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 35
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During all this time the congregation had been increasing slowly both in the town and country, until it had become large. But the good pastor had one wish of which he fondly hoped to witness the accomplishment-that of placing a religious
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DEATH OF FATHER STILLENGER.
community over the schools. With this object in view, he built a brick convent near the church in the summer of 1872, which, although not so conveniently arranged in the interior as might be desired, is yet spacious and comfortable, and pre- sents an imposing appearance in the antiquated town with its diminutive houses. Into this convent he introduced a num- ber of Sisters of Charity from Altoona in January, 1873, and gave them charge of the schools, which they still continue to teach. This was the last improvement effected by the good pastor ; but so much did he delight in it that he was fre- quently seen to shed tears of joy at the thought that now at length the children of the congregation had the amplest op- portunity of receiving a thoroughly Catholic training.
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But his course was run ; the end was at hand, and he was about to be called to his final rest. For a few months he had been observed to decline more rapidly than could have pro- ceeded from old age alone, but no apprehensions were enter- tained that his dissolution was at hand. Daily he offered up the adorable Sacrifice and administered the affairs of the con- gregation. But on the morning of September 18th, 1873, his congregation and friends were appalled with the intelligence of his sudden death. He had entered the church as usual to celebrate Mass, and at its conclusion retired to the sacristy, where he unvested, put the vestments away, and seated him- self, according to his custom, to make his thanksgiving. His housekeeper, finding that he did not return at the usual time to take his breakfast, went to the church to ascertain the cause of the delay, and there found him dead upon the chair. So life-like was his appearance that she spoke to him before she perceived that his spirit had taken its flight.
VERY REV. JAMES AMBROSE STILLENGER was born in Baltimore, April 19th, 1801. His great-grandfather had emi- grated from Cologne, Prussia, but his father was born in York County, Pa. His mother was a native of Baltimore, but of French descent. From his third year he lived with his grandfather near Chambersburg, Pa., and here in his six- teenth year he was employed in a German printing-office. A year after he went to Gettysburg, where he followed the same occupation, till at length, after much persuasion, Rev.
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NOTICE OF FATHER STILLENGER.
John Dubois, president of Mount St. Mary's College, induced him to enter that institution and pursue a course of studies. He entered in November, 1820, and remained until he was raised to the sacred dignity of the priesthood, February 28th, 1830. Having remained at the college ministering to the congregation attached to it until November, he came to Blairsville .* The rest of his laborious and edifying career has been traced in the history of this and St. Vincent's con- gregration. When Rt. Rev. M. O'Connor was promoted to . the new See of Pittsburg, Father Stillenger was named the first Vicar-General, and when the Bishop visited Rome and other parts of Europe, July 23d, 1845, he was appointed ad- ministrator of the diocese. He continued to fill the position of Vicar-General for about four years, until it became advisa- ble for that dignitary to reside in the episcopal city, when another was appointed ; for as Father Stillenger frequently re- marked, "he should regret nothing more than to be obliged through sickness or any other cause to be separated from his beloved congregation of Blairsville."
The closing scenes of his life have already been laid be- fore the reader. It is worthy of remark. however, that he had always expressed a wish to die on a Friday after having offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In itself this might be regarded merely as the expression of a pious de- sire, but when it pleased our Lord to grant it, we begin to understand how deeply it must have been fixed in his mind and how earnestly sought in prayer. Did the good old man have a presentiment, as he walked with faltering steps from his house to the church, that he was making that passage for the last time? Did he feel, as he passed under the loaded vines which years before his hand had planted, that never after that morning would Heaven, obedient to his word, change the fruit of those vines into the most precious Blood of Christ? And when arrayed in the sacred vestments, was it revealed to him that what he had long sought by prayer was to-day to be granted? Were those eyes bathed in tears of grateful devotion when, administering to himself his own
* Compiled from MS. left by him at his death.
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NOTICE OF FATHER STILLENGER.
Viaticum, he said: "May the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ preserve my soul unto life everlasting"? We know not. All we know with certainty is that his soul took its flight on a Friday after he had celebrated Mass.
