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, pt2 > Part 16
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Dr. Weger was not born in affluence; hence, he knows some- thing of the trials of life, and is not insensible to the multiplied miseries of the poor and the afflicted.
These remarks are, to some degree, intended to indicate the character and manhood of the gentleman here referred to. He is fortunately organized, is generous, hospitable, and genial, and brings to the discharge of his professional duties both native ability and a high degree of culture and learning. The young physician of the future may recognize a prototype in Dr. Weger.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
THE REV. FRANCIS WESTERHOLT.
Not because it is deemed becoming to speak well of the dead is this sketch of the late Father Westerholt, rector of St. Peter's Church, Cleveland, made to smack a trifle eulogistic, but the rather is it because, having been rich in both natural and supernatural virtues, any extended, truthful reference to his character and record must needs recount many good things of him.
The first thirteen years of his priestly career were. spent in the western end of the diocese where he was truly a missionary laboring most effectively both in season and out of season. He was then young, vigorous, and zealous, and he seemed to welcome oppor- tunities for exercising both his endurance and his remarkable eagerness for the advancement of religion. Indeed these oppor- tunities were multiplied for him because of the condition of the members of his several flocks scattered over wide territory.
While pastor of St. John's Church, Defiance, Ohio, which was his first appointment, 1855-1858, his jurisdiction extended over four counties. Besides ministering to the people of St. John's he also attended those at New Bavaria (Poplar Ridge), North Ridge, Napoleon, The Junction, and Delaware Bend. He made his visits travelling on horseback over almost impassable roads, and seldom or never during those years had he opportunity to enjoy the comforts and conveniences which are now wide-spread because of advanced civilization and prosperity.
At Delphos, from 1858 till 1868, a period of nearly ten years, his experiences were of like kind. There also his jurisdiction extended over several counties, and he regularly visited the Catholics at Van Wert, Fort Jennings, Ottoville, and several smaller stations. He built the second church at Defiance, which has been in use as a school since 1896, the date of the erection of the present splendid church edifice. At Delphos he built the rectory, which yet answers the purpose. He also established the parochial school and greatly improved the old church, which has since given place to the present imposing structure.
Having been appointed pastor of St. Peter's Church, Cleveland, in January, 1868, he continued his activities, embracing both the spiritual and the temporal. He organized sodalities and societies
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and was incessant in his labors as catechist, preacher, and confessor. As has been happily said of him: "He encouraged the weak, instructed the young, directed the old, and chided the erring." In a word he was a true pastor keeping a watchful eye on both the . sheep and the lambs of his flock. For twenty-five years he was the spiritual director and confessor of the Seminarists in Cleveland, and was one of Bishop Rappe's Vicars-General. Bishop Gilmour made him a irremovable rector in 1889 and also a diocesan consultor, in which capacities he was continued, until his death, by Bishop Horstmann.
Father Westerholt greatly improved, by almost daily adding something to, the interior decorations of St. Peter's Church. He built the present parochial school and also the rectory. He procured as teachers the Brothers of Mary, of Dayton, Ohio, and the Sisters of Notre Dame, from Germany, his choice of these having met with the sanction of his bishop. So successful was he in the management of temporalities that, in 1896, when he was called by God to render an account of his stewardship, there was a debt of only $5,000 on St. Peter's parish.
The Rev. Francis Westerholt was born in the village of Ascheberg, Province of Westphalia, Germany. He first saw the light May 31, 1827. He made all his preparatory and classical studies in the old land. In his twenty-fourth year he emigrated to the United States and took up his temporary abode with relatives in Auglaize county, Ohio, where he taught school for a few months. In 1852 he was received into St. Mary's Theological Seminary, Cleveland, and three years later was ordained priest by Bishop Rappe in St. John's Cathedral, July 8, 1855.
The record of this good priest as outlined here is more than a hint as to his character. His was a great soul, for it is only such that can compass trying situations and at the same time renew their spiritual life and strength, and grow young, like the cagle, in God's service. In 1896, when in his seventieth year, Father Westerholt was spiritually and intellectually robust, although, physically, decrepitude was upon him. He passed away November 20, 1896, wept, honored and sung by a grateful people who loved him as their spiritual father and friend, and to whose feet in the path of duty his daily exemplification of Christian living was both a light and a guide.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
MR. PETER F. WHALEN.
