A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 88

Author: Miller, John, 1849-
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 926

USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 88

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The First Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1826 and first met in private houses, school rooms, and the court house occa- sionally, until 1839, when a frame chapel was built on the north side of Seventh street between Peach and Sassafras streets. It continued there until the erection, in 1859, of the building on the corner of Seventh and Sassafras, which has ever since been in use. The history of the early years of this church is given in greater detail in the chap- ter of the county section of this work which deals with the religious denominations and their relation to this section. The first pastor. Rev. E. P. Steadman, came in 1834, and those who have served during the three-quarters of a century since, have been: 1835, A. G. Sturges; 1836, R. A. Aylworth ; 183%-8. J. W. Lowe ; 1839, B. K. Maltby ; 1840, J. J. Steadman : 1841. A. Hall; 1842. A. M. Brown; 1843. D. Smith ;

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

1844-5, C. Kingsley; 1846, Lester James : 1842-8. T. Stubbs : 1849, E. Jones ; 1850-1, S. Gregg; 1852. J. W. Lowe; 1853, H. Kingsley ; 1854-5. J. E. Chapin : 1856-2, W. F. Wilson; 1858. D. C. Wright; 1859, G. W. Clarke and J. D. Norton (who served this church and Simpson jointly) ; 1860-1, J. Peate ; 1862-4, D. C. Osborne ; 1865-7, E. A. Johnson : 1868-9, A. S. Dobbs; 1869, E. J. L. Baker; 1870-1, W. W. Wythe ; 1872-3, A. Wheeler : 1874-6. W. W. Ramsey; 18:1-8, J. D. Adams ; 1879-81, D. H. Muller ; 1882-3. A. N. Craft; 1884-5, W. H. Pearce; 1886-7, Lucien Clark ; 1888-92, N. Luccock ; 1893, H. A. Cleveland ; 1894-6. S. D. Hut- senpillar ; 1898-1904, Andrew C. Ellis: 1905 to the present, Thomas R. Thoburn. During the pastorate of Rev. W. H. Pearce a chorus choir was organized under the direction of Prof. G. F. Brierley, supplement- ing a quartette, which became the best trained and most efficient choir in the city. During the same term there was established the graded system of Sunday school teaching, the directing head of the system being the late E. L. Pelton. This system has made of the First M. E. school the model in this section of the country.

Simpson M. E. church was the outcome of a revival in the First M. E. church in 185 :. Of the hundred or more added to the church as a result there were several from South Erie and these petitioned that a class be established in that section. It was granted and the organ- ization of the class, under the leadership of Heman Janes, proved to be the organization of a new church. The class meetings were first held in a private school building on Sassafras street at or near Twen- tieth, with 25 in attendance and naturally led to the opening of a Sunday school, which was organized with 63 scholars and Capt. Thomas Wilkins superintendent. Early in 1858, it having been de- cided to inaugurate a movement toward erecting a chapel, a building committee was appointed and about the same time Capt. Wilkins and Heman Janes bought the lot on the corner of Sassafras and Twenty- first streets and held it for the use of the church that was to be or- ganized. Success crowned their efforts and in 1859 the new church was dedicated by Bishop Simpson, in whose honor it was named, and the street upon which it stood was also called Simpson street after the bishop. The new church drew into its folds a membership that was strong and progressive though not large at the beginning. Its affairs were admirably managed and it became a very useful institu- tion in that rapidly growing part of the city. It increased with the increase in the community until at length the building of 1859 was inadequate, and a movement toward a new church was begun during the pastorate of Rev. J. Boyd Espy. It was realized under Rev. J. M. Bray. In 1893 the present handsome church was built at a cost of over $25,000. Subsequently an organ was installed. during Rev. J. B. Neff's pastorate, the debt was extinguished, and the membership very greatly increased. The pastors of Simpson church have been: 1859,

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G. W. Clarke and J. D. Norton, serving First and Simpson jointly ; 1860, W. P. Bignell; 1861-2, R. M. Warren ; 1863, A. C. Tibbitts ; 1864- 6, J. H. Tagg : 1867, D. Prosser; 1868, F. H. Beck: 1869, A. N. Craft ; 18:1. R. N. Stubbs; 1873, E. H. Yingling : 185, P. P. Pinney : 1877, E. A. Squier ; 1878, J. A. Kummer ; 1881, J. C. Scofield : 1884, Milton Smith; 188%, J. Boyd Espy; 1891-4, J. M. Bray, 1895, J. Bell Neff ; 1899, A. B. Phillips ; 1902, E. W. Morton; 1908, L. L. Swisher.

