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 19
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Early in 1879 Rev. J. Steger, the pastor of St. Alphonsus', was transferred to another field of labor, and the congregation
* Diocesan Register.
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ST. TERESA'S CHURCH, PERRYSVILLE.
was united with that of Perrysville, under the jurisdiction of Rev. A. Holdapfel, of the latter, who offers up the Holy Sac- rifice in both places every Sunday, riding a distance of six miles between the two Masses. This arrangement will prob- ably continue for several years to come.
ST. TERESA'S CHURCH, PERRYSVILLE.
We now return to the Diocese of Allegheny. Perrys- ville is a village situated on "the old Franklin road," about seven miles north of Allegheny City, with which it is con- nected by a plank-road. The first person who settled at the place where the village now stands was Casper Reel, who built a log cabin there in 1794. The village, however, is of much later date. The Catholics who compose the little con- gregation were formerly attached to the churches of Alle- gheny; but in 1864 Rev. S. T. Mollinger was appointed pastor of Wexford, with the additional care of the Catholics of Perrysville. It is probable that he offered up the Holy Sacrifice for them in a private house for some time ; but be that as it may, he undertook the building of a church in 1866, the corner-stone of which was laid by the Bishop on the 4th of July. The church was completed by the autumn of the following year, and was dedicated by the Bishop, under the invocation of St. Teresa, on the 6th of October. It is a very neat and substantial brick building, and, although small, will be sufficient for the accommodation of the people for many years to come. Father Mollinger was transferred to Troy Hill in June, 1868, since which time there have been several changes of pastors. The present incumbent, Rev. A. Holdap- fel, has been there for the last three years. The congregation is mixed German and English, but the former predominate. As yet it is quite small and will not exceed thirty families in number, with the prospect of a very moderate future in- crease.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PINE CREEK.
St. Mary's Church is situated in the valley of the stream from which its name is taken, and about four miles north of
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PINE CREEK.
Sharpsburg. I have already stated, when speaking of St. Philo- mena's Church, Pittsburg, that this was the first congregation formed from it, and consequently the second German congre- gation organized in the county. After laboring zealously for the building up of the mother-church, the people turned their attention to the building of a church for themselves. It was erected about the year 1841, on a site donated by an Irish member of the congregation. But further particulars of its early history are not to be had, except that Bishop O'Connor states, in the Diocesan Register, that at the time of his consecration there was a log church and a congregation of four hundred souls. The church was under the jurisdic- tion of one of the priests attached to St. Philomena's, who visited it on one Sunday in the month until about the year 1848, when it passed into the hands of Rev. A. P. Gibbs, of Sharpsburg. He visited it generally twice in the month, and a German priest came out occasionally from Pittsburg. About the year 1855 it was attached to St. Mary's, Allegheny, from which it was visited until the appointment of a resident pastor, the date of which is uncertain.
REV. MICHAEL EIGNER, one of those who visited the con- gregation in this manner, was taken sick with consumption and died at the Mercy Hospital April 7th, 1862. Little is known of this good priest beyond that he was ordained for the Diocese of Pittsburg by Bishop Whelan, of Wheeling, in August, 1859. He does not appear to have been anywhere else than at St. Mary's, Allegheny.
The congregation, which is composed almost exclusively of farmers, nearly all of whom are Germans, had increased but little during these years. But the circumstances of the people had undergone a favorable change from the time they built the log church, and they determined at length to re- place it by an edifice more becoming the exalted purpose for which it was destined. A new church was accordingly com. menced in the spring of 1867, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 22d of April. On the 28th of November of the same year it was dedicated by the same prelate. The church is a neat and substantial brick building about 80 feet in length by 40 in width, and has a steeple rising from the
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SHARPSBURG.
centre in front. A school-house was also built and a school opened by a lay teacher ; but the date is uncertain. Rev. J. Kuenzer is the present pastor. The congregation, although not increasing much and having but little prospect of in- crease in the future, will yet number about one hundred families. It would have been larger had it not been that parts from the outskirts were attached to other congregations of a more recent date.