The meaningless modern saying that "Nothing succeeds like success" has at least the merit of suggesting the practical truth that there can be no creditable success in any undertaking without capacity and effort. Among the almost innumerable instances in which this truth has been verified, might be cited, but in no sense exploited, the standing and career of Mr. Peter F. Whalen, president and manager of the Buckeye Paint and Varnish Com- pany, of Toledo, Ohio. He has the reputation of possessing unusual energy, perseverance, and a high order of business ability.
His parents, now dead, were Peter and Mary (Doran) Whalen, of Grey county, Upper Canada, where he was born to them in 1854. The family shortly thereafter removed to Detroit, Michigan, where he was given as much of a common school education as he could acquire up to his tenth year. From that time on the boy felt himself called upon to earn his own living. After an experience in the various avenues in which the average sturdy lad tries to make himself useful and save a penny, young Whalen progressed so far in years and ambition as to start as an apprentice to learn the trade of a moulder. He succeeded, and for several years industriously followed that calling in Detroit.
Conscious that a larger measure of success awaited him in . some other vocation, he removed to Toledo, Ohio, in 1882, and became a partner with his brother-in-law, Mr. Alfred Collins, in the varnish business. The firm of Collins & Whalen subsequently consolidated with the Buckeye Paint Company, and, in 1887, the concern was incorporated under the above title, with Mr. Whalen as its president and manager, which office he continues to fill. The annual business of the company exceeds $200,000, and its manufac- tured products find a ready market in the wide territory which includes the States. of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
In 1880 Mr. Whalen took unto himself a wife, in the person of Miss Mary F. Reilly, of Toledo, whose beautiful motherhood is the fruition of those excellences and virtues which adorned her girlhood as a child of the Catholic Church. Seven children have been born to their union, three of whom have passed away. Those
MR. PETER F. WHALEN
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living are named : John J., Peter F., Jr., Milton E., and Florence Grace Whalen.
Mr. Peter F. Whalen is a prominent Catholic, who generously devotes much time and money not only to parish work, Catholic education and charity, but also to the upbuilding and spread of Catholic associations. He is a member of the councilmanic board of St. Patrick's parish, and is the trusted and confidential adviser of its venerable pastor. He is active in such organizations as the Catholic Men's Benevolent Association, the Catholic Knights of America, the Catholic Knights of Ohio, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Knights of Columbus. He also holds member- ship in the Chamber of Commerce, and the Builders' Exchange, of Toledo, and also in the Detroit Paint, Oil and Color Company. During two terms he was a member of the Board of Aldermen of Toledo, in which important station he acquitted himself with credit and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.
Mr. Whalen is an energetic, persistent man in business as well as in whatever he undertakes. He possesses good judgment and unquestioned integrity, has large compassing powers, and is an all- around man of affairs. He chose wisely when he forsook a field where so many hours' work is requited by so many dollars. for a field where discernment and executive ability are commanding factors. The wisdom and foresight which directed him in his change of occupation are the evidence of his business ability. They show him to be a man of discernment and thought, and observer of conditions, whose mind is equal to noting facts and drawing correct conclusions therefrom. To be deficient to any great extent in these respects is to invite business disaster. The men who succeed in honest, legitimate trade are intelligent men with logical minds. The success which has been achieved by the subject of this mention is, therefore, the measure of his ability as an observ- ing, intelligent, energetic man.
The primary purpose of this mention is to credit Mr. Peter F. Whalen to the Catholic community in which he lives and to his fellow citizens, and at the same time to hint to the youth of coming generations that there are various ways in which diversified talents may be profitably exercised without making religion the price of success.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
THE REV. JOSEPH STANISLAS WIDMANN.
The worthy and popular assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church,* Sandusky, is a native of Ohio, having been born on a farm near the city of Fremont, January 4, 1861. His father, Daniel Widmann, who died January 9, 1891, was a native of the village of Hardtheim, situated on the Rhein in Breisgau, Baden, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in his twentieth year. Mrs. Daniel Widmann, whose maiden name was Mary Hafner, and who yet lives, is also a native of the above named place. She was brought to this country when she was eleven years old. They were married in the summer of 1858, and forthwith took up their abode on a farm in Rice township, Sandusky county, Ohio.