Wayne Street M. E. church originated in a series of cottage prayer meetings inaugurated early in 1889 by Rev. J. Boyd Espy, of Simpson M. E. church, there being a colony of his members in that rather dis- tant section of the Fifth Ward. The colony developed into a Sunday school and finally into a movement for a new church. Simpson church being appealed to gave no encouragement, for it had a building enter- prise of its own in hand. so the case was carried before the First church. This had a double effect. It resulted in the effort being pow- erfully supported, and in reality in calling into existence the M. E. Alliance, which has since been a powerful factor in church extension in Erie. Wayne street church assured, an organization was effected, Rev. Henry Sims being placed in charge, and work on the new meet- ing house begun. It was completed early in 1890, when Rev. Mr. Dobson was assigned to the pastorate, to serve until conference should meet. On June 18, 1895, the church was destroyed by fire, the work of an incendiary, but, backed by the Alliance the membership took courage and that year built a new and better church, which was dedi- cated in January, 1896. For a time the church was not strong enough to go alone, for the new church, costing $6,500, brought on a fresh burden of debt. This, however, was finally disposed of during the term of Rev. I'm. Branfield, and the organization stood upon its own feet. In 1907, it was decided to greatly enlarge the church and sub- scriptions to that end were secured. Work upon this was not begun until the summer of 1909. The pastors of Wayne Street church have been: 1890, Rev. Mr. Dobson ; 1890, A. C. Bowers : 1892, L. H. Edel- blute ; 1894, A. A. Horton ; 1897, William Branfield ; 1904, W. L. Ha- zen, the present pastor.

Tenth Street M. E. church originated in a movement begun in 1866, to build a third Methodist church in Erie, and a subscription of $3,000 having been secured two lots were donated on condition that a building should be erected within five years. The work lagged, however, and it was not until 1871, when Rev. R. F. Keeler, appointed pastor of the Erie mission by the conference, renewed the work. A Sunday school that had been maintained by the Y. M. C. A., was by the association turned over to the care of Mr. Keeler and his coadju- tors, a class was organized with Seymour Torrey as leader, and then the work took definite shape. A building committee was appointed jointly by the First and Simpson churches to work with a committee

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from the mission, and the result was the work was begun in 1873 and the church was dedicated January 25, 1874, services having, however, been held in it from October 19, 1873. Alterations and additions as circumstances demanded were made from time to time until 1907, when the church was rebuilt of brick, very greatly enlarged. The pas- tors have been: 1871, Russell F. Keeler; 1872. W. W. Wythe; 1823, R. A. Carruthers; 1874, D. M. Steever; 1875, R. M. Gwynn ; 1876, W. G. Williams; 1877, William Martin; 1878, W. M. Martin : 1880, P. A. Reno ; 1882, J. H. Herron ; 1885, W. W. Wythe ; 1886, J. L. Strat- ton ; 1891, J. C. Scofield : 1892, E. M. Kernick ; 1896, Willis K. Crosby ; 1900, D. C. Planette ; 1902, R. C. Smith; 1906, John C. A. Borland, the present pastor.

Cascade Street M. E. church began as a mission Sunday school in 1902, and was organized as a church by Rev. R. N. Stubbs. The meetings for two or three years were held in a store room on the corner of Nineteenth and Cascade streets, until the movement to secure a lot and erect a meeting house could be made effective. With the efficient aid of the M. E. Alliance, now well organized, this was accomplished and the new building on the corner of Twenty-first and Cascade streets was ready for occupancy in 1904. The first regular pastor of the church was Rev. A. E. Salsbury, who carried it through what might be called the probationary period. He was succeeded in 1904 by Rev. George J. Squires, pastor until 1909. The church was dedicated in August, 1908, and the membership in 1909 was 130.

Kingsley M. E. church is the youngest of the Erie Methodist brood, and is lodged in a promising corner of a rapidly growing sec- tion of the west side of Erie-the jumping-off place, it might have been denominated when it was built, for it stood at the boundary line then. Since then an extension of the city into a pan-handle has made Kingsley church somewhat more central than it was. The story of Kingsley church and its inception varies somewhat from the stereo- typed form. Its advent comes nearer to the account of the birth of Minerva, who sprang full grown and full panoplied into life. It was organized a church in 1907, and the same year occupied a handsome new brick church building erected on the corner of Ninth and Cran- berry streets, a building, however, that is intended in the future to be the Sunday school or conference room, when the main church shall have been built. The present pastor, Rev. John E. Roberts, was the first appointment to the charge.

