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 31
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The congregation increased rapidly, and in time the little church was crowded to excess. A more spacious and imposing edifice was now contemplated, and the Cambria Iron Company donated a large and eligible lot as the site of it a few squares from the spot occupied by the existing church. Work was commenced, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop November 15th, 1868. The church was finished with the exception of the steeple, which was built only to the comb of the roof, at the end of two years, and was dedicated by the same prelate October 30th, 1870. It is a brick structure modelled after the Gothic style of archi- tecture, but is without columns, and has the ceiling rising from the sides ribbed towards the centre. It is 120 feet in length by 66 in width, and has three altars. But the plan of the building is seriously defective. The span is too great for the strength of the roof-timbers, and there is danger of the walls eventually spreading, and in fact the rear wall is already beginning to part. Owing to this defect it is to be feared the
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CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
church will probably have to be torn down to prevent acci- dent. The spire was completed in an elegant proportion to the height of 179 feet, in the summer of 1876.
A frame school-house was built in addition to the old church, which has been used as a school since the completion of the new edifice. The lay teachers were in time superseded by the Benedictine nuns from St. Mary's Convent attached to the English church, and these gave place to the Sisters of Charity from the same church in the autumn of 1878.
The congregation is not increasing so rapidly now as for- merly, but numbers 900 souls, a small part of which live out- side the town. The future prospects of the congregation are very flattering.
GERMAN CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, CAMBRIA CITY.
Cambria City is the most western of the aggregation of boroughs commonly called Johnstown. The Germans of this place, being, as was stated above, at a considerable distance from St. Joseph's Church, determined to have one for them- selves. Having had the Holy Sacrifice celebrated for some time in a room in their midst by one of the Benedictine fathers, the church was built about the year 1859-the precise date has not been ascertained-and was dedicated under the title of the Immaculate Conception. A school, the insepara- ble companion of the church, was opened, and has since been conducted by a lay teacher. Having been under the care of the Benedictine fathers from its erection, the church passed in 1872 into that of the secular clergy, with whom it has since remained. A pastoral residence was about this time built. The present pastor is Rev. Jos. Lingel. The congregation has increased gradually since its formation, and at present will probably number about one hundred and fifty families ; and it must continue to increase in the future.
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CHAPTER XXI.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
The place it occupies in our history-General features-First Catholic settlement in Western Pennsylvania-The first Mass-The first priest-The first church -Death of Rev. Theodore Browers-Troubles-Rev. P. Heilbron-New settlements-Death of Father Heilbron-Rev. Ch. B M'Guire-Trustees- Rev. Terence M'Girr-Arrival of Rev. J. A. Stillinger-The Bishop and the trustees-The new church.
No part of Western Pennsylvania figures more prominently in the history of Catholicity than Westmoreland County. It was the scene of the first permanent Catholic settlement in the State west of the Allegheny Mountains, and east of them also as far as relates to the territory embraced within the pre- sent history. It was also for many years a kind of resting- place for Catholic emigrants to parts of the State lying farther west, being on Gen. Forbes' route from Cumberland to Pitts- burg, and also on the road, or path, from Philadelphia to the same city. Westmoreland County was formed from Bedford by an act of February 26th, 1773, and included the entire south- western corner of the State. To this was annexed, in 1785, the tract of country which constituted the last purchase from the Indians, and which came into possession of the State in the previous year, so that the county before it was subdivided embraced the entire western part of the State. At present it has an area of 1004 square miles, and is separated from Somer- set and Cambria on the east by the lofty and well-defined range of Laurel Hill. Parallel to this is the lower range of the Chestnut ridge, and between them the long and elevated Ligonier Valley, about ten miles wide. The soil, except in the mountain regions, is very fertile. The county was originally settled by Irish and German emigrants.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
It is said that in Wheatfield * Township there is a remark- able mound, from which in the early part of the present century several articles were dug, consisting of a sort of stone serpent about five inches in diameter ; part of the entablature of a column, rudely carved in the form of diamonds and leaves ; an earthen urn with ashes; and many others of which no ac- count is now extant. It is thought to have been the ruins of an ancient Indian temple. Previous to 1758 Westmoreland was a wilderness, trodden only by the wild beast, the savage, and an occasional white trader or frontierman; but in that year a road was cut by Gen. Forbes' army on their way to at- tack Fort Duquesne. This road opened the way for numerous pioneers into this region ; but as yet it was only safe for them to live under the protection of the forts.t