Since some noted qualities of parents are generally reflected in their children, it may serve the purpose of this sketch to say of the elder Widmann that he was a man of quiet, industrious habits, who found his greatest happiness in his family circle. Nothing was more foreign to his nature and manner than boisterous ostentation. So, too, with Mrs. Widmann. She is noted for practical good sense, deep piety, and charity. She is the mother of a grown family of eight, seven sons and one daughter. Although four of the sons are married and live on separate farms, the property is held in common and they do the work in partnership, being united under the mild and wise rule of their mother. That mother has the respect and love not only of her children but also of all who come in contact with her. By the community of interests observed by her children under her guiding influence the Widmann family have proved that not only is there strength in union but also success.
The subject of this biography is the second oldest of the Widmann brothers. His elementary education was of a rather primitive kind. The district school in his day was very defective, and the school term was short. These hindrances were in part counterbalanced by a home education. Under the instruction of his parents he learned the rudiments of the German language, so that when preparing for his first Holy Communion he was able to compete very satisfactorily with the other members of the class.
*Since this work has been in press the pastor of St. Mary's, the Rev. Silvan Rebholz, passed away, and the Rev. Father Widmann was appointed pastor, April 16, 1902, with the Rev. Joseph B. Weis as curate.
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IN NORTHERN OHIO.
When a youth of seventeen Joseph S .. Widmann went to work for a neighboring farmer for one year, desiring to know how the bread of other people tasted. The following year he went to the city of Toledo, Ohio, where he found employment with a wine company. He worked for that company two and one-half years. It was while thus employed, and as a regular attendant at the Sunday Mass at St. Mary's Church, that he formed the acquaint- ance of the Rev. Father Kramer, S. J., to whom he made known his long cherished desire to study for the priesthood. That good. priest volunteered to give him private instructions for a year, as well to ascertain regarding his talents as to save him some of his college expenses. The young man then made known his intentions to his parents, who gladly gave their consent, although they did not see how they would be able to meet the expenses of his educa- tion, for at that time their means were limited.
On account of the defects in his elementary training the first few months of his studies were calculated to dishearten him. For quite a season Father Kramer was hesitating whether he should advise the young man to continue. But having made the start, Joseph S. Widmann was not the sort of youth that runs away from difficulties. Finally his reverend preceptor said to him : "Go on !" Accordingly, September, 1881, he entered the Canisius (Jesuit) College, at Buffalo, New York, where he completed the humanities in five years. September, 1886, he was received into St. Mary's Theological Seminary, Cleveland, as a student of divinity. He continued there until December, 1890, when Bishop Gilmour con- ferred minor orders on him, which ordination was the last that prelate performed. April 8, 1892, the newly consecrated Bishop of Cleveland, the Rt. Rev. Ignatius F. Horstmann, ordained the Rev. Joseph S. Widmann to the priesthood.
Thereupon Rev. Father Widmann made his former pastor and friends happy by celebrating his first Mass in St. Joseph's Church, Fremont, on the following Easter Sunday, April 17. He then received his. first appointment as assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church, Sandusky, Ohio. He began his labors there April 24th of that year, and he has continued them up to this writing, the last days of the nineteenth century.
The Rev. Joseph S. Widmann inherits many of the traits of his good mother. Among these are patience, tolerance, and
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kindness. He possesses an agreeable disposition, is mild in his ruling, and is not lacking in the force of character which is the basis of firmness and continuity. He preaches eloquently in both German and English, is an excellent instructor, and gives the proof of being an adept in the management of temporalities.
THE REV. THEOPISTUS WITTMER, C. PP. S.
The pastor of St. John's Church, Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, is the Rev. Theopistus Wittmer, who is a member of the religious order known as the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood. The Order itself is of note in the diocese; St. John's Church ranks with the best; and it is but truth to say that Father Wittmer is well in keeping with both.
