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 38
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Father Tahany was succeeded in December, 1875, by Rev. Jas. Donnelly. The difficulty of attending the church at Parker and that at Petrolia, which has always been attached to it, rendered it necessary to appoint an assistant to the pas- tor, and two priests attended the churches until August, 1879. Father Donnelly gave place in October, 1877, to Rev. P. M. Garvey, and he in August, 1879, to the present pastor, Rev. F. X. M'Carthy. The congregation is now in a prosperous condition and will number perhaps a hundred families, and although oil towns have no stability as a rule, it is probable this will to some extent form an exception at least for a few years. But no considerable growth of the congregation is to be expected.
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CHAPTER XXV.
BUTLER COUNTY.
The Indians and Moravians-Location of the Catholic inhabitants-St. Peter's German Church, Butler-St. Paul's Church-St. Bridget's Chapel, M'Neil's Settlement-St. Wendelin's Chapel-St. Mary's German Church, Summit- St. Joseph's Church, North Oakland-St. Joseph's German Church-St. John's Church, Clearfield-Church of the Mother of Sorrows, Millerstown -St. Alphonsus' Church, Murrinsville-Death and sketch of Rev. Joseph Haney-Chapel at Fairview-St. James' Church, Petrolia.
FROM the following extract, which is given for what it is worth, it would appear that after the withdrawal of the French soldiers and their chaplains from the western part of the State, a few Indians who had been converted to Catho- licity roamed through the forests, many, if not all of them, to lose their faith, as not a few of the pioneer whites afterwards did. " From a map attached to Loskiel's history of the Mo- ravian missions, we learn that there existed about the year 1770 an Indian village called Kaskaskunk, some eight or ten miles north-west of Butler. It appears from Loskiel that a chief of the Delawares, Pakanke, dwelt here, and a warrior and speaker of some distinction called Glikkikan. The latter had heard of the arrival of the Moravian missionary Zeisber- ger and his brethren among the Senecas, at Lauanakanuck, on the Allegheny above Venango, and as he had formerly been initiated in the Catholic doctrines by the priests in Canada, and had been a teacher among his own people, he determined to go and refute and resist the newly ingrafted heresy of the Moravians."* The account goes on to say that he embraced the doctrines of the sect he had come to oppose.
The English-speaking portion of the Catholics of this
* Day's Historical Collections, p. 172.
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BUTLER.
county are for the most part descendants of the original Donegal colony, and are principally confined to the eastern and north-eastern sections, where they named Donegal town- ship in honor of the home they had forsaken in their native isle. The remaining portions of the county contain but a few scattered families, if we except Butler town and its immediate vicinity, in which the German element greatly predominates.
ST. PETER'S GERMAN CHURCH, BUTLER.
Butler, the seat of justice of the county of the same name, was laid out in the year 1800, was incorporated as a borough February 26th, 1817, and had in 1870 a population of 1935. It is connected with Freeport by the Butler branch of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad, and with Parker's Landing by a narrow-gauge road. The first Catholic settlers of the town and vicinity were the gradual extension of the Donegal colony. They usually heard Mass and complied with their religious duties at St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek, from which they were distant about twelve miles; or the pastor of that church held stations among them at distant intervals. Weary at length with travelling so great a distance for the consolations of religion, they determined to build a church for themselves. Mrs. Collins, a Catholic widow lady, donated an acre of ground immediately south-east of the town as the site of the church, and the building was begun most probably about the year 1829. There were at that time no more than six or eight families. Immediately after this German immi- grants began to arrive in considerable numbers, and settle in the town and around it. Bishop Kenrick visited the place in 1831; but tradition has transmitted no further particulars than that he administered confirmation but did not dedicate the church, which was not yet finished. Soon after Mr. Evan Evans, son-in-law of Mrs. Collins, donated another acre of ground for a cemetery. After the completion of the church it was usually visited on one Sunday of the month by the pastor of Sugar Creek. The Bishop came a second time, on Wednesday, May 21st, 1834, in company with Rev. F. Mas- quelet and Rev. A. F. Van de Wejer, from Pittsburg, and on
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ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BUTLER.
