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, pt2 > Part 7
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HUDSON, SUMMIT COUNTY. ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
The first Catholic settlers at Hudson were the laborers em- ployed in the construction of the Cleveland & Pittsburg railroad, between 1847 and 1850. Until 1854 there were but five Catholic families in the village of Hudson. It was attended from St. Vin- cent's, Akron, as a Station, between 1850 and 1852. In August, 1850, the Rev. Jacob Goodwin bought a lot at the corner of Rail- road and Oviatt streets, but could not raise sufficient means to build even a small frame church. Divine service had therefore to be held in private houses or public halls, until 1860.
The Rev. Francis McGann attended Hudson from Akron, between August, 1850, and 1852. It was then attended from Cleveland by the Rev. W. O'Connor (1852-53); from Akron, by the Rev. F. McGann (1853-55); and again from Cleveland, by the Revs. F. Salaun (1855-59); and E. M. O'Callaghan (1859-61). In 1860 Father O'Callaghan built the present frame church (30 x 50 feet) on the lot bought by Father Goodwin, as above stated. The spirit of prejudice was so rampant in Hudson when a site was purchased for a Catholic church, that a Mr. Brewster, who sold the lot for this purpose, was threatened with a coat of tar and feathers. Further evidence of this spirit was manifested when the little church was erected; for the cross was cut off and removed therefrom soon after the church was completed. To this day is mentioned the incident, and the bravery of a Catholic working girl who found the cross and carried it on her shoulder to the church.
Hudson was at that time the seat of the Western Reserve University, and therefore, supposedly, a cultured town. How far this manifested itself the incident above related may point out.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
In July, 1861, the Rev. P. H. Brown was appointed first resi- dent pastor of Hudson. He lived in a rented house during his stay, which ended in the summer of 1862. He was then trans- ferred to Ravenna, but retained Hudson as a Mission until Novem- ber, 1867, when the Rev. J. Hannan was sent to Hudson as resi- dent pastor, and remained until February, 1876. Since that time the following priests have been stationed at Hudson: The Revs. A. Paganini, 1876 to 1877 ; P. H. O'Mara, 1877 to 1881; P. Barry, 1881 to 1884; J. J. Clarke, 1884 to 1885; J. J. Farrell, 1885 to 2. 1889; F. B. Doherty, 1890 to 1899, and the present pastor, the Rev. D. B. Crotty, since August, 1899.
The year 1888 proved an important one for the little parish, a number of notable changes as to its property having been made during that time. Father Farrell bought a fine lot at the corner of East Main street and Streetsboro road, to serve as a site for the church and pastoral residence, the old location having proved very undesirable : the lot, with a frame residence on it, cost nearly $900. The property was in poor condition and so the work of improve- ment was at once commenced. The residence being quite large, a portion of it was moved to one corner of the lot, and the main part of it was remodeled at an expense of about $800, to make it a suitable pastoral residence. The total cost of purchase and im- provements on the property amounted to about $2,000, and was nearly paid for within one year. Part of the expense was paid out of the sale of the old parish residence lot : the sale was effected in May, 1888. The Missions of Cuyahoga Falls and Peninsula also gave generous assistance, without which the comparatively large outlay could not have been met.
In June, 1890, the church was moved from its old site on Main street to the present site, near the pastoral residence.
In 1894 the church was re-roofed, replastered, painted within and without, fitted up with stained glass windows, furnace, Sta- tions of the Cross. pews, etc., all at a cost of about $900. In the same year the old church lot was sold and the proceeds applied on the church improvement.
Three acres were purchased in 1881 for a parish cemetery.
There is no parochial school at Hudson, as the parish numbers only twenty-five families.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH, VERMILLION.
ST. PETER'S CHURCHI, HURON.
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IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
HURON, ERIE COUNTY.
ST. PETER'S MISSION CHURCH.
About 1836 Catholics began to settle at Huron, which was then, as it is now, a port on Lake Erie. The Rev. P. J. Mache- beuf, pastor of Holy Angels' Church, Sandusky, was the first priest to look after their spiritual wants. Huron was attended from Sandusky as a Station until 1875, when it was attached to and attended from Milan for three years, with the Rev. J. P. Pütz in charge; he did much to revive the Faith in that place. In May, 1878, it was assigned to Vermilion, whence it has been attended . ever since. During all this long period Mass was said in private houses, and for many years in the house of Daniel Duffy.