Hannahstown, which stood about three miles north-east of Greensburg, but was destroyed by the Indians, was the first place west of the mountains where justice was administered according to legal forms by the white man. There was a wooden court-house and a jail of the like material. The first prothonotary and clerk of the courts was Arthur St. Clair, afterwards a general in the war of the Revolution. Robert Hanna was the first presiding judge; and the first Court of Common Pleas was held in April, 1773.#
The history of the first Catholic settlement is very interest- ing, both from the fact that it is the first in the diocese and also on account of the vicissitudes through which the colonists had to pass in matters of religion. In the years 1787 and 1788 six Catholic families left the settlement of Goshenhoppen, in Berks County, and crossing the Alleghenies, established a colony in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, not far from Greensburg.§ In March, 1789, they purchased an acre and twenty perches of land in Greensburg, as the site of a church and burying-ground, for which they paid five shillings. This was the first property owned by the Church in the western part of the State. The deed is made out in the name
* The name has since been changed.
t Day's Historical Collections, pp. 680, 681.
# Ibid., p. 683.
§ St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 43 et seq.
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THE FIRST MASS.
of the following six persons, who were the original settlers : John Propst, John Young, Patrick Archbald, and the three brothers Christian, George, and Simon Ruffner .*
Before setting out from the east they had obtained a pro- mise from the priests stationed both at Goshenhoppen and Philadelphia that one of them would pay the new settlement an occasional visit, or secure the good offices of some other missionary in their behalf. In compliance with this promise Rev. John B. Causey, a missionary at Conewago, penetrated the wilds, and arrived at the settlement in June, 1789. There being as yet no church, he offered up the Holy Sacrifice in the house of John Propst, who lived a short distance west of Greensburg. This was the first Mass celebrated in a perma- nent Catholic settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains, and in the entire dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny. After re- maining but a short time, Father Causey returned to the east. Few families ventured at that early day to join the colony, but it was not entirely without accessions.
The second priest who visited the colony was Rev. Theo- dore Browers, of whom little more is known than that he was a native of Holland, a member of the Minorite Order, and that he had been on the mission for some time in the West Indies. He was also possessed of some wealth. He came to Philadelphia, but at what time is uncertain, and took up his residence with Rev. Peter Heilbron, whose name will occur farther on in these pages. Although urged to remain in Philadelphia, he determined to labor among the pioneers, and hearing of the Westmoreland colony concluded to make that his home and the centre of his missionary district. Before leaving the city he purchased a farm of 165 acres in West- moreland County, at the foot of the Chestnut ridge, a short distance east of the Catholic settlement, and known as " O'Neil's Victory," the property of one Arthur O'Neil, for which he paid 106 pounds and 17 shillings. The deed is dated August 7th, 1789, and the money was paid on the 27th of September.t He set out without delay, and after the vicis-
* The Ruffners were natives of Tyrol, in Austria ; and Simon was the great- grandfather of the writer.
t See " St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 357-60, where a diagram of the farm is traced and the deed given in full.
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SPORTSMAN'S HALL.
situdes through which the traveller of those days was necessi- tated to pass he reached the settlement, and was welcomed with a feeling of joy that can readily be imagined. Finding no house upon his arrival, he passed the winter with Simon Ruffner. It was his intention to build a house and church on his farm; but upon visiting it he found that it was not so fer- tile as he had been led to expect, and besides it was at too great a distance from the principal part of the settlement, being not less than twelve or fourteen miles east of Greensburg. There was another farm offered for sale nine miles east of Greensburg, and known as " Sportsman's Hall," which, being more central and more fertile, the settlers urged him to pur- chase. It was the property of one Joseph Hunter, and consisted of about 315 acres. He accordingly purchased it for 475 pounds, April 16th, 1790. It is the cradle of Catholicity in Western Pennsylvania, and the site of St. Vincent's Church, abbey, and college .* The name Sportsman's Hall was retained until the dedication of the church, July 19th, 1835, since which time it has been known by the familiar name of St. Vincent's. In the spring of 1790 a church was commenced at Greens- burg, although, as we shall see, it was never finished. It was the first church undertaken in Western Pennsylvania ; the second was Dr. Gallitzin's, finished at Loretto on Christmas, 1799; the third, St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek, Armstrong County, yet standing ; and the fourth, "old St. Patrick's," Pittsburg.
