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 24
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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, ALTOONA.
The city of Altoona is situated at the foot of the eastern slope of the main ridge of the Allegheny Mountains, and at the head of what was known in frontier history as the Tucka- hoe Valley. The ground rises north and south from the railroad, which at that point is 1164 feet above the level of
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FIRST MASS IN ALTOONA.
the Atlantic Ocean. The name is said to have been derived from the Italian word alto, high. It is a creation of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, upon which its inhabitants almost wholly depend, and it is 116 miles east of Pittsburg by that thoroughfare. Here in 1850 the company began to erect their shops, which they have since constantly been enlarging, until they are now perhaps the most extensive in the world. Here are built all the locomotives and cars for the main line and its branches, and here, too, the principal part of the repairing is done, as well as work for other roads. From being little less than a wilderness in 1849, when the site was purchased and the city laid out, the population reached 3951 in 1860, 15,329 in 1875, and it can now be little less than 20,000, about two fifths of which is Catholic. Altoona was chartered as a city in 1868 .*
A large number of Catholics, it is superfluous to state, were employed in grading the railroad up the mountain side, and when Altoona was laid out and the shops erected it is probable that some of these were among the first to find em- ployment and a home in the incipient city. Be that as it may, the number of Catholics was such that Rev. J. Walsh began to celebrate Mass there, being assisted for a time by Rev. R. Brown. He soon found it necessary to purchase lots -- which lie three squares north from the railroad station-and begin the building of a church. This must have been about the close of 1851 or the beginning of the following year. The church was finished by Father Bradley, as he informs me, and was also visited by him for some months. It was dedicated in the early part of 1853, but the precise date has not been ascertained. The church was a frame building, simple in style and finish, and was 60 feet in length by 35 in width. The name of Rev. J. Neuper also occurs in 1852 and 1853 as occasionally ministering to the Catholics of Altoona.
But the rapid growth of the town and the promise it already gave of future importance made it apparent that it could not long depend on priests from other places. Accord.
* Compiled principally from Renner's Altoona City Directory for 1878-79, pp. 67 et seq.
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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.
ingly in July, 1853, Rev. J. Tuigg, till then of Pittsburg, and the present Bishop of the diocese, was appointed first resident. pastor. He purchased a house by the side of the church, which he occupied as his residence. He also bought a few acres of ground in the suburbs for a cemetery. Time went on, the congregation increased, and although the Germans built a church, St. John's was no longer capable of accommo- dating the numbers who thronged to it on Sundays. With a view of afterwards building a large brick church Father Tuigg put an addition to the rear of the existing edifice, which, while enlarging it in the present, was destined afterwards to become a part of the new church. When finished it was dedicated by Bishop Domenec, November 16th, 1862.
In 1869 the Bishop appointed Fr. Tuigg Vicar Forane for the eastern part of the diocese. Prior to this time he accom- plished another work which is one of the most noble monu- ments of his zeal and activity. Although a school had long been in existence, he was anxious to provide a more suitable building and also to place the school upon a more permanent basis. He accordingly erected a large and elegant brick block, four stories high, by the side of the church. The building is so arranged that the part towards the church is divided into school-rooms, while the other half is finished for a convent for the religious who teach the school. It is large, beautifully located at the corner of two streets, and presents a very pleas- ing appearance. Into the convent he introduced a colony of Sisters of Charity from Cincinnati in August, 1870, of which mention will be made in its proper place.
But the congregation increased more rapidly than ever, and Father Tuigg, who in the beginning had sometimes ex- tended his missionary labors to Tyrone, Sinking Valley, and perhaps one or two other places, now found himself unable to minister to the single congregation of St. John's without the aid of an assistant. The first was appointed in 1871.