His remains repose a short distance to the rear of the church, the spot where the old church had stood and the one selected by himself. Over it has since been erected a very tasteful monument.
Father Stillenger was, as it were, the connecting link be- tween the past and the present. His recollection extended far back into the days of Dr. Gallitzin and his contemporaries. With them he had labored, from them received much of the historical reminiscences which made a conversation with him more than equal to the perusal of a history of the Church and of civilization in the western part of the State. He rendered invaluable assistance to Miss Brownson in the preparation of her " Life of Dr. Gallitzin," on which subject his interest amounted almost to enthusiasm. Besides the incidents with which his mind was well stored, he had in his possession valuable manuscripts relating to the early settlement of Lo- retto. The early history of Catholicity was a favorite topic with him, and he possessed an admirable faculty of interesting his hearers. He never wished for a large company, but spoke more freely in the presence of a few. He would entertain the little circle for hours, interspersing the more serious nar- rative with amusing incidents, " which," as he remarked, "God was pleased to scatter on our path to recreate and cheer us on; for we needed something." " At first," he would say with a smile, " my parish embraced five counties."
Father Stillenger was a little above the medium height, erect, but with the head falling gently forward, of a powerful frame, and weighing at one time only a little less than three hundred pounds. His countenance was of the German mould, although his accent betrayed nothing of his Teutonic extrac- tion. His voice was soft and low, apparently devoid of the metallic ring and fulness that distinguish the orator, yet pos- sessing that gentle fervor which no one finds it in his heart to resist. His eye was playful and sparkled even in his old age with a fire that might be called mischievous, but which indi-
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ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, SALTZBURG.
cated the possession of that inestimable faculty which attracts the young and fills them with confidence while it inspires them with respect.
Upon the death of Father Stillenger, Rev. Ed. M.Keever, the present pastor, was appointed to the vacant post. In the year 1875 he made some necessary repairs both of the interior and exterior of the church, had the windows filled with stained glass, and the church handsomely. frescoed. At the same time he enlarged the school-house by adding a story to the old building, which was but one story high, and erecting a transverse building to the rear of it. Three rooms and a library were thus provided on the first floor, while the second is a hall for meetings, exhibitions, etc.
The congregation is composed principally of farmers, with a number of small traders, laborers, and miners, and will ag- gregate about one hundred and seventy-five families. It can- not be said to be increasing, and whatever augmentation there may be in the future will be extremely slow.
ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, SALTZBURG.
Saltzburg is situated on the north bank of the Kiskiminitis -or Kiskiminetas-River at the point where the Conemaugh and Loyalhanna unite, and from which to its confluence with the Allegheny River, nineteen miles below at Freeport, the stream takes the above name. The village owes its name to the discovery of veins of salt water, which are quite abundant along the river, and which appear to have been first dis- covered by a William Johnston about the year 1813 .* The town owes the little importance it has to the construction and traffic of the canal, and afterwards to that of the West Penn- sylvania Railroad, which, following the line of the canal, also passes through it. The most noted feature of the place is the number of preachers who make it the rendezvous from which they attend their little flocks in the surrounding country. The village had a population of 659 in 1870.
A few miles above is a tunnel on the canal 1000 feet long,
* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 375, 379.
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A NOVEL TEMPLE.
and an aqueduct over the river near it. This was the scene of the first Mass offered in this part of the county. About the year 1828, when a large number of Catholic laborers were employed at this point, Dr. Gallitzin visited them and offered up the Holy Sacrifice in the tunnel. Standing under the arch, on the bed of the canal, with hundreds of feet of rock over his head, and using the towpath for an altar, he offered up the Adorable Victim in perhaps the most unique temple on earth. I have the account from a man who was present. About this time a small number of Catholic farmers, principally Germans, settled in the neighborhood ; but it was not until 1847 that a church was built for their accommodation. It is probable, however, that they were occasionally visited by Father Stillenger before that time. One of the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's then collected and organized the little flock, and built a brick church 40 by 35 feet on a lot of ground donated for that purpose by a Mr. Rombach. It was dedicated by Bishop O'Connor September 21st, 1847, under the invocation of St. Matthew. The congregation then num- bered, according to the Notes of the Bishop, 50 souls. The church has always been under the care of the Benedictine fathers, who visit it on one or two Sundays in the month.
