USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Catholicity in northern Ohio and in the diocese of Cleveland from 1749 to December 31, 1900, Volume I, pt1 > Part 4
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IN NORTHERN OHIO.
the Superioress of the Cincinnati community to withdraw the Sisters' from Toledo in July, 1848, the third year after their arrival there.
7. BISHOPS FENWICK AND PURCELL.
To the Rt. Rev. Edward Fenwick has been given most justly the title of "Apostle of Ohio," as he was the first missionary of Ohio, who penetrated its wilds, through trackless forests, from Cincinnati to the counties in Northern Ohio, to preach the Gospel and break the Bread of Life to famishing souls. He was conse- crated Bishop of Cincinnati, January 13, 1822, and had as a part of his jurisdiction the whole of the State of Ohio.
When he took charge of his diocese there was but one church in Northern Ohio (near Dungannon), and no priest resided within that limit of territory. At the time of his death, September, 1832, there were six churches, viz: near Dungannon, Doylestown and Canal Fulton, and at Canton, Randolph and Tiffin. Of resident priests there were three-at Canton, Dungannon and Tiffin.
Bishop Fenwick, though not of robust health, was almost constantly engaged in visiting his vast jurisdiction, comprising not only Ohio, but also part of Michigan. Unfortunately for the historian, the published records of his visitations. that no doubt would be full of edification and interest were they known, are very meagre. The only two items published concerning his visits to Northern Ohio are the following, which appeared in the Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph, October 29, 1831:
After a short stay at St. Joseph's [Michigan], the Bishop proceeded to Detroit, and thence to Canton, a flourishing town in Stark county, Ohio. Here he found the congregation much increased under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Henni. Three new churches were commenced within twenty miles of Canton, a fourth near Norwalk [Peru], in Huron county, and a fifth [St. Mary's], in Tiffin, a new and flourishing county seat in Seneca. *"
""We learn from a communication to the Bishop of Cincinnati, that the Rev. Mr. Henni, pastor of the Catholic church [St. John's] in Canton, has within the last two years received 21 adult persons into the church, besides many children who followed their parents; that he administered the Sacrament of Baptism to 269. This truly zealous and indefatigable missionary has been
.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
compensated for his toils and hardships, in witnessing the rapid and astonishing increase of his flock."
The Very Rev. Frederick Rese, who had been Bishop Fen- wick's Vicar General for several years, was appointed administrator of the Diocese of Cincinnati shortly after the death of the Bishop. With energy and prudence he discharged his onerous duties till the advent of the Rt. Rev. John B. Purcell, who at the age of thirty-three years was consecrated second Bishop of Cincinnati, October 13, 1833. He had jurisdiction of Northern Ohio till October, 1847, during which time Catholicity made wonderful strides in this part of the State. A large influx of immigrants necessitated the erection of churches, and the establishment of missions and stations in nearly every county in Northern Ohio, notably in Columbiana, Erie, Lorain, Lucas, Portage, Putnam, Sandusky and Seneca counties. It is true, these churches were not remarkable for architecture, material or size, but they served their purpose, and accommodated the faithful who frequented them with perhaps more fervor and piety than do many of their · descendants the beautiful and costly temples which replaced them.
Bishop Purcell visited Northern Ohio at frequent intervals, and always with gratifying results. Master of a facile pen, he regularly sent to the Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph full and inter- esting accounts of his Episcopal visits. Replete with facts, por- traying the condition of Catholicity in those early days, as the bishop saw them with his keen, discerning eye, they form a most important chapter of Catholic history in Ohio. At an expense of much time and labor the writer culled from the files of the Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph all he could find of Bishop Purcell's reports of his visits to Northern Ohio.
With very slight alterations, such as names of places, changed since these reports were written, they are given verbatim in the following chapter.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NEAR DUNGANNON. The first Catholic Church built (1820) in Northern Ohio.
