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 36
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DEATH OF REV. P. O'NEIL.
there, as will be stated further on. In 1831 he published a pamphlet of 50 pages, entitled "A Sermon on the Mystery of the Real Presence, Preached in the Court House in the Borough of Butler, by Rev. P. O'Neil, Roman Catholic Mis- sionary in Armstrong, Butler, and the Adjacent Counties, etc. With an Analysis of a Sermon said to be Preached against Transubstantiation in the Associate Reformed Church, in the Borough of Butler, by the Rev. Isaac Niblock, A.M." The sermon is a lucid and powerful exposition of the Catholic doctrine of this adorable mystery ; the Analysis is an over- whelming refutation of the sophisms, misrepresentations, and calumnies of a man whose conscience was as callous as his language was illogical and ungentlemanly. So caustic were some parts of the Analysis that, at the request of Bishop Kenrick, the author suppressed more than one fourth of the original manuscript. Father O'Neil withdrew from the con- gregation very early in the year 1834, and for many years after served on the mission in the west. He paid a visit to the field of his early labors in the summer of 1878, and was for a little time the guest of the writer, to whom he communicated valuable information regarding this portion of our history. He had made an arrangement with an eastern publishing house for the issuing of a new edition of his pamphlet, and the writer furnished him with the only complete copy of the work that is known to be extant. On returning to the west Father O'Neil went to the Mercy Hospital in Chicago, in which he had for some time been chaplain. He continued to exercise the duties of that office until, worn out with toil and full of days, he expired there on the 15th of June, 1879, in the 84th year of his age and the 58th of his ministry.
REV. PATRICK O'NEIL was born in the northern part of Ireland, most probably in the county Armagh, in 1797. Having pursued his studies for a time in his native land, he was sent to the foreign-mission college of the Society of Picpus, at Paris, by Very Rev. Henry Conwell, then Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Armagh, in 1817. Upon the appointment of Dr. Conwell Bishop of Philadelphia, in 1820, Mr. O'Neil offered his services to him, which were accepted, and he was ordained at Paris in 1821, and soon after set out for the New
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AN EPISCOPAL VISITATION.
World. He came to Western Pennsylvania, as we have seen, in 1826. His subsequent career has already been briefly re- ferred to.
Upon Father O'Neil's retiring, the mission was for a few months without a pastor, as will appear from the following account of an episcopal visitation, which, from the picture it affords of those early days, is given entire, so far as relates to this church :
"The church of St. Patrick, Buffalo Creek, Armstrong County, was next visited. This congregation is also destitute of a pastor. The church is of unwrought wood, and might vie with the apostolic times for unadorned plainness and simplicity. During five days, from Thursday until the fol- lowing Tuesday (May 15th-20th, 1834), from 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning until 6 or 7 in the evening, the confessional was crowded with penitents. Many of them had come great distances and remained fasting until a late hour in the day. Among those was an old lady who, although in her eightieth year, had walked a mile and a half to be present at the Holy Sacrifice and eat of that Flesh 'which was given for the life of the world.' About 300 received communion, and confirma- tion was given to 90 persons, some of whom had travelled 50 miles to receive this gift of the Holy Ghost. The scenes exhibited during these five days were similar to those which excited the Saviour's compassion over the neglected people, who were as sheep wandering without a shepherd, and neces- sarily brought to mind his command to the Apostles, 'to pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers into the harvest.'"*
Some time in the summer of the same year, 1834, Rev. Patrick Rafferty was placed in charge of the mission, and, like his predecessor, resided at Freeport. Little of interest marked the passage of time beyond the gradual settlement of the country and increase of the Catholic population. St. Patrick's was visited, as heretofore, on one Sunday in the month. After remaining for about two years Father Rafferty withdrew to the eastern part of the diocese, in 1836, and was
* Philadelphia Catholic Herald.
