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 8
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On October 24. 1837, Messrs. James S. Clark, Richard Hilliard and Edmund Clarke, conveyed by land contract to the
ST. PATRICK'S SCHOOL, CLEVELAND,
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Rt. Rev. John B. Purcell, Bishop of Cincinnati, "in trust for the Roman Catholic Society of Our Lady of the Lake, of said Cleve- land, the following piece or parcel of land, to-wit : Lots numbered 218 and 219 (corner Columbus and Girard streets), in the plat of Cleveland centre," subject to the following conditions: "Provided always and these presents are on the express condition, that said society shall within and during the space of four months from the date of this agreement, erect, build, finish and complete outwardly a respectable and suitable frame house or church building for public worship, and commence regularly holding their meetings therein; to have and to hold the above premises with the appur- tenances thereof so long as the same shall be occupied as aforesaid, and so much longer as said church shall own and occupy regularly a respectable lot and house for public worship upon the plat at Cleveland centre." A deed was executed by the above named gentlemen on November 21, 1842, covering the land contract.
Father O'Dwyer at once set to work to increase the building fund secured by the lamented Father Dillon, and to begin the much needed and long looked for church. In a few months the building was erected on the above mentioned lots, but could not be completed for lack of means. Meanwhile, also, Father O'Dwyer left Cleveland, about June, 1839. The church stood unfinished for months, till Bishop Purcell, coming to Cleveland during September of the same year, and remaining for three weeks, had it so far pushed towards completion that Mass was said in it for the first time in October, 1839. During his stay in Cleveland at this time the Bishop also prepared a class of children for First Communion, which was administered to them in the new church by Father Henni, who had come from Cincinnati to assist the Bishop.
Although the Catholics of Cleveland now had a church, they were without a resident pastor from the time Father O'Dwyer left. Meanwhile, however, through the exertion of the laity the church was plastered and properly provided with the necessary outfit, and all were anxiously awaiting its dedication and the appointment of a shepherd for the shepherdless flock.
The former expectation was realized on Sunday, June 7, 1840. when the solemn and impressive dedicatory ceremonies were per-
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formed by the Rt. Rev. Doctor de Forbin-Janson, Bishop of Toule-Nancy, France, then on a visit to the United States. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Purcell assisted at the ceremony and preached an eloquent and appropriate discourse on the occasion. The frame building, 81 by 53 feet, had four well wrought Doric columns and was neatly plastered and pewed. The cost of the building, exclu- sive of furniture, was about $3,000.
The church was dedicated to "Our Lady of the Lake," but by popular usage the name was soon- changed to St. Mary's on the "Flats," that part of the city being so called. In October, 1840, the Rev. Peter Mclaughlin was appointed Father O'Dwyer's suc- cessor. He received a most cordial welcome from the Catholics of Cleveland, who had been without a resident pastor for nearly a year, depending solely on occasional visits of priests from Cincin- nati and Dayton. The pastorate of Cleveland's Catholics was Father McLaughlin's first appointment, he having been ordained by Bishop Purcell only a few weeks previous. He was a man of much energy and an eloquent preacher. Being also conversant to some extent with the German language, he satisfied the wants of his "mixed" congregation, many of the members having come from Germany. Under his direction the new church was entirely finished, a choir was organized and a reed organ secured.
With a sharp, keen eye to the future growth of Catholicity in Cleveland, and with a view to locating a church in the upper and better portion of the city, and more conveniently situated for his congregation, Father Mclaughlin purchased from Thomas May four lots, fronting Superior and Erie streets, the site of the present Cathedral. The lots were secured by land contract, dated January 22, 1845; the purchase price was $4,000. The lots were bought on Father McLaughlin's responsibility, transferred to and assumed by Bishop Purcell, October 15, 1845. Father Mclaughlin was much blamed by some of his parishioners for buying lots "in the country." Erie street was at that time the east boundary of the built-up portion of the city. Needless to ask: Who was the wiser -he or his critics ?
