John's church was designated by the bishop as one of the very few in the diocese whose pastor would be henceforth, what is called, in the language of the church, an irremov- able rector. As the parish was now in a condition to merit this marked distinc- tion, Father Cullen was selected the first in the long line of pastors of the church to enjoy this high honor. After presiding over the parish a little more than three years he was stricken down, and after a brief illness expired in the rec- tory-the first priest to die in the parochial residence since the formation of the parish, nearly seventy-five years before.
Rt. Rev. Monsignor James S. M. Lynch, D. D., LL. D., was appointed pastor July 2, 1891. One of his first acts was to unite Assumption Academy with the Sisters' Academy for Girls, and to have the joint institution incorporated by the regents of the University of the State of New York, under the name of the Utica Catholic Academy. The charter is dated December 9, 1891. The union of the two schools was effected without disturbing the autonomy of either, and pro- vision was made for the holding of regents' examinations in both academies. The church had now been built over twenty years but had never been entirely completed. Father Lynch now set to work to construct the twin towers, and to completely remodel and renovate the whole interior, taking away the unsightly galleries and erecting the present side chapels. A chime of ten bells was donated by various members of the congregation. A marble memorial tablet containing the names of all the deceased bishops and priests of the church, an illustration of which is given in this volume, was unveiled November 25, 1893.
According to a law passed by the legislature of 1895 the state superintendent of public instruction was authorized to prescribe a special four years' course of study which would hereafter have to be taken by all candidates for admission to any training school for teachers in the state. In order to gain a still further recognition of the parish schools from the state, a uniform course of study that would fully meet the requirements of this new legislation was prepared, and it received the formal approval of Superintendent Charles R. Skinner, in a letter addressed to the principal of the Utica Catholic Academy, Father Lynch, June 17, 1896.
344
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
An elaborate celebration of the diamond jubilee of the organization of the parish and of the silver jubilee of the dedication of the church took place October 3, 1897. January 14, 1900, the church was honored by the visit of His Eminence James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore. The solemn consecration of the church took place in December, 1900, when the Most Rev. Sebastian Mar- tinelli, D. D., apostolic delegate for the United States, visited the parish and was the celebrant of the solemn pontifical mass.
Previous to 1830 there was no Catholic cemetery in Utica, and Catholics were for the most part buried in secular burying grounds. At that time Nicholas E. Devereux donated to St. John's church for the purposes of a cemetery about an acre of woods in Elm Grove, lying between Elm and Steuben streets, with a drive- way leading to Steuben street. Burials took place in this cemetery until the purchase of St. Agnes' cemetery in 1843, after which it was gradually abandoned. The growth of the city demanding, the common council in March, 1896, ordered a street laid out running directly through this abandoned cemetery and leading from Elm to Steuben streets. The bodies buried in the way of this new street were removed by order of the common council and reinterred in St. Agnes' cemetery. The remaining bodies on the north and south sides of this new street, called Addington place, were removed in the summer of 1903 at the expense of St. John's church. It was estimated that there were in all about six hundred bodies removed from the old cemetery and reinterred in St. Agnes' cemetery.
Monsignor Lynch, S. T. D. M. R., was born September 20, 1846, in Albany. His studies for the priesthood were made at St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, where he was ordained June 11, 1870. His first appointment was to St. John the Evangelist church, Syracuse, where he served as assistant from June 15, 1870, till December 25 of the same year, when he was given charge of the new parish of St. Patrick's, which, as assistant at St. John's, he had helped to organize. He left St. Patrick's September 1, 1871, to become director of St. Joseph's Seminary at Troy. He was with the Jesuits in Canada from December 8, 1872, till June 1, 1873. He was pastor of Baldwinsville from May 1, 1874, till March 1, 1875, when he became acting pastor of Amsterdam and North Albany. After seven months he again became director of St. Joseph's Seminary and remained in that capacity for five years, or until July 1, 1880, when he became acting pastor of St. Agnes's church, Cohoes. February 1, 1881, till October of the same year, were spent with the Jesuits at Rochampton, England, and Frederick, Maryland. Then came the pastorate at Warrensburg, October 1, 1881-February 18, 1882; St. John's, Utica, February 18, 1882-May 15, 1887; vicar-general and rector of St. John's cathedral, Syracuse, May 15, 1887-July 2, 1891. On the latter date Father Lynch began his second pastorate at St. John's, and shortly afterward he was made a member of the papal household, the first priest of the diocese to be so honored.
