USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > A history of the Catholic church in the dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny from its establishment to the present time > Part 18
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Rev. P. M. Garvey now became pastor of Elizabeth, a position which he continued to occupy until the fall of 1877, when, after a brief interval, he was succeeded by the present incumbent, Rev. Francis M'Court.
Owing to the fluctuations of the coal trade. the intrigues of employers, and the strikes of miners, a congregation of miners is one of the most fickle of earthly things. It may count a hundred families to-day, and not more than half that number in half a month. This being kept in mind, the nearest approximation perhaps that can be made to the number of families at Elizabeth would be to place it at about seventy. The circumstances of such a congregation are as fluctuating as its numbers; for when " in" the miners generally make
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MONONGAHELA CITY.
good wages, but when "out" they are frequently reduced to the verge of starvation. The Catholic will increase with the growth of the general population.
CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION, MONONGAHELA CITY, WASHINGTON COUNTY.
This church, although not in Allegheny County, is and always has been so intimately connected with that at Elizabeth that it is most appropriately sketched in connection with it. Monongahela City is situated on the west bank of the river of the same name, thirty-one miles from Pittsburg, and is on the line of the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston Railroad. It was first known as Parkinson's Ferry, and was a noted cross- ing for pioneers. During the Whiskey Insurrection-from 1791-'94-it was the scene of the most important meetings. The name was afterwards changed to Williamsport, which in turn gave place, about the year 1840, to the present designa- tion .* Its moderate growth may be ascertained from the fact that while in 1840 it had a population of 752, it had increased to but 1078 in 1870.
The first Mass celebrated in the town was on Palm Sunday, 1835, by Rev. J. O'Reilly, from St. Paul's, Pittsburg, although Mass had been celebrated for several years at a place about three miles back of the town, where half a dozen families lived. Later the town was visited from Brownsville. But from the time that a resident priest was appointed for Eliza- beth it was attached to that mission, and generally visited on every alternate Sunday. The Catholics increased very gradu- ally, although even yet there are but few in the town, the greater part being distributed among the mines along the river in both directions; and it was not until 1865 that a church was thought necessary. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop August 13th of that year, and the church when completed was dedicated by the same prelate some time in the course of the following year under the title of the Trans- figuration. In its style, proportions, and material it is the
* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 669-671.
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THE TRANSFIGURATION CHURCH.
counterpart of that at Elizabeth. The congregation, too, is of precisely the same character, and is of about the same numeri- cal strength. The increase will be very moderate, and it will be a long time before Monongahela City will require a resident pastor. The Protestant population of that part of the Mo- nongahela valley, being well seasoned with Calvinistic leaven, is by no means liberal. The Catholic population suffers con- siderably from the evil effects of mixed marriages.
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHURCHES OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY (CONCLUDED).
St. Philip's Church, Broadhead-St. Luke's Church, Mansfield-Death and sketch of Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon-St. Joseph's German Church, Mansfield-St. Patrick's Church, Noblestown - St. Mary's German Church, Chartier's Creek - St. James' Church, Sewickley-St. Mary's German Church, Glenfield-St. Al- phonsus' Church, Wexford-St. Teresa's Church, Perrysville-St. Mary's Church, Pine Creek-Death and sketch of Rev. M. Eigner-St. Joseph's Church, Sharpsburg-St. Mary's German Church-St. Anne's Church, Millvale.
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, BROADHEAD.
THE spot occupied by this church-for there is neither town nor village-was so named in honor of Col. Broadhead, at one time commander at Fort Pitt. From an early day a few Catholic families settled in the vicinity. Before the erec- tion of the church they attended the Cathedral, and occasion- ally Mass was celebrated for them in one of their own dwellings.