The purchase of these lots was the beginning of an unkind feeling towards Father Mclaughlin. Finding that he could no longer profitably serve their spiritual interests he asked his Bishop
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to relieve him from the pastorate of St. Mary's. His request was granted, and to the grief of the greater portion of his congrega- tion, and to the sorrow of all the Protestant citizens of Cleveland, who learned to respect him for his ability and honesty of purpose, he left in February, 1846, after nearly six years of faithful and disinterested work among his people. A few days before his departure the Rev. Maurice Howard arrived as his successor. Besides attending to St. Mary's congregation, Cleveland, Father Howard had charge of missions in Lake, Lorain and Geauga counties which had been attended by Father Mclaughlin. He had as his assistant for some months the Rev. Michael A. Byrne, who also had shared Father Mclaughlin's labor a short time. During his pastorate the Diocese of Cleveland was erected, and the Rt. Rev. Amadeus Rappe consecrated Bishop thereof, October 10, 1847.
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CHAPTER VI EARLY CATHOLICITY IN TOLEDO.
1837-1847
TOLEDO SETTLED IN 1832-REV. EMANUEL THIENPONT AT TOLEDO, IN 1837-REV. EDWARD T. COLLINS-REVS. PROJECTUS J. MACHEBEUF AND JOSEPH McNAMEE-BISHOP PURCELL VISITS TOLEDO-DESCRIBES HIS VISIT AND IMPRESSIONS-THE REV. JOHN M. HENNI-THE REV. AMADEUS RAPPE, FIRST RESIDENT PASTOR OF TOLEDO-ST. FRANCIS DE SALES' CHURCH- FATHER RAPPE DESCRIBES HIS MISSIONARY LABORS AT TOLEDO AND IN NORTHWESTERN OHIO-HE ESTABLISHES THE FIRST PAROCHIAL SCHOOL AT TOLEDO-SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME.
T HE present flourishing city of Toledo covers the site of a stockade fort, erected about 1800, near what is now Sum- mit street, and known in the history of Ohio as Fort In- dustry. Toledo was first settled in 1832 and incorporated in 1836. During the latter year the Wabash and Erie canal was located, and Toledo made its northerly terminus. In 1837 the proposed canal was let by the State authorities. The contractors made every effort to push its construction to an early completion, and to this end se- cured a large force of laborers .* Many of these laborers were Irish, who were also the first Catholics to come to Toledo. As soon as Bishop Purcell heard that Catholic laborers were engaged on the Wabash canal, he directed the Rev. Emanuel Thienpont, then (1837) stationed at Dayton, to visit them and to attend to their spiritual wants. He was the first priest to visit Toledo. Father Edward Collins, of Cincinnati, was the next, commissioned in like manner, in 1838. Both he and Father Thienpont visited all the Catholic laborers along the canal from Toledo to the Indiana State line, making the journey on horseback. However, owing to the great distance they had to go to reach their temporary charge, their visits were not regular. Hence Bishop Purcell made other ar- rangements, more satisfactory all around, by appointing the Revs. J. P. Machebeuf and Joseph McNamee, both stationed at Tiffin, to take pastoral charge of this part of his vast diocese-Toledo and
*Howe, Ohio Hist. Collections, Vol. II, pp. 148, 149.
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the missions along the Wabash canal. This was done by Father Machebeuf for two months, November and December, 1839, and by Father McNamee from December, 1839, to July, 1841.
They said Mass in the shanties of the laborers along the canal or in the cabins of the few Canadians residing in and near the town of Toledo. In a communication to the Colorado Catholic, Septem- ber 22, 1888, Bishop Machebeuf describes his first visit to Toledo in November, 1839, as follows: "Only a few Catholics were in Toledo at this time. I said Mass in the frame shanty of a poor Canadian. These people having a few Catholic acquaintances a short distance up the [ Maumee] river, notified them of the oppor- tunity to hear Mass, and all of them attended. There being no suitable house wherein to hold divine service, I rented a room over a drug store, constructed an altar with some boxes, which I covered with calico. This was the first church of good Father Rappe, when he was sent [to Toledo] two years later."
In 1841 Bishop Purcell paid his second episcopal visit to Toledo. In a letter to the Catholic Telegraph, of Cincinnati, pub- lished August 21st, of that year, he writes of Toledo as follows :
"This place is in all probability destined to be one of the most populous commercial cities in the Northwest. It is, with Maumee and Manhattan in its neighborhood, destined to be the depot of the railroads and canals, especially the Wabash and Erie canal, intersected by the Miami canal and the great Southern Rail- road now in active progress all along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Buffalo. It is likewise the only proper point for the termination of the projected railroad from Chicago, to unite with the railroad to New York, and will thereby enjoy the advantages of much, if not all, the trade circuitously carried on between Chicago and Buffalo, by way of the lakes, an interrupted and frequently an unsafe channel of communication. A railroad, thirty-one miles in length, from Adrian, Michigan, is now com- pleted to Toledo. It is contemplated to extend this road to the southern parts of Michigan, thus forming a continuous line of communication between New York and Michigan and Illinois, and the far west generally, by Toledo.
