USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 38
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The balance in hand of Treasurer was $65. The collection in the church on that day was $31. John Reilly was still collector and treas- urer, and the amount collected to September 27th, of that same year, 1842, $210 more ; in all $306, and of this amount $283.31 were spent before that date for the enlargement and painting of the church and for putting a fence around it. On November 28th, 1842, a memorandum is made of a
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payment made to Abraham Hasbrouck in his house of $100 for the land on which the church was situated. Thus we realize the rapid increase of the congregation when Father Maxwell so soon found need to enlarge the frame church barely completed in 1840.
In 1845, Saugerties and Rondout having been made into a separate mission, Father Maxwell took up his residence in Saugerties attending Rondout every second Sunday. Many drove, some even walked on the other Sundays to Saugerties to hear mass.
In 1847 Father Maxwell's zeal prompted him to visit Shandaken, but in May of this year took place the establishment of the diocese of Albany already mentioned in reference to Saugerties, which with Shandaken were incorporated into the new diocese, and the Rev. Myles Maxwell was ieft in charge of the mission of Rondout but as it embraced the territory now dotted with the separate churches of Port Ewen, Stony Hollow, Jockey Hill, Wilbur, Eddyville, Whiteport, Flatbush and Kingston, it is clear that there was ample space for his earnest zeal. When relieved of the care of Saugerties and neighboring places, he redoubled his energy in behalf of Rondout. He at once planned the erection of a large and splendid brick church. He engaged the services of the brilliant architect Keeley of Brooklyn and undertook, under his guidance, what for those early days was a wonderful and daring project, that of erecting the splendid building which is still recognized as an ornament of the town. The corner-stone was laid on May 21st, 1848. The frame building was left standing within the new edifice till a short time before the solemn blessing of the present building which took place on July 8th, 1849. Father Maxwell did not long survive the completion of the work to which he had bent all his strength. He died on August 31st, 1849. His remains were first interred in the adjoining cemetery and afterward placed within the precincts of the church which he had built.
It has been thought proper to go into somewhat minute details of the pioneer work of the founders of the first parishes of Ulster County, Saug- erties and Rondout, to bring out the difficulties under which they labored, and to place on record the indomitable energies which laid the foundation of the prosperous spiritual and material conditions of the Catholic Church throughout the county. The great bulk of the Catholics was from the ranks of the hard-working Irish immigrants, wrenched from their home environment of lively faith and purity of morals, and cast into completely
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new surroundings, amidst a population hostile to their religion, and of traditional racial prejudices. Very many were bereft of family ties and of the many influences emanating from them, yet their strong faith, their wonderful supernatural love of their religion remained. Deprived as they necessarily were of frequent contact with the exercise of their religion, they were not free from disorders, some by intermarriages out- side the church allowed their children to be lost to the church; but it is remarkable how quickly their own faith was rekindled when the priest appeared on the scene, and they once more had a chance to approach the practices of their religion.
Rev. Thomas Quinn and Rev. Wm. Quinn, afterward Vicar-general of New York, administered to the spiritual needs of Rondout till Novem- ber, 1849, when a very energetic missionary of the order of St. Dominic, in whom Bishop Hughes reposed great confidence, the Rev. Thomas Martin, was appointed pastor. Born in Ireland about 1794, shortly after he reached the years of manhood he came to this country and entered the Order of St. Dominic in St. Rose's Convent in Kentucky ; he was ordained in 1824. After twelve years of arduous tasks in Kentucky, and a visit to Rome on business of his order, he was persuaded to give his services to the diocese of New York. In 1840 he had charge of Newport and Schuyler, in 1845 of Utica, where he established a temperance society. He was in Troy, 1847, and at St. Peter's, New York, in 1849. He was a laborious disinterested priest who always asked the hardest place. When he had brought all to peace and harmony or had helped to build a church or get rid of a crushing debt, his only anxiety was to begin the same work elsewhere. The early demise of Father Maxwell, so soon after the com- pletion of the church, had left it in a very difficult position to meet the large outlay required for this really serious undertaking. The people responded generously to Father Martin's appeals, and he was able at a cost of $1,500 to procure even a fine organ for the church. His zeal prompted him to erect a church in Rosendale in which mass was said for the first time in August, 1850. Before that the Catholics of Rosendale attended mass in Rondout, whence the priests had still to give their ser- vices till 1860. Father Martin's zealous pastorate continued in Rondout till January, 1852. Then a new emergency arising in St. Bridget's Church in New York from the illness of its founder Father Kein, required the exercise of Father Martin's zeal and winning ways. A similar need
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called him in 1855 to the Church of the Holy Cross. As Father Martin's short pastorate left a deep impress upon the Catholics of this neighbor- hood, we have thought well to recall the eulogy made by Bishop Hughes at his funeral in May, 1859, at St. James' of which he had recently been appointed pastor :
"From St. Bridget's he went to the then hardly formed congregation in 42d Street (Holy Cross) when, without haranguing, he began silently and noiselessly to work to show them their way through their difficulties, until the people began to understand themselves and to be a congregation -a numerous congregation." He was 69 years of age at the time of his death. He was succeeded in the pastorate of Rondout by his assistant the Rev. John Madden, who had come from Ireland with his brother Michael, who became an influential parishioner of St. Mary's.
