USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > Conewago in Adams County > Conewago : a collection of Catholic local history : gathered from the fields of Catholic missionary labor within our reach. > Part 5
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and their virtues inspired priests and people with confidence and encouragement. Independence, like the sun after tle darkest storm, brought light and freedom and prosperity to the people ; the church shared in the new life and light thus spread. Many things rendered it necessary that the church should have established authority in America, from Rome and not from London, now that America rendered her no more allegiance. Rev. John Carroll was appointed Vicar-Apostolic, consecrated Bishop in 1790, and raised to the Archbishopric in 1809.
Father Carroll visited Conewago in 1784, and adminis- tered the Sacrament of Confirmation, and again about 1811. He placed the number of communicants at Conewago on his first visit at one thousand. There are but few living now who were confirmed by Bishop Carroll. Miss Sallie Lilly, no doubt, is one of them, and there may be several more in the valley, who were born about 1800.
From this time the growth of the church was rapid every- where, and on a sound and healthy basis. There were a few weak points here and there which caused trouble, but they deserve now to be forgotten as they served only to strengthen the church the more permanently. Diocese after diocese was formed, new Bishops and Archbishops created, and so the work is now going on successfully to-day. First Conewago was under the Bishop of Baltimore, then it belonged to the Diocese of Philadelphia and now it is in that of Harrisburg. It is subject, of course, like always, to the Superiors and Pro- vincials of the Society of Jesus, and they to the Father-Gen- eral in Rome, or wherever he may temporarily reside. In religious matters it is governed by the rules of the Church as they relate to the Orders and the Bishops in their respective dioceses.
We come now to one of the most important periods in the history of the Conewago Church, when the present stone church was built by Father Pellentz. The church was spread- ing and growing everywhere. The greatest trouble experi-
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enced was the want of priests, especially men of executive ability, who could by their energy and perseverance, with the limited means at hand, build suitable churches for the accom- modation of the increasing number of Catholics. Conewago was truly blessed with such a man, in the person of Father James Pellentz, S. J. As a missionary he had attended to the widely scattered missions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. and as a German his services were required in more places than he could possibly render them. We find him at Freder- ick, at Lancaster, and intervening points ; at Carlisle and through the valley to Hagerstown, and later on having in charge the border settlements along the mountains, of which he was relieved by Father Gallitzin. His principal assistant at Conewago was Father Andrews, whom he calls a " faithful servant," which implies more than we can express-the whole burden of church work at Conewago, as Father Pellentz had many outside duties and matters of business which claimed his attention. Two other priests' names are mentioned as assistants to Father Pellentz, but no dates can be given. They were Fathers Charles Sewell and Sylvester Boarman, of the Society, and could not have been at Conewago very long before Father Pellentz's death. There were other priests on the Maryland and Pennsylvania missions, who came to Cone- wago off and on, but were never stationed.
The building of canals and public roadways shortly after the Revolution, brought many Irish and German Catholics into the States, and wherever they went missionaries were sent among them. Conewago increased rapidly in population, and the rich farming lands brought increased wealth and pros- perity. When Father Pellentz succeeded Father Frombach as Superior about 1768, the want of a larger church was al- ready beginning to be felt. The log church must have been but a small place, with bare walls and rude benches and hardly . a floor in it except around the altar and the small room at- tached. Everything that entered the building had to be fur- nished in the settlement. and the means for any kind of work
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were very limited. Travel was then yet mostly by horse- back, so that people were depending to a great extent upon their own resources, cut off from the towns by long distances through an unsettled country.
Many of the Catholics of Conewago were then consider- ed well-to-do, and were as intelligent and appreciative of the comforts of life as people are now. Father Pellentz saw the need of improvements, so that religion might take the lead in the growth of the country. Any steps towards carrying out his plans were out of the question, on account of the troubles and uncertainties occasioned by the war of Independence.
When peace was restored and the country attained a. separate and independent existence, the future of the church like that of the land became brighter and more promising .-- Father Pellentz lost no time in making preparations for his great work. There was money to be collected, material to be furnished and worked out, and many things to be attended to in the erection of so large and finished a building. The stone for the church had to be quarried and dressed near East Ber- lin, and hauled a distance of ten or fifteen miles. The erec- tion of the Church of the Sacred Heart was begun sometime in 1786 and completed in 1787. It stands to-day as solid and substantial as ever. We have no record of its dedication and consecration. The old log church was removed, and services were probably held in one of the rooms of the house or tem- porary place of dwelling. The parsonage was built at the same time, and like the church has since been enlarged and improved. There was a quaint old cupola on the church, but whether it was put up at the same time, or later by Fathers DeBarth and Leken, we are unable to find out. The one hundredth anniversary of the building of this church will be appropriately celebrated next year. The Fathers held a pic- nic in the grove adjoining the church on the 28th of July, just passed, and realized nearly $500, which will be devoted to the celebration of this anniversary. In this church, Father
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Pellentz has left a greater monument to his memory than our humble pen can inscribe.