At length a Mr. Philip Smith, of Philadelphia, who owned property in the vicinity, donated a lot sufficient for a church and cemetery ; and the erection of the building was soon after undertaken. Upon its completion it was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick, July 25th, 1839, under the invocation of St. Philip the Apostle, that name having been selected out of gratitude to the donor of the site. The church is a small brick building, about 40 feet in length by 25 in width, with low ceiling, one altar, and a little belfry, and is situated on the northern side of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, near Crafton Station, about three miles south-west of Pittsburg. The fortunes of this church, like those of nearly all the smaller country churches, have been varied. At first
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MANSFIELD.
a priest visited it from the Cathedral; but in the autumn of 1840 it, together with two or three others, was confided to the care of Rev. A. P. Gibbs, who resided in the city and visited it on one Sunday in the month. At the date of the formation of the diocese it was said by the Bishop to contain 150 souls. From 1844 it was visited for a few years by Rev. Thos. M'Cullagh, and after him by others, usually once in the month, until the organization of St. James' congregation, Temperanceville, 1854, when the two formed one mission for about twelve years. The church was then enlarged by the addition of perhaps 25 feet to its length. After that time it was attached to St. Luke's Church, Mansfield, or St. Mary's, Chartier's Creek, except for the time that it had a separate pastor, and was visited every Sunday. During the summer of 1874 it had a resident pastor, Rev. John Ward; but it again became dependent until the fall of 1877, since which time it has again a resident pastor.
Little change has taken place in the congregation beyond a very moderate growth ; and a part of this was cut off for the benefit of surrounding churches. The construction of the railroad enhanced the importance of the place by inducing some of the wealthier families of the city to build residences in the vicinity. Although numbering no more perhaps than forty families, it is more flourishing than many that are larger. But its future growth will be necessarily slow, and it will be many years before its condition will undergo any notable change. The congregation has never been able to open a parish school or build a pastoral residence. The present pastor is Rev. Jas. Kenoy.
ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, MANSFIELD.
Mansfield is a flourishing borough, about seven miles south- west of Pittsburg, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, at the point where the Chartier's Valley road branches off to Washington, Pa. It took its name from Mr. Mansfield Brown, original proprietor of the land, and was incorporated as a borough in 1872. The town owes its im- portance principally to the coal-mines in the vicinity and to
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ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, MANSFIELD.
the residences which business men of Pittsburg have erected there. A small amount of manufacturing is also carried on. The ground upon which the town is built is undulating, with the exception of the valley of the creek, which is low and damp and frequently threatened with inundation.
Catholics were among the first inhabitants. But in the beginning they heard Mass at St. Philip's, Broadhead, or came to the city on the cars. At length, in October, 1866, Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon was appointed pastor of Washington and the missions attached to it. It was at this time that Mansfield began to attain the proportions of a town, and give promise of becoming a place of future importance. Father Scanlon, who knew well the importance of securing property as soon as possible, cast about him for the site of a future church. He first purchased a lot in the northern part of the town near the creek, which had a frame house erected on it. A room was fitted up in it and became the first church in Mansfield. In June, 1868, Rev. Thos. M'Enrue was ordained and stationed at Washington, while Fr. Scanlon confined his labors exclusively to Mansfield, which was fast becoming a flourishing congregation. From that date the town has been favored with a resident pastor. Mass may have been cele- brated before the arrival of Fr. Scanlon, but of this there is no authentic record. But the new purchase was low and damp, and unsuited for the erection of a large building. Seeing this he soon after purchased another lot, not far from the former, having a small brick residence and a little frame store-room on it which had before been used as a warehouse for wool. The store was converted into a chapel, and dedi- cated by the Bishop July 28th, 1867, under the invocation of St. Luke ; although for a long time after it was better known as "the Catholic wool-house." But it was soon crowded to excess by the rapidly increasing congregation, and. additional: accommodations were demanded. A new part was then . built to the rear. The front is now two stories high and the rear only one, but this one as high as the front two, which leaves the church unrivalled in style. The whole is 70 feet long by 25 wide, and is as neatly finished and decorated in the. interior as its peculiar character will permit. But the pur-
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DEATH OF REV. J. O'G. SCANLON.
chase was an unfortunate step, the site being less fitted for a church than the former lot.
In the midst of its prosperity the congregation was des- tined to sustain a loss in the death of its zealous pastor. His health, which had of late been giving way under his un- tiring labors, was much more impaired than either he or his friends imagined. With a view of recruiting it he retired to the Mercy Hospital about the beginning of May, 1871. But his course was run, and he expired somewhat suddenly on the morning of the 8th of May, in the thirty-third year of his age and the ninth of his ministry. His funeral took place from the Cathedral, and was one of the largest ever witnessed in the city. His remains were interred in St. Mary's Cemetery : and a beautiful monument was erected over them soon after by the congregation for whose spiritual welfare he had so gener- ously toiled.
