A history of Catholicity in northern Ohio and in the diocese of Cleveland from 1749 to December 31, 1900, Volume II, pt1, Part 9

Author: Houck, George F. (George Francis), 1847-1916; Carr, Michael W., jt. auth
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Cleveland, Press of J.B. Savage
Number of Pages: 822


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 II, pt1 > Part 9


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The Rev. John Otto Bredeick was born at Verl, in the province of Westphalia, Germany, January 22, 1789. He was ordained a priest at Osnabrueck, Hanover, in 1822. Consequently when he died he was in the seventieth year of his life and the thirty- sixth of his priesthood. Twenty-two of these latter years he devoted to the labors of the ministry in his native land, where he attained to various ecclesiastical distinctions. One of these was membership in the Cathedral Chapter at Osnabrueck. He left these and also a degree of comfort at home for trying missionary and pioneer life in America, to the performance of the arduous duties of which he felt himself called. That Providence had to do with directing his steps few acquainted with the results of his labors will question. Much of the spiritual and temporal pros- perity of the southwestern section of the diocese is generously credited to his efforts and his foresight.


He was a man of great force of character, which exhibited itself even in little as well as in great things. He was contented in the midst of toil and complained not even when suffering multi- plied discomforts. Much of the time when he did not choose to fast he would prepare his own scanty meals. His humility and simplicity evidenced not only the spiritual and the moral in the man but also the strength begotten of these. He was equal to imparting that strength to others. The well-disposed readily experienced it, while even the indifferent were not unimpressed. Hence this good priest was a leader and guide to those about him. He was the director and inspirer of the people of Delphos, many of whom have vivid and pleasant recollections of good, generous. zealous Father Bredeick.


This humble priest, judging from his character and career. might be supposed to have used these words of Browning as a prayer :


"Maker and High Priest, I ask Thee not my joys to multiply, Only to make me worthier of the least."


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THE REV. JOHN B. BROUN


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THE REV. JOHN B. BROUN.


In Lorraine, near Metz, in the diocese of Nancy, Rev. John B. Broun, pastor of St. Bernard's Church, Akron, Ohio, was born March 2, 1834. His parents were Nicholas and Catherine (Noel) Broun. He was but thirteen years old when he came to this country. Father Broun began his classical studies under the Basilian Fathers in Assumption College, at Sandwich, Canada. After considerable progress in that institution he entered St. Thomas' College, at Bardstown, Kentucky, where he continued as a student for more than two years. He then returned to Assump- tion College, at Sandwich, where he received minor orders, and later was ordained priest, at Ste. St. Marie, by Bishop Baraga, August 30, 1863.


His first appointment, immediately after ordination, was as pastor of the Church of the Holy Redeemer, at Eagle Harbor. Michigan, Diocese of Marquette. In fact, his charge consisted of three churches and sixteen missions. His robust health and zeal were tried by his labors in that field. Many Indians were among his people. Most of these knew French, their parents having been taught by French missionaries; and as Father Broun's native languages are French and German-the tongues of Alsace and Lorraine-he was understood by his people both in pulpit and confessional. He labored there nearly three years, doing much good.


In June, 1866, he was received into the Diocese of Cleveland, and Bishop Rappe appointed him, July 19th of that year, pastor of St. Bernard's Church, Akron. He at once took possession of his charge and at this writing, the last days of the 19th century, he is in the thirty-fifth year of his continuous pastorate in that city. He enlarged the old church when the increase in his congregation demanded it, and later he built the substantial and imposing parish school. He is now (1900) preparing for the erection of the new St. Bernard's Church, at a cost of $100,000. In architectural style, dimensions, and appointments it is to be the finest church edifice in Akron, and will be a credit to both pastor and people.


Rev. John B. Broun is a splendid specimen of manhood and a true representative of the good old stock. He is tall, robust, and


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proportionately developed-a large man who possesses both mental and physical energy. He has never had an assistant and does not need one today. Although in his 67th year, he is yet able to do much hard work. His high sense of duty and his zeal have such a backing in the forcefulness and naturalness of the man that he has succeeded in making his people practically one in parochial temporalities, just as he has kept them a unit in the faith. This implies not only great moral power, but also the kind of ability that gives a practical turn to every-day affairs among men. He is a controlling and directing force among his people. He has been in their midst so long that the old and the young not only know him well, but love him for his constancy, his devotion, and his untiring energy in their interests. They, too, are well known to him, and by the exercise of his directive and executive abilities all obstacles to their harmony and enterprise as a congregation are speedily and happily removed.