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1
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CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL DATA OF CATHOLICITY IN NORTHERN OHIO, PRIOR TO 1847. WRITTEN FOR THE CATH- OLIC TELEGRAPH BY BISHOP PURCELL. 1834-1847
1. REPORT OF BISHOP PURCELL'S FIRST VISIT TO NORTHERN OHIO IN 1834 .- DUNGANNON. COLUMBIANA COUNTY.1 "* * After a late Mass on Monday, 9th of June, the Bishop
left the house of Mr. Gallagher, * * and visited the family of Mr. Jeffers, where he had the satisfaction to see ten interesting converts ; thence he proceeded, accompanied by Mr. Delong, (who numbers not fewer than seventy relatives, converted like himself, to the Catholic faith), on the road to St. Paul's church, [now St. Philip's, Dungannon ], in Columbiana county, where he arrived on Saturday, 14th inst., having visited several Catholic residences in the intervening towns. Rev. Mr. Henni, of Canton, had arrived the day previous at St. Paul's and commenced preparing the attending members of the congregation for the holy sacraments. The interests of this church had been for some time grievously neglected and the ecclesiastical property attached to it misapplied. The exertions of the present pious clergymen and the measures taken during the episcopal visitation, will, it is hoped, efficiently arrest the two-fold evil. The church of St. Paul is a substantial brick edifice, recently much enlarged, but still inadequate to the increasing numbers of the congregation. It is attended by the Catholics of New Lisbon, Hanover, and a thickly settled territory of ten or twelve miles round. The Catholics worshipping at the church are variously estimated at from eight hundred to one thousand souls. They have no resident pastor. There were only six reputed sufficiently well instructed to be admitted to con- firmation, and it was truly distressing to observe that many had been suffered to reach their twentieth year without having been imbued with the first elements of a religious education, or received any other sacrament than baptism.
2. ST. JOHN'S, CANTON, STARK COUNTY; VERY REV. JOHN A. HILL; LOUISVILLE, CANAL FULTON, DOYLESTOWN, WOOSTER, ETC.2
"Mansfield, Richland Co., July 3, 1834.
"Our first station, after having left St. Paul's church [near
(1) Catholic Telegraph, June 27, 1834.
(2) Catholic Telegraph, July 18, 1834.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
Dungannon], was at Mr. Crevaisier's, in Hanover, where a few persons, unable to attend church, received the holy communion, and one child was baptised. Similar consolations were afforded to the Catholics of Paris, fifteen miles distant, in the house of Mr. James Cassilly. Passing by Osnaburg in the public stage, we had not time to visit several Catholic families, chiefly Germans, in- habitants of that town and vicinity. Having rendered our accus- tomed and solemn homage to the Adorable Sacrament on our arrival in the church of Canton [St. John's], the seat of Stark county, and knelt in the cemetery by the remains of the once animated temples of the Holy Ghost, destined to rise more splendid from their present ruins, we became unconsciously absorbed in reflection at the humble grave of the Rev. Mr. Hill. How many associations, pleasing and melancholy to the soul, did not that sad memory awaken! What consistent testimony did not its peaceful occupant render to the truth! What a contrast between his and the conversion of certain modern proselytes! Willingly did he descend from exalted station, relinquish country, debar himself of the pleasures of society which he was so eminently qualified to grace and adorn, and sever the dearest ties, to worship at the shrine of that mysterious Catholic religion, always black- ened by calumny, but ever bright with holiness, always assaulted by error, but never overcome, and which is now going forth through the New World, as it has gone through the old, "con- quering and to conquer." The following epitaph, a tribute of classic as well as sacerdotal piety to the memory and virtues of the deceased ornament of the American priesthood, is inscribed on a plain white slab placed against the south side of the church. It is, we understand, the composition of the Rev. Mr. Henni, associate pastor of the Canton congregation :
D. O. M.
Reverendus Sacerdos Dominus JOHANNES AUGUSTINUS HILL.
Relictis centuris castris, Minervæ induit arma
Adscriptis Dominici choro Patris premit vestigia Patri ignotis in Sylvis: Pius mitisque animo Carus et ore facundus
Obiit iii . Non. Sept. MDCCCXXVIII. Pulveri eheu! fave pulvis Nova dum silet turba.