St. James African M. E. church, formed in 1874, was the result of a reorganization among the colored people of Erie. In 1845 there had been organized the Wesleyan Methodist church, that met in school rooms until a church was built on Third street near Walnut in 1850. It was ministered to irregularly, at first entirely by white min- isters prominent among whom was Elder Nutting, a somewhat noted

Vol. I-52

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man, especially in Underground Railroad days. In time it languished, to be revived in 1874 as St. James A. M. E. church. It was not a strong church at the beginning-is not now-and meetings were held wherever accommodations could be found, until 1898, when, under Rev. F. D. Scott, a frame church was built on Seventh street near German. The new church put stimulus into the membership, and the church grew. In 1902, while Rev. C. J. Powell was pastor, the church was rebuilt into an attractive little brick meeting house with stained glass windows, and good furnishings. The ministers since Mr. Powell's time have been: Reverends J. H. Whitten, F. E. Bow- ser, N. B. Stewart, H. E. Newman, J. E. Morris, J. M. Henderson, M. A. Hunter and J. O. Morley, the present incumbent.

The First Baptist church of Erie was organized in 1831, and was the outcome of a revival that centered in the First Presbyterian church. Among the converts were a number of the Baptist belief, and these met and decided to form a church, which was effected April 10. 1831, with Rev. E. Tucker, D. D., as pastor. The congregation met first in the old Erie Academy and afterwards in the court house. The corner stone of a permanent church was laid in 1833, and the build- ing, a rather plain brick structure, was dedicated in 1835. This church served for thirty years, but in 1865, under the ministration of Rev. W. F. Bainbridge, a young and ardent minister who had just been ordained, a revival resulted in the accession of two hundred new mnem- bers. It was the most notable increase in the church's history, and enlargement became a necessity. The audience room was extended, a spire erected, and a conference room added, and the rededication took place in December, 1865. Extensive improvements were made during the pastorate of Rev. C. H. Hall in 1895. Finally, in 1908, the church was practically rebuilt, largely under the direction of the present pastor, $8,860 being expended and the result a modern place of worship, not greatly altered externally, however.

The pastors of this church have been numerous in the three- quarters of a century of its existence. In the order of their succession they were: E. Tucker, D. D., Wm. H. Newman, Charles Morton. Reid S. Witherall, James A. Keyes, A. W. Baker, LaFayette Baker, Ira Corwin, Mr. Haskell, Joel Johnson, Zebina Smith, J. K. Barry, H. Silliman, Charles Sherman, Gilbert L. Stevens, J. W. Hammond. Wm. Haw, J. L. Hays, W. F. Bainbridge, A. W. Tousey, C. H. Harvey, E. A. Stone, A. J. Bonsall, William Gilkes, E. T. Fox, J. C. Thoms, H. C. Hall, H. F. Kramer, who came in 1896; S. J. Arthur, in 1899, and A. Frank Houser, the present pastor, in 1907. The present mem- bership is 384. The First Baptist church has by missions and other- wise contributed to the establishment of four independent churches,

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and still has the care of a mission Sunday school on West Eighteenth street.

The Second Baptist church developed out of a Sunday school established as Faith mission in 1889, in the Fifth Ward. The effort was begun under Rev. J. C. Thoms of the parent church, with Philan- der Edson as superintendent. A small frame building was erected immediately and in 1891, the growth warranted the organization of the Second Baptist church. Soon the original building became too small, and a good brick church was erected at the corner of Twenty- second and Reed streets, when the old building was altered into a parsonage. The first pastor was Rev. Jesse Boswell, who was suc- ceeded by Rev. J. H. Lowe, and the pastors, in succession have been, Dr. H. F. Ellis, Rev. R. Pearse, Rev. G. S. Daugherty, Rev. W. A. Pugsley. Rev. E. Wolfe Dewitt, who came in 1907, and died Decem- ber 7, 1908. The present pastor, Rev. Linn R. Williamson, assumed charge in April, 1909.