"With such prospects it is not surprising that many of our Catholic brethren from Ireland and Germany should have settled here in the vicinity of the old Catholic Canadian French, who have hitherto attended church at the 'Bay Settlement,' and at Monroe, Michigan.
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"Before the visit of the Bishop of Cincinnati to Rome it was not quite certain whether the tract (formerly claimed by Michigan, but which was finally adjudged by congress to Ohio), belonged to his spiritual jurisdiction. or to that of the Bishop of Detroit. But this matter having been decided by the Propaganda in favor of Cincinnati, Rev. Mr. McNamee and Rev. Mr. Machebeuf are the only clergymen who are recognized as pastors, or who have any ordinary jurisdiction in this part of the diocese.
"Church [in Toledo] is at present held in a large room rented for the purpose. but arrangements have been made either for the purchase of a church, under execution for the sum of $2,800. to be paid in installments, or the erection of a new one on either of the two lots offered by agents of proprietors of much of the soil.
"The Bishop and Very Rev. Mr. Henni preached here fre- quently-the former before very attentive and intelligent audiences in the court house. After one of his sermons a few Protestant gentlemen present came forward and signed their names for between three and four hundred dollars to enable their Catholic brethren to purchase or build a church. The Catholics themselves. had subscribed $400 in the forenoon of the same day.
"There are several Indian families in the neighborhood who live among the French, but who have not as yet joined the Church. * Seven persons were confirmed and a large number partook of the Holy Communion. The erection of a church will give a new impulse to the growth and prosperity of this new city, which has been rather stationary since our former visit, four years ago. Manhattan, about two miles from Toledo, nearer the mouth of the Maumee, contains many families of Catholics, who, in part, attend church at Toledo, but the Bishop could not find time to visit them." * *
The Rev. Amadeus Rappe was appointed first pastor of Toledo, where he resided from about September, 1841, till his consecration as Bishop of Cleveland, October, 1847. Shortly after his arrival at Toledo he was urged by the laity either to build a church (a subscription of $1,400 having been raised for that purpose) or to purchase the church mentioned above by Bishop Purcell. It was finally agreed to purchase the church-a Presby- terian (frame) meeting house, located on Superior street. The purchase was made about November, 1842, as appears from the following item published in the Catholic Telegraph, December 15, 1842:
"The Rev. Mr. Rappe has purchased the Presbyterian meet- ing house in Toledo [St. Francis de Sales'], in this State. It is a
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ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH (Interior), TIFFIN.
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large building, in a handsome part of the town, and after a few alterations, will be used as a Catholic Church. Religion has not a more zealous missionary in the West than the reverend gentleman, through whose exertions the congregations in Toledo and other towns in the neighborhood have been organized."
After a few alterations the building was converted into a Catholic church-the first in Toledo-and dedicated to St. Francis de Sales. The day of its dedication was one of joy for the Catholics of Toledo, now no longer obliged to worship in cabins, shanties or halls. The church had a basement which Father Rappe had fitted up as a residence for himself, with room enough left for a school to be established eventually.
The following account of Father Rappe's missionary labors, written by himself, was published by Bishop Purcell in the Catholic Telegraph, February 26, 1842:
"This devoted brother and fellow-laborer sends us edifying tidings from the northwest of the diocese, under the head of 'Toledo, 14th February.' He writes as follows: 'I have just returned from the State line where I found much work and great consolation. I commence, it seems to me, to be a missionary. I like exceedingly the poverty, the simplicity and the faith of our Irish Catholics. Poor men! Many of them have not been to con- fession for a long while, and now above all, those who have joined the temperance society are very zealous to approach this sacra- ment and the Divine Eucharist. I should have two lives to conse- crate to such men. They want above everything instruction in their moral duties and the sacraments. But what consoling faith ! Last Sunday I celebrated two Masses at the reservoir [in Pauld- ing county ], where there are about 600 men, and in the afternoon I was called to the sick. I was followed along the road by a young man who had longed for the occasion of speaking to me. But as the most notable of the place made a circle around me, my good young man was prevented by humility from making his way to me. But on my return from the sick he stopped me as I was about jumping over a ditch, and modestly said to me: 'Sir, I wish to receive the Blessed Sacrament.' 'Very well, my friend, I am going to hear confessions tomorrow; I hope you will have that happiness.' 'But,' he replied, 'it is today I wish to do so.' 'My friend,' I added, 'you have dined ; you cannot communicate now.' 'No, sir, I have neither breakfasted nor dined, because I hoped to receive my Lord today.' Blessed are the poor in spirit for surely theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"I wish to have one hundred medals and two hundred cards,
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for besides the two hundred persons that I have received into the temperance society, many of the others had taken the pledge in other States, so that they are the majority. Though I had never been a great friend of the temperance society, I could not refuse to take the pledge myself on seeing the frightful ravages of intem- perance among our poor people.