Although originally German, the congregation can now with propriety be called American. Its prospects in the future are not flattering, and may be judged from its past history .* It numbers at present 145 souls.
* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
THE DONEGAL SETTLEMENT, ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
Character and nationality of the colonists-Crossing the ocean-Coming west- Settlement - The first visit of a priest - Armstrong 'County-St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek-A resident priest-The farm and church-Death and sketch of Rev. P. O'Neil-and of Rev. P. Rafferty-and of Rev. Jos. Cody- and of Rev. P. M. Doyle-Church of St. Mary of the Nativity, Freeport-St. Joseph's Church, Natrona, Allegheny County-St. Patrick's Church, Brady's Bend-St. Mary's German Church-Kittanning-St. Mary's Church-Holy Guardian Angels' Church, Easly's Settlement-Parker City, an oil-country town-Church of the Immaculate Conception.
THE DONEGAL SETTLEMENT.
THIS settlement, as I stated in a previous chapter, is partly in Armstrong and partly in Butter County. Unlike the other original colonies, it was composed exclusively of one nation- ality ; and not only so, but from one locality-the county Donegal, Ireland. It possessed, besides, the advantage of a bard by whom the account of the embarkation, voyage, and landing was commemorated in a song that may still be heard in many a Butler County home. I have frequently listened to it in childhood. It is not, it is true, after Tom Moore's best style; but truth is not dependent upon graceful and classic diction. The bard, as he informs us in the first stanza of his song, was Jerry Monaghan, who "spent many a frolick- some day on the banks of Lough Erne," in the south-eastern part of county Donegal. The embarkation is thus narrated :
" On the fourth of June, in the afternoon, We sailed from Londonderry; Early next day we put to sea To cross the tedious ferry ; We hoisted sail with a pleasant gale As Phœbus was arising, Bound for New York, in America, In the grand brig Eliza."
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THE DONEGAL COLONY.
The only incident worthy of note that occurred during the voyage furnished material for the following stanza. Knight was the captain of the brig Eliza :
" A British fleet we chanced to meet On the twenty-fourth of August ; A man-of-war came bearing down With crowded sails upon us. Brave Knight, being true to all his crew, Advanced unto the captain, And when he made a bow to him, Showed America's protection."
But instead of landing at New York the brig entered Delaware Bay, and proceeded to New Castle, " next port to Philadelphia," where the emigrants disembarked, being " both blithe and hearty"-an event which the bard, faithful to his trust, has handed down to posterity in these lines :
" September ninth we took our leave Of captain, mate, and sailors, Likewise of the Eliza brave, For no less can we name her ; We gave three cheers for old Ireland, It being our former quarter, And then, like wandering sheep, we strayed, And parted from each other."
This was in the year 1792. But the bard did not accom- pany that part of the colony which came to the west. He preferred to remain in New Jersey, where he died many years after .* But his mantle fell, as will be seen hereafter, upon the shoulders of a worthy successor.
It was not the intention of the entire colony to make their home in the West; but such as were resolved upon doing so came without much delay, by Braddock's route,
* At the conclusion of a lecture on the Introduction of Catholicity into West- ern Pennsylvania, which I delivered in Pittsburg in the spring of 1878, and in which I had occasion to refer to the song given in the text, as I was leaving the hall an elderly lady stopped me to inform me that Jerry Monaghan, then an old man, had been a frequent visitor at her father's house in New Jersey when she was a little girl. Thereupon she began to repeat the song.