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DEATH OF REV. P. RAFFERTY.
for many years pastor of St. Francis' Church, Fairmount, Philadelphia, in which position he died after a short illness, March 16th, 1863, at a very advanced age. He had labored on the mission in different parts of Western Pennsylvania from about the year 1828. During that time he wrote a number of small works, among others " A Short History of the Protes- tant Reformation ; chiefly Selected from Protestant Authors," Pittsburg, 1831, which is a well-written work, and presents the subject as fairly as could be expected in a 16mo work of 240 pages. Another, " The Sling of David," etc., printed in 1832, is a spirited controversial work square 16mo, 128 pages, in answer to a challenge of a Rev. W. C. Brownlee, of " the Middle Dutch Reformed Church of the City of New- York," published in the Truth-Teller, February 2d-the year is uncertain, as the copy I have has lost the title-page-couched in the following terms: "I beg leave here, publicly and for- mally, to challenge Bishop Dubois, Dr. Power, or Dr. Varella, or Dr. Levins, to enter the list in a series of letters, and I shall attack or defend as duty may call me; the controversy to begin as soon as convenient. I offer to take them indi- vidually or as a body ; hoping that this challenge may be ac- cepted in the same prompt and frank manner in which it is given, and feeling anxious to hear from you or the reverend priests as soon as convenient." " My argument," as Father Rafferty informs the reader in his preface, " is this : either we are to be guided by the Catholic Church that has already lasted eighteen hundred years, or by Dr. Brownlee, a preacher without any mission, ordinary or extraordinary, and without ordination." And he proceeds to develop his argument from the Scripture, the Fathers, and reason in a most con- vincing though somewhat verbose manner. He also pub- lished a work of explanation of the Christian doctrine, and perhaps one or two others.
The life of FATHER RAFFERTY was very eventful. In 1798 he was an active agent of the rebellion in his native land, and for a time acted as a messenger between Emmet and Fitzgerald. He afterwards completed his studies and came to this country, was ordained-at what time is uncer- tain-and spent the remainder of his life on the Pennsylvania
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NEW CONGREGATIONS.
mission. He was a man of great learning and singular pru- dence, as will appear from the fact that he was counsellor to the Papal Nuncio in the discussion of the Bonaparte-Paterson marriage case at Trenton, N. J .*
After the transfer of Father Rafferty, St. Patrick's was without a pastor until the summer of 1837, but it was visited at distant intervals by a priest from Pittsburg. In August of that year Rev. Joseph Cody was appointed pastor, and took up his residence at the church. From this time forward Mass was celebrated on two Sundays in the month, the third being given to Freeport and the fourth to Butler. But the congregation was becoming too large for the church. A new one was accordingly undertaken in 1840, and, although not entirely finished, was dedicated by Very Rev. M. O'Con- nor, V.G., July 29th, 1842. This church was brick, and was about 80 feet in length by 45 in width, without a tower, with a gallery and one altar. The interior was simple in style and finish, and the altar stood against the end wall, having a semi- circular railing. The sacristy was a separate building against the rear of the church. In 1844 the sphere of Father Cody's labors was narrowed by the appointment of Rev. M. J. Mitchell to Butler, with the additional care of Murrinsville and Mercer (the latter now in the Diocese of Erie). Soon, however, Brady's Bend required an occasional visit from him, and a little later a church was built at Donegal, or North Oakland as it is now called.
In 1847 the field of his labors was still further narrowed by the appointment of Father Mitchell pastor of Freeport and Brady's Bend. From that time Mass was celebrated at St. Patrick's on three Sundays in the month, the other being given to Donegal. The congregation was as large at this time, perhaps, as it was at any time in its history. In the summer of 1854 the dilapidated old log residence was replaced by a brick one, in the building of which the writer of these pages labored. After about the year 1861 Father Cody's sole attention was confined to the parent church, a circumstance rendered necessary by his age and declining health. At
* Philadelphia Catholic Herald.
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DEATH OF REV. JOSEPH CODY.
length, after having borne the heat and burden of the day for almost thirty years, and having been occasionally assisted by the neighboring priests during the last two or three years, he felt no longer able to minister to his congregation, and Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon was transferred from Kittanning to St. Pat- rick's at the end of the year 1865. Soon after Father Cody retired to the Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg, where he was affec- tionately cared for by the Sisters and by his nephew, Very Rev. J. Hickey, V.G., and where he calmly rested from his labors in the sleep of death, August 7th, 1871, in the 70th year of his age.