His parents were natives of Switzerland. He was born to them at Erlinsbach, June 9, 1848. He was twelve years of age when, 1861, his parents emigrated with their family to the United States and settled at Egypt, Auglaize county, Ohio. . The boy Wittmer was at once sent to Minster, in that county, to continue his course of studies, interrupted by his change of country. He closely applied himself until 1865, when he was received into St. Charles' Seminary at Carthagena, an institution conducted by the Sanguinist Order. He joined the Order and was ordained priest by Archbishop Purcell in the chapel of St. Mary's Seminary, Cincinnati, January 25, 1872.
For eighteen months, beginning immediately after ordination, Father Wittmer attended St. Mary's Church, at Salina, Mercer county, Ohio, and taught classics in the seminary. He was next sent (1873) to Winamac, in the Diocese of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he labored until 1876. He left there a new parochial school and the Sisters' Academy as an evidence of his activity and zeal. Recalled to the seminary and to his former field of labor at Salina, he was made the first resident pastor of that place. He built a new school, a residence for the Sisters, and made an addition to the church. September, 1883, he was made rector of St. Charles' Scminary and pastor of St. Aloysius' congregation. February, 1897, he was commissioned as pastor of St. John's Church, Glandorf, for which important station his abilities eminently qualify
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THE REV. THEOPISTUS WITTMER
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him. As proof that his energy and enterprise have not forsaken him, the following improvements can be cited: New cemetery, chime of four bells, tower clock, and the introduction of acetylene. gas to light the church, rectory, and premises.
But it is not in material things alone that Father Wittmer excels. He is a priest first, and as such his calling is that of an instructor and director. Blest by nature with capacity as a leader, and with the faculty of order highly developed, he succeeds in keeping his congregation united as one family, having interests in common, and one aim-the discharge of their obligations as Catholics. The pastor of St. John's is firm, but not bluntly so. His kindly nature, candor, and great mirthfulness serve to render less severe his rulings and the stand which, at times, every pastor must take in dealing with his people. The result of this is that he governs without harshness, and while directing he seems himself to be foremost in the order of obedience to those rules that make for harmony and the best interests of all. His parishioners have taken note of his earnest manner, his consistent practices, and his zeal for their spiritual and temporal advancement. In consequence they have been led without any trouble into the paths staked out for them by their pastor, and are now his rivals in punctuality, good order, and zeal for the general welfare of the congregation. Evidently example teaches, and often good example has greater attractive force than has bad example. To the thinker and observer these truths are patent, and by no one have they been more care- fully applied than by Father Wittmer.
In the pulpit he is at home speaking German or English. His discourses are plain, direct, instructive, and soundly argumen- tative. He never speaks without saying something having thought in it. He would not, if he could, and he could not if he would, be a mere talker against time, for his mental constitution and nature constrain him to be philosophical, logical and forceful. A close analysis of his character will reveal many qualities which make a fitting background in a picture of the true representative of Christ. Among these are gentleness, tenderness, considerateness -- charac- teristics which endear him to the young; while his fervor, piety, and spiritual robustness warm to him the hearts of all, especially those of the old pioneer Catholics of St. John's congregation, Glandorf, Ohio.
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
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THE REV. IGNATIUS J. WONDERLY.
The ancestors of the Rev. Father Wonderly have been Ameri- cans for three generations. His father was among the early settlers of north-central Ohio, where the subject of this sketch was born. St. Nicholas parish, at Berwick, in Seneca county, is where he first saw the light, June 7, 1860. The local atmosphere appears to have been favorable to vocations to a religious life, for out of Seneca county and vicinity have come many of note in the ministry of the Catholic Church.
Early in life the Rev. Father Wonderly felt his boyish heart leap with rejoicings when the prospects of the priesthood loomed up before him as his calling, and long before he became assured of his vocation he bent his youthful energies in preparation for its duties. After making his primary studies in the local schools he was sent to St. Francis' College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and later to St. Lawrence College, Mount Calvary, also in that State, where he completed his classical studies. He then entered St. Mary's Theological Seminary, Cleveland, and after a five and one-half years' course was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gilmour, December 21, 1889.