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"On Sunday Rev. V. Raymacher [Dominican] sang Mass, and the Bishop preached in the morning, and again addressed a large audience in the afternoon. The Tuesday following, Feast of St. John Baptist, patron of the church, the sacrament of confirma- tion was administered to 105 persons, all of whom received the divine Eucharist, on the same day. The order observed during the dispensation of the sacred rite was truly edifying. The pro- gress of Catholicity in this section of the State may be estimated from the fact that there are at present upwards of 2,000 com- municants in part of the district, attended by two clergymen, the only priests in Stark county, where, ten years ago, there were scarcely thirty resident Catholic families. This extraordinary increase will appear from the annexed statement, on the correct- ness of which full reliance can be placed :
"Canton, 800 communicants; Beechland [Louisville ], 7 miles distant, 240; Paris, 120; Moreck, 15 miles to the east, 100; [Canal] Fulton, 130; Sugar Creek, 60; Randolph, in Portage county, 18 miles north of Canton, 120; the remainder are in Medina, Chip- pewa [Doylestown] and Tuscarawas, where there is, unfortu- nately, no one to gather the harvest into the barns of the Father of the family, but tenacious Catholic faith alone preserves the love of our holy institutions, cementing the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. A few only of the congregations did we find time to visit. Beechland [Louisville] is principally a French settle- ment. Church is held in the house of Mr. Joseph Menegay, which was formerly occupied as a place of meeting by a Baptist minister and his congregation. Bricks to the amount of 120,000, for a new church, are now in the kiln, and a lot of three-fourths of an acre, in an eligible position, near a recently laid off site for a new town, has been given by Mr. Lutzenheizer. The ground for a grave yard is the grant of Mr. Bideau, and forty-nine acres of prime land, generously donated by Messrs. James, Richard and Patrick Moffit, to which five others had been added by the good Mr. Menegay, are now recorded in the Bishop's name, as a provision for the support of a pastor.
"In the [Canal] Fulton church, a log building fifty by thirty, built on an acre lot presented by Mr. McCue and not yet dedicated, there were fourteen confirmed, of whom five were converts. Messrs. Patton, Bayle, McCadden and Eddington are among the most zealous of the little flock, and names which we record with much satisfaction.
"In Sugar Creek church, [Marshallville?] Wayne county, likewise a log edifice, small and inconveniently situated, there were fourteen communicants and four confirmed on the first of July. The Arnolds, of Allegheny county, Maryland, have planted the
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
mustard seed, and they now cherish its growth in this lonely place. Among the baptized there was one convert.
WOOSTER.
"Reaching Wooster late at night, we greatly regretted that we could not sojourn, at least one day, with the excellent Catholics near that town. The dreariness of the hour and the stormy state of the weather were in perfect accord with the feel- ings inspired by the sight of the room in which the late Bishop died, forlorn by every one but his God. Filled with the most serious but salutary impressions of the precarious tenure by which we hold to the present life, we left the town, after a short and broken rest, and proceeded over a wretched road, 33 miles, to Mansfield. There are two English and several German Catholic families in this town, but many more in the neighborhood. They are very irregularly attended. Notwithstanding the briefness of the notice, there were fifteen communicants and four confirmed in the house of Mr. William Downey. Deprived, for want of time, of the pleasure of visiting Chippewa [near Doylestown], where Messrs. G. Whitman and Peter Marshall, brother to the Rev. Francis Marshall of Maryland, have lately conveyed eighty acres of good land to the Bishop, towards the support of a priest; and unable, for the same reason, to see the numerous Catholic families newly settled near Bucyrus, Crawford county, of whose attachment to their faith and praiseworthy exertions for the building of a church we have heard much that edified, we left Mansfield on the 3d of July, hoping to reach Paris by Truxville the same day. In this we were disappointed; and after a costly, dangerous and unsuccess- ful effort to cross the flooded headwaters of the Mohican [Wyandot?], were compelled, with well drenched clothes and broken carriage, to return and think of the patience and joy of the Apostles in greater labors and disasters, while we enjoyed the fire- side of our kind host. Tomorrow, God willing, we shall renew the effort to reach Norwalk by Sunday, and, we hope, with better success.
3. REPORT OF BISHOP PURCELL'S VISIT TO NORTHERN OHIO, IN 1834.1
"Dayton, 23d July, 1834.
"We shall here conclude our notes of the episcopal visitation.
Reports, which, we trust, we shall find to have been exaggerated, having reached us, of the reappearance of cholera, under alarming circumstances, at Cincinnati, induce the Bishop to defer visiting
(1) Catholic Telegraph, August 1, 1834.
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the remaining Catholic stations on his route, and repair promptly to his see, in order to unite with his reverend and, he fears, over- burdened fellow-laborers, in rendering to that beloved portion of his flock the spiritual consolation and relief of which it may be in need.