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, SHARPSBURG.
The borough of Sharpsburg is situated on the west bank of the Allegheny River, about four miles north of Allegheny City. Pine Creek, which empties into the river immediately below, separates the town from Ætna borough. Sharpsburg takes its name from James Sharp, who settled there in the fall of 1827 and subsequently owned the land upon which the town is built. It was incorporated as a borough in 1841, and has at present a population of about 3500 .* A considerable amount of iron manufacture is carried on in the town and its immediate vicinity, and it is to this especially the place owes its importance. The Western Pennsylvania Railroad passes through it, as the canal formerly did.
The first Catholics who settled in the borough heard Mass either in Pittsburg or at the church on Pine Creek ; but a church was contemplated as early as February, 1847. Mass was celebrated in the town probably for the first time by Father Gibbs in the course of the same year, but in the room of a house until the erection of the church. The first bap- tism recorded is by him, and is dated November 21st, 1847. But the church was not undertaken until the following year, when the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 25th of June. It was finished the following spring and dedicated by the same prelate, under the invocation of St. Joseph, April 29th. The church was a plain substantial brick building 85 feet in length by 40 in width, but without a steeple. A school appears to have been opened about the same time, but
* History of Allegheny County.
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ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, SHARPSBURG.
whether it was continued without interruption in the years immediately following cannot be stated with certainty.
As yet the English and Germans formed but one congre- gation, although the latter appear to have constituted the majority. But in January, 1853, they were organized into a separate congregation, although continuing to use the church until their own was built, as will be seen presently. Nothing beyond a moderate growth marked the flow of time, except that the pastor transferred his residence to Lawrenceville in the spring of 1854. But he continued to minister to the congregation until February, 1863, when he gave place to Rev. W. A. Nolan. He remained until May, 1866, during which time the congregation furnished no special matter for his- tory. The same may be said of the pastorate of Rev. P. Kerr, who succeeded him, and who remained until February of the following year. Rev. Denis Kearney was now ap- pointed pastor. The congregation began about this time to enter upon a season of greater prosperity than it had enjoyed at any previous period ; and its numbers were increasing more rapidly.
About the year 1869 Father Kearney built a very neat brick residence, and about the same time erected a two-story brick school-house, 27 by 50 feet, which is one of the most elegant and substantial buildings of the kind in the diocese. The schools from this time until recently were taught by the Sisters of Mercy, who came daily by the cars from the House of Industry, Allegheny. A large lot was purchased, upon which it was proposed to build a convent for Sisters when circumstances should be favorable for the undertaking. The congregation was now at the zenith of its numerical strength and prosperity, and contained perhaps a little more than two hundred families. The old church was crowded, and it was thought best to build a more commodious edifice. Work was begun upon it, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 4th of May, 1873. Occupying the site of the old one, the walls were built around it, and it was left standing for the use of the congregation as long as it was possible. The church, although not quite finished in the interior, was dedi- cated by the Bishop July 19th, 1874. The sacred edifice,
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ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH.
which is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is 120 feet in length by about 55 in width, and has a tower in the centre in front finished at present to the comb of the roof. The ceiling, like that of several other churches built about the same time, rises ribbed from the sides toward the centre, and is supported without the aid of columns. There are three altars, which are as yet temporary, and are to be replaced by others more in harmony with the style of the church. Few churches of the diocese have been built with greater care or are more substantial than St. Joseph's. But the panic which set in before its completion reduced the congregation both in numbers and ability, and left them a burden of debt that it will require many years to liquidate.
After the division of the diocese Fr. Kearney came to St. Paul's Cathedral in April, 1876. After an interval he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. G. S. Grace, at the end of August.
Although the congregation must, in the nature of things, increase in the future, it is smaller now than it was ten years ago, and will not aggregate more perhaps than one hundred and fifty families. A brighter prospect seems now to be opening before it.
In August, 1879, Father Grace placed the schools in the hands of a number of Sisters of Charity from Altoona, who as yet occupy a rented house as a convent.
ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, SHARPSBURG.
German Catholics were among the first citizens of Sharps- burg. In the beginning, however, they heard Mass in Pitts- burg, and later, when the church was built at Pine Creek, a number of those living in that part of the county attached themselves to the church there. But when the English church was opened in the town many of them went to form a part of its congregation, as has been said. At length it was deemed expedient for the Germans, who were already in the majority, to have their own church. The duty of organizing the new congregation and erecting the church was confided to the Redemptorist fathers of St. Philomena's Church, Pitts-
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BURNING OF ST. MARY'S.
burg, and the work was undertaken January Ist, 1853. They used the English church, however, until their own was ready to receive them. A site was purchased at the back of the town, near the foot of the hill; work was commenced, and the corner stone was laid by the Bishop early in the summer of 1853. Upon its completion the church was dedicated, under the invocation of the August Mother of God, on the 18th of June, 1854. But it had passed, in the course of its erection, into the hands of the secular clergy, Rev. C. N. Sorg having been appointed pastor in the preceding February. The new edifice was a brick building, 115 feet in length by 55 in width, and had an unpretending belfry over the entrance. But the whole building was not occupied by the congregation. Rooms in the rear were devoted to the purpose of a residence for the pastor. A basement extended back more than half the length of the building, and was partitioned off into school- rooms, in which a school was immediately opened by lay teachers. The congregation increased at a very encouraging rate, and was composed to a great extent of farmers, not a few of whom lived at a distance of six or eight miles. At length Father Sorg was called to another mission, February, 1856, and Rev. J. Tamchina became pastor. But in May of the same year he likewise withdrew, and the congregation re- verted to the Redemptorist fathers, who ministered to it from St. Philomena's until August, 1865. It then returned to the secular clergy, and Rev. J. A. Shell was appointed pastor.
The church had never been a very substantial building, and it was soon found necessary to bind the walls near the roof by means of iron rods to prevent them from spreading. Wishing to add to the solemnity of divine worship, the pastor had a new organ built at a cost of $1800. When the building of the instrument was completed preparations were made for a grand opening of it. The church was crowded for the occasion, on the evening of January 4th, 1866, when to the dismay of all it was discovered that the building was on fire, and, despite all that could be done to arrest the flames, the entire structure with the pastoral residence was consumed. The fire is thought to have originated from a lighted candle
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A NEW CHURCH UNDERTAKEN. ·
having been placed too near some artificial flowers under the back of the altar.
Nothing was left for the congregation but to return with its pastor to the English church until such time as a frame story could be built on the basement walls of the burnt build- ing, to serve the purpose of a temporary church. It was completed in May. Work was commenced on a new church with the opening of spring, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop May 27th, 1866. A year after the church was finished and ready for dedication, and in the absence of the Bishop the ceremony was performed by Very Rev. T. Mullen, V.G., June 16th. The sacred edifice is built of brick, and is 134 feet in length by 60 in width. In the centre in front is an unusually massive tower, which rises square to the height of perhaps 125 feet. It was the intention of the architect to finish it in a pyramidal spire, but the foundation began to show signs of giving way, and the design was abandoned after the tower had been roofed. The church is commodious and neatly finished, but lacks architectural design. In 1868 Father Shell built a brick residence. Having left these monuments of his zeal and energy, he was transferred to St. Mary's Church, Allegheny, April 26th, 1869, and Rev. A. Rosswogg succeeded him. He was in turn succeeded by Rev. J. B. Schmidt, January 4th, 1870. The congregation had so far increased that an assistant priest became necessary early in the summer of 1873. About the same time Father Schmidt had the church frescoed, and had a new high and two side altars erected. All three are after fine Gothic models, and are of polished chestnut and very beautiful. Having remained for four years, Father Schmidt was suc- ceeded, April 20th, 1874, by a colony of the fathers of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who came from Alsace after it had passed under the sway of the German emperor. Rev. Joseph Strub, a man of great learning and administrative ability, and the leader of the little band, was the first pastor of the church ; but he has since been elected provincial of his congregation in the United States, and another of the fathers is pastor of the church. Before his departure Father Schmidt had placed
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MILLVALE.
the schools under the care of the Sisters of St. Francis, from the mother-house in Pittsburg, who occupy part of the school building as a convent.