The German Baptist church was organized in October, 1861, by Rev. A. von Puttkammer, with twenty-two members. In July, 1863, Rev. Anthony Haensler was chosen pastor, and in 1864 a church was erected on Seventeenth street a short distance west of Peach street. It was a small frame structure, but served for many years. In 1865 Rev. John Eisenmenger was chosen pastor, and under his ministra- tions 35 were added to the membership. He left in 1868 to take a church in Canada, and immediately Rev. Adolf Ginins was called. He had a successful ministry but resigned to go to Scranton, and in 1871, Rev. Henry Kose succeeded for four years. Rev. C. Martin then served until 1879 and Rev. G. Koopman until 1883. Then followed Rev. D. Zwink till 1886; Rev. P. Rech till 1887; Rev. D. Kester till 1891; Rev. G. A. Schneider until 1905, when the present pastor, Rev. R. A. Blandau assumed charge. A piece of ground on the corner of Twentieth and Sassafras streets was bought in 1892 and on this, at a cost of $12,000 a new brick church, with parsonage attached, was erected in 1895.

The Swedish Baptist church was organized in 1895, with Rev. William Kohler as pastor, and during the first two years services were held in the building on Seventeenth street just then vacated by the German Baptists. In 1897 a lot with a dwelling house, on the corner of Seventh and Holland streets, was bought and the house was altered into a chapel. In 1906 the frame building was moved off and a hand- some little brick church was erected. The pastors after Rev. Mr. Kohler, have been: Rev. J. P. Westerberg, Rev. P. Elgholm, and Rev. John P. Forsell, the present pastor. The membership is 42.

Calvary Baptist church was organized in 1896, and meetings at first were held in G. A. R. hall. Many of the members came over from the First Baptist church, and the first organization included the

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following officers: W. J. McClellan, clerk ; E. H. Mack, Jr., treasurer ; C. P. Cody, Sunday school superintendent ; H. N. Thayer and E. H. Mack, Jr. (3 years), G. J. Gebhardt and H. C. Lerch (2 years), WV. W. Harper (1 year), trustees; E. H. Mack, Sr. and L. J. Dyke (for life), E. L. Burch and L. W. Carr (3 years), J. W. Reed and H. N. Thayer (2 years). deacons. In 1898 a lot was secured on Tenth street be- tween Peach and Sassafras, and work was begun on a handsome brick church edifice. It was dedicated October 1, 1899. Rev. W. T. Tap- scott was the first pastor of the church, having been installed Janu- ary 30, 1898. He was succeeded May 1, 1903, by Rev. WV. E. Rafferty, and he by Rev. John B. Barbour on May 1, 1906, who is still the pastor of the church.

During the ministry of Rev. W. F. Bainbridge at the First Bap- tist church, there was established on East Sixth street, then a good distance east of the city limits, the North Star Mission Sunday school. The moving spirit in this enterprise was Walter J. F. Liddell, a most zealous and devoted church worker, and a high minded gentleman; a deacon in the church, and esteemed in his daily walk and conversa- tion for his probity. He was assisted in the mission work by Miss A. C. Kilbourne, Miss Eliza S. Crane, Henry S. Seaman and others, and notwithstanding the district was rather sparsely settled then, the mission grew rapidly. A building was erected on a lot donated by the late Hon. James Sill, and from the date of the organization of the mission, September 25, 1864, until it became erected into an independ- ent church, it continued to be successfully conducted under the fos- tering care of the First Baptist church. During the summer of 1902 it was organized into the East Sixth Street Baptist church and Rev. E. B. Dwyer was chosen as pastor, serving but six months, when Rev. F. L. Brooks took charge, and continued with the church for a year and a half. In 1904 Rev. Samuel C. Welsh was called and min- istered four years, leaving in 1908. Rev. J. H. Patrican came in 1908, and resigned in May, 1909. The church has 96 members. During 1908 the church was extensively overhauled, a new baptistry, new furnishings, a remodeled pulpit and an addition containing a gym- nasium being provided.