ST. JOSEPH'S (GERMAN)-The parish of St. Joseph's (Utica) dates back to 1842, and the history of the trials, the struggles and the triumphs of this, the second Catholic congregation of Utica, is of more than passing interest. St. Joseph's was organized at the beginning of the year 1842, and at the time was the only German Catholic church between Albany and Buffalo. On June 14,
ASSUMPTION ACADEMY, UTICA (ROMAN CATHOLIC)
THE NEW UTICA FREE ACADEMY
345
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
1843, St. Joseph was chosen patron of the church. The Rev. Joseph Prost was the first pastor. Father Prost had many difficulties to overcome, for during the first years there were many dissensions in the parish, of which not a few were caused by the actions of the trustees. The parish was administered by secular clergymen until March, 1859, when the Franciscan Fathers (Minor Conventuals) assumed charge.
The present church edifice (the third since the founding of the parish) was built in the years 1871-73 and is one hundred and eighty feet in length and ninety feet in width. It is of brick, with stone trimmings, carrying two large towers. In the sanctuary there is an altar of white Italian marble and Mexican onyx. The interior of the church has recently been remodeled and decorated, and new stained glass windows were placed in position. A beautiful communion rail of white marble with brass gates and a pulpit of marble, onyx and brass were also added. The aisles are laid with interlocking rubber tiling.
For upwards of half a century St. Joseph's (German) church has had its own school. This school, built in 1855, was entirely inadequate, as the parish grew, to meet the demands made upon it, and the result is the present beauti- ful school building, which covers a space of fifty by one hundred feet, is three stories high, with eight large class rooms on the first two floors and a large hall in the upper story. The school is attended by 450 children, who are taught by the Sisters of St. Francis. The sisters occupy a large brick convent in the rear of the church. The old school has been converted into a meeting hall for the various societies connected with the church.
An important improvement was the building of a new priests' convent (be- gun in June, 1905, and completed in April, 1906), which adjoins the church, and is a handsome, three-story, pressed-brick structure.
St. Joseph's has a large and finely equipped church property, occupying the block between Columbia and Lafayette streets, and having a frontage of sev- eral hundred feet on each street. The buildings are the church and parochial house connected with it, the large school building on Varick street, the convent of the sisters, the assembly hall and the old parochial residence at the corner of Varick and Columbia streets, occupied since 1876 as the residence of the or- ganist and choir master.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH is situated at the corner of Columbia and Huntington streets. Late in 1849 a movement was on foot to have a church in West Utica, and it resulted in the organization of this church. The first pastor was Rev. Patrick Carahar. For over thirty years St. Patrick's parish flourished. Many societies were organized and supported, its choir held first rank among the choirs of the city, and pastor and church shared widespread popularity. The parish debt had been reduced prior to building the rectory to $15,000, but the cost of the rectory having been added, it was never reduced very much after- wards. Later on, owing to the pastor's failing health and the falling off of the revenues of the church, the debt and embarrassments of the parish increased. In April, 1887, the property was sold at auction on mortgage foreclosure, bid in by Father Carahar, and the church was closed. On the night of November
346
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
8, 1889, the unoccupied church with all its furnishings, untouched since the day it was closed, was consumed by a fire of unknown origin. After the death of Father Carahar the parish recovered possession of the rectory and the site of the ruined church, and built a new church in 1894 which was dedicated in 1895. The new church is somewhat larger than the old one, and is built of pressed brick with base and trimmings of brown sandstone, the roof of slate, and the spire, which rises 167 feet to the base of the cross, is of the same material. The parish retains St. Patrick's hall, the building formerly used for a church. In this building there are two large halls for use of Sunday school, societies and business purposes. It is also used as a gymnasium by the Patrician Athletic Club, and is equipped with toilet, bath, locker and dressing rooms.