REV. JOHN O'GORMAN SCANLON was born in the barony of Dushallow, county Cork, Ireland, in 1838, and, having completed his course of studies in the Missionary College of Carlow, he came to this country in the company of three other students in the summer of 1862, and entered St. Michael's Seminary. On the 7th of the following February he was ordained, and was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Church, Kittanning. Having labored in that mission until December, 1865, he was transferred to St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek, where he remained until his appointment to Washington. He was a man of unusual energy and perseverance, and had with these a degree of enthusiasm in the cause of religion which made him feel in his element when grappling with difficulties.
He was succeeded by Rev. W. A. Nolan, during whose · pastorate the congregation continued to increase so rapidly as to render a new church indispensable. The unfitness of the site of the old church, as well as the fact that it was not thought · by many to be sufficiently central, led them to prefer another location. It was soon found, yet work was commenced on the foundation of a new edifice near the old one in the spring of 1873. But it became necessary to discontinue until greater harmony should prevail. At the end of June Fr. Nolan was transferred to Freeport, and was suceeded by Rev. P. May
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THE GERMANS AT MANSFIELD.
The panic soon after prostrated business, and the new church was left to a future time. About the same time a pastor was appointed for St. Philip's Church, and the priest at Mansfield has since been left to St. Luke's alone. After two years Fr. May was succeeded, in July, 1875, by Rev. Thos. Walsh. During this time the congregation, although as numerous as before, had deteriorated in wealth and importance, owing to the general prostration of business. The numerous strikes among the coal-miners in this and in every part of the coal regions are a misfortune generally as great for the miners themselves as for their employers and the public. They have their grievances as well as other classes, but they seek a most imprudent way of redressing them; and many, if not the greater part, being Catholics, their ill-directed course is not unfrequently laid to the charge of the religion they profess. Fr. Walsh gave place, April, 1877, to Rev. Hugh Haggerty, the present pastor. The condition of the congregation has considerably improved, and it is destined in time to become one of the most flourishing and important congregations out- side the city. The new church was at length commenced in August, 1879, and is at present in course of erection. It will be in the Gothic style, 120 feet in length by 54 in width, with a tower in the centre in front.
A school was taught for several years in the room over the church; but it was discontinued in the year 1877, until the circumstances of the congregation should improve.
The pastor of this church also visits and ministers to the spiritual necessities of the few Catholic inmates of the Alle- gheny County Home, a State charitable institution situated about three miles from Mansfield, on the Chartier's Valley Railroad.
ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, MANSFIELD.
In Mansfield, as in nearly all other towns, a German ele- ment soon began to infuse itself into the English. As their numbers increased they determined to build a church for themselves; and for this purpose a meeting was called on the 8th of June, 1879. A committee was appointed to carry out
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ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, NOBLESTOWN.
the designs of the meeting ; lots were purchased, and work was commenced. The corner-stone was laid by Rev. W. Pollard September 21st, 1879; and the church when finished was dedicated by the Bishop, under the patronage of St. Joseph, on New Year's Day, 1880. The church is a brick building 30 by 65 feet, and is chaste and simple in style and finish. Rev. J. Stillerich was soon after appointed pastor. The congregation numbers about seventy-five families.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, NOBLESTOWN.
Noblestown, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, fifteen miles south-west of Pittsburg, takes its name from Henry Noble, who settled there about the year 1773. But it owes the little importance it has to the ex- tensive coal-mines and stone-quarries operated in the vicinity. Soon after the opening of the railroad, about twenty-two years ago, a number of Catholic families began to be at- tracted to the mines ; but it does not appear that Mass was celebrated in the village before the autumn of 1865. For some months subsequent to that date Rev. J. Stillerich, of St. Mary's Church, Chartier's Creek, visited the place, and a church was contemplated. It was next attended from Wash- ington, and constituted a part of that mission until the ap- pointment of a resident pastor. In the fall of 1866 Rev. J. P. Tahaney rented a hall for the accommodation of the little flock, and from that time Mass was celebrated on one Sunday in the month. He was succeeded by Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon, who bought a house for the priest. But the Washington mission was soon after divided, and he located himself at Mansfield, as has been said, Rev. Thos. M'Enrue being sta- tioned at the former place. He immediately took the church in hand, and succeeded in erecting the existing edifice. I have not learned the date of its dedication; but it was proba- bly in 1869. The church is a brick building about 70 feet in length by 35 in width, and has a tower in the centre in front.