Rev. J. H. Hopkins, rector of Trinity church, Pittsburg, after- wards Bishop of Vermont, in 1826, at the court house, conducted the first services of the Protestant Episcopal church ever held in Erie. This missionary beginning resulted in a meeting at the home of P. S. V. Hamot, Esq. on March 17, 1827, at which the parish of St. Paul's was organized. Rev. Charles Smith was appointed rector, and Thomas Forster, P. S. V. Hamot, George Miles, George A. Eliot, Tabor Beebe, Charles M. Reed, Thomas Forster, Jr., D. C. Barrett, William Kelley, Gilbert Knapp and John A. Tracy were elected ves-

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trymen. Rev. Mr. Smith remained only a few months and his suc- cessor, Rev. Benjamin Hutchins, a shorter period. In the next year, 1828, through the aid of the Society for the Promotion of Christianity in Pennsylvania, Rev. Bennett Glover assumed the duties of rector, and, effecting a reorganization in November, 1830, at once set about obtaining a church. The lot on West Sixth street still occupied by St. Paul's, was bought for $250, contracts were let for a brick edifice, and as it progressed the debts incurred were gradually wiped out, an or- gan and a bell were bought and paid for and in 1834 the house was dedicated by Bishop Onderdonck. Additions and alterations were made from time to time, the most important in 1836 and 1847. Rev. Mr. Glover served until his death in 1838. The rectors, in succession, have been, Rev. P. Teller Babbitt, Rev. Henry Tullidge, Rev. William Flint, Rev. Charles Arey, Rev. John A. Bowman. Rev. D. C. Page, and in 1857, Rev. James Abercrombie. In 1862 Rev. John F. Spauld- ing became rector, and his was perhaps the most noteworthy admin- istration in the history of St. Paul's parish. The handsome gothic stone church opposite the court house is a monument to his zeal and energy. It was built in 1866, cost $60,000, and was dedicated in 1869, free from debt. In addition under him there were established four missions, St. John's, in South Erie; Grace, in the First Ward; Cross and Crown, in the vicinity of the P. & E. shops ; and Trinity, at Sixth and Cascade streets. Three of these became churches. He was elected Bishop of Colorado and Wyoming, and was consecrated in St. Paul's church, on December 31, 1873. His successors have been Rev. W. H. Mills, until 1880, when Rev. James T. Franklin came, who proved an active and useful minister, through his efforts Hamot hospital hav- ing been established. In 1882 Rev. G. A. Carstensen became rector ; in 1889, Rev. John Huske; in 1893, Rev. Edward E. Matthews; in 1896, Rev. F. S. Spaulding, son of Bishop Spaulding (rector 1862 to 1873) ; in 1905 Rev. John M. McGann, and in 1908, Rev. W. Strother Jones, the present minister. In 1881 the church was damaged by fire to the extent of $10,000, but the building was promptly restored and greatly improved, at the time Hon. W. L. Scott making a gift of a fine new organ.

St. Mark's church, Erie, was incorporated on the 30th of March, 1896, with David T. Jones senior warden; Walter Nunn, junior war- den, and J. S. Scobell, A. A. Aldrich, L. F. White, James Gaskell, George Gardner, Henry J. Bennett and J. H. Burgess, vestrymen. St. Mark's parish is the result of the consolidation of Cross and Crown church and St. John's church, two of the missions established by Bishop Spaulding of Colorado while rector of St. Paul's parish. St. John's was established as a mission in 1866, and in 1867 a parish organization was effected with David T. Jones, William Nicholson, Samuel B. Barnum, William Bush, R. A. Fancher and A. W. Van

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Tassel, vestrymen, who elected Rev. J. H. Black rector ; George Bur- ton and D. T. Jones, wardens; S. H. Metcalf, secretary, and W. G. Gardiner, treasurer. A church was built on Sixteenth street between Peach and Sassafras and dedicated by Bishop Kerfoot in 1871. The rectors, successively, were Reverends J. H. Black, Calvin C. Parker, S. D. McConnell, S. H. Hilliard, F. W. Hilliard, J. M. Benedict, L. C. Rogers, W. M. Cook, Andrew Fleming, Charles M. Kimball, Henry B. Jefferson and George Winthrop Sargent. Cross and Crown was established as a mission in 1868, under Rev. J. F. Spaulding, with the principal workers B. B. Vincent, Boyd Vincent, his son, afterwards Bishop Vincent, and Mrs. Strong Vincent, widow of Gen. Vincent. The meetings were first held in a school on East Tenth street. A church was erected on the corner of Twelfth and Ash streets and dedicated in 1871, and in 1872 Rev. Boyd Vincent, the first superin- tendent, then an ordained minister, became first rector. His succes- sors were the Reverends Bernard Schulte, S. A. McNulty, John Gra- ham, W. H. Rogers, L. W. Rogers, Robert H. Niede, David Moer, William Price, and William Johnson. In 1894 the parish was incor- porated as St. Vincent's.