"From Mansfield to Paris there are many scattered Catholics ; we had time to visit none but the numerous and edifying family of Mrs. Trux, residing near the last mentioned, new and rapidly growing town. The number of professors of 'the faith once delivered to the saints,' increased as we approached
NORWALK,
seat of Huron county. Three miles from the town is a well built frame church under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Tschenhens, of the Holy Order of the Redeemer, founded by the lately canon- ized Alphonso de Liguori, an Italian bishop. The church, which has been lately erected, was dedicated to the Almighty God, under the invocation of that Holy Prelate and zealous patron of missions. Previously to the ceremony of its benediction the Bishop addressed the congregation (to whom the Rev. Mr. Henni, of Canton, subsequently delivered an eloquent and impressive discourse in the German language) and was obviously much impressed with the necessity of the prayers he preferred to heaven being granted, when he besought the Divine Disposer of every good gift, to cherish and mature the mustard seed, thus sown under the fostering care of the Redemptorists, and thence to diffuse the blessings of the only true and loving faith over an extensive territory, where its influence has hitherto been but little felt. Rev. Mr. Tschenhens is now aided by two pious lay brothers, and is soon to be joined by a zealous clergyman of his Order, from Michigan, and a considerable rein- forcement from Vienna, who are thought to be now on their voyage to the distant and unknown settlement in the West. After the dedication of the church, the cemetery was blessed, and 19 were confirmed.
"At the request of several of the citizens, the Bishop preached in the court house at Norwalk. The day following he was accom- panied by Revs. Messrs. Henni and Tschenhens to Lower Sandusky [Fremont] where the divine sacrifice was offered at the residence of Madame Beaugrand. There are not many Catholics settled in this town, but several families have lately arrived in its vicinity. A lot for a church was promised by esteemed friends to the holy cause of truth, and pecuniary assistance will not, it is believed, be withheld when the seasonable time for the commence- ment of the church shall have arrived.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
TIFFIN.
"We were much disappointed at finding the church [St. Mary's] of Tiffin still unfinished. It has not yet been dedicated. On Sunday, 13th of July, there were 100 communicants, and on the following Tuesday 26 were confirmed. Exclusive of the Germans, to whom Revs. Messrs. Henni and Tschenhens fre- quently preached during their stay in the town, there is a large and fervent congregation from the neighborhood of Emmittsburg, Mt. St. Mary's and Westminster, Frederick county, Md. They are the hope of religion and will long continue, as we fondly and devoutly trust, to enhance their Bishop's joy and pastor's crown in the remote and peaceful habitations they have chosen. Rev. Mr. Quinn, who has hitherto attended this congregation, resides at the distance of five [?] miles from Tiffin, and has had to administer to the spiritual wants of the Catholics of a circumference of nearly forty miles, the roads at any season of the year, but particularly in the winter, being of the very worst description.
MCCUTCHENVILLE.
"In Mccutchenville, 10 miles from Tiffin, a charming lot of 234 acres has been ceded to the Bishop and his successors in office by Mr. William Arnold, and a considerable sum has been subscribed by Messrs. Mclaughlin, Berton, Noel and other Catholics and Protestants for the erection of a church. Two other churches are spoken of, and would indeed be necessary, for German congregations, five miles in different directions from Tiffin.
4. REPORT OF EPISCOPAL VISIT TO NORTHERN OHIO, MADE BY BISHOP PURCELL IN 1835.1
DUNGANNON .- NEW LISBON.
"St. Paul's [near Dungannon] was visited on the first Sunday of August. The Bishop found the congregation much increased and anxious to secure the services of a resident priest. This was a favor which it was not in his power to grant. However, on two Sundays of every month. until God is pleased to send more numer- ous, pious and efficient laborers into His vineyard, the spiritual wants of the congregation will be supplied by the Rev. Mr. Conlan from Steubenville. The number of Catholics in the town of New Lisbon, six miles from St. Paul's, has likewise been much aug- mented by the contractors, laborers and men of business attracted to the spot since the commencement of the Sandy and Beaver canal. The divine mysteries were celebrated in the house of a French Catholic, and on Monday evening the Bishop preached in
(1) Catholic Telegraph, September 4, 1835.
3
CALVARY CEMETERY (View Looking West), CLEVELAND.
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the court house to a large and attentive audience. The Catholics of New Lisbon are anxious for the erection of a new church, but it has been recommended to them to enlarge and finish the building at St. Paul's, before they undertake to build another so near it. In time, we trust, there will be a creditable church in either place.
CLEVELAND.
"The Catholic congregation of Cleveland has been very recently organized. It consists. of not more than three hundred members. They are all poor in this world's wealth, but rich in the faith and hope which ensure their professors those treasures which rust cannot consume, nor earthly distinction affect, and which are forfeited by vice and wilful error. A merchant of Cleveland, Mr. Clark, has presented a lot in Brooklyn, which is connected and almost identified with Cleveland by a bridge thrown over the Cuyahoga river. On this lot [not used; first church was built on 'Flats' in Cleveland centre .- H.] it is intended to erect a church during the present season, and from the friendly and liberal spirit evinced by the Protestant citizens of the town and the spirited exertions which the Catholics are resolved to make, we have no doubt but that the voyager on Lake Erie will soon be cheered, in his approach to this safe harbor, by the aspect of the Sign of our Redemption. We were delighted to hear how greatly the religious, moral and social condition of the Catholics in the vicinity of Cleveland, who had previously enjoyed no means of instruction, has been improved by the unremitting exertions of their pastor, Rev. Mr. Dillon. May the divine blessing continue to remove the obstacles which could mar the projects, or impede the success of this interesting little flock.