During these years an old time schoolmaster Stephen Hardy, who also acted as church sexton and superintendent of the nearby cemetery, held despotic sway over the children. When he left the class, there was an uproar, and then the guilty and innocent alike were treated to dire punish- ment. The special one for the boys was to be tied by their thumbs to the door lintel.
In 1851 the lot running through from Division St. (now Broadway), to Adams St. had been purchased by Father Martin, and in 1852 the Rev. John Madden built thereon the rectory. Till then the priests had occupied a small frame house on the opposite side of the street. He also purchased in 1855 in Higginsville, Kingston, a large lot of ground on which he in- tended to build a church for the many Catholics in the neighborhood or in the nearby mountains at Jockey Hill and Stony Hollow. The lot, however, was afterward sold, though kept till 1870.
At the beginning of 1858, came the Rev. Francis McNeirny, after- ward Bishop of Albany, whose pastorate ended in May, when he had as successor the Rev. D. G. Durning, who remained in charge for about 18 months. Then in the fall of 1859 the Rev. Felix H. Farrelly came from New York to be pastor of Rondout. A native of Ireland he had been ordained to the priesthood in 1854 at All Hallow's College, near Dublin, and on his coming in that year to the United States was assigned as assistant at the Church of the Nativity in New York and within two years appointed to the charge of the Church of the Annunciation in Man- hattanville. His discharge of his duties here showed so much zeal for the
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good of souls and such ability that the now important parish of Rondout was entrusted to him. His services were of the greatest benefit to this parish, as he remained five years, effecting great good and infusing order and system into all parochial affairs. At this period of the Civil War his influence greatly calmed the violent protests aroused against the draft for soldiers. He encouraged many by his own spirit of patriotism. He did not hesitate to show his disgust for slavery. A trip which with other priests, the Revs. Thomas Farrell and Sylvester Malone, he had made to the south some time before the war, had impressed him particularly with the immoral results of slavery, involving as they did the whites, as much as the negroes. He introduced into the parish of Rondout the Sisters of Charity under whose charge he established St. Mary's Academy. He had for the boys as teacher a Mr. Shelter, a former Christian Brother, whose teaching was excellent, and his influence very great; his memory was long in benediction among the children. Father Farrelly also purchased the spacious cemetery on the Flatbush road, where the remains of the Catholics of Kingston, Port Ewen, West Hurley are still interred. Many are brought from distant places to be laid with the remains of their fore- fathers. The name of Farrelly Street at the eastern end of the cemetery records his connection with it. With his cooperation Stony Hollow was formed into a separate mission in charge of Rev. S. Mackin in 1865, with Jockey Hill as a station. Father Farrelly, however, was this year re- called to New York to take charge of an immense congregation attached to St. James' Church in New York. He died pastor of St. Joseph's in 1883. He was succeeded at Rondout in 1865 by the Rev. Edward Briody who had been ordained in 1849 by Bishop Hughes, and had established churches in Port Jervis and Ellenville. He made several improvements, the principal of which was the introduction of furnaces for the heating of the church. He was transferred to St. Patrick's, Newburgh, in 1867, and was followed in the pastorate of Rondout by the Rev. James Coyle whose earnestness and zeal are still spoken of by the parishioners of his day. He was a very strong advocate of total abstinence from all alcoholic beverages, and to his enthusiasm was due the formation of a very large and zealous society whose good influence has extended through time for the great improvement of the parish. To his zeal was due in 1868 the long planned formation in the village of Kingston of the parish of St. Joseph, to which was assigned as Pastor the newly ordained Rev. James