The parish of St. Mark's erected the building owned and occu- pied by them on the corner of Tenth and French streets, in 1896, called as their first rector Rev. John H. Barnard, who remained until May. 1898, when he was succeeded by Rev. John A. Howell. Rev. Mr. Howell resigned at Easter, 1903, and was succeeded by Rev. Frank DeFrees Miller, D. C. L., of Cleveland. Dr. Miller, after having been in charge of the parish six years and four months, resigned September 1, 1909.

Trinity Memorial church, erected in 1894-5, a memorial to the late Bishop John F. Spaulding, has been a missionary parish under the care of St. Paul's church since 1873, when it was founded, the last of the mission enterprises in Erie of Rev. J. F. Spaulding while rector of St. Paul's. At the time of its organization the missionary spirit was high. Three others had been highly successful, two having been advanced to the dignity of self-supporting churches. Trinity therefore started out a little better equipped than its sister missionary parishes had done, and directly after it had been organized a chapel was built at the corner of Sixth and Cascade streets, serving until the move- ment for a new church crystallized in 1904. A very considerable building fund had been accumulated, and the property had become valuable. However, when it came to rebuilding the choice was for a new location, nearer the center of the rapidly growing section farther south. So the lot on Liberty street near Ninth was bought from Richard O'Brien and the handsome church and rectory were built. In 1909 the parish had become self-supporting and in June of that

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year the preliminary steps were taken to constitute Trinity Memorial a separate church.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church was not the first of that faith established in Erie, but it had the distinction so long of being the pro-cathedral that it may well come in first for mention. It dates its beginning to 1837 when Rev. Father McCabe came as a missioner and held services in the house of John Sullivan. In 1844 Father R. Brown courageously undertook to build a church. The congrega- tion was not large; it was poor, and it was a scattered parish. The difficulties were great, but the zeal of the pastor increased in propor- tion. The people practiced self-denial and in city and country-for among the communicants were members of the Fagan and Crowley families, living as far east as Four-Mile creek-all lent a willing hand to the good work. Father Brown remained in charge five years, but left his great work unfinished. Father Reynolds, who succeeded, com- pleted the work during the single year of his ministry. Rev. Joseph F. Deane followed and served until, Erie having been made an Epis- copal See, the church became a pro-cathedral. Rt. Rev. M. O'Connor was first bishop of Erie, served for a year and was returned to Pitts- burg when Rt. Rev. J. M. Young was appointed his successor and took charge of the diocese on April 23, 1854. The pastors of St. Pat- rick's during the life time of Bishop Young were: Rev. Thomas Ma- lone, Rev. Charles McCallion. Rev. William Lambert, Rev. John Ber- bequi, Rev. J. O'Connor, Rev. Father Kenny, Rev. Father Tracy, Very Rev. John D. Coady (vicar general of the diocese at the time), and Rev. Father Carroll, distinguished as the Erie apostle of temperance. Bishop Young died in 1866, and for two years Father Coady admin- istered the affairs of the diocese, Rt. Rev. Tobias Mullen being con- secrated bishop of Erie diocese in 1868. The first pastor of St. Pat- rick's under Bishop Mullen was Rev. Thomas A. Casey, who con- tinued that relation until transferred to St. Peter's cathedral in 1893. Shortly after accepting the pastorate, Father Casey was appointed vicar general of the diocese. The assistant pastors of St. Patrick's have been Rev. James A. McCabe, Rev. E. J. Murphy, Rev. J. J. Calli- gan, Rev. William Dwyer (who was appointed to the charge of St. Andrew's in 1890), and Rev. John P. McCloskey. Second assistants have been Rev. B. J. Raycroft, Rev. Thomas Graham, Rev. A. B. Me- chura, and Rev. S. E. Aaron. These were the priests that served until St. Patrick's ceased to be the pro-cathedral. In October, 1893, Rev. Hugh Mullen was appointed pastor, with Rev. P. McGovern assist- ant, and served until November 20 of the same year, when Rev. Father Peter Cauley was appointed pastor and in 1894 Rev. Joseph M. Cauley was made assistant, Rev. S. H. Cauley and Rev. C. L. Cauley (all are brothers) being subsequently added as assistants. Father Cauley, still the pastor in charge, has been perhaps the most energetic priest

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A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 88

Author: Miller, John, 1849- Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 926

Author: Miller, John, 1849-
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 926