Impatient to begin the active work of his calling, he was gratified by being at once appointed as pastor of St. Mary's' Church, at Vermillion, with Huron as a mission attached. During his three years' pastorate there he built the church, St. Peter's, at Huron, and "paid for it, too," as the people of the parish are proud to say. January 7, 1893, he was made pastor of St. Augustine's Church, at North Baltimore, with Deshler and Hamler as missions, where he remained three years. In consequence of illness, brought on by six years of hard labor and exposure, he resigned his charge, and on his recovery was appointed, in 1896, to the Apostolate Missions. The work of giving missions, while arduous, was more to his liking and better suited to his abilities. He continued in the Apostolate for three years, when he resigned, and, in June. 1899, was placed in charge of the Sacred Heart congregation, at Shelby, until the following September, when he was transferred to Crest- line as pastor of St. Joseph's Church. He was called from Crestline January 15, 1900, to undertake, in Cleveland, the organization of
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the new parish of St. Rose of Lima, where he continues to labor with very gratifying success.
Father Wonderly is one of the most energetic and zealous of the younger priests of the diocese. He is an able manager of temporalities and possesses the happy faculty of keeping his parishioners united and intent on the accomplishment of the ends proposed by religion. Having had a varied experience for the ' past eleven years, and thoroughly understanding human nature, he leads without appearing to lead, by directing along correct lines the energies of his parishioners for the common good. His manner and disposition being most agreeable, an atmosphere of harmony surrounds his present flock just as it surrounded those among whom he labored in the past. He has always been a believer in the American notion that, at least in temporalities, the laity can be relied on to do their part under all circumstances. And, possibly, this may be one of the secrets of his success.
As is generally known throughout the diocese, the pastor of St. Rose's is reckoned as among the best equipped priests in northern Ohio. He is a ripe scholar, and a close student of both men and conditions. Certainly he can be said to have attained to good results in his special studies. He is, therefore, ranked among the best and most successful handlers of temporal affairs, his suc- cess in that field being always made the stepping-stone to the spiritual and intellectual uplifting of his people. His judgment is that without a feasible, attainable end in view, no people can be kept united and harmonious. But with such an end placed before a reasonable congregation their own good sense will unite them, and, even independent of oratory urging the higher impulses, will nerve them to its attainment.
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Even before his experience in the Apostolate Mission work Father Wonderly was an orator of no mean order ; but. since then, his health, too, having improved, he is justly credited with being an able and pleasing speaker. His range of good thought, through association of ideas, often smacks of an inviting strength and fresh- ness, while his language is both choice and forcible. His personal appearance is well in harmony, and he is by no means lacking in that poise, warmth, and elocutionary grace which belong to the natural orator, as distinct from the mere rhetorician.
VOL. II
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A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
MR. AND MRS. JOHN FERDINAND ZWILLING.
The Zwillings, of Germany, were of noble lineage, and their descendants in the United States are nobles, not merely by inher- itance, but in their own excellence of character and record. An example in point is the late Mr. John Ferdinand Zwilling, of. Toledo, Ohio.
He was born in Baden, Germany, November 6, 1849. He was brought by his parents to this country when he was in his tenth year, and the family located in Olny, Illinois. When seventeen he went to Cleveland, Ohio, to learn the trade of a machinist in the Novelty Iron Works, owned by his brothers, Frank and Frederick, in connection with Mr. Thomas Reeves. He attained to such skill and directive ability that he was made superintendent of the plant in his twentieth year. He continued in that capacity until 1875, when he went to Toledo, Ohio, to accept the foremanship of the blacksmith department of the old Smith Bridge Company. Fol- lowing this he engaged in mining in Colorado for eighteen months, but the enterprise not "panning out," he returned to Toledo, again connected himself with the Bridge Company, and in less than two years became superintendent of the entire works. In 1889 he re- organized the company, became one of its heaviest stockholders, and continued as its head and superintendent until his death, which took place April 23, 1893. In the meantime he was the moving spirit in the establishment of the Phoenix Building and Loan Asso- ciation, of Toledo, and continued as one of its directors. The man- agers and patrons of the association passed suitable resolutions on the occasion of their loss through his death, as did also the owners and employes of the Smith Bridge Company. The resolutions of the latter are these :
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