The congregation has increased but little since the panic, but is still in a flourishing condition and must gradually grow in the future. It will number at present about four hundred and fifty families, or perhaps more.
ST. ANNE'S CHURCH, MILLVALE.
The borough of Millvale is situated in a valley on the west bank of the Allegheny River, between Allegheny City and Sharpsburg. Previous to the incorporation of the borough, in 1868, the place was known as Bennett's Station, from the extensive iron-works of Graff, Bennett & Co., in operation there.
The Catholic families that had settled there attached them- selves to the church at Sharpsburg until the Forty-third Street bridge was built across the river, which put them in direct communication with St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth Street, Pittsburg, after which time they formed a part of that congre- gation. But as their number was steadily increasing, it was thought best to have them build a church for themselves. Lots were purchased and a church was undertaken under the . direction of Father Gibbs. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop September 24th, 1874, and the church when finished was dedicated by the same prelate May 2d of the following year. The church, which is a plain frame building about 70 feet in length by 30 in width, stands back a short distance from the river. It was attended from St. Mary's until the erection of the See of Allegheny, when it was for some time attached to Troy Hill. But later it was placed under the charge of Rev. Jas. Richert, of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, attached to the German church at Sharpsburg, and so it remains. The congregation consists of about seventy-five German and thirty English families, the former of whom are anxious to separate and form a distinct congregation. This, although a misfortune to the other portion, which would in
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ST. ANNE'S CHURCH.
that case be left to carry a considerable burden of debt, must eventually take place. The Germans bought lots and built a brick school-house, some distance from the church," and opened a school in it in January, 1876. The congregation has a promising future before it.
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CHAPTER XIV.
CATHOLICITY IN SOUTH-WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
General remarks-St. Anne's Church, Waynesburg-St. James' Church, West Alexander-Death and sketch of Rev. D. Hickey-Church of the Immaculate Conception, Washington-St. James' Church, Claysville-Other stations in Washington and Greene counties-Fayette and Somerset counties-Scenery, aborigines, Indian paths-First settlers-Brownsville-First Catholic settlers - Pittsburg visited as a station from Brownsville- St. Peter's Church, Brownsville-Uniontown-St. John's Church-Farrington mission-Gen. Braddock's grave-Church of the Immaculate Conception, Connellsville-St. Aloysius' Church, Dunbar-Le Mont Furnace mission-St. John the Baptist's Church, Scottdale-St. John the Baptist's Church, New Baltimore-St. Mat- thew's Church, Meyersdale-Death and sketch of Rev. Thos. Fitzgerald- Stations: Ursina, Sand Patch, Wellsburg.
IN order not to pass too abruptly from one part of the diocese to another, we shall, after leaving Pittsburg and Alle- gheny counties, turn our attention to the south and thence to the east, where the church was first planted among us, and from which it extended its branches in various directions.
Under the name of South-western Pennsylvania is here understood Washington, Greene, Fayette, and Somerset counties, with that part of Beaver that lies south of the Ohio River. It embraces more than one third part of the Diocese of Pittsburg according to the last division ; yet it is the most unfruitful portion of the vineyard, and cannot boast one thousand Catholic families, notwithstanding that laborers were engaged in it before the close of the last century. The part of Beaver County included in the territory contains no Catholics whatever, except perhaps two or three families on the river opposite Rochester. Washington County may have one hundred and fifty families, and Greene less than twenty- five. The barrenness of this district is to be attributed to two principal causes: its settlement by the strictest school of
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GENERAL REMARKS.