Father M'Enrue was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Canivan in January, 1873. But it now became necessary to divide the
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, CHARTIER'S CREEK.
Washington mission once more and appoint a resident pastor to Noblestown, and Father Canivan was stationed there in June. But the panic soon after set in, and the congregation, which up to that time had enjoyed unusual prosperity and was growing apace, was reduced to the verge of want from the complete cessation of work in the mines and quarries upon which the people depended. No other congregation in the diocese was so utterly prostrated ; and many families have since been on the verge of starvation. Father Canivan was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. E. Murray, in Sep- tember, 1877.
In the days of its prosperity the congregation numbered perhaps eighty families, American and Irish with a few Ger- mans; but at present, although slowly rising from its pros- tration, it is much smaller. There are also a few families of French who should be Catholics, but who have fallen away from the faith. The future of the congregation will depend upon that of the coal trade; but the Catholic population must, in the nature of things, increase.
It remains to be seen what effect the opening of the new Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad, which traverses the south- ern bank of the Ohio River a distance of twenty-seven miles, will have upon the increase of the Catholic population. The rise of villages on the line will doubtless add to their number; but it is highly probable that manufactories will be erected, laborers brought together, and new congregations established in a few years.
ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, CHARTIER'S CREEK.
This little church stands on the banks of Chartier's Creek, about a mile south of the Ohio River and four miles west of Pittsburg, and was built under the direction of the Passionist fathers from St. Michael's Church, Pittsburg, to which, or to the church at Broadhead, three miles distant, the people had formerly belonged. The corner-stone was laid by Father Luke in the summer of 1855, and the church was probably dedicated some time in the following year, but the precise date has not been ascertained. In size, style, and material
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SEWICKLEY.
it is the exact counterpart of that at Broadhead. After hav- ing been attended for a year or two from St. Michael's, a resident pastor was appointed, an advantage which it has since continued to enjoy. But the changes were frequent, and the names of all have not been transmitted to us. The present pastor is Rev. J. Zwickert. Near the church stands a frame pastoral residence, one room of which is now, and has for many years been, used for a school, in which a lay teacher instructs the children of the parish. The congrega- tion is composed of German farmers and city gardeners, a frugal, industrious, and thrifty people; and it will probably number no more than sixty families.
ST. JAMES' CHURCH.
Crossing the Ohio River we reach the borough of Sewickley, which is on the north bank sixteen miles below Pittsburg. " It is one of the most favorable situations on the Ohio, and has been settled by wealthy families, who have united in making it an elegant suburban place of residence. For this purpose they have strenuously opposed all attempts to in- troduce manufactories into the place, and have even refused to give their support to such necessary institutions as hotels. Consequently, although it is a place of between two and three thousand inhabitants, there is at present (1873) not a single public house within its limits. . . . The borough was incorporated in 1854." *
The first Catholics of the place were a few families, princi- pally Germans, living in the vicinity and a few servant-girls employed in the houses of the wealthier citizens (for good Catholic girls are sought after, and generally find situations without much difficulty about Pittsburg.) Rev. Jas. Reid, of Beaver, was the first to look after the spiritual necessities of the people. He secured a lot, and built a cheap little frame church, probably about the year 1862. But the date is uncertain, as are all dates relating to this church; for notwithstanding that I have been at more pains to secure reliable information
* History of Allegheny County, p. 174
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ST. JAMES' CHURCH, SEWICKLEY.
regarding this than any other of the smaller churches, I cannot flatter myself with the success of my efforts. No one, it would appear, takes an interest in it. Fr. Reid continued to visit the place until the year 1868, when Rev. J. Zwickert was ap- pointed resident pastor. Soon after his arrival he determined to replace the existing church by a more imposing edifice, and with the consent of the proper authority he undertook it, although as yet the congregation was quite small. The church was built; but, owing to grave defects in the plan, it fell to the ground when the workmen had finished the roof. Nothing daunted, he commenced another. It was completed and dedi- cated, and must always remain one of the most unaccountable instances of miscalculation ever witnessed in this country. For while the congregation will number no more than thirty families, with perhaps forty servant-girls, and has no prospect whatever of doubling itself in the next twenty-five years, the church, which to some extent is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is about 130 feet long by 50 feet wide, and has a tall spire in the centre in front. The interior is furnished with three altars, gallery, etc., and the ceiling rises steep from the sides to the centre, following the inclination of the roof. If it was not for the heavy walls and buttresses, the roof, which is not framed so as to be in a measure self-sus- taining, would by its thrust force the walls asunder and leave the building a heap of ruins. The church could without diffi- culty be made to accommodate a congregation of five hundred families.