Where great force of character and robustness are distinguish- ing traits in a pastor, one as a rule rarely looks for those finer and milder qualities which seem to be the inheritance of many less forceful and vigorous ; but when these seeming opposites are met with an agreeable surprise is the result. This is exactly the exper- ience of many who have learned to know the pastor of St. Ber- nard's. The paradoxical in his manner and character perplexes while it pleases. It invites a closer scrutiny of the man, which. when attempted by one not well acquainted with him, requires to be very exact and peering to get a clear insight as to the number, balance, and character of his mental and moral qualities. While a strong man in every respect-firm, decided and stern-there is yet a wealth of mildness, gentleness, and Christian tenderness to be found close to the surface in the veteran pastor of St. Bernard's.


He wisely considers rational man, and created things in their entirety-the whole universe


"A gracious instrument on whose fair strings We learn those airs we shall be set to play, When mortal hours are ended."


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THE REV. JOHN B. BUERKEL


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THE REV. JOHN B. BUERKEL.


The parents of the reverend gentleman selected for this sketch were Francis and Catherine (Weiss) Buerkel. They were natives of Lorraine, France. The former died in 1870, and the latter in 1855. Father Buerkel was born at the village of Danne, in Lorraine, France, June 7, 1842. Following his preparatory train- ing he spent four years in the college at Sarreburg, and three years in the Petit Séminaire at Pont-à-Mousson, where he completed his classical education. He then emigrated to the United States. and, in 1864, was accepted as a theological student in the Cleveland diocesan seminary. Ilaving fulfilled all the requirements, he was ordained by Bishop Rappe, May 18, 1867.


Speaking French and German he was in demand in congrega- tions made up of these nationalities. It was fitting. therefore, that his first appointment was to St. Nicholas' Church, Berwick, in Seneca county, where for four years he preached to the people in both these languages. He was next placed in charge of the French congregation worshipping in the Sacred Heart of Jesus' Church at Harrisburg, Stark county. He remained there over seven years. His third appointment was as assistant priest in St. Mary's (German) Church. Massillon, from which, after one year, he was removed to become pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Maumee City, Lucas county. After three years there he was made assistant at St. Peter's Church, Canton, where, with his usual zeal, he minis- tered to the people for the long period of fourteen years. Finally, in 1896, the people of St. Paul's Church, New Berlin, Stark county, were blessed by his being sent to them as their pastor. He is there at this writing (1900), having been active on the mission for nearly thirty-four years.


Not only from observation, but also by reputation, the Rev. John B. Buerkel is known as a most deserving priest. Even his very instincts are ecclesiastical. Hard labor constantly and faith- fully performed has always marked his career. The earnestness and simplicity of his manner and life have made him friends every- where, as well among non-Catholics as among his own people. To the latter he has much endeared himself by his constancy, his devotion to their interests, and by his kind, generous, and friendly


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disposition. Of the thousands yet living, who have known him both as a man and as a priest, there is not one who has not a kind word to say of Father Buerkel and who is not delighted to meet and greet him.


THE RT. REV. EDMUND BURKE, V. A.


This distinguished ecclesiastic and zealous missionary was Vicar Apostolic of Nova Scotia from July 4, 1817, till his death at Halifax, December 1, 1820.


If it be enquired why he should be biographically and pictori- ally presented in this work, it can be answered that he was the first resident pastor in the territory now comprising the western section of the Diocese of Cleveland, and as such he certainly has strong claims to recognition. There are those yet living who are said to have from the lips of several who saw and heard him many things regarding his manner and character and also touching his record, especially during the two years 1795-1797, which he devoted to the sowing of the good seed in northwestern Ohio. For a time, however, that record was lost sight of, but, about 1880, it was dis- covered and revived by Bishop Maes, of Covington, Kentucky.