REV. JOSEPH CODY was a native of county Tipperary, Ireland. Having pursued his studies for some time in his native land, he came to this country and entered the seminary at Philadelphia. He was ordained to the sacred ministry on the feast of Corpus Christi, May 25th, 1837, and immediately came to Pittsburg. From August of the same year, as has been said, he had charge of the Armstrong and Butler coun- ty mission ; and at the time of his death there were at least ten congregations in the field which he alone had for many years cultivated. His funeral took place from St. Patrick's, and his remains repose in front of the church, the spot which he had selected, reminding those who enter of the debt of gratitude they owe him.
Father Scanlon immediately set about the improvement of the interior of the church. Plans were procured, but before he could carry them into execution he was transferred to another congregation and was succeeded by Rev. James P. Tahany in October, 1866. He collected means and made the improvements contemplated by his predecessor. Side sacris- ties were erected, thus making a recess for the main altar; side-altars and a new high altar were provided, the interior was frescoed, the windows filled with stained glass, and alto- gether the church assumed the appearance of a new building, and one of the most beautiful in the diocese.
Father Tahany was succeeded November, 1871, by Rev. S. P. Herman. But soon after his appointment the congrega- tion sustained a heavy loss in the total destruction of the church by fire on the night of January Ist, 1872, leaving a
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DEATH OF REV. P. M. DOYLE.
small debt and no insurance. The burning of the church was the work of an incendiary-an act of revenge. The congre- gation now retired to the old church, which from the erection of the other had been unoccupied, or had served the purpose of a school for one or two summers, a granary, etc. Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald now became pastor of the congregation. But it had fallen somewhat from its former numerical strength and prosperity. He fitted up the old church as well as he could, and occupied it while he remained. Having ministered to the congregation for about a year, he was transferred to Som- erset County, and was succeeded by Rev. P. M. Doyle. Dur- ing this time the people continued to occupy the old church, not thinking themselves equal to the task of erecting a new one, and the more so as many of the young men had with- drawn to the oil country, thus weakening the congregation. But the health of Father Doyle, which had been seriously im- paired within the past few years, became so feeble that he was no longer able to continue in charge of the congregation, and he retired to a hospital in Washington City in the fall of 1875, where he remained for a time. With his health some- what improved he set out for the home of one of his brothers residing in Illinois, with a view of further recruiting before resuming his sacred functions. But while on his way he was suddenly taken sick at the town of Vandalia, Ill., and died al- most immediately after, July 21st, 1876, in the 47th year of his age and the 22d of his ministry.
REV. PETER M. DOYLE was born in the State of Vermont, but his father moved to Armstrong County in this State dur- ing the childhood of his son. He entered St. Michael's Semi- nary at a proper age and pursued his studies to their com- pletion, when he was raised to the sacred dignity of the priest- hood. He served on the mission at Huntingdon till the year 1861, when he came to Clearfield, Butler County, where he remained until transferred to St. Patrick's, seven years later. His remains were brought to Freeport, the home of his father, where they were laid to rest.
Father Doyle was succeeded by Rev. Patrick Quilter, the present pastor. His first care was to replace the church that had been destroyed by fire, and so successful was he that the
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FREEPORT.
foundation was ready for the laying of the corner-stone in the summer of 1876. The ceremony was performed by the Bishop on the 5th of August. The church was finished the following summer, and was dedicated by Very Rev. R. Phelan, Administrator of Allegheny, July 3d. Like the for- mer, it is brick, and is modelled after the Gothic style of ar- chitecture. It is 90 feet in length by 45 in width, and has a steeple in the centre in front. Unlike the old, however, it has a basement, one half of which is beneath the surface. The interior is furnished with three altars, and is finished in a chaste and beautiful manner.