The history of the congregation has been uneventful save that its existence has been an incessant struggle with the heavy debt incurred in the erection of the two churches; and the future will be but a repetition of the past. As to increase, it is almost imperceptible. In the summer of 1877 Father Zwickert was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Rommelfanger, who re- mained until the latter part of May, 1879, when the congregation was visited by a priest from Pittsburg until the end of August, when Rev. J. Price became pastor. What the future of the parish is destined to be it would be hazardous to conjecture. A school has at different times been taught in the old church,
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, GLENFIELD.
which is yet standing. After an interval it was resumed about two years ago, and continues to the present time.
ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, GLENFIELD.
This church is situated in a country place two miles north of the Ohio River, at a point about twelve miles below Pitts- burg. It was formerly called the Kilbuck church, the town- ship in which it stands being so named from Kilbuck, a Dela- ware Indian chief. "It is said by some of the old residents that Kilbuck is buried in the township, and an Indian grave is still shown as his. As there are several warriors who bore that name, it is quite possible that the assertion is correct ; but Captain Henry Kilbuck, from whom the run was named, died and was buried near Wheeling, West Virginia."* The place was then named Glendale, which has lately been changed to Glenfield.
The Catholics who compose the little flock settled here many years ago-it would be difficult to fix the date-but the church, like other German churches in this part of the diocese, is due to the zeal of the indefatigable Father Stiebel. As near as can be ascertained it was built in 1853, and dedi- cated some time in the course of the following year. It is a small, neat frame building, surmounted by a miniature belfry. For many years it was visited on one Sunday in the month by a priest from St. Mary's Church, Allegheny ; but after the appointment of a resident pastor for Sewickley, it became a part of his mission and was visited every alternate Sunday. But about the year 1873 it was transferred to the pastor of Rochester. When Father Rommelfanger came from the lat- ter place to Sewickley, the church was left under his jurisdic- tion, and was visited as before.
The congregation is composed exclusively of farmers, and will not exceed thirty families; and any change from its pres- ent condition will be very gradual.
* History of Allegheny County, p. 165.
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ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, WEXFORD.
ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, WEXFORD.
The church at Wexford is situated in a country place on "the old Franklin road,"-running from Pittsburg to Frank- lin,-and is about twelve miles north of Pittsburg. After the division of the diocese it was uncertain for a time to which diocese it belonged; and indeed it was claimed by both in the Catholic Directory for 1877. But a more accurate survey of the dividing line proves it to be within the Diocese of Pittsburg. Wexford is an old Catholic settlement, the first families who arrived and the greater part even at the present day being Germans. Bishop O'Connor informs us that at the time of the erection of the See of Pittsburg-1843-there was a brick church and a congregation of about two hundred and fifty souls. The site upon which it stood was donated by a Mr. Shafer. But at what time or by whom the church was built cannot be known with certainty. It appears most prob- able that it was built under the direction of the Redemptorist fathers of Pittsburg, and a short time before the arrival of the Bishop. It was afterwards blown down, as the same prelate informs us, and was replaced by the present small brick edi- fice .* But all that we know of the date at which it occurred is that it was before the Bishop resigned his see ; that is, before the year 1860. The congregation was attended from Pitts- burg, Allegheny, or Sharpsburg (with the exception of the year 1846, when Rev. Jas. Reid, of Beaver, ministered to the people) until the appointment of a resident pastor, about the close of the year 1864. Rev. S. T. Mollinger was then ap- pointed pastor of Wexford and the new congregation of Perrysville. From that time it has until lately enjoyed the advantages of a resident pastor. The congregation is com- posed of farmers, and, being far removed from railroad communication and manufactories, can hardly be said to have increased at all in the last thirty years. Its numbers at present will not exceed those given by Bishop O'Connor.
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