Providence surely had to do with sending him to minister to the white residents and the unsettled Indians on the banks of the Maumee, for his services to both were much needed at the time, and, doubtless, were welcomed and keenly appreciated. He was the connecting link between the time of the desultory labors of the Jesuit Fathers, who left northern Ohio, in 1751, and the arrival, in 1817, at Dungannon, in Columbiana county, of Father Fenwick. who later, 1821, became the first bishop of Cincinnati.


The Rt. Rev. Edmund Burke was born in Ireland about the year 1743. It is said that the major portion of his education was obtained in France, and that after ordination he labored in his native land for several years. He emigrated to Canada, May 16. 1787, and was parish priest at St. Pierre, and at St. Laurent, Jsle Orlean, from 1791 till 1794. For a short time in the latter men- tioned year he held a professorship in the theological seminary at Quebec. His ability and erudition eminently qualified him for


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THE RT. REV. EDMUND BURKE, V. A.


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the position, but his desire for missionary work militated against these and rendered him somewhat discontented.


Accordingly, at his own request, he was sent by the bishop of Quebec to the Indian missions in Michigan and northwestern Ohio. After a wearisome and tedious journey, but with his mis- sionary spirit exulting, he arrived at his destination. He was the first resident pastor of St. Antoine de la Riviere aux Raisins (now St. Mary's Church, Monroe, Michigan). He later resided or rather made his headquarters near Fort Meigs, on the east bank of the Maumee river, adjacent to the town of Perrysburg, in what is now Wood county, and just across the river from what is called Maumee City, or South Toledo. He ministered to the Indians and the scattered whites in that section from February, 1795, till after February, 1797. In the latter year he was sent to Fort Niagara, New York, where he remained till 1803. He was then transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to become the first resident pastor of that place. He labored there about seventeen years, receiving, in 1817, the Vicarship Apostolic for that territory, in token of merit and as a favor from the Holy See. He filled this high office most acceptably during three and one-half years, when death put an end to his great labors in about the seventy-seventh year of his age.


His unique garb and his finely-chiseled features, as seen in the accompanying portrait, discovered through the untiring efforts of Bishop. Gilmour, will incline the reader to attempt to form estimates of his manner, character, and ability. It may be a help to say that he was both dignified in bearing and truly eccle- siastical in demeanor, and that he exemplified the true Irish mis- sionary spirit. He spoke more than one of the tribal or Indian dialects, also the French, and, of course, his native tongue, and the language of the Church, the Latin. ' He was forceful in every- thing, exhibited both moral and physical courage, and capped all his fine qualities with the crown-sheaf of great zeal for God's honor and glory and the salvation of souls.


In the earlier years of the Diocese of Cleveland the labors and character of the Rt. Rev. Edmund Burke were lost sight of, but on discovery later were much discussed. Doubtless, as far as known, his career there and elsewhere has been a source of edification and


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encouragement to many priests who felt themselves sorely tried on the mission. His life and labors helped them to think that, if in those early days there were men who blazed the way, surely subse- quent generations could furnish others to walk in that way and keep it clear of great obstructions, even if brambles and thorns must ever be present.


Such men have been and are now to the fore in those parts. and the lessons taught by the lives of the Burkes, the Fenwicks. the De Goesbriands and the Rappes have borne good fruit. Their record and bright example are inseparable from the history of the spread of religion in northern Ohio and the Diocese of Cleveland. They constitute an encouraging inspiration and a pleasing retro- spect, for,


"Looking back along life's trodden way. Gleams and greenness linger on the track; Distance melts and mellows all today-looking back.


Rose and purple and a silvery gray; Is that cloud the cloud we called so black? Evening harmonizes all today-looking back.


Foolish feet, so prone to halt or stray; Foolish heart, so restive on the rack! Yesterday we sighed, but today-looking back."


MR. RICHARD A. BUTLER.


The subject of this sketch is the superintendent of the Cleveland, Ohio, house of correction. He was born at Lansing- burg, Rensselaer county, New York, January 21, 1855, and was educated in the township schools until his fifteenth year. He is the oldest of a family of nine. His father was Mr. William J. Butler, a native of Ireland, having been born in Limerick, August 10, 1829. His mother's maiden name was Miss Catherine Lowrey. Both died in Columbus, Ohio, the former in 1893, and the latter in 1897.