"All the people are very anxious to see the commencing of the foundation of our new church [in Toledo], but I answer them that I wish first of all to see a great change in their morals; in a word, I wish to put all the whisky bottles and glasses in the bottom of the foundation. Death himself has come to help me in my work, for eighteen or twenty persons have died, Catholics and Protestants, since Christmas, the most part of intemperate habits, so that those who drank to preserve health are now con- founded. *
"My prospects for building a church are encouraging. Fourteen hundred dollars have been subscribed in Toledo, and I reckon upon four hundred more from the public works. Pray that I may have light and grace to know and do the will of God in all things."
During Father Rappe's pastorate, in 1845, Toledo was made the terminus of a second canal, (known as the Miami and Erie canal), and was thus connected with Cincinnati. Its construction helped to increase largely the number of Catholic laborers who had been attraced by the employment offered them in the con- struction of the Wabash and Erie canal.
After the completion of these two important enterprises, many of the employes settled in and near Toledo, and engaged in various avocations. Between 1838 and 1846, Toledo gained an unenviable reputation because of the insidious and destructive Maumee fever, which raged with violence, especially in 1838 and 1839, and greatly impeded the work on the canal.
In 1841 the Wabash and Erie canal was still in course of con- struction. "The Maumee Valley was full of Catholic laborers, and was also literally a land which devoured its inhabitants. The Maumee fever spared no one, but slowly and surely undermined the strongest constitution. Toledo and its environs were full of malaria. At times it was next to impossible to meet a healthy person. Added to this there were many cases of erysipelas, and in 1847 hundreds of emigrants, stricken by ship-fever, landed at the Toledo docks to die a few hours after their arrival among
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strangers."* Hence the growth of Toledo was greatly checked, as people had no desire to settle where sickness of a malignant type stared them in the face. But with the proper drainage and grading in the city, and the opening up of the surrounding country, Toledo has long since lost its notoriety as an unhealthy place.
Father Rappe was one of the first priests in Northern Ohio to establish a parochial school. With great difficulties to surmount he succeeded in establishing a parochial school at Toledo, in 1845, engaging as teachers a few Sisters of the Notre Dame Community, located at Cincinnati. In reference to said Sisters and their school Bishop Purcell published the following item in the Catholic Telegraph of April 30, 1846 :
"The Sisters and scholars are blessed with excellent health, and the school, under such able management, continues to advance in its successful claims to public patronage and esteem. We can not sufficiently admire the heroism with which these Sisters, with the humble but confident hope of being useful to religion and society, disregard the fears of the 'Maumee' fever, from which, through the divine blessing on such devotedness as theirs, they have experienced that there was nothing to fear. * * The Sisters of Notre Dame will not be forgotten in future years when the earliest and most efficient pioneers are commemorated."
When Father Rappe was elevated to the episcopacy, October, 1847, the Rev. Louis De Goesbriand, his faithful co-laborer since January, 1846, was appointed pastor of St. Francis de Sales', Toledo. Four months later he was called to Cleveland and appointed Vicar General.
*See Reminiscences of the Rev. Louis De Goesbriand, p. 57, this volume.
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PART II HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND
1847-1900
CHAPTER I
THE RT. REV. AMADEUS RAPPE, FIRST BISHOP OF CLEVELAND. HIS ADMINISTRATION. 1847-1870.