In October, 1908, the parish purchased two pieces of property on Cooper and Huntington streets, adjoining the church property. One of the houses is to be remodeled for a Sisters' convent, and the other has been torn down to make way for a Parochial school building.
Among the pastors of this church after Rev. Father Carahar are Rev. John J. McDonald and Rev. Nicholas James Quinn.
ST. MARY'S (GERMAN)-In the spring of 1870, families who attended St. Joseph's church, appealed to Bishop Conroy of Albany and obtained permis- sion to form a new congregation. In the same year the new congregation was incorporated under the title of "St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception." Two lots on the corner of South and Taylor streets were bought from the But- terfield estate in 1870, and to these lots the old St. Paul's Lutheran church, a frame building, was moved. The first resident priest of St. Mary's church was the Rev. George Veit, a Bavarian. The first service was on Christmas morning, 1870. Under the pastorate of Father Veit the land forming the cemetery be- longing to St. Mary's congregation was bought of John Adrian and laid out. It is situated on Webster avenue, and was incorporated with the church prop- erty of St. Mary's in 1871. Father Veit commenced the day parochial school connected with the church. Its first teacher was John Veit, a brother of Father Veit. The auditorium of the church was used as a class-room during school time. The school had about forty scholars in regular attendance.
In the year 1872, towards Easter, Father Veit was replaced by the Rev. George Eis. During his pastorate the trustees bought from the John Stricher estate a lot adjoining the original church lots on the north. After twelve months, in 1873, Father Eis resigned, and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Fehling, a former Redemptorist. He built the present rectory and increased the church property by buying a lot on South street.
The year 1883 saw commenced and finished the present St. Mary's church. Father Fehling died January 3, 1888. The school, under him, was directed and taught by Bappas and later by Nicholas Heinriche, they acting as organ- ists at the same time. The Rev. Andreas Lindenfeld, a former Redemptorist, succeeded Father Fehling. Under Father Lindenfeld a new school building of brick was erected in 1892. The lay teachers were replaced in 1900 by the Sis- ters of St. Francis from Syracuse, who are teaching the children of St. Mary's at the present time. The Rev. Bernard W. Goossens was acting pastor during
347
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
eight months of 1895. Father Lindenfeld resigned his charge in 1901, being succeeded at once by the Rev. Joseph Lechner.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES-In the spring of 1877 a new parish was organized, and Rev. Luke G. O'Reilly was appointed pastor. He obtained permission from the Common Council to use the abandoned Steuben street schoolhouse and celebrated mass there May 7, 1877. Shortly afterwards the schoolhouse was purchased from the city, remodeled and dedicated as a church under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales, November 4, 1877. The church was incor- porated May 20, 1882. Two days later Father O'Reilly conveyed the Eagle street property to the church, and a movement was at once inaugurated to erect a new and spacious edifice. The cornerstone was laid in 1887, and the building was completed and dedicated the following year. The church is Romanesque in style and is constructed of brick with brownstone trimmings. The parochial house adjoining the church was built in 1889. There is a parish house in charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph connected with the church. Father O'Reilly died December 22, 1902, and the present pastor, Rev. Daniel Doody, was sent to take charge of the parish.