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Dougherty, a native of Kingston and the first of Ulster County to be raised to the priesthood. Father Coyle also purchased in 1867 the ground on the corner of McEntee Street and Union Avenue (now Broadway) on which he erected a large parochial school which was soon crowded with children. When Father Mackin had occasion to go in 1867 to Ireland, Father Coyle did not hesitate to take charge of Stony Hollow and Jockey Hill, in both of which he built churches, and on Father Mackin's return in 1870 gave to him a full account of the moneys collected and the ex- penses. The spiritual welfare, however, of all the people committed to his care was Father Coyle's chief concern. At a mission during his pas- torate over 5,000 persons approached the sacraments. He died suddenly in New York, and at his funeral in Rondout on July 4th, 1872, the preacher stated that since his ordination in 1852 he had built thirteen churches or chapels. His remains were buried under St. Mary's Church. Father Coyle's grasp of financial details was not strong and mechanics and contractors availed themselves of his indecision, forgetfulness or change of plans to involve the church property by heavy floating debts.
For ten months his successor was the scholarly Rev. M. J. O'Farrell, who had been educated at the celebrated Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, and as a member of the Order, had already done good work in Montreal, Canada. While here he was visited by the distinguished Dominican Father Burke, who made excellent use of Father O'Farrell's fine library in the preparation of his famous lectures to be delivered in the Academy of Music, New York, in refutation of Froude's one-sided views and misstatements of English and Irish history. Yet he showed himself very practical in financial matters. At a fair he raised $3,000 to meet the floating debts left by his predecessor. He gave proof of his earnest spiritual zeal by giving a two weeks' mission, preaching the usual four sermons a day alone, and hence within the time of his short pastorate 1,010 children and adults were confirmed by Bishop McNeirny. He was soon promoted to the pastorate of St. Peter's Church in New York, and in 1881 he was made first Bishop of Trenton, New Jersey. He died in 1894. His successor at Rondout was the Rev. Michael Carthage O'Far- rell, who, full of energy, came there in June, 1873 ; he had been assistant at St. Peter's, New York. His first work was to enlarge the pastoral residence, then to establish an academy or college under the Franciscan Brothers, for which he erected a building alongside the church through
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a bequest of $10,000 of Thomas Murray, who died in April, 1873. Churches were established by him in Port Ewen, erected into a separate mission under Rev. Michael Phelan, and also in Flatbush now known as East Kingston. In July, 1876, he was appointed pastor of St. Teresa's Church, New York, and is now rector of the Church of the Holy Inno- cents, New York. In Rondout he was in August succeeded by the Rev. John J. Duffy, D.D., who remained pastor of St. Mary's till his death in April, 1888. During his pastorate the trustees of District No. 3 of Rondout finding that the school house of the district was unable to con- tain all the children of the district, made an arrangement with the Franciscan Brothers to act as teachers for boys in the building next to the church, which was hired as a branch school for the district. This arrangement continued till 1895, when the trustees of District No. 3 in- fluenced by the clamor that a public school was thus placed under sec- tarian influence, enlarged the main building, and discontinued the employ- ment of the Franciscan Brothers as teachers. These, therefore, withdrew to their mother-house in Brooklyn. Dr. Duffy had graduated in the classical and law departments of the University of New York, and then going to the American College in Rome, had attended the theological course at the Propaganda. He was ordained in Rome, and on his return home in 1872 was stationed at St. Joseph's Church, of which the pastor was the Rev. Thomas Farrell. Dr. Duffy gained fame as an eloquent speaker and at the inauguration of the monument of the sailors and soldiers of the War for the Union on the terrace in front of the King- ston City Hall, a patriotic discourse delivered by him made quite a lasting impression. In a mission given by the Jesuits in 1879, nearly 4,000 persons approached the sacraments. Dr. Duffy had been ambitious to clear off the whole of the church debt, but in his later years in conse- quence of failing health his energy fell off, and on his assistant the Rev. J. L. Hoey, devolved the more laborious work of the parish. Dr. Duffy died in April, 1888, and his successor, the Rev. Peter J. Prender- gast, found an indebtedness of about $13,000 to which he was obliged to add to meet the expense of a needed thorough renovation of the rectory. Father Prendergast had come from Middletown; his pastorate in Ron- dout lasted two years, and he was then transferred to New York, on July 3Ist, 1890, to be made rector of the Church of the Epiphany in place of
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its founder the Rev. Dr. Burtsell. He died there after an incumbency of ten years.