At the time Father Browers purchased Sportsman's Hall it could not boast so much as a log-hut to shelter its new pro- prietor ; but he employed a workman, such as the backwoods afforded, who ere long built a log-house, one and one half stories high and 17 feet square. The farm was entrusted to a man who should clear a part of the ground and till it; and there being no church, Father Browers was accustomed to ride six miles every Sunday to the home of Simon Ruffner to offer up the Holy Sacrifice under his roof. But his health had been failing for some time, and ill-suited him for a back- woods mission, although there were no other Catholics as yet
* See diagram and deed in full, "St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 360-63.
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DEATH OF REV. T. BROWERS.
save those of this one settlement. His zeal forbade him to seek repose, and he was taken suddenly ill at the altar while celebrating Mass on a Sunday in June, 1790, and was unable to finish it. As his little remaining strength gradually ebbed away and he felt that his end was approaching, he sent to Conewago for a priest who should administer to him the last rites of the Church. Father Causey responded to the sum- mons; but being unworthy of his sacred calling, his arrival was an ill-omen to the settlement. He was dissatisfied with Father Browers' will, and refused to administer the sacra- ments to him until he had altered it so as to make it harmonize with Father Causey's views. Worn out by the labors of a long and edifying career, Father Browers died October 29th, 1790, the first to close his career in the western part of the State. By his will, dated but four days prior to his death, he says : * " First, I recommend my soul to God who gave it, my Body to the Earth to be buried in a decent Christian like manner on the Place I now live Called Sportsmanns Hall, and a small neat stonewall to be built around my grave.
I Give and Bequeath all my Books clothing and Furniture and all the residue of my personal estate that shall not be otherwise disposed of, to Jams Pennane, in Trust and for the use of the Poor Roman Catholic Irish, that does or shall live at the Chappel, on Conewagga, . . . I give and be-
queath all my Real Estate viz. my place on which I now live called Sportsmanns Hall, and one other Tract of Land on Loyelhanna Creek Called O'Neals Victory, with their ap- purtenances to a Roman Catholic Priest that shall succeed me in this same place, to be Entailed to him and to his Suc: cessors in trust and so left by him who shall succeed me to his successors and so in trust and for the use herein mentioned in succession for ever, And that the said Priest for the time being shall strictly and faithfully say Four Masses Each and every year for ever viz. One for the soul of the Reverend Theodoras Browers, on the day of his death in each and every year for ever and three others the following days in each year as
* See "St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 363-5, where the document is given in full. The extracts here given conform to the original in every particular.
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WOLVES IN THE FOLD.
aforesaid at the request of the Reverend Theodoras Browers And further it is my Will that the Priest for the time being shall Transmitt the Land so left him in Trust as aforesaid to his successor clear of all incumbrance." Christian Ruffner and Henry Coons (Kuhn) were named executors. Besides the property he had $1146, a large sum in those early days, in the bank at Philadelphia.
No sooner was the good man laid to rest than Father Causey removed to Conewago the effects bequeathed to the Catholics of that settlement, and immediately set about gain- ing possession of the money in the bank. He succeeded, and with the aid of it led a life not only at variance with his sacred calling, but with all sound Christian principles, until he was finally arrested and cast into prison at York, Pa., by order of Very Rev. Jas. Pellenz, V.G. He gave bail, however, and was released, and history has forgotten to record his further aberrations.