At length the period seemed to have arrived for the erec- tion of the new church, and it was undertaken in 1872, the corner-stone being laid by the Bishop on the 22d of June. The work progressed under the pastor's vigorous administra- tion ; but before its completion the panic fell upon the country,
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FATHER TUIGG A BISHOP.
the number of hands was reduced in the shops, and the wages of those who were retained were cut down to a low figure. Notwithstanding this the work was brought to a successful termination at the end of three years, and Father Tuigg had the satisfaction of contemplating an edifice of which he might well feel proud. Preparations were made for the dedication on a scale in keeping with the grandeur of the temple, and the ceremony was performed by the Bishop on the 30th of May, 1875. The church is of brick, is 120 feet in length by 60 in width, and is modelled after the Gothic style of architec- ture. At the front corners are twin towers that rise to the height of about 180 feet. There is a basement under the entire building, which is wholly above the level of the ground. The length of the lot did not permit the entrance to be made from the front, it being the object of the pastor to make the church as long as possible; and hence it was made from the two sides at the front. After entering, a flight of stairs is · ascended from each side into a vestibule which opens into the church. This, although a saving of space, cannot be regarded as a happy arrangement. The means of egress are not suffi- cient for a building of its size, and would appear to great dis- advantage in case of a panic. The distinctive characteristics of the Gothic style are not so prominent in the interior as in the exterior of the sacred edifice. It is without pillars, and the ceiling follows the inclination of the roof for some distance from the sides and is then horizontal. There is a deep gallery for the use of the people, and another above it for the organ and the choir. The pews are arranged without a middle aisle. There are three beautiful Gothic altars, and the windows are filled with stained glass in appropriate designs. The interior is also tastefully frescoed. On the whole it is one of the largest, most substantial, and elegant churches in the diocese.
About the time the church was finished the pastoral resi- dence was also considerably enlarged and improved. Having been faithful in a few things, Father Tuigg was called by the voice of the Sovereign Pontiff to be placed over many, and was nominated to the See of Pittsburg upon the division of the diocese and the transfer of Bishop Domenec to the new
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LLOYDSVILLE MISSION.
See of Allegheny in January, 1876. He was consecrated on the 19th of the following March, as was stated at length in a previous chapter.
Upon the promotion of Father Tuigg, Rev. J. Walsh, of Hollidaysburg, was appointed pastor of Altoona, and he re- turned to it after an absence of twenty-five years. He has since remained, but owing to the increase in the congregation he has always had two assistants. In September, 1878, he placed the boys' school in the hands of a number of Francis- can Brothers from Loretto, who opened a monastery in the city at that time.
The Catholic population of Altoona is gradually increas- ing, and must continue to increase with the growth of the city ; and the day cannot be far distant when St. John's, now the largest English congregation outside of Pittsburg, will have to be divided and another church erected.
LLOYDSVILLE MISSION.
In 1872-3 a narrow-gauge railroad was laid from Bell- wood (formerly Bell's Mills), seven miles east of Altoona, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, north-west up a grade averaging 158 feet to the mile, through delightful mountain scenery, to a spot seven miles distant where extensive coal-mines had been opened. A village soon sprung up that was at first known as Bell's Gap, but which afterwards took the name of Lloydsville ; and such was the number of Catholics found among the miners that it became advisable to have the Holy Sacrifice offered up in their midst. It is now a regular monthly station, but as yet there is no evidence that it will be necessary to build a church for some years.
It is probable that a mission will also be formed soon at a point in the mountains five miles west of Altoona and three north of the railroad, to which a branch road has been laid. and in which mines have lately been opened and coke-burning commenced ; and although in Cambria County, it is proba- ble that it will be attended from Altoona. As yet the number of Catholics is small.
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GERMAN CHURCH, ALTOONA.
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, GERMAN, ALTOONA.