" This Father's memory is still, and will ever be, affec- tionately and gratefully cherished by the pastors and congre- gation of Conewago, as one of the most liberal, charitable and zealous of men and benefactors, and as a shepherd who laid down his life for his flock, after many weary years of inces- sant and successful labor, in erecting and perpetuating a church in which thousands and tens of thousands were expected and destined to worship their Maker, and save their immortal souls."
A short sketch of the church, written about 1830 by one of the Fathers, from information of one of the oldest inhabit- ants, has the following allusion to the present church as it then appeared : "As it respects the settlement in which it is placed, it is not too much to say that few settlements, if any, will be found in the United States composed of a more dense, wealthy, economical, industrious and intelligent population. The farm attached to the church contains about 500 acres, of probably the very best quality of land in the State of Penn- sylvania. The present church is built of rough-stone, the front of a peculiar sort of red sandstone, found some miles distant from the church, of a very strong texture, and is about 60 feet long, 40 feet high and about 80 feet broad, [taking in the whole front of the building and parsonage,] with a semi- diagonal sanctuary at the east end of about 20 feet, this show- ing it to be one of the largest buildings for public worship as yet in the interior of the country, exclusive of towns and cit- ies." " Father Pellentz was a missionary of the most exemplary piety, of untiring zeal, of the most agreeable and fascinating manners, and certainly possessed of uncommon influence, not only over his own flock but also possessing the affection and confidence of persons of other religious denomi- nations, else it would have been impossible for him to have erected at such an early period, and at such heavy expense, a building of such dimensions. Suffice it to say, that those few,
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without distinction of religious creeds. who have survived him, and who were personally acquainted with him, speak in the most exalted terms of his character and by them his memory is held in the highest veneration."
James Pellentz, S. J., was born in Germany, Jan. 19th, 1727 ; entered the Society in 1744, and made his profession in 1756. He filled the office of Vicar-General to Bishop Car- roll in 1791, and was present at the first Council of Baltimore. He died, according to the record entered at Conewago, on March 13th, 1800, and was buried on the 15th. He was at. old St. Joseph's in Philadelphia in Nov., 1765, as appears from the baptismal register.
FR. PELLENTZ TO FR. DE BARTH.
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Every effort to obtain some connected account of the history of Conewago during this period, has been fruitless .--- There are conflicting statements regarding the successor of Father Pellentz as Superior in 1800. If Father Brosius was Superior at all, it was for a very short time. We are inclined to think that he was not, but may have been acting as such until a permanent Superior was appointed. Between Father Pellentz and Fathers De Barth and Lekeu, there is a space of some years when there was no permanent Superior, but dif- ferent priests acting in that capacity. The priests who were at Conewago about this time, attended the different missions more or less alternately, as best suited the various conflicting circumstances. The Bishop was then beginning to exercise his authority, and getting his large and scattered household in something like working order. Demands were made upon him for a German priest here, an English one there, and one for the Irish somewhere else. The Provincial of the Jesuits was Rev. Robert Molyneaux, who had succeeded Father Lewis. The church kept meeting the growing needs of the people, and
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laying the foundations for vast future extensions. Colleges were being founded and native priests supplied, upon whom the church was soon to depend in a great measure. The Sulpitians founded St. Mary's College, and the Jesuits that of Georgetown. Religious orders were beginning to be intro- duced, to aid in the increasing work of the church, and from the humble start of Mother Seton at Emmettsburg, sprang that vast religious body which is now to be found carrying on schools and asylums and charitable works everywhere. It is not our plan or purpose to enter into any details outside of our limited field, for it could not be more than a passing notice. Thanks to able and learned men, these grounds are well covered by the History of the Catholic Church in the United States, the Life of Mother Seton, History of the Cath- olie Church in Western Pennsylvania, Life of Father Gallitzin, and other valuable works. If only Catholics would give more encouragement to this branch of church literature !