The Butler family removed to Columbus, Ohio, in 1870, on the introduction in the penitentiary of the manufacture of brushes, a business his father and grandfather conducted on two continents for three generations. Mr. Richard A. Butler continued there for about three years, after which he spent one year in Pittsburg


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MR. RICHARD A. BUTLER


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doing journeyman's work. Following this he introduced the brush making business in the Cincinnati house of refuge, where he continued tintil 1877. He then accepted the position of foreman in the Cleveland house of correction. He remained in Cleveland until 1891, when he was appointed to the superintendency of the Southern prison, at Jeffersonville, Indiana. He conducted that institution until 1893, when, under Mayor Blee's administration, he was tendered the superintendency of the Cleveland house of correction, which he accepted and which he held until 1895. He then engaged in business for himself, but, in 1899, he was again called to be the superintendent of the same institution, which position he yet holds.


Mr. R. A. Butler is a man of rare intelligence, mechanical skill, and great executive ability. The forcefulness of his character is evidenced both in his countenance, his voice, and his physique. He stands six feet and four inches. His orders are issued in such manner and tone as to impress and require ready and prompt obedience. Even his facial expression is commanding without being severe. He is capable as a ruler of men, and when occasion requires he can both lead and direct. His knowledge of human nature is not confined to its criminal aspect alone ; it includes also its higher and better side. The promptings of the heart are known to him. He almost divines the encroachments of appetite and passion on the moral nature, and these he counteracts as best he can by aiding the teachers of religion in the institution. and by enforcing tidiness and cleanliness, strict discipline, and good order. He has the will and the ability to carry out the work of reform and general betterment for which the institution which he governs was established. Because of these things he is credited with being the best superintendent the Cleveland house of correction has ever had.


Independent of his calling, and in the domestic and social orders, Mr. Butler exhibits many agreeable traits. His pride is in his family and in the large number of his friends who have learned to know and appreciate him. Among these stands first his good wife whose maiden name was Miss Margaret O'Connor. of Cincinnati, Ohio. They were married November 12, 1889. Of three children born to thein only one. Richard A., Jr., survives.


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THE HON. THOMAS E. CALLAGHAN.


The judge of the Insolvency Court of Cleveland and Cuya- hoga county, Ohio, is selected as the subject of this mention, as well because of his personal worth and prominence as because he is the first Catholic elected to a county judgeship in the Western Reserve. Judge Callaghan well deserves the distinction.


He is a native of the city of Cleveland, and is the second oldest of a family of five born to Jeremiah and Bridget Ann (Heffernan) Callaghan. His birthday was August 21, 1865. His father is a native of Ireland, and his mother was born in Canada. Since 1872 the elder Callaghan has been engaged in the business of manufacturing sheet and metal ware, stoves, and furnaces. He has succeeded well, for it has always been his aim to do honest work, and to deal fairly with his patrons.


Prizing education highly Mr. Jeremiah Callaghan saw to it that his children enjoyed the best educational advantages. Accord- ingly, Judge Callaghan as a boy was sent to the Cathedral school, where he made good progress. This he followed by a course in literature and law at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. He graduated with honors, and was admitted to practice in 1SS5. November, 1001, he was elected as a Democrat to the Insolvency bench of his native county. He triumphed by 2,000 majority, which, in a county normally Republican by 4,000, meant a change of 6,000 votes. This certainly was a great personal honor to Judge Callaghan.


Through his practice, and as a close observer, he saw the great needs for a juvenile court to try youthful offenders and look after the wants of unprotected youth. He originated the bill creating that court, and took care that the spirit of the law would be reformatory, looking especially to the work of providing official parents or protectors for the fatherless, neglected. or delinquent minors of Cleveland and Cuyahoga county. The bill was passed in 1901; the law went into effect in June, 1902, and he became the judge of the court thus created. It is needless to say that, for his successful efforts in that direction, he has the thanks of the entire community, and that he himself can not be other than con- scious of the great good he has done and is daily accomplishing.


HON. THOMAS E. CALLAGHAN


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If nothing else stood to his credit his work in this respect alone would be enough to commend him to all Christian, thinking men regardless of sect or party. In truth he is one of the most deservedly popular men in northeastern Ohio.