The discovery of oil in the vicinity improved the condition of the congregation for a time. But the congregation is not large, perhaps not so large as it was twenty years ago, and will not number more than one hundred families. A portion was cut off in the formation of the new parish at Millerstown, a church which is under the jurisdiction of the pastor of St. Patrick's. Although efforts were made at different times to open a Catholic school, they have never been crowned with permanent success, nor is it at all probable that a school will be permanently established in the future, owing to the dis tance at which many of the people live from the church. The farm is still attached to the church, and is cultivated or leased under the direction of the pastor. No marked change is likely to take place in the parish for many years to come.
CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE NATIVITY, FREEPORT.
Freeport is situated on the west bank of the Allegheny River, twenty-eight miles above Pittsburg and in the extreme southern corner of Armstrong County. It was laid out by David Todd about the year 1800, although a few settlers had occupied the ground previous to that time. But it owes what- ever of importance it has to the Pennsylvania Canal, which, following the Kiskiminetas River to its mouth a mile above the town, crossed the Allegheny and passed through it. In 1870 the population was 1640, a fraction less than it had been ten years before. Here it was that the famous Donegal colony crossed the river in 1796, and, while the greater part contin-
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ued their journey, a few stragglers settled in the country along Buffalo Creek, which empties into the river immedi- ately below the town. It is not known whether Father Lani- gan, in his visit to Donegal in 1801, or Father Heilbron, in his of two years later, came to Freeport. It is probable, however, that they did, for the missionaries of those days usually visited all the localities in which they knew that even three or four families resided. Certain it is that Mass was cele- brated in different places in the southern part of the county by the pastor of Sugar Creek, from the arrival of Rev. Charles Ferry, in 1821. The Holy Sacrifice was not offered up in the town before the year 1826. At that time Rev. Terence M'Girr celebrated Mass in the lower part of the town, in the house of a Catholic family by the name of Boland, which fur- nishes an illustration of the trials of those days. No sooner had the priest arrived than messengers were sent to all the Catholics of the surrounding country. The house in which Mass was to be offered up was in course of erection and was unfinished. A number of men laid a temporary floor and threw some boards over the joists of the second story, under which the altar was to stand, while the priest heard confes- sion under a tree at a short distance. When all were heard, Mass was commenced-but not till then, for many had come fasting, perhaps eight or ten miles, and could ill afford to re- turn disappointed.
Rev. Patrick O'Neil, who arrived in 1826, was the first resi- dent pastor. The next year the building of the canal was begun, and, the number of Catholics increasing, he deter- mined to build a church. He collected means from the farm. ers and laborers, and purchased a lot from Con. Rogers for $200. The contract for the church was let to a Protestant builder in 1827, who agreed to erect it for $600. While en- gaged on the work he was frequently reminded that he was using brick of an inferior quality, but his invariable reply was, "They are good enough for the Catholics." But when the work was finished they refused to pay him, and upon arbi- trators being appointed by mutual consent, the work was condemned, and he was required to remove the building and leave the lot as he had found it. Father O'Neil left him the
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CHANGE OF PASTORS.
alternative of taking $200 for the building such as it was, a proposition which he reluctantly accepted; and this was the actual cost of the church. But it was soon necessary to put iron rods through it at the spring of the roof to keep it from falling apart. After the completion of the church Mass was usually celebrated on one Sunday in the month by the pastor of St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek, until 1847. It is not known at what precise time the church was finished, but it was not dedicated until the visit of Bishop Kenrick-which was the first visit of a Bishop-September 8th, 1831, when he dedi- cated it under the invocation of St. Mary of the Nativity. The church was plain and simple in style and finish, was 34 feet in length by 28 in width, and had a gallery. Pews were not put into it until a few years later. It was in this church that the writer was baptized. Bishop Kenrick again visited Freeport May 11th, 1834, between the date of the departure of Father O'Neil and that of the arrival of Rev. Patrick Rafferty. From a report of this event in the Catholic Herald the following is taken : " As there has been no pastor here for some months, the visitation occupied three days, during which time more than one hundred persons approached the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, and fourteen were confirmed. The lively faith and tender piety of this congre- gation is calculated to give partial consolation for their spir- itual destitution." Soon after that time Father Rafferty took charge of the mission which embraced Freeport, and, like his predecessor, resided in that town. The congregation gradu- ally increased with the growth of the town and the settle- ment of the surrounding country. After about three years- August, 1837-Father Rafferty gave place to Rev. Joseph Cody, who took up his residence at St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek.