A few German Catholics were found among the first set- tlers in Altoona. From about the year 1855 they were com- mitted to the care of one of the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's Abbey, who crossed the mountains once in the month to minister to their spiritual necessities. At length a church was contemplated, lots were purchased a few squares south of the railroad station, and work was commenced in 1860. Before the completion of the building Mass is said to have been offered up for the people for a short time in the English church. But the church was soon finished, and was dedicated on the 18th of December, 1860. It is a frame build- ing 70 feet in length by 40 in width, simple and plain in its style and finish. Mass was not, however, offered up every Sunday until the appointment of the first resident pastor, Rev. Christian Schuler, February, 1862. He was succeeded in September of the same year by Rev. J. M. Bierl, who in the following March gave place to Rev. G. Kircher. Having remained until August, 1864, he was transferred to Hollidays- burg, and the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Rev. Anthony Rottensteiner. During his administration he built a frame pastoral residence. In August, 1866, he gave place to Rev. A. Roswogg. He opened a parochial school, for the people up to that time-strange for a German congregation -were without it. He was succeeded, April, 1869, by Rev. Jos. Deyermeyer ; and he, November 26th, 1870, by the present pastor, Rev. John A. Shell. The congregation had all this time been gradually increasing and sharing in the prosperity of the city, and it now crowded the church to suffocation. A new church was imperatively demanded. But instead of erecting it at once the more prudent course of dividing the work and finishing part at a time was adopted. Plans were prepared for a church that when finished should be 120 feet in length by 50 in width; and it was resolved to erect the rear half at first against the back of the existing edifice, tear away part of the latter, and unite the remainder to the new
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TYRONE.
building until such time as the whole plan could be carried out. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop August 20th, 1871, and when finished the church was dedicated by the same prelate, June 22d, 1872. The second half of the new church would have been commenced towards the close of 1873, and arrangements were being made for it when the panic came. It was evidently no time to be making a debt that could at all be avoided, and the congregation is still await- ing such an improvement in the times as will enable it' to finish the church. In 1876 Father Shell enlarged the pastor- al residence, and in January of the following year he placed the schools under the care of the Sisters of St. Agnes, for whom he purchased a house to answer the purposes of a convent.
Although arrested in its growth, the congregation must continue to increase and prosper. At present it will number about one hundred and seventy-five families.
ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, TYRONE.
Tyrone is situated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, fifteen miles east of Altoona, and like it is an outgrowth of the open- ing of that line. It stands at the opening of the Bald Eagle Valley, and is the most northern point reached by the railroad between Pittsburg and Philadelphia. It was incorporated as a borough in 1856, and it has a population at present of about 3500. The growth of the town is owing to the coal and lum- ber trade of Centre and Clearfield counties. Two branches of the Pennsylvania Railroad connect with the main line at this point-the one from the Clearfield coal and lumber re- gions, the other running through Centre and Clinton counties and connecting with the Philadelphia and Erie Railway and Lock Haven. A new branch is being constructed from Lew- isburg to connect with the main line at Tyrone, which when completed will add to the importance of the town .*
The construction of a railroad invariably brings a number of Catholics who settle at different points along it, and
* Renner's Altoona City Directory, 1878-79, p. 252.
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ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.
Tyrone was no exception. Scarcely was the road completed when we find Rev. J. Bradley, of Newry, visiting the place and for a time offering up the Holy Sacrifice in a private house. Having ministered to the wants of the people from the close of 1851 till the beginning of 1853, the Bishop deter- mined that a church should be built. Lots were purchased and work was commenced in the spring of 1853. The corner- stone was laid on the 29th of May by Rev. W. Pollard, who appears to have been pastor of the church for a short time. But it was soon after attached to Altoona, from which it was attended until about the close of the year 1858. The church was dedicated September 24th, 1854, under the invocation of St. Matthew the Apostle. It is a brick building, modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, and is 75 feet in length by 40 in width, with a steeple rising from the centre in front.
About the end of 1858 Rev. P. M. Sheehan was appointed, and remained until about the year 1862, when he was suc- ceeded by the present pastor, Rev. John C. Farren. A residence was built, and a school was held as regularly as circumstances permitted.
But the ground upon which the church is built yielded in course of time, and the sacred edifice was in danger of falling. Part of the wall was accordingly taken down in 1876 and re- built. The members of the congregation are mainly employed on the railroad and in the town, although there is a small number of farmers. From what has been said of the town it will be seen that the congregation is likely to go on increas- ing in the future.
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CHAPTER XVII.
CAMBRIA COUNTY.
General features of the county-First settlers Catholics-Captain M'Guire-First visit of a priest-First appearance of Dr. Gallitzin-His parentage and early life-He visits America-Resolves to become a priest-Is ordained-His first missions-M'Guire settlement-He takes up his abode in the future Loretto -St. Michael's Church-His estates-Loretto.