the following Sunday dedicated the church under the invoca- tion of the Prince of the Apostles. Sixty were confirmed and one hundred and fifty received Holy Communion. The con- gregation is said to have trebled its numbers in a short time, owing to the arrival of Germans. Father Masquelet visited the town once in the month for some time; for during a few months there was no pastor at Sugar Creek, and until 1840 a German priest came regularly from Pittsburg to minister to his countrymen. In June of that year came the first resi- dent pastor, Rev. F. Kühr, who remained until the autumn of the year following. He was then succeeded by Rev. H. P. Gallagher, who exercised the pastoral duties until the early part of 1844, when he gave place to Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who also visited Mercer and Murrinsville. A Redemptorist father came monthly from Pittsburg to minister to the Ger- mans. Father Mitchell was succeeded in May, 1847, by Rev. M. Creedon. During this time the congregation had been increasing, and the little church could no longer accommo- date the crowds that gathered to it from every side. A new church must be built. But a difficulty arose; for the Ger- mans, who were the majority, wanted a church of their own, while the English, although greatly in the minority, claimed the same privilege. Bishop O'Connor effected a compromise by promising a priest who should be master of both lan- guages. The Germans lived in the town and its immediate neighborhood, while the English lived for the most part at a distance. Lots, by no means the best that could be desired, were purchased in the town, and the corner-stone of the new church was laid by the Bishop August 6th, 1848. Prior to this St. Joseph's Church, Donegal (now North Oakland), had been built, which drew away a considerable number of the English families. The new church was dedicated by the Bishop October 14th, 1849. It is a brick edifice, 116 feet in length by 58 in width, and though of no particular style of architecture contains elements of Byzantine rather than of the Gothic. The massive tower was not built until about 1870, when the Benedictine fathers had charge of the congre- gation. The church contains three altars, and the whole is finished in a chaste rather than a decorative style. But now
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ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUTLER.
a new difficulty arose. In addition to what had been drawn away by the church at Donegal, a new loss of the English element was sustained by the erection of St. John's Church near Coylesville, which was built about the year 1854. The congregation of St. Peter's was now almost exclusively Ger- man, and the church has always been regarded as of that nationality.
Soon after the completion of the church a large brick pastoral residence was built by Father Creedon, the last English pastor of the congregation. He was succeeded in 1851 by Rev. J. N. Tamchina, and for some years the pastor of Sugar Creek paid an occasional visit to the English. Father Tamchina gave place to Rev. Jos. Gezowski in Sep- tember, 1852, and he in 1854 to the Benedictine fathers, who established a priory. A school-house was built about the year 1864, and a school opened by a lay teacher. The con- gregation was still gradually increasing. The Benedictines withdrew in the autumn of 1872, and the congregation passed once more into the hands of the secular clergy. But after it had been presided over for about a year by Rev. J. M. Bierl, it was confided to the fathers of the Carmelite Order, who still have charge of it. Wishing to improve the school, they built a brick pastoral residence in 1875 and gave the old one, which is large, to a number of Sisters of St. Francis from St. Joseph's Convent, Pittsburg, as a convent. They took charge of the schools in January, 1876. They also conduct an academy for a few boarders from the vicinity.
The congregation is gradually improving, and is the largest and most flourishing in the county, containing more than one hundred and fifty families.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUTLER.
I have already traced the history of the English Catholics of Butler to the arrival of the Benedictine fathers in 1854. From that time, as before, they continued to frequent the German church, yet never felt at home in it, but looked for- ward to the time when their numbers should justify them in undertaking a church of their own-a period which from the
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ST. BRIDGET'S CHAPEL.
tardy growth of the town seemed as yet far distant. But patience has a certain reward, and at length it came. It was not, however, their numbers, but rather the wealth of a few, that was to surmount all difficulties. Mr. Peter Duffy, then as now the leading member of the congregation, donated a very eligible lot in the town as the site of the new church. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop June 7th, 1866, and the church was dedicated by the same prelate February 17th of the following year. It is a brick building 73 feet in length by 38 in width, with a steeple in the centre in front, and two altars. The ceiling rises from the sides toward the centre, and the interior is finished in a chaste rather than expensive manner. The wealth that erected the church also took the place of numbers in supporting the pastors. Of these there were before the year 1871 Revs. S. Barrett, James Nolan, F. O'Shea, and F. X. M.Carthy. In that year came Rev. Ed- ward M'Sweeny, who remained until the fall of 1876, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. W. A. Nolan. A very neat brick pastoral residence was built by the side of the church in 1874. The proximity of the oil-field and the traffic which it brings to Butler have improved the town in the last few years and increased the congregation. But the lat- ter will number no more than about forty families.