At length we reach the year 1847. In the early part of this summer Freeport and Brady's Bend were detached from the parent church and formed into a separate mission in charge of Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who lived part of the time in each place, and gave Mass to each every alternate Sunday. In the latter part of the same summer Bishop O'Connor paid his first visit to St. Mary's, and states in his Notes that the congregation then numbered four hundred souls.
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A NEW CHURCH BUILT.
Soon after his arrival Father Mitchell undertook the erec- tion of a new church to replace the old one that was now be- coming too small. Lots were purchased beside it, and work was commenced without the ceremony of a corner-stone laying, a circumstance not unusual in those early days. About the time of the completion of the new edifice, Father Mitchell was succeeded by Rev. John Larkin. The dedica- tion ceremony was performed by the Bishop December 28th, 1851. The church is brick, is 85 feet in length by 45 feet in width, and has a steeple in the centre in front. The interior is furnished with two altars, one of which was erected some years later. The building is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, and is superior to almost all the churches erected at that time.
The congregation was considerably increased at this time by the building of the Soda Works (now called Natrona), five miles below; and a few years later it was still further aug- mented by the building of two or three cannel-coal oil-works on the opposite side of the river from the town. But the farming portion has undergone little change for many years. From the completion of the church until 1858 the changes of pastors were frequent. But in that year Rev. R. Phelan was appointed, and remained ten years. He improved the in- terior of the church, purchased a few acres of ground for a cemetery, and also bought a pastoral residence. It was dur- ing this time that the congregation was at the zenith of its prosperity and numerical strength. But upon the promotion of Very Rev. T. Mullen, of St. Peter's Church, Allegheny, to the See of Erie (July, 1868), Father Phelan was appointed his successor, and Rev. J. Hackett filled the vacancy at Freeport. Prior to this the congregation had declined considerably, owing to the suspension of the oil-works. During Father Hackett's pastorate a church was built at Natrona for the Catholics of that place, as we shall presently see. On No- vember 10th, 1869, he gave place to Rev. Jas. Holland. A school was now opened in a rented room. Unsuccessful at- tempts had been made to found one many years before, but this one promised to be more permanent. The pastor added considerably to the embellishment of the church both in the
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NATRONA.
interior and exterior, and left it upon his transfer to Pitts- burg, January 16th, 1873, one of the most beautiful of the diocese. He was succeeded by the writer, who remained but six months, during which he took measures towards the erection of a school-house. Rev. W. A. Nolan now filled the vacancy, and while pastor built a substantial brick school- house, two stories high and about 25 by 50 feet, on the lot beside the church. To it he transferred the school a year after his arrival. But the depression of the times consequent on the panic of 1873 soon rendered it necessary to discontinue it, and it has not since been resumed. Father Nolan was suc- ceeded June Ist, 1876, by Rev. G. S. Grace, and he at the end of August by Rev. Fred. Eberth and C. M.Dermot; for the difficulty of going from Natrona to Freeport on the days on which Mass was celebrated in both places-the Western Pennsylvania Railroad refusing the use of the hand-car from that time-rendered it no longer possible for one priest to minister to both congregations. Since that time there have been two priests, but it is probable that ere long Natrona will be an independent congregation with a resident pastor. Father Eberth was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Canivan, Septem- ber, 1877, and he by the present pastor, Rev. P. M. Garvey, at the end of April, 1879. The congregation of St. Mary's has, if anything, been declining in numbers and importance in the last few years, and will not at present exceed eighty families. The future prospects are not encouraging for its growth and prosperity, although it is probable that it will maintain its present position.
Mass is occasionally celebrated at Leechburg, five miles up the Kiskiminetas River, for a few families residing there.
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NATRONA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY.
The number of Catholics in the north-eastern part of Alle- gheny County is small. After leaving Sharpsburg few are to be met except a small number of farmers who hear Mass in that town, a dozen families at Hoboken, five miles further up the river, and the congregation we are now about to notice.
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ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH.
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