Rev. R. L. Burtsell, D.D., came to Rondout on November 8th, 1890, in his 51st year. He had spent all the years of his ministry since 1862 in New York City, for five years as assistant at St. Ann's and for more than twenty-two years as pastor of the Epiphany parish, which he had established and in which he had built the splendid church, rectory and school, leaving behind him the comparatively small debt of $60,000, though the actual cost of the property belonging to the Church of the Epiphany had been over $328,000. Archbishop Corrigan had taken um- brage at Dr. Burtsell's advocacy of the right of Rev. Dr. McGlynn to teach the politico-economical theory of Henry George which the Arch- bishop thought to be in conflict with Catholic doctrine, and had thought it wise to remove Dr. Burtsell from the principal scene of the agitation, New York City.
Dr. Burtsell accepted without a murmur the decision, and gave 1 himself with energy to the work assigned him in his new mis- sion. In 1891 he undertook a complete renovation of the interior as well as exterior of St. Mary's Church, which had fallen into a state of decay. The church exterior was painted, and extensive decorations of the ceiling and walls brightened the appearance of the church. In the same year St. Colman's Church in Flatbush (now designated East Kingston) was considerably enlarged and in October Bishop Conroy dedicated it anew, the people being so in earnest as to meet all the expenses of $2,000 within the year.
Dr. Burtsell in December, 1892, had the consolation of obtaining from the Pope's Delegate, Mgr. Satolli, the complete reconcilia- tion of his friend Rev. Dr. McGlynn, with the church authorities, and the declaration of the Delegate, after investigation by the professors of the Catholic University in Washington, D. C., that his politico-economical land theory was not in opposition to the teachings of the Church. The Pope, in May, 1893, received Rev. Dr. McGlynn, as a sanction of his Delegate's action. This question brought about in the fall of 1893 and in 1894 a stay of several months of Dr. Burtsell in Rome, which proved eminently satisfactory, and gave him ample opportunities to submit to the Pope many views of things that seemed useful for the direction of the Church in the United States, but Dr. Burtsell did not allow such matters
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to prevent his attention to the spiritual needs of the parish of Rondout. In fact he had called the Paulists to give a mission in the parish in 1893. In 1896 the Passionists, in 1899 and 1902 the Diocesan Band of Apostolic Missionaries and again in 1904 the Dominicans gave very successful mis- sions, which were extended to East Kingston. A most agreeable feature of both visits of the Diocesan Band of Missionaries was the attendance in large numbers of distinguished non-Catholics at a series of special lectures which they gave on those doctrines and practices of which erroneous im- pressions have alienated from the Catholic Church many otherwise en- lightened and truth loving souls. Catholics realize that the best way to bring about the Christian unity for which there is to-day such earnest desire, is the thorough explanation of the doctrines of the Church. Their consistency and reasonableness cannot but make a deep impression upon all upon whom the Holy Spirit is breathing his inspirations to truth and charity.
There has been no lagging in the material improvements in the parish. During 1895 the whole congregation took an active interest in the thorough renovation and beautifying of the church. The laying of a new flooring, handsome pews and artistic stained glass windows were a considerable part of the renovation. The crowning improvement was in 1896, the erection of the three marble altars of the church and the com- plete renewal of everything connected with the sanctuary. The response by the parishioners to every appeal was so generous as to meet all these expenses besides doing away with all the former indebtedness on the church property. The Church was thus placed in the condition fitting for its consecration. This conspicuous ceremony of the Consecration of the Church was performed by Archbishop Corrigan on the first Sunday of September, 1896. Bishop Shanley of Fargo, N. Dakota, preached at the solemn high mass, and Dr. James Loughlin of Philadelphia at Vespers on this occasion. Since then have been added the artistic oil paintings of the Way of the Cross, and a series of oil frescoes on the Sanctuary wall by the hand of Filippo Costaggini, who painted many of the his- torical subjects in the dome of the Capitol at Washington, D. C. In 1898 a thorough census was taken of the parish, and there were found in Rondout 712 families with 3,300 souls and in East Kingston 80 families and 370 souls.