CAMBRIA COUNTY, being the scene of the labors and sacri- fices of the illustrious Prince Gallitzin, as well as the most Catholic county in the western part of the State, is entitled to a larger share of our attention than any other. Its Cath- olic population may be roughly estimated at from 15,000 to 18,000 souls. The notice of its civil history is compiled prin- cipally from the work of Mr. Sherman Day, already frequently quoted in these pages. "The county," says this author, " oc- cupies one of the most elevated positions in the State on the western declivity of the great Allegheny Mountain. To the traveller passing westward this mountain presents a bold, precipitous front, but on crossing the summit the declivity is very gradual, not exceeding that of ordinary hills, thus demonstrating the existence of a broad elevated table-land between the Allegheny Mountain and the subordinate range of Laurel Hill. The latter mountain skirts the western part of the county, becoming depressed and broken as it passes northward. The surface is exceedingly rugged and broken, and the soil is comparatively cold. The principal occupations of the inhabitants are agriculture, lumbering, and the labor connected with the immense transportation business on the public improvements. The latter also furnish a convenient market for the surplus produce of the country .*
* Historical Collections, pp. 178, 179.
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CAMBRIA COUNTY.
" Near the northern line of the county there is said to be an ancient circular fortification. The embankments are four or five feet high, and overgrown with immense trees. There were very old clear fields or open prairie lands not far from these fortifications, which probably gave the name to Clear- field County.
" Previous to the year 1789 the tract of country which is now included within the limits of Cambria County was a wilderness. 'Frankstown settlement,' as it was then called, was the frontier of the inhabited parts of Pennsylvania east of the Allegheny Mountain. None of the pioneers had ventured to explore the western slope of the mountain. A remnant of the savage tribes still prowled through the forests and seized every opportunity of destroying the dwellings of the settlers and butchering such of the inhabitants as were so unfortunate as to fall into their hands. The howling of the wolf and the shrill screaming of the catamount, or American panther (both of which infested the country in great numbers at the period of its first settlement), mingled in nightly concert with the war-whoop of the savages.
" It is believed that Captain Michael M'Guire was the first white man who settled within the present bounds of Cambria County. He settled in the neighborhood of where Loretto now stands in the year 1790, and commenced improving that now interesting and well-cultivated portion of Allegheny town- ship, a large portion of which is still owned and peopled by his descendants .*
"Four or five years afterwards the captain's brother Peter, with his bride, followed him from Maryland, and be- fore a great while six log huts, with roofs of evergreen, stand- ing on the little patches of land cleared by the stout arms of half a dozen stalwart men, formed M'Guire's settlement. Their first, and for many years their only, near neighbors were the settlers at Blair's Mills, twelve miles away [to the south-east], with a dense forest between. Captain M'Guire lost no time in providing for the Church, for which his won- derful faith alone could have given him hopes, and took up
* Historical Collections, p. 179.
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FIRST VISIT OF A PRIEST.
four hundred acres of land, which he made over to Bishop Carroll." *
Rev. Felix Brosius, of whom more hereafter, as well as Father Pellentz, visited M'Guire's settlement from Cone- wago perhaps two or three times prior to the arrival of Dr. Gallitzin. " When Mr. Brosius visited it he set apart a por- tion of the ground donated by Captain M'Guire, and conse- crated it for a cemetery, although as yet unneeded. When Mr. Lanigan visited 'Sportsman's Hall' and 'O'Neill's Vic- tory' he, too, stayed a few days at the settlement, said Mass in the captain's cabin, and, distressed at seeing cattle on con- secrated ground, had the men and boys band together to enclose it. Too soon afterwards, November 17th, 1796, Cap- tain M'Guire, like Father Brauers, found a final resting-place in the land he had given to the Church." t
But some time before the death of this Christian hero a figure enters upon the stage for a moment that was destined to be one of the most conspicuous in the history of the Church in America. The manner of his first coming displays so much of the Christian heroism and charity of the pioneers, illustrates so admirably the labors of our first missionaries, and affords so striking an instance of the way in which Providence some- times brings about the most important results by means that appear to the eye of man to be merely accidental, that I can- not forego the pleasure of giving it to the reader at length, nor convey it in more fitting language than that of Miss Brownson, who collected the account of it from a traditional history which I have more than once heard recited in the homes of the mountaineers :
" In the summer following Dr. Gallitzin's ordination (1795), Mrs. John Burgoons, a Protestant woman, living beyond the limits of civilization, a week's journey from Baltimore, by unbroken forests and now and then an Indian path, far up the Allegheny Mountains, was taken very ill, and begged so hard to see a Catholic priest that Mrs. Luke M'Guire, a good Cath-
* Life of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, Prince and Priest, by Sarah M. Brownson, p. 115.
t Ibid., p. 117.