It was not until the year 1889, during the time the Rev. M. S. Smith had charge, that the long cherished hope of the Catho- lics of Huron, to erect a church of their own, was about to be realized. It was then that Father Smith began to collect funds for that purpose. All the Catholics of the town and the non-Cath- olics, too, with few exceptions, contributed very generously. Thus encouraged. Father Smith had plans drawn for a neat frame church, 40 x 70 feet, to be built on a lot fronting on Rensselaer street, purchased in December, 1887, for $300. The building was commenced early in October, 1889, but shortly after, Father Smith was transferred from Vermilion and Huron. From October to the following January both places were without a priest. Mean- while, however, the building committee, composed of Peter Reifer and John Banville, continued the building under the direction of Bishop Gilmour. In January, 1890, the Rev. Ignatius J. Won- derly was appointed pastor of Vermilion, with charge of Huron also. He pushed the church to rapid completion, so that the Holy Sacrifice was offered in it for the first time on Pentecost Sunday, May 25, 1890. Its dedication took place a few weeks later-on Sunday, June 15, Bishop Gilmour performing the ceremony. . The church cost about $3,000, exclusive of altars, pews, etc .. and was fully paid for within one year after its dedication. Father Won- derly purchased two additional lots for $400; they adjoin the church site, and are intended for the future parish school and pas-
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toral residence. The two bells now in use were bought in 1892 and blessed by Mgr. Boff, V. G., on August S of the same year.
The Mission of Huron is attended by the Rev. N. W. Horst, since November, 1893. It comprises about sixty-five families and is free of debt. A number of notable improvements have been added to the church during the last three years, including a fur- nace, frescoing. etc. The church property is in excellent condi- tion.
INDEPENDENCE, CUYAHOGA COUNTY. ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.
In 1851 the Rev. Nicholas Roupp, then stationed at the Cathedral, was commissioned by Bishop Rappe to look after the spiritual interests of the few Catholic families living in and near Independence. Under his direction a parcel of land was bought in that year to serve as a church site and cemetery. A small stone church was built. It was dedicated to St. Lawrence by the Rev. J. H. Luhr, on the feast of Corpus Christi, 1832. The Mission was visited by Father Roupp until June, 1853. Between that year and 1869 it was attended monthly from Cleveland, by the follow- ing priests: The Revs. J. J. Kramer, A. Krasny, J. Kuhn, C. Barbier; from Rockport, by the Revs. M. Müller and F. C. Lud- wig. From 1870 until 1876 Independence was attended by the Franciscan Fathers, of St. Joseph's church, Cleveland, viz., the Rev. Fathers Dominic Droessler, Sebastian Kleekam, Rayner- ius Dickneite, Bonaventure Faulhaber and Gregory Boden; and by the Rev. L. Zumbühl, of St. Mary's Seminary, from 1876 until July, 1877. The Franciscans then again took charge of the Mission and attended it until June, 1887, viz., the Rev. Irenaus Bierbaum, Fidelis Kärcher, Eustace Brüggemann, Bonaventure Faulhaber, Thomas Schneider and Cyril Augustinsky. Owing then to a lack of priests, Independence was without attendance until January, 1888, when the Rev. Peter D. Scherer was ap- pointed the first resident pastor. In June of the same year he was succeeded by the Rev. Nicholas Hoffstetter, who returned to his native Switzerland in August, 1890. Independence was then again made a Mission and as such attended at first monthly and
IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND. 457
then weekly by the Jesuit Fathers, of St. Mary's, Cleveland, viz., by the Revs. V. Scheppach (1890-94); E. Steffen (1894-97); F. Breymann, J. B. Neustich, B. Gmeiner, M. Schmitt and O. Hogenforst (1897-1900). The present pastor, the Rev. Albert J. Aust, has been in charge since September, 1900.
The stone church, built in 1852, as above stated, became not only too small, but also quite dilapidated, and, in fact, unsafe. It was therefore found necessary, in 1871, to replace it by a larger church. The Franciscan Father then in charge of the Mission, the Rev. R. Dickneite, bought another lot, which is located in the center of the village. The deed was given in June, 1872. A frame residence and a small frame school house were on the lot. The former was enlarged and remodeled as a parish house. An- other addition was built to it in 1889. The school was moved to the rear end of the lot, and has since been so used. The present very neat brick church was built between 1874 and 1875, during the pastorate of the Rev. Gregory Boden, O. S. F., at a cost of about $8,000. It was the great generosity of a few parishioners that made the erection of the church, at that cost, a possibility for so small a parish as it was then. The principal contributors were : Mrs. J. and S. Blessing, F. Bochold, J. and C. Mühling, Joseph and Jacob Effinger, Joseph Urmetz and Joseph Halter. It was dedicated by Bishop Fitzgerald on September 15, 1875, Bishop Gilmour being then ill, and absent from home. The old church was razed to the ground some years later. In June, 1887, the present cemetery was bought.