Presbyterians, whose bigotry has successfully stood the test of time and reason,* and the absence of minerals, which pre- vented manufactories from being built and a foreign Catholic element from being introduced to plant the faith. Another cause of the tardy growth of the church is that, while the number of Catholics was too small to support sufficient resi- dent priests to minister frequently to them, they lived too far from the city to be so attended from without. Their attach- ment to the faith, which is fostered by frequently witnessing the ceremonies of the Church and hearing its doctrines ex- plained and defendcd, became weakened; the instinctive hatred of error grew less intense ; and some fell away through negligence, while others became entangled in the meshes of mixed marriages. These causes operate more fatally on American Catholics than on those of foreign birth ; and as they are still as powerful as ever, but slender hopes can be entertained of the future increase of the Catholic population in this part of the diocese.
ST. ANNE'S CHURCH, WAYNESBURG, GREENE COUNTY.
Greene County, originally a part of Washington, was organized by an act of Assembly of February 9th, 1796. It occupies the extreme south-western corner of the State, and has an area of 597 square miles. The rolling character of the surface and the nature of the soil are better adapted for grazing than for grain. Waynesburg, the county-seat, was
* As an evidence of what has been stated in the text the following incident may be given, which, although savoring of the fabulous, may yet be authenticated by any one who will be at the trouble of visiting the spot where it occurred. When the Jefferson Presbyterian College was built at the village of Cannonsburg, about ten miles north of Washington, Rev. Robt. J. Breckenridge, D.D., was appointed president. When superintending the building of the house that was destined to serve as his residence, he came one day and found that the doors, made after the usual pattern and already hung, had the semblance of a cross in the parts between the panels. So intense was his hatred of the least sign of "popery" that he ordered the doors to be removed forthwith, and others, made of ordinary tongued-and-grooved boards, substituted for them. The house, with its " anti- popery" doors, is yet standing for the inspection of the incredulous and the edifica- tion of the elect.
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REV. FATHER LANIGAN.
laid out when the county was established, and was incorpo- rated as a borough in 1816. The land was purchased from Thos. Slater, and the lots were sold, in conformity with the law, for account of the county. The borough is situated in a delightful valley, one mile from the centre of the county, thirteen from the southern and seventeen from the western boundary of the State, and had in 1870 a population of 1272 .*
Between the years 1795 and 1799-the precise date cannot be ascertained-Rev. Fr. Lanigan, O.S.F., came to the Catho- lic settlement in Westmoreland County, where St. Vincent's Abbey now stands, and took charge of the congregation. But finding himself unable to abide in peace, owing to the line of conduct pursued by the unhappy Fr. Fromm, he set out in company with a few members of the congregation in search of a place where they could found another colony. Coming to West Alexander, Washington County, they purchased several thousand acres of land, and returning brought out the colony. Not being pleased with the place after a closer in- spection, they sold it, and purchased a site near Waynesburg, Greene County. Here the colony established itself perma- nently.t How long Fr. Lanigan remained with his little flock it is impossible to determine at this time; but his name occurs in the early history no later than 1801, although it is certain that he visited various settlements during that year. It is equally impossible to trace the religious history of these pioneers and to learn by whom they were ministered to. They generally, however, formed, as they still do, a part of the Brownsville mission, and shared its fortunes. The first authentic account begins with the year 1833-a period which, though long, would be marked by few changes in those days worthy of the historian's attention. In this year the erection of a brick church was commenced, but whether it was the first church built there or not I cannot learn. I am inclined, how- ever, to the opinion that it was not, both because the colony would hardly exist so long without a place of worship and also because the first churches of the backwoods are seldom
* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 358, 361.
t St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, pp, 70, 71.
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WEST ALEXANDER.
brick. Be that as it may, the church was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick, under the invocation of St. Anne, July 28th, 1839. The Catholics were few in number, and were scattered around the country to a considerable distance. Since the completion of the church Mass has been celebrated as a rule on one Sun- day in the month. At the time of the erection of the See of Pittsburg, Bishop O'Connor sets the number of souls in the congregation at 164. The first settlers were Irish and German.
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