¿Besides being a good lawyer, Judge Callaghan possesses the judicial temperament, and is far from wanting in breadth of view and intellectual compassing capacity. Although but thirty-seven years of age, he is a man of mature judgment, remarkable prudence, great conservative power, and force of character. His mental balance and quiet disposition preclude the exhibition of any un- becoming vehemence in speech or act, and his high sense of justice, coupled with his keen discernment, bandages tight the eyes of the goddess, thereby shutting out all encroachments of passion or special interests in the determination of causes. A just judge is, indeed, an ideal character, and it ministers to Judge Callaghan's fame, as well as to the satisfaction of his army of admiring friends, to find him ever striving for the realization of the ideal-ever holding high before all the people the balance in which he weighs, with exactness and nicety, the human nature of the children and the older litigants, the facts, the law, and the circumstances.


Although new in the judicial office he has given no little satisfaction by his promptness, fairness, and great firmness. His reputation, in the sense of fame, has spread considerably, and is being daily added to by good friends who lose no opportunity to sound his praises, forgetting, however, in their benevolent enthu- siasm, that, "Fame has no necessary conjunction with praise; it may exist without the breath of a word,-it is a recognition of excellence which must be felt, but need not be spoken. Even the envious must feel it." And this is true in the case of the excellent gentleman in question. His qualities do not need a crier, nor does his success depend on praise. Justice meted out and duty done are all an intelligent public requires to fix the status of a faith- ful public official.


Judge Thomas E. Callaghan was married, August 3, 1898, to Miss Marie Antoinette Voltz, of Buffalo, New York.


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MR. ANTHONY CARLIN.


Mr. Anthony Carlin, of the Cathedral parish, Cleveland, Ohio, is prominent among the leading and notably successful business men and manufacturers of northern Ohio. Unaided he accom- plished the great things that stand to his credit today in the business world. His remarkable success, instead of rendering him imperious or heartless, has had the opposite effect, and has even broadened and liberalized the man-that is if such qualities native to the true Irish gentleman can be heightened.


He was born at Tonduff in the county of Donegal, Ireland, August 2, 1857. His parents were John and Mary (McGlynchey) Carlin. In 1872 he emigrated to the United States, selecting the city of Cleveland as his place of residence. At once he bestirred himself in the way of selecting a calling, and learned the practical side of the iron-foundry business. As early as 1881 he embarked in the moulding business for himself, establishing, with limited . means, what was then known as The Viaduct Foundry. Being honest, practical, and industrious, he prospered. In 1885, his enter- prise became The Standard Foundry and Manufacturing Company. To it he added, in 1897, The Standard Steel Range Company, and this year (1900) he completed his large plant by compassing also The Standard Register Company. Besides considerable valu- able and improved real estate he is the sole owner of all these indus- tries, which give employment to over four hundred hands. His manufactured products find a market in nearly every State in the Union, and his several enterprises call for a large outlay of capital.


October 11, 1892, Mr. Anthony Carlin was married to Miss Mary Angela Daly, a native of Cleveland, the youngest daughter of the late Peter and Margaret (McManus). Daly, of the Cathedral parish, who were among the pioneer Catholics of that city. Their marriage has been blessed with three children, whose names are: John Elmer, Clarence James, and Mary Colette Carlin. Mrs. Carlin was educated in the Ursuline Convent in her native city. She gives the evidence of her culture not only by her brilliancy but also by her refined manner, agrecable disposition, and domestic traits. Few women in Cleveland are better or more deservedly esteemed and loved than is she, because of her gracious- ness to all, and her charitable considerateness of those conditions


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عدد/ مصر


دامية سعال عادهندسة عدالة


MR. AND MRS. ANTHONY CARLIN.


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and situations which, as lights and shades, serve to set forth the personality and qualities of others. The Hon. Mrs. Norton had Mrs. Carlin's prototype in mind when she wrote :


"And the lady dreamed Of succor to the helpless, and of deeds Pious and merciful, whose beauty breeds Good deeds in others, copying what is done, And ending all by carnest thought begun."


Mrs. Elizabeth Browning, with equal fitness and generous truthfulness might be quoted in point as follows :




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