The parish school was organized in 1870, and has always been taught by lay teachers.
The parish now numbers about fifty families, mostly Ger- mans.
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JEFFERSON, ASHTABULA COUNTY.
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH.
Mass was offered in Jefferson for the first time on May 24, 1858. The celebrant was Bishop Young, of Erie, Pa., and the congregation consisted of seven persons, nearly the whole Cath- olic population of the village and vicinity. The Bishop was the
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guest of Joshua R. Giddings, of abolition fame, and a Protestant, - whom he knew many years before he himself became a Catholic. Another Protestant gentleman, Mr. Horace Smally, whose daugh- ter, Mary, had recently become a Catholic while visiting friends in Vermont, and at whose instance the Bishop came to Jefferson, gave a room in his house for the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. Importuned.by Miss Smally. the Bishop consented to lecture in the town hall during his short stay in Jefferson, and would have been roughly handled, were it not for the interference of Mr. Gid- dings. He consoled the few Catholics, however, by telling them that if they prayed earnestly and daily to God they would have a church in ten years from that time. This promise was literally fulfilled, as will be seen later on in this sketch.
Soon after that event, which showed the intolerance of a peo- ple who afterwards became so liberal, the place was occasionally attended by the Rev. Fathers Coquerelle and Caron, of Paines- ville. A few years later Father Tracy, at that time (1863) ap- pointed to Ashtabula, gave the place more frequent attendance. until 1865, when Jefferson was made a Mission of South Thomp- son, under the pastorate of the Rev. D. O'Keefe. The following year the Rev. J. Hannan was appointed pastor of South Thomp- son and Jefferson. He was succeeded in 1868 by the Rev. T. P. Thorpe, who had charge of the Mission till September, 1870. Mass had been celebrated in the Town Hall, twice a month since 1868, a proof of the growing liberality on the part of the Pro- testants at Jefferson.
When the village of Jefferson was laid out, certain two-acre lots were set aside for church and school purposes. One remained unappropriated and by a two-thirds vote of the villagers the perpetual use of the lot was given to the Catholics. The move was not a wise one, as the sequel showed, but it was then received as a favor. In securing the use of this lot, Miss Smally, her father, still a Protestant, Martin Jones and Francis Stockel were chiefly instrumental. Father Hannan staked out the limits of the pro- posed church, was presented with a few thousand feet of lumber by owners of neighboring sawmills, but left without beginning the church. After a few months his successor, Father Thorpe, opened a subscription, began the work on the foundation, and on
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IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
September 13, 1868, saw the Church of the Assumption, with its handsome stained glass windows, altars and pews, ready for dedica- tion-ten years after Bishop Young's first visit to Jefferson. A debt remained on the church, not very heavy, save for the poverty of the people, but both they and the pastor were light of heart and full of hope.