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DEMETRIUS AUGUSTINE GALLITZIN.
olic neighbor, in company with another person, undertook the long and dangerous journey to Conewago to find one who would be able and willing to visit her. The message came to Mr. Gallitzin, and he hastened to join the good Samaritans and carry the strengthening Sacraments of the Church to the stranger in the wilderness. Mrs. M.Guire fretted very much at the many delays necessarily incident to the journey, fear- ing the woman would die before they could reach her ; but she was comforted and made confident by the priest's assur- ance that if Mrs. Burgoons so desired to see a priest as they said, God, who had given her that desire, would not permit her to die until it was fulfilled. His words were so far made good that she recovered her health, after being instructed and received into the Church, and lived a good Catholic life for many years afterwards. His coming was hailed with joy by the few families scattered in that unbroken country, to which only at long intervals a priest had ever penetrated. He said Mass in the principal log-house of the settlement, administered baptism to a number of children and even one or two grown persons, exhorted them all to faith, prayer, courage, and per- severance, and having a liberal allowance from his mother- his father, since he had chosen to be a priest, did not interest himself in furthering his temporal affairs-he considered it not a bad investment, and perhaps a kindly act, to purchase a quantity of land on the mountain for himself."* Four years later he made the summit of these mountains the field of his future missionary labors. But before proceeding with our narrative it will be necessary to cast a brief glance at the early life of this distinguished man. His subsequent career will be identified with the fortunes of his colony.
" DEMETRIUS GALLITZIN, afterwards called Augustine, was the only son and heir of one of the oldest and most famous houses of the Old World : a Russian family with a pedigree longer than that of the reigning czar, which has always influ- enced, often controlled, and at times all but filled the throne of Russia, numbering in its ranks men of every talent and all renown."t The name Gallitsin is traced back with certainty
* Life, etc., pp. 98, 99.
t Ibid., pp. 1, 2
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HIS EARLY LIFE.
to the early part of the sixteenth century. Demetrius Alexei- vitch Gallitzin, the father of the subject of our remarks, was born about the year 1735, and was sent as ambassador to France in 1763. August 28th, 1768, he married the Countess Amelia von Schmettau, only daughter of the celebrated Prus- sian field-marshal of that name, then just twenty years of age. They soon after determined to take up their residence at the Hague, to which Demetrius had been appointed ambassador. They rested for a while on their way at Berlin, where Prin- cess Marianna, their only daughter, was born, December 7th, 1769. The future Apostle of the Alleghenies was born at the Hague, December 22d, 1770. The position which his father held under the government prevented him from spending all his time with his family ; but his wife was a woman of extra- ordinary mental endowments, and she bestowed the utmost attention upon the education of her children. Although re- siding occasionally in other places, the principal part of her time was spent at Münster, in Germany, where she became the centre of an intellectual circle in which the most celebrated literary characters of the country figured. She had been brought up a Catholic from childhood, but her son was not of the true faith. Speaking of his conversion he afterwards said : "' Raised in prejudice against revelation, I felt every disposition to ridicule those very principles and practices which I have adopted since. I soon felt convinced of the necessity of investigating the different religious systems, in order to find out the true one. Although I was born a mem- ber of the Greek Church, and although all my male relations were either Greeks or Protestants, yet did I resolve to em- brace that religion only which, upon impartial inquiry, should appear to me to be the pure religion of Jesus Christ. My choice fell upon the Catholic Church.'* This occurred when he was about seventeen years old ; he took the name of Au- gustine in confirmation to please his mother. . . . He heard Mass every day with his mother and sister-there were frequent communions of the little group-and he even went so far as to mention a desire to become a priest, an idea in-
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