ST. BRIDGET'S CHAPEL, M'NEIL'S SETTLEMENT.
M'Neil's Settlement is about nine miles south-west of But- ler, and contains about half a dozen families of farmers. When Father Nolan was pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Sharpsburg, in 1865, he visited the place, which is about seventeen miles to the north, and ministered to the little flock. On a subse- quent visit he purchased the Methodist Episcopal church, a diminutive frame building, then offered for sale, at a cost of $200, and blessed it under the title of St. Bridget's Church. It is visited a few times in the year on week-days by the pas- tor of the English church at Butler. The congregation, if such it may be called, has little present importance or future prospect.
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ST. WENDELIN'S CHAPEL.
ST. WENDELIN'S CHAPEL.
This chapel, which stands in a country place about ten miles north-east of Butler, has a somewhat unique history. The date of its erection is uncertain, but as near as can be as- certained at present, it was about the year 1845, or before that time. Although there are different accounts, the circumstances appear to have been these : A small number of German fami- lies settled there, and among them was an eccentric school- teacher by the name of Müller, who aspired to the dignity of a teacher of divine as well as of human sciences. He pos- sessed great influence over the simple-minded people, and in- duced them to purchase a few acres of land and build a chapel in honor of St. Wendelin, which should in time, as he prom- ised them, become a place of pilgrimage like the celebrated shrine of the saint at Treves, in Prussia. The chapel was built and with it a house for the school-teacher, and here he taught school. But as the people lived far from a church and could hear Mass but seldom, he was accustomed to assemble them in the chapel on Sunday for prayers. He also dis- coursed to them occasionally. But proceeding further with his usurpations than they were willing to follow him, he was forced to leave the place, and he became afterwards a verita- ble preacher of one of the sects.
It is not known with certainty at what time the Holy Sac- rifice was first offered up in the chapel, but it was the German priest of Butler who paid these occasional visits on week-days. The old chapel was at length replaced by a new one, when it began to be regularly used as a parish church. The ceremo- ny of the dedication was performed by Very Rev. J. Hickey, Vicar-General and Administrator, January 16th, 1876. The church is a frame building 72 feet in length by 37 in width, is neatly finished, and has three altars. It is visited every Sun- day by one of the Carmelite fathers from Butler, and notwith- standing that there are but eighteen families they yet have a Catholic school. Who can withhold his admiration of their devotion to the cause of Catholic education, when he sees a handful of families so courageously surmount every obstacle
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ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SUMMIT.
and make every sacrifice necessary to secure for their chil- dren the advantages of a Christian training! It is not at all probable that the little congregation is destined to undergo any considerable change for many years.
ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, SUMMIT.
This church is situated in the midst of one of the most de- lightful agricultural districts in Western Pennsylvania, about five miles south of Butler and near the line of the Butler branch of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad. At an early day a small number of German Catholic families settled in the vicinity of the spot now occupied by the church, and after Mass had been celebrated for them for some time in a private house by the priest residing at Butler, or by one of the Re- demptorist fathers from Pittsburg, a few of the leading men sent a petition to Bishop Kenrick, of Philadelphia, early in the summer of 1842, asking permission to build a church. It was granted, and four men whose farms centred at the same spot each donated an acre of ground for church purposes, to which, some years later, each added another acre. The church was soon after undertaken, and when finished was dedicated to the August Mother of God by Rev. Joseph Müller, C.SS.R., July 6th, 1845. It was an unassuming brick building, 50 feet in length by 36 in width. Although an humble residence was built for the priest in 1847, and was replaced by a better one in 1853, the congregation continued for a little time to be visited from Butler and Pittsburg before a resident pastor was appointed. Soon after the Benedictine fathers took charge of the congregation at Butler, St. Mary's was also given into their hands. In 1855 it is said to have numbered eighty fami- lies. To enlarge the church an addition was made to the rear of it, consisting of a sanctuary and sacristies, in 1862 ; but not- withstanding this it was still too small. It was then enlarged to its present dimensions in 1866, but this was done by using as much of the existing building as possible. When finished it was dedicated by the Bishop, February 19th, 1867. The church is now 100 feet in length by 45 in width, has a steeple in the centre in front, and is modelled after the Gothic style
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ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND.