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COMING WEST.
to Indian Creek in Fayette County. But the presence of hostile Indians deterred them from going further, and they settled there to bide their time. By the terms of the treaty signed at Fort M'Intosh-on the site of the present town of Beaver-January 21st, 1785, the Indians relinquished their claim to the soil of Pennsylvania. But notwithstanding this they continued to commit depredations on the pioneers, until, in the battle of Maumee, Ohio, fought in August, 1794, General Wayne broke their power forever. They were then only too glad to come to terms with a man whom they had learned from experience to recognize in fact as well as in name as " Mad Anthony Wayne." The news of their defeat coming to the ears of the colony at Indian Creek, they set out to take pos- session of the territory which they had long had in their mind's eye. A few families remained two years longer; but the greater part, leaving Braddock's route, came by the settlement at Sportsman's Hall, and crossed the Allegheny River at the spot where Freeport now stands. Passing up Buffalo Creek, which empties into the river at that point, they soon reached the end of their journey in 1796, and settled down in the wilderness. The settlement extended north-west eight or ten miles from the spot where Sugar Creek church now stands. But as new accessions were constantly arriving, it gradually spread in every direction except to the east. These pioneers were very primitive in their manners, as countless anecdotes related of them incontestably prove. They delighted in polemics, and if the priest found it neces- sary to refute some arguments of a minister of the sects, he need not be surprised to hear some elderly member of his flock enthusiastically exclaim, " Well said, your reverence," or "Let him have it ; he deserves it, your reverence," or some such token of approval. If he denounced intemperance or some other disorder in his flock, a patriarchal figure might be seen rising to point a significant finger at some one, with, " That's for you; you were drunk last week. Listen to what his reverence is saying ;" or more briefly, "Take that, - -; that's for you." Others contented themselves with a nod of approval or a glance at the offender. Another stal- wart man would report to the priest at his periodical visits
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A PRIEST VISITS THE COLONY.
how many persons he had beaten for mocking at the doctrines and practices of the Church.
But the colony was possessed of a bard, as has been said, who had the happy faculty of celebrating every memorable event in verse. If the schoolmaster vanquished some un- fledged preacher-for the schoolmasters of that day were like those of whom Goldsmith has written-it was soon heard sung on every side. If the neighbors met at a " frolic" or " raising," and some, after having indulged too freely in ardent spirits, broke the peace and perhaps some one's head along with it, a song commemorating the event immediately sprung from the bard's fertile brain. But with simplicity of manners they had a purity of morals and firmness of faith which are the glory of the Irish people in whatever part of the world they are found ; and an insult offered to religion by a sectarian, or a scandal brought upon it by one of their own communion, was the only unpardonable sin in their decalogue.
Turning to the facilities which these early settlers pos- sessed of hearing Mass and receiving the sacraments and consolations of religion, we can readily understand how very limited they must necessarily have been. The first priest to cross the Allegheny River and visit the settlement was Father Lanigan, in 1801. But he paid it only one visit. The next visit was that of Rev. P. Heilbron, which is thus noted by Father Stillenger : " In 1803 Father Heilbron made his first visit beyond the Allegheny River. At Slippery Rock he baptized thirteen in one day, and at Buffalo Creek thirty- eight." It may be remarked that what is now called the Sugar Creek church was long known as " the Buffalo Creek mission ;" and in fact it is much nearer to the latter than it is to the former stream. With the next visit a new era dawned for the settlement; the germ of separate congregations began to spring up, and the Church commenced to show the first elements of organization.
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A RESIDENT PRIEST.
ARMSTRONG COUNTY.
Armstrong County derived its name from Gen. John Arm- strong, who commanded the expedition against the Indians at Kittanning in the summer of 1756. It was formed by an act of Assembly of March 12th, 1800, and it contains at present- for Clarion County was taken from it-an area of 639 square miles. A large portion of the population is of German descent, having emigrated from the eastern part of the State.
Nearly all the Catholics of this county reside west of the Allegheny River, and are very generally distributed over it, with the exception of that portion lying immediately north- west of Kittanning, in which there are none. On the eastern side of the river there are none of any account, except in the vicinity of Kittanning and a few German families in the northern part of the county.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, SUGAR CREEK.
This congregation, which is the parent of all those west of the Allegheny River, dates, as we have seen, from the close of the last century, and its history will for that reason be un- usually interesting. The church stands about twelve miles north-west of Kittanning, in a country place, and is about half a mile east of the Butler County line.