About this time, or very soon after, an incident occurred that deserves to be recorded. A course of lectures for the fall and winter months was inaugurated in the Court House at Jefferson. Father Thorpe was invited to deliver a lecture in the course. He accepted the invitation, giving as his subject, "The Catholic Church, as Seen by Catholics." This deeply stirred up the anti- Catholic rancor which had been gradually waning since the threat- ened attack on Bishop Young ten years before. This remnant of bigotry, headed by the pastor of the Congregationalists and one or two other Protestant ministers, waited on the County Commis- sioners, to protest against giving the Court House "for the preach- ing of Romanism," and were rewarded by having their protest honored. Ashamed and indignant that such petty bigotry should prevail in an enlightened community, the Lecture Committee, composed of the most prominent men in the village, engaged a better and larger hall, where the lecture was delivered to a large and almost exclusively Protestant audience. Two weeks later the Rev. Mr. Olds, the Congregational minister above mentioned, announced through the local papers, that he would lecture in his own church on the following Sunday on the subject, "Roman Catholicism as Seen by a Protestant." Father Thorpe was pres- ent at the lecture, which was largely attended. At its conclusion he asked the use of the pulpit to reply immediately to the minis- ter. This request was promptly refused by Mr. Olds and his dea- cons, but the audience made an outcry in favor of the priest, demanding that he be heard. A compromise was made to the effect that he should get the use of the pulpit on the following Sun- day. Father Thorpe came at the appointed time and found the church filled with a distinctly Protestant audience, who' showed him their favor from the beginning. Mr. Olds denied having made statements charged on him by the priest, but from all parts of the church came the repeated cry: "You did say it!" The
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Rev. Mr. Olds soon after this event lost his congregation, but the - Church of the Assumption was burnt to the ground by an incendi- ary on the night of March 19, 1870. Many people of Jefferson collated the two events. Bigotry and intolerance, stung by all the happenings of the previous two years, could not bear the pres- ence of the beautiful little church, and so applied the torch of the incendiary and reduced it to a heap of ashes. Father Thorpe arrived from South Thompson the morning after the fire. Undaunted by the terrible occurrence of the day before, he at once determined to rebuild. He issued an appeal to the people of Jefferson and in a very short time was made the recipient of several hundred dollars from non-Catholics who abhorred the dastardly work of the incendiary. Among those who subscribed $50 was the Hon. Senator B. F. Wade, one of the anti-slavery champions of his day. An appeal was also made to the few Catholics of the Mission, and the pastor visited several places in the diocese for assistance. In a few short months sufficient money was placed in his hands to purchase another two-acre lot, with a large and sub- stantial frame residence, in the center of the town, and near the Court House. The lot on which the burnt church had stood was given back to the village authorities; nothing had been paid for it, and nothing was received for it. The new lot cost over $2,000, which sum was paid and the deed transferred to the Bishop in pro- per time. The debt on the destroyed church was also paid and a clear field left to his successor by Father Thorpe, who was trans- ferred to the pastorate of the Immaculate Conception church, Cleveland, in September, 1870. He was succeeded by the Rev. Peter Coady, who had charge of the Mission until 1871, when he was replaced, after a few months, by the Rev. James Monahan. From 1873 until 1880 Jefferson was attended from Ashtabula by the Rev. E. J. Conway, who began in the spring of 1876 the pres- ent church, which is also a frame building, then and still large enough for the few Catholics of the town, whose number never exceeded twenty-five families. The church was dedicated in August, 1876, and St. Joseph Calasanctius was chosen its patron saint. In July, 1880, the Rev. W. J. Finucan was appointed first resident pastor of Jefferson. He remained until March, 1881, when Jefferson was again made a Mission of Ashtabula, and
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IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
attended by the Rev. E. J. Conway. The Rev. G. P. Jennings was - appointed pastor of Jefferson in July, 1884. During his long pastorate many improvements were added to the church and resi- dence, the more notable being those added to the church in 1888. In that year the expenditures amounted to about $500. with the result that the little church presented a very neat appearance. The Rev. W. F. Murphy succeeded Father Jennings at Conneaut and Jefferson in August, 1893. He retained charge of the latter place until October, 1894, when it was made a Mission of Ashta- bula Harbor, and thence attended by the Rev. J. F. Smith till the following January. It was then again attached to South Thomp- son as a Mission till May, 1895. The residence of the pastor of South Thompson, the Rev. John Johnston, was then transferred to Jefferson, and has remained so since. Father Johnston added a gallery to the church in 1896 and made some repairs in and about the priest's house, and tidied up the church lot, now covering but one acre, the other acre having been sold by Father Jennings in February, 1888.
The Catholics of Jefferson, though few in number and not "blessed with this world's goods," have always been generous towards the church, full of faith and devoted to their pastors.
JUNCTION, PAULDING COUNTY. ST. MARY'S MISSION CHURCH.
The Rev. Amadeus Rappe was the first priest to visit Junc- tion-in 1846. He came from Toledo about four times during that year and said Mass in the house of John Mason. There is no record of any priest having visited Junction after that time until 1852, when it was attached as a Station to St. John's, Defiance, whose respective pastors attended it on week days for some years. They said Mass in the residence of 'Squire Mason, a Protestant ; he was received into the Church two weeks before he died. In April, 1857, the Rev. F. Westerholt, then pastor at Defiance, was given, by the same generous gentleman, a two-acre lot in the vil- lage of Junction for a prospective church, and two acres of land, in February of the same year, for a cemetery. Father Wester- holt's successor, the Rev. A. I. Hoeffel, built the present church-
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a frame structure, 30 x 40 feet : it cost about $1,100. Junction was attended from Defiance until October, 1871, when it was made a Mission of Antwerp, to which it has since belonged. The Rev. A. Hamelin added a sanctuary and sacristy, thus enlarging the. seating capacity of the little church, which he also had repainted.