Next came Rev. Francis Fromm, a man of unfortunately the same stamp as his predecessor. Having been ordained in Germany, his native land, in 1773, and having exercised the duties of the sacred ministry in various places, he came to America in February, 1789, with a letter of introduction from the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Mentz. Arriving soon after at Conewago, and hearing from Father Causey of the settlement and farm in Westmoreland, he set out for the spot and took possession of the farm, according to the bequest of Father Browers, as he alleged, although he was not then nor afterwards received by Bishop Carroll, nor empowered to exercise the duties of the sacred ministry in the United States. He remained, however, in spite of the remonstrances of the trustees and the Bishop, when he had heard of the usur- pation, until the trustees entered a suit against him to recover possession of the property. After a delay of several years, during which the settlement was in a deplorable condition, it was finally decided against him at Greensburg in December, 1798 .* Nothing daunted, he immediately appealed to the Supreme Court at Philadelphia, whither he went the follow-
* St. Vincenz,etc., pp. 365-376.
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TROUBLES.
ing spring. He there met Rev. P. Heilbron, who in vain urged him to submit to the Bishop. He soon after fell a victim to the yellow-fever, then raging in that city.
During Father Fromm's stay at Sportsman's Hall, the Bishop sent an Irish priest by the name of Rev. Mr. Whelan, or Phelan, to take charge of the mission. After remaining for a time and finding that nothing could be done in the un- happy state of affairs then existing, he withdrew, and was some years later at Sugar Creek-if that were indeed the same person. A priest of the same name, it will be remem- bered, was at Bedford in 1806. Bishop O'Connor was of opinion that this Father Whelan was the same as that men- tioned by Bishop Spalding as the first missionary to penetrate the wilds of Kentucky. But if the details given by the latter prelate are correct-as we must suppose they are-that opin- ion cannot be regarded as having sufficient foundation .* After Father Whelan came Rev. Mr. Lanigan, who also re- mained but a short time, when taking with him a number of the pioneers finally settled, as we have stated elsewhere, at Waynesburg, Greene County. Father Pellenz, from Cone- wago, also visited the colony once at least.
The settlement had increased but little during this time, owing to the state of affairs just described ; and many of those who had set out from the east with a view of making it their home settled, on hearing of the disturbances, at Shade Valley, Frankstown, Sinking Valley, and other places east of the mountains, on and near the route. The Westmoreland settlement was composed of Germans and Irish, the former of whom predominated. It was as yet small, and was further reduced by the departure of those whom Father Lanigan had led to Waynesburg, so that according to the statement of Rev. J. A. Stillenger-with whom the reader will presently become acquainted-there were but seventy- five communicants when Rev. Peter Heilbron arrived from Philadelphia, November 17th, 1799. It was a happy day for the people when he first appeared among them ; yet so little
* Sketches of the Life, Times, and Character of Bishop Flaget, by M. J. Spalding, D.D., Bishop of Louisville, pp. 73, 74.
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A CHURCH BUILT.
talent had he for languages that until his death he could not learn sufficient English to carry on a conversation. The most he could acquire was a few words absolutely necessary for administering the sacraments. The person left in charge of the farm by Father Fromm would not yield possession to Father Heilbron until compelled to do it by the civil courts.
As yet there was no church, and for a time he offered up the Holy Sacrifice in a room in his own log-house. But his labors were not confined to this settlement alone. Oth- ers had now begun to spring up in different parts of the country, and the whole of these, now constituting the dioceses of Pittsburg, Allegheny, and Erie, were for several years ministered to by him and Dr. Gallitzin. The principal of these were Shade Valley, Sinking Valley, Frankstown, Bed- ford, Loretto, Sportman's Hall, Jacob's Creek, Waynesburg, Brownsville, Pittsburg, Donegal, and Oil Creek. Soon after his arrival he built another log-house, 26 by 28 feet, which afforded better accommodations both to himself and the con- gregation. The happy settlement of the troubles of the colony induced other Catholics from the east to make it their home, and it began to increase rapidly. To accommodate the congregation thus augmented, an addition was made to the house, which served for a chapel for a few years. About the year 1810 a hewed-log church 26 by 40 feet was built, and was the first church, properly speaking, in the settlement. It does not appear, however, that it was dedicated to any saint. As Father Heilbron undertook to manage the farm ac- cording to his own ideas of agriculture, it afforded him but a meagre support and left him at all times in straitened cir- cumstances. Prior to this date Father O'Brien had been stationed at Pittsburg, but his feeble health rendered him unable to minister to the whole of his extensive district, and the greater part of it was left as before to Father Heilbron and Dr. Gallitzin. The opening of the State roads or turn- pikes about the same time added to their labors, as the greater part of the hands employed were Irish Catholics who longed for nothing more ardently than the consolations of religion. Father Heilbron appears to have been of a robust constitu-
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DEATH OF REV. P. HEILBRON.