In the year 1805, or according to another tradition 1806, or as a third will have it 1807, although the first is supported by the strongest arguments, Rev. Laurence Sylvester Phelan (sometimes also called Whelen or Whalen) took up his resi- dence at what became the site of the church. He had been for a short time at Sportsman's Hall, as was remarked in the history of that congregation ; but owing to the unfortunate disturbances arising out of the irregularities of the misguided Father Fromm, he could not enjoy the tranquillity necessary for laboring successfully in the cause of religion, and accord- ingly withdrew. A number of the Catholic settlers followed him. Soon after his arrival at Sugar Creek the heads of
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THE FIRST PRIEST.
families, overjoyed at the thought of having a priest among them, met to consider the best means of securing him a home and a church. Land was to be had in abundance and at a very moderate price at that time, as will appear from the fact that a man sold his settler's right to two hundred acres of ground for a set of old-fashioned plough-irons, that could have been bought at most for five dollars. Another man ex- changed his right to four hundred acres for a silk dress for his wife. But money was as scarce as land was plenty, and five dollars was a small fortune. Still the people recognized the truth of the adage that " there is strength in unity," and it was resolved to make an appeal to every one. The district, at least fifteen miles square, was quartered out to four col- lectors, whose duty it should be to solicit donations. Casper W. Easly took the southern district, near Slate Lick; Jas. Sheridan the south-western, or Clearfield Township; Neil Sweeny, Butler and its surroundings; and Connell Rodgers the north and north-western, or Donegal Township. Soon money sufficient to buy a farm and commence the building of a house and church was collected, the highest subscription being, as we are told, two dollars. The present farm, con- sisting of almost two hundred acres, was bought and a little log-cabin was built for the priest. The church was then un- dertaken in the following novel way: Each of the four men above named was required to come on a certain day, and to bring with him as many men as would be required to fell trees and hew logs enough for one side or end of the pro- posed building. The more important work of making the shingles for the roofs and procuring and driving the nails was entrusted to Patrick M'Elroy. The building was ready for the roof in the fall of 1805 or '6, or '7, according to the dates given above for the arrival of Father Phelan, for this was in the autumn after his coming ; but owing to the diffi- culty experienced in procuring the nails, it was not roofed until the following spring. It was then placed under the invocation of the Apostle of Ireland. The building, which is yet standing, is of hewn logs and is about 22 by 35 feet, with a gallery, and the altar standing against the end wall. There are three little square windows in each side, and one in each end of the gallery.
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CHANGE OF PASTORS.
The interior is without ceiling, open to the roof, and without pews. A little porch was afterwards built in front. It is the oldest church now standing in the two dioceses and in the entire western part of the State. Hither came people from ten miles around, and frequently from a greater distance; and the father of the writer often crossed the river from his home below Kittanning, in years gone by, and walked fasting to the church of a Sunday morning, a distance of not less than twelve miles, and many others did the same. The devotion and piety of the people was truly edifying, and showed how much they appreciated the ministrations of religion. The stations of the cross, which I have frequently seen, consisted of so many crosses marked on the walls with a piece of charred wood taken from the fire. Before these the good people would commemorate the Passion of our Redeemer in a manner that showed how deeply the sense of their indebt- edness was engraven on their minds. Each one as he reached the church on a Good Friday would remove the shoes from his feet, and, leaving them in the little vestibule, enter the church and perform the stations barefoot.
But so numerous were the stations which the priest was obliged to visit, and so far distant from each other and from the church, that Mass was not offered up in it more frequently than once in a month or once in two months; for at that time, and for many years after it, there was but one priest in the entire district west of the Allegheny River from Erie to Beaver. After remaining with the congregation until 1810, Father Phelan withdrew, and his name is no longer met with in the history of this part of the country. The congregation was then visited at distant intervals until 1820 by Fathers O'Brien and M'Guire, from Pittsburg, and by Father M'Girr, from Sportsman's Hall. The following year Rev. Charles Ferry took up his residence at the church, and visited and ministered to the surrounding district, which included a scope of perhaps thirty miles square and was estimated to contain at that time about one hundred and forty families. A few scat- tered families resided at a still greater distance. Father Ferry remained until 1826, when he was succeeded by Rev. Patrick O'Neil, who resided at Freeport and built the first church
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