ERECTION OF DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND-ITS TERRITORY-BISHOP RAPPE'S CON- SECRATION, OCTOBER 10, 1847-HIS FIRST PASTORAL LETTER-BISHOP'S RESIDENCE BOUGHT ON BOND STREET-CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY- FIRST DIOCESAN SEMINARY-ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL COMMENCED IN 1848 AND COMPLETED IN 1852-BISHOP RAPPE A TOTAL ABSTAINER-FATHER MATHEW, THE APOSTLE OF TOTAL ABSTINENCE-THE URSULINES ESTAB- LISH A CONVENT AND ACADEMY IN CLEVELAND-ST. VINCENT'S AND ST. MARY'S ASYLUMS FOUNDED-GREY NUNS AND URSULINES AT TOLEDO- SEMINARY REMOVED IN 1850 TO LAKE STREET.
W ITH the constant and rapid growth of Catholicity in his large diocese, comprising the entire State of Ohio, Bishop Purcell found the territory too large and the burden of his episcopal duties too great for his personal attention. As early as December, 1841, in an interesting communication to the Catholic Telegraph, describing one of his visits to Northern Ohio, he writes : "It would require the constant attention of two bishops and a hun- dred priests to preserve the faithful, convert the erring, re- claim the sinful, found schools, and build churches necessary over such an extensive territory." Bishop Purcell therefore petitioned the Holy See for a division of his jurisdiction. Cleveland was con- ยท sidered as the most fit city in the northern part of the State for an Episcopal See, and hence was so designated. Father Rappe, the zealous missionary of the Maumee, was chosen as the first Bishop of this new diocese. Although the Papal Bulls to this effect were issued April 23, 1847, they did not reach Cincinnati till the follow-
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ing August. The fact of their arrival was published in the Catholic Telegraph, September 2, 1847, as follows :
"The Bulls for the consecration of Rt. Rev. Mr. Rappe for the new See of Cleveland have arrived. We very sincerely con- gratulate the clergy and congregations in the northern part of Ohio on this appointment; if zeal for the glory of God, and utter disregard. of self, a blameless life, and fervent piety can qualify a man for the Episcopacy, we know no one more likely to see his hopes realized than the bishop-elect of Cleveland. This is his character amongst those who know him."
The territory assigned to the new diocese was "all that part of the State of Ohio lying north of 40 degrees and 41 minutes." As this line intersected several counties, it was thought best by the bishops of the Dioceses of Cincinnati and Cleveland to petition the Holy See to establish the limits between these two dioceses by county lines, as appears from the following agreement published in the Catholic Telegraph, January 11, 1849:
"In order to prevent any misunderstanding or uncertainty with regard to the extent of jurisdiction, as defined only by the geographical line of 40 degrees and 41 minutes, the Rt. Rev. Bishops of these two dioceses have agreed, among themselves, and they direct us to publish, that the counties of Mercer, Auglaize, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, Knox, Tuscarawas, Carroll and Jeffer- son, which belong to the Diocese of Cincinnati, shall constitute the northern boundary of the Diocese of Cincinnati; that all counties north of those just named, shall compose the Diocese of Cleveland. Holmes county, for the greater part south of the line above traced, is by mutual consent assigned to the Diocese of Cleveland. Ary new counties that may hereafter be formed by the authori y of the legislature, will belong to that diocese in which the larger portion of them will be situated. Application will be made as early as possible to the Holy See to sanction this arrangement."
When the Diocese of Columbus was erected, in 1868, Holmes county was included within its jurisdiction. All the other counties embraced within the above described limits have since been under jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cleveland, viz: Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Columbiana, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Geauga, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Medina, Ottawa, Paulding, Portage, Putnam, Rich- land, Sandusky, Seneca, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Van Wert, Wayne, Williams, Wood and Wyandot, in all thirty-three counties,
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comprising about one-third of Ohio. The territory of the diocese extends from the west line of Pennsylvania to the east line of Indiana, and from the southern shore of Lake Erie about seventy -- five miles south.
Father Rappe was consecrated at Cincinnati, October 10, 1847, by Bishop Purcell, assisted by Bishop Whelan, of Richmond, Virginia. Two days after his consecration, and just before starting for Cleveland, he published his first pastoral letter, which is given here in full. It portrays clearly the apostolic zeal and devotedness to the cause of God on the part of Bishop Rappe :
AMADEUS,
BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND APPOINTMENT OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE, BISHOP OF CLEVELAND.
To the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Cleveland :
Grace Unto You, and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ :
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