tion, but about the year 1815 a tumor appeared on his neck, and having for a long time submitted himself in vain to the treatment of such physicians as the country afforded, he set out for Philadelphia to have the benefit of physicians of greater skill. It was to no purpose, however, and he resolved to return to his mission and labor among his people as long as it might please Providence to spare his life. But he was taken suddenly ill at Carlisle on his way home, and died there at the close of 1816 or the beginning of the following year. His age at the time of his death, or any other particulars of his life beyond what are contained in this brief account of his labors, are not known.
The congregation was without a pastor until the arrival of Rev. Charles B. M'Guire in the fall of 1817, although in the mean time Father O'Brien had paid it an occasional visit and had encouraged the people to put the house in a more fitting condition for the reception of their next pastor. Father M'Guire remained two years, during which time the con- gregation increased more rapidly than ever before, which `was in a great measure due to the increased facilities for travel afforded by the turnpikes. Like his predecessor, he did not confine his labors to one congregation, but visited many other settlements. Among these were Pittsburg, to which he sometimes came to relieve Father O'Brien, whose health was failing. When the latter was at length forced to retire from active missionary labor and seek repose, Father M'Guire came to Pittsburg in March, 1820, much to the dissatisfaction of the people of Westmoreland, whose property he is said to have left considerably in debt for improvements. The manner in which he had managed the farm also met with their disappro- bation, and so strong was it that they determined to have an act of the legislature passed constituting a body of lay trustees to manage the temporalities in future. Against this Father M'Guire got up a counter-petition, but the congregation gained the victory ; the act was passed and approved by the · governor, Joseph Heister, March 7th, 1821. This act is the first and, so far as I know, the only one of its kind ever passed for the management of the church property in the dioceses. It vests the two tracts of Sportsman's Hall and
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THE TRUSTEES.
O'Neil's Victory in five trustees " and their successors, who shall be duly and regularly appointed, according to the rules of the said congregation, in trust for the uses mentioned and declared in the last will and testament of Reverend Theodore Browers, deceased."* Having served for a year, during which time Rev. Terence M'Girr became pastor of the con- gregation, " At a meeting of the Trustees and Wardens or Vestrymen of the Roman Catholic Congregation in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, on the first day of May, A.D. 1822, It was unanimously adopted and admitted by and with the consent and approbation of the Rev. J. M.Girr, their clergyman, and also by the consent of the said congregation, That trustees or wardens be appointed by ballot on Monday, the twenty-seventh inst. . . That the said trustees be duly and regularly elected by ballot on the last Monday in May, henceforth and forever in every year."t So it con- tinued, although the trustees never exercise full control. The arrival of Father M'Girr dates from the beginning of Lent, 1821. As the farm was still in the hands of Father M'Guire, whose brother occupied the house, Father M'Girr lived for some months at Youngstown, a village a short distance east of it. When the house was at length vacated, he took posses- sion of it and assumed control of the farm without much re- gard for trustees or anybody else, his brother being the farmer. For some time he was accustomed to pay an occasional visit to the Armstrong and Butler county missions, which usually occupied him about six weeks. Though zealous in the dis charge of his duties, he was possessed of strange idiosyncra- sies, which made his relation with the congregation during his pastorate anything but harmonious. In 1822 he built a log-church about six miles north-east of Sportsman's Hall, which was blessed under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and is yet standing. A petition was sent to the Bishop asking to have him transferred to another mission, but it did not so much as elicit a reply. Affairs became daily more complicated, and recourse was had to the civil tribunal by the
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