of architecture. There are three altars, dedicated respec- tively to Our Lady of the Assumption, to the Mother of Sorrows, and to St. Wendelin. After the withdrawal of the Benedictine fathers from Butler, St. Mary's reverted to the secular clergy, with whom it remained until 1876, when it was given into the hands of the Capuchin fathers from St. Augustine's Church, Pittsburg, who immediately built a brick monastery adjoining the church, 92 feet in length by 32 in width, and established the mother-house of their order for the diocese there.
A school was opened at an early day-the date has not been ascertained-in a frame building erected for that purpose, and has since been conducted by a lay teacher. The congre- gation will number at present about one hundred and twenty families, about one fourth of which are English, and its pros- pects for the future are a gradual increase.
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND.
The church now under consideration is about eight miles north-east of Butler, is a short distance south of the narrow- gauge railroad extending from Parker's Landing to Butler, and is near the centre of the original Donegal colony. Until recently it was known as St. Joseph's, Donegal. Although originally an Irish settlement, there were at the date of the erection of the church a large proportion of German families. This date, however, is uncertain, but according to the best information I could obtain-which, in the case of this congre- gation, is very limited-it was about the year 1846, or per- haps a little later. The church, a small frame building, was put up by a somewhat independent movement on the part of the people, and the independence with which it began has suffered no abatement in the lapse of time. From the begin- ning Mass was usually celebrated twice in the month, once each by the German priest of Butler and the English priest of Sugar Creek, and later, from about 1861, by that of Brady's Bend. But in course of time, perhaps in 1867, the church was favored with a resident pastor familiar with both the German and English languages. The first was Rev. D. Dev-
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ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH.
lin, after whom came Rev. Joseph Steger. In the mean time a pastoral residence was built. Soon after the discovery of oil at Parker's Landing the field began also to extend toward North Oakland ; the congregation increased, the old church became too small, and Rev. Jos. Deyermeyer, who succeeded Father Steger in the summer of 1872, undertook the erection of a new and larger one. ' The corner-stone was laid by Bishop Domenec September 5th, 1872, and the church was dedicated by the same prelate January 28th, 1874. It is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is about 90 feet in length by 45 in width, and has a steeple in the centre in front. The interior is very neatly finished, and contains three altars. Father Deyermeyer was now succeeded by Rev. John Ritter, who remained until the beginning of 1876, when he gave place to Rev. Thos. Davin. Prior to this date oil was discovered within the limits of the parish, a circumstance which greatly increased its wealth and num- bers; and for the size of it, it is now by far the wealthiest congregation in Western Pennsylvania.
Father Davin built an elegant frame pastoral residence in the latter part of 1877. The congregation since the division consists of about eighty families, all of whom are farmers; but it is not probable that it will undergo any great change in the immediate future. Father Davin was succeeded by Rev. E. J. Dignam in December. 1878.
ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND.
When the Germans of St. Joseph's congregation were de- prived of a pastor who was familiar with their language, they sought to remove the disadvantage under which they labored. Having obtained permission to separate and organize a dis- tinct congregation, they fitted up the old church, then out of repair, and had it rededicated by Very Rev. R. Phelan, Adm., July 18th, 1877, and they are now visited every Sunday by one of the Capuchin fathers from the Summit. A school-house has also been provided and a school opened, although the num- ber of families is but thirty.
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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLEARFIELD.
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLEARFIELD.
The congregation of St. John's was formed in part each from those of Sugar Creek, Freeport, and Butler. Before the erection of the church stations had been occasionally held at Coylesville, but in time the people resolved to build a church. After considerable debating on the most central locality, the present site was adopted, and work was com- menced in the summer of 1853. The church is situated in a country place about a mile south of Coylesville and of the State road from Kittanning to Butler, and is equidistant from each town. The corner-stone was laid by Rev. John Larkin, of Freeport, August 15th of the above year, and the church was finished and dedicated in the course of the fol- lowing summer. It is a brick building, modelled after the Gothic style, is 85 feet in length by 45 in width, and has a steeple in the centre in front. The finish of the interior is rather chaste than expensive. Before the appointment of a resident priest the congregation was under the care of the pastor of Freeport, and it was visited on one Sunday in the month until the summer of 1855. Rev. R. C. Christy was then appointed resident pastor. He built a pastoral residence, and later a school-house, in which school was taught during a few summers, but not regularly.
Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion Father Christy was appointed chaplain of the Seventy-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was succeeded at St. John's by Rev. P. M. Doyle, in the latter part of the summer of 1862. During the time that had elapsed from the organization of the parish, its growth had been very moderate. Father Doyle remained until the close of the year 1873, when he was suc- ceeded by the present pastor, Rev. Patrick Brown. The proximity of the oil-fields on the north and west has improved the congregation in the last two years; but the benefit it de- rives from this source will be transitory. It will number about one hundred and fifty families, almost all of whom are Irish or of Irish descent, whose ancestors formed a part of the original Donegal colony. Being exclusively farmers, no change is to be expected in the congregation for many years.
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CHURCH AT MILLERSTOWN.
CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF SORROWS, MILLERSTOWN.
Millerstown lies on the eastern boundary of Butler County, about eleven miles north-east of Butler, and it had in 1870 a population of 207 souls. It was a quiet village until the oil excitement reached it about the year 1874, when, like all places in the oil regions, it assumed a degree of ac- tivity and corruption which those only can appreciate who have the misfortune of being acquainted with the ordinary effects of the discovery of oil upon the morals of those who throng to the spot. The narrow-gauge railroad which was about that time built from Parker to Butler passes through the village.
Previous to this time the few Catholic families who lived in the village and its vicinity heard Mass either at North Oak- land or Sugar Creek. But now that the floating population increased their numbers, it was deemed expedient to build a church in the village. A lot was accordingly secured and a building commenced in the summer of 1875 by the pastor of Sugar Creek, Rev. P. M. Doyle, to whose jurisdiction it per- tained. When finished it was dedicated to the Mother of Sorrows, November 7th, by Father Hickey, Vicar-General, in the absence of the Bishop in Rome. The church is a neat, plain frame building, capable of accommodating about three hundred persons, and is without belfry or steeple. It has always been visited every Sunday from Sugar Creek, from which it is about six miles distant, although the labor of ministering to the two churches is very considerable, espe- cially in inclement weather. From the time the church was finished the congregation continued to increase, and it was feared that an addition would have to be built. But in the beginning of 1878, when the production of oil began to de- crease, and when new fields were developed in the northern part of the State, much of the floating population was drawn away, and the congregation was reduced by half. It is prob- able that the production of oil will ere long entirely cease, an event which will reduce the congregation to a small number of original residents. Should that day arrive, and it is only a
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MURRINSVILLE.
question of time, the church will not be visited more than once, or at most twice, in the month. As to hopes of increase in the future by the gradual settlement of a permanent popu- lation, they are so slender as to merit no consideration.
ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, MURRINSVILLE.
The village of Murrinsville is situated in the extreme northern part of Butler County and of the diocese, and is about twenty miles north from Butler and eleven west from Parker's Landing. The congregation is properly the eastern portion of the Slippery Rock settlement, which was an exten- sion of the Donegal colony, made two years after the first settlement in 1796. Slippery Rock station-for no church was ever built there-is a few miles west of Murrinsville, and was from the beginning occasionally visited by missionaries. It is impossible to determine at present how frequent these visits were, but it is certain they were never oftener than once in two months. The first visit was that of Father Lani- gan, in 1801, and the second that of Father Heilbron, in 1803. Later it depended on Sugar Creek, then on Butler, and lastly on Murrinsville, and stations are occasionally held at present, although, on account of the backwardness of the place, religion has not flourished. Murrinsville also became a regular missionary station early in the century ; but prior to the year 1844 it was not visited more frequently than once in two months; but being on the line of the turnpike from Pittsburg, by way of Butler to Franklin, it enjoyed a certain amount of notoriety that would be more esteemed in those early days than at present. Bishop Kenrick's first visit took place May 27th, 1834, and the following is taken from an account of it published in the Catholic Herald. The descrip- tion of the village, it may be remarked, will apply as well to our day as it did to his:
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