CUYAHOGA FALLS.
"At this place, which is thirty miles from Cleveland, there are a few Catholics, but many more dispersed through the country around. Many of the influential citizens, who belong to no religion, but who are shocked at the disreputable acts resorted to, for the disparagement of the Catholics among a people who have little opportunity of judging of them but from the caricatures exhibited by sectarians, have strongly urged with promises largely to contribute to the building of a Catholic church. [No church built at C. F. till 1884 .- H.] It will be impossible to accede to their request before the completion of the church in Cleveland. Meantime, they shall hear the word of Catholic truth announced at stated visits, by Rev. Mr. Dillon.
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RANDOLPH.
"The first movement of German Catholics in a new settle- ment is to build a church and school house of the cheapest and most accessible materials. To improvements in the condition of the country, and their own, they wisely adjourn the construction of more costly and substantial edifices. Within one mile of Randolph [Centre] in Portage county, there is a Catholic German congregation who have raised a small, but remarkably neat log chapel and school house, thereby evincing a laudable attention to the instruction of their children, and a becoming zeal for the religion of their fathers. The congregation consists of forty-five families, and of this little community, it is said, in addition to other praise, that there is not a solitary instance of habitual or occasional intemperance to stain its early and humble history! On the 22d inst. [August, 1835], Rev. Mr. Saenderl [Redemptorist], who accompanied the Bishop, sang High Mass, in which the entire congregation, young and old, joined in admirable accordance; there were fifty-three communicants and twelve confirmed. Several Catholic families, not before heard of, attended from a distance of ten or fifteen miles, or requested through those who were able to come. that they may be visited by a priest. Measures were promptly taken to afford them this consolation. * *
5. REPORT OF EPISCOPAL VISIT TO NORTHERN OHIO BY BISHOP PURCELL IN 1835.1
LOUISVILLE, O.
"Beechland [near Louisville], Stark county .- This congre- gation has suffered from the want of pastoral attention for several months. Still the members of the building committee have not neglected the collection of materials for the erection of a church in the newly located and fast progressing town of Louisville. Eighty-one thousand brick, and much of the gross timber for the construction of the church, are now on the selected site, and the Bishop was cordially seconded in his earnest desire for the com- pletion of at least the shell of the building, before the setting in of the winter. The resources of the congregation are fully adequate to the support of a priest, and promises have been given, which it is hoped the Divine Lord of the harvest will enable us to realize, that a worthy laborer shall be speedily placed at their head, to lead them onward in union, strength and piety. The holy mysteries were celebrated in the large dwelling of Mr. Eck, a Catholic lately arrived from Pennsylvania, and many persons were admitted to holy communion and confirmation.
(1) Catholic Telegraph, September 11, 1835.
1.
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ST. JOHN'S, CANTON.
"This healthy and popular town appears destined to enjoy its share of the growing prosperity of the West. Its citizens are now engaged in urging on to completion a cross-cut from the Ohio and Erie, or Sandy and Beaver canal. The church is far too small for the greatly increased numbers of the congregation, and not- withstanding the contemplated formation of several distinct missions in its neighborhood, it will be necessary to erect a new church on, or near, the site of the old one, to accommodate the Catholics and numerous enquirers after religious truth at present residing in the town. At the request of many of the citizens the Bishop preached to an unusually large assemblage in the court house on Sunday evening, August 23d. The Rev. gentleman of the Order of St. Dominic, to whose arduous and untiring efforts for the promotion of faith and morals, during many years, the diocese of Ohio owes a large debt of gratitude, has lately sur- rendered1 the Canton congregation to the care of the Bishop. This measure was exclusively owing to the impossibility, on the part of the Order, of attending to this distant mission, while the congre- gations of Zanesville, Somerset and Lancaster require more than the time and pains which have been bestowed on their spiritual instruction and improvement in former years. Rev. Mr. Saenderl, Superior of the Redemptorists, and Rev. Mr. O'Bairne have been entrusted by the Bishop with the care of the congregation.
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