KALIDA, PUTNAM COUNTY. ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.
Prior to 1877 the Catholics at Kalida were identified with St. John's parish at Glandorf. As early as 1861 they were desirous of having their own church. In that year, at their request, the Rev. Joseph J. Goebbels, pastor of Fort Jennings, made the pre- liminary arrangements for its erection. A lot was secured and a frame church was commenced and enclosed. During that same year (1861) the county seat of Putnam was transferred from Kal- ida to Ottawa. In consequence of this the business interests of Kalida were greatly disturbed and the few Catholics residing there removed to other places. This resulted also in the abandonment of the unfinished church. For sixteen years nothing was or could be done towards erecting another church. Slowly Catholics again settled in and near Kalida, so that by 1877 they numbered seventeen families. In September, 1876, they bought and paid for a fine lot, to be used eventually as a church site. In 1877 they petitioned the Rev. Michael Müller, pastor of Ottoville. to aid them in erecting the much desired church, for which they also ob- tained Bishop Gilmour's consent. Father Müller took up a sub- scription to the amount of $4,000, and then commenced the church, a brick edifice, 42 x 65 feet. Its cornerstone was laid on June 16, 1878. The church was dedicated to St. Michael, on December 1, of the same year.
Kalida was attended, alternately, from Ottoville and Fort Jennings, on every second Sunday, from January, 1878, until Jan- uary, 1888, when the Mission was placed in charge of the Sanguin- ist Fathers, at Glandorf. The first was the Rev. Rochus Schüly. He was succeeded in June, 1894, by the Rev. Chrysostom Hum- mer, who had the church considerably enlarged during the follow- ing year. As above stated, its original dimensions were 42 x 65
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feet. Its width in the transept is now 56, and its length 113 feet. Father Hummer also built the present graceful spire during this time. The enlargement of the church, the frescoing, and other improvements, cost about $7,000. The renovated and practically new church was dedicated by Bishop Horstmann, May 17, 1896. In the following September Father Hummer was succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. Valentine Schirack. Besides procur- ing two bells for $500, Father Schirack succeeded in paying off the entire parish debt during the year 1898. In the spring of the following year he raised a subscription of $4,000 for a brick pas- toral residence. It was completed in May, 1900; with its fur- nishings, plumbing, etc., it cost about $5,000. Father Schirack has resided at Kalida since May, 1900, being, as he is, the first resident pastor of the congregation, which now numbers about one hundred families. The children attend the so-called Catholic district school, a system used by all the congregations in Putnam county, where the population is entirely Catholic, or nearly so.
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KANSAS, SENECA COUNTY. ST. JAMES' MISSION CHURCH.
Kansas is a small village, twelve miles southwest of Fremont, on the Lake Erie & Western railroad. For a number of years the Catholic families (about twenty) there located, attended Mass at Bettsville or Millersville, of which latter place it was a Station. In June, 1889, they petitioned Bishop Gilmour for permission to build a church for themselves. He directed the Rev. Michael Dechant, pastor of Millersville, to secure a suitable site and start a subscription for the proposed church. The subscription consid- erably exceeded Father Dechant's expectation; it amounted to $1,200. Two lots, each 50 x 150 feet, centrally located in the vil- lage, on Chestnut street, were purchased August 6, 1889. Plans were drawn for a frame church, which was begun in the latter part of the same month, but not completed until June, 1890.
Although all the members of the Mission contributed gener- ously towards the erection of the pretty little church, none exceeded in zeal and generosity Dr. J. S. Jump, at that time a non-Catholic. He not only collected the money subscribed, but
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also superintended the work of building. Being an expert mechanic, as well as a skilful physician. he built with his own hands the very neat altar that adorns the tasty sanctuary. The church was not dedicated till June S, 1890; the Rt. Rev. Mgr. F. M. Boff, V. G., delegated for that purpose by Bishop Gilmour, performed the ceremony. On the day previous he also blessed the bell which had been purchased some months before. It was at once put in the tower and rung for the first time on dedication day. The church is a frame building, 30 x 50 feet, and of attractive appear- ance. It is without debt.
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