ST. AGNES'-Early in 1887 steps were taken to organize a church in East Utica, and when the articles of incorporation were ready to file in the Clerk's office the name selected for the new parish was St. Agnes. The site on which the option had previously been secured by the special committee was purchased, and an architect secured to prepare plans for the new parish church. So rapidly did the work proceed that on September 18 the laying of the corner- stone was solemnized by Rt. Rev. Bishop Ludden. The first mass in the new basement was celebrated by Rev. Father Toomey on Christmas morning. On June 13, 1891, Rev. Father Toomey, the warm-hearted pastor of St. Agnes' parish died, and was succeeded by Rev. Myles O'Reilly. On October 28, 1894, the church was dedicated by Bishop Ludden. Rev. William A. Ryan was ap- pointed to St. Agnes' on December 12, 1895. He completed the rectory, which had been commenced by Father O'Reilly, put in new altars and stations of the cross, a new pipe organ, and purchased and paid for a plot of ground on the easterly side of Kossuth avenue, directly opposite the parish residence, which is amply large in ground area for a parish hall or school. The members of St. Agnes' are composed principally of people of Irish birth or their descendants.
HOLY TRINITY (POLISH)-The Polish people of Utica were gathered together for the first time as a Catholic congregation on Christmas day, 1896. The Rev. Simon Pniak was celebrant of the mass, and he was assisted by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. J. S. M. Lynch and the Revs. James M. Murphy and Michael Mara of St. John's. Eight hundred Poles were present. Prior to this time the spiritual wants of these people had been attended to by the Franciscans of St. Joseph's, Utica, and by the Polish priests of Syracuse and Schenectady, who visited them on stated occasions. Holy Trinity parish was formally organized this Christmas day, and thereafter mass was said in the parish house on Lincoln avenue until the church-work on which was almost immediately begun-was finished. Two
348
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
hundred families are members of the parish at the present time. The years which have passed have seen many changes in the parish. A parochial residence and a cemetery have been purchased, and some years ago a parish school was started in the basement of the church. In 1906 work was commenced on a new church, which is one of the finest in the diocese. It was built entirely of granite. The old church is used as a schoolhouse. Father Pniak, first pastor, remained in charge until June, 1909, when the Rev. T. Suck was appointed in his place.
ST. MARY'S OF MT. CARMEL (ITALIAN)-Italian Catholics came in large num- bers to Utica in 1883, when the construction work on the West Shore Railroad had reached the Mohawk Valley. Many of those who came with the work to the city have remained to become permanent citizens, and these have been joined by so many others in recent years that the Italian population of the city is now estimated at about 20,000. A parish was organized, and placed in charge of Father Griffin, who was succeeded by Father Doyle, a Franciscan, then stationed- at St. Joseph's, Utica. He, in turn, was succeeded by the Rev. A. Castelli, who had come to Utica to be chaplain at St. Vincent's Industrial School. St. Mary's of Mt. Carmel parish was founded in St. John's church and Father Castelli, be- coming attached to St. John's, attended to the spiritual wants of his own peo- ple. For a while he held services in an old school building on Catherine street, the property of St. John's, and in 1901 he purchased a plot of ground some dis- tance away and erected thereon the little church which has been used up to the present. Father Castelli died October 24, 1903, and the Rev. Joseph Formia was appointed his successor. Before coming to Utica he was assistant in the Italian churches at Boston, Mass. In 1904 Father Formia built a parochial school and placed it in charge of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse. Three hundred children now attend the school, and plans are under way for the erection of a larger building. A convent for the sisters was built in 1907.
ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL-St. Vincent's Industrial School is the only institu- tion in the diocese which has a resident chaplain. The Christian Brothers came to Utica in 1862 at the request of the faculty of St. John's church to establish a home for wayward boys. The institution was housed at first in one of the build- ings now used as a part of Assumption Academy. The Brothers are still in charge of the institution, and there are about 250 boys in the institution; among them are included the wayward, the truant and juvenile criminals under court sen- tence. They occupy handsome modern buildings, located on a farm, well out- side the city limits. The Rev. A. Castelli was chaplain for some years, resigning to become first resident pastor of St. Mary's of Mt. Carmel church, Utica. He was succeeded by Rev. Bernard A. Smith.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.