In the year 1898 the parish of St. Mary's, Rondout, was de-
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clared by Archbishop Corrigan to be henceforth a permanent rector- ship, and the present rector to be its first permanent rector. This honor confers upon the rector of the parish the irremovability from the rector- ship except by special canonical process, and also a positive voice in the nomination of candidates for the archbishopric of New York. The com- memoration of the fiftieth year of St. Mary's Church was solemnly held on the first Sunday of September, 1899, when Archbishop Corrigan cele- brated pontifical mass, assisted by the Revs. Wm. L. Penny and Edward F. Slattery, natives of Rondout of the earliest generation. The preacher in the morning was the Rev. James Dougherty, pastor of St. Monica's in New York, a native of Kingston. Others officiating, as the Revs. J. J. Boyle, J. J. Keane and R. Burns, received their first impulses to the priest- hood while serving around its sanctuary. Monsignor Joseph Mooney, Vicar-general, a native of Pennsylvania, but brought up in Rondout, preached at Vespers. Revs. J. L. Hoey, Patrick Morris and M. J. Fitz- patrick, who also took part, had been formerly attached to St. Mary's. The Revs. J. J. Hickey and John B. McHugh were the actual assistants of the rector.
Rondout has been recognized in the annals of the diocese of New York as giving more priests to the sanctuary and more members to the various sisterhoods than any place outside New York City. At the synod of November, 1901, Archbishop Corrigan appointed Dr. Burtsell Vicar-forane, or Dean of Ulster and Sullivan Counties. Dr. Burtsell interested himself not only in St. Mary's parish, but in public civil matters as well, gladly taking part in the plans of the Board of Trade, in the Association for good roads; he was instrumental in the establishment of the City Hospital and of the public library, and also in the introduction of the Sanitarium in charge of the Benedictine Sisters. That his work was appreciated by the citizens, non-Catholics as well as Catholics, was proven by the great spontaneous demonstration in the Church and the public Armory at the celebration of his 40th year of priesthood on August 10th and 11th, 1902. At the church Bishop (then Administrator, now Archbishop) Farley, presided; Monsignor Loughlin, of Philadelphia, preached; Bishop Chatard, of Indianapolis, and Mon- signor Cannon, of Lockport, were prominent among 30 clergymen in the Sanctuary. In the Armory addresses were made by Chief Judge Parker, who presided, by Judge VanEtten, Alderman William Roach on
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behalf of the parishioners; Hon. John J. Linson, Mayor Block, in the presentation of Resolutions by the Common Council of the City; John W. Heany, in the presentation of a purse of $1,000 on the part of the parishioners; Michael J. Joyce, representative of a large delegation present from the Parish of the Epiphany, New York; Congressman George J. Smith and Judge A. T. Clearwater.
Attention is called to this, because it was a public recognition of the intertwining of the sympathies of all classes and religious denominations, a manifestation of the thorough disappearance in civil matters of all racial and religious prejudices which are easily overcome by the inter- mingling of all in works of common public good, and the consequent better knowledge of one another attained by citizens of all classes and races.
Rev. Dr. Burtsell paid another visit to Rome in 1904, to assist at the 50th anniversary of the Definition or Solemn Recognition by the Church that the Mother of Jesus had by His merits been freed from incurring the stain of original sin ; he had been present at the Definition itself. He had the honor of presenting the addresses in the name of the Diocese of New York to Pope Pius X, and Archbishop Farley took occasion, through his auxiliary, Bishop Cusack, to send a petition to His Holiness to honor Dr. Burtsell by admitting him to the membership of the Pontifical house- hold as one of his private chamberlains. On Dr. Burtsell's return from Rome another public demonstration was offered him of the affection of his people and of the citizens at large, by a procession through streets illuminated and bedecked with flags, amidst skyrockets and other fire- works, and ending in a grand reception at the Kingston Armory. It is a delightful thought to him that he has been an instrument to break down barriers of prejudice, and to unite the people of this city in common interests, and all through some slight efforts made by him for the com- mon good of the whole city.
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