Rev. F. X. Brosius was the young priest who came to this country with Prince Gallitzin in 1792. He was a very useful missionary. Just what time he spent at Conewago it is impossible to designate. Father Middleton, O. S. A., places him here in 1801, and at Baltimore in 1804-5. According to Mr. Griffin he was at Lancaster in 1796, where he issued the "Reply of a Roman Catholic Priest to a Peace-Loving Preacher of the Lutheran Church ;" in 1806 in Philadelphia ; 1807, he founded a " Seminary " or School at Mont Airy, ad- joining Philadelphia ; 1813, he issued at Philadelphia "The Elements of Natural or Experimental Philosophy ;" 1815, at Jamaica Plains, near Boston, where he taught German to Geo. Tieknor; 1816, April 14th, his first baptismal record ap- pears at the Cathedral, Boston, and his last on June 28th .- Then he went to Germany, or brobably first to Cincinnati, then started for Europe. His name appears as sponsor on the baptismal records of Conewago on the following dates : Feb. 7th, 1794 ; May 25th, 1795; Nov. 25th, 1798 ; Oct. 24th, 1800 ; Nov. 3d, 1800 ; April 28th, 1803.
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March 2d, 1793, there is a baptism recorded, with the name of Rev. P. Erntzen given as sponsor. The " P." may signify " Father " from the Latin Pater. There is some doubt as to the correctness of his name, as it is impossible to distin- guish the "n" from the "u." Father Middleton gives his name as " Enntzen " or "Erntzen," which latter would corres- pond with the record. Rev. Paul Dominic Enntzen or Ernt- zen was the fifth pastor of Goshenhoppen, from April, 1793, to May, 26th, 1818. The same Father was at Lebanon from 1801 to 1804.
It has also been stated by some that Father Pellentz was succeeded as Superior by Father Charles Sewell or Father Sylvester Boarman, both of whom labored at Conewago some time before and after 1800.
These priests were assisted by Fathers Cerfoumont, Manly or Maunly, Mertz, Zocchi, and others. There is men- tion of a Father Zoekley, which most likely meant Rev. Nico- laus or Nicholas Zocchi, who succeeded Father Gallitzin at Taneytown. Rev. D. Stanislaus Cerfoumont was a missionary priest for nineteen years, and died at Conewago Aug. 2d, 1804, aged 53. He was one of the priests present at the first Council of Baltimore in 1791. Of Father Manly nothing is known. Father John Nicholas Mertz was at Conewago in 1804,-his name appearing only once on the register of bap- tisms. Father Middleton places him here from Aug., 1803, to Nov., 1805 ; from Dec. 6th, 1805, to May 20th, at Balti- more ; in 1828 at Java, N. Y. ; 1829, at Buffalo ; about 1836 to 1838, at Eden, and Western New York ; dying Aug. 10th, 1844, aged 81. Bishop Timon wrote that Father Mertz was pastor at Conewago in 1826, for three years, and left it in 1829 for Buffalo and Eden, N. Y., " where he labored with the most untiring zeal from the year 1829 till his death."- He was a native of Germany, where he was ordained in 1791, and was received into the Diocese of Baltimore by Bishop Carroll in 1811, " by whom he was always much respected and esteemed."
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We come to another name in the history of Conewago, of a man the record of whose life and labors would fill a vol- ume itself, and that is Demetrius Augustine de Gallitzin .- He was born at the Hague, Dec. 22d. 1770. His father was high in favor at the Russian Court, and the young prince himself was destined for a soldier and statesmen, but Provi- dence ordained otherwise. His mother was of noble birth, and to her training is due to a 'great extent the religious course of the Prince's life. She herself was misled for a time, but lived and died a model christian woman and a Catholic. There are many traits of character in the life of Father Gallit- zin which challenge our admiration. Catholic youth should study his life. Born to vast estates and all the honors of mobility, he forfeited all and became the humble missionary of Loretto, in the wild and distant country of the Alleghany mountains, in America. His life was a continual sacrifice of all that the world had to offer. Friends and kindred, home and country and everything, he left to become a poor, travel- ing missionary, living and laboring for others, with never a thought of himself. In coming to this country, he assumed the name of Herr Schmett, from the family of his mother, who was the daughter of Countess Ruffert and Marshal Count Schmetteau. From this he derived the American name of Mr. Smith, which he kept until changed by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature. He joined the Sulpitians in this country, and was ordained a priest March 18th, 1795, and was sent to Conewago. From here he attended the missions for many miles around. The great aim and object of his life was to found a Catholic colony. Starting with a few Catholic families in 1799, when he left Conewago, he gave all his means and energies towards its accomplishment ; and from this hum- ble beginning at Maguire's settlement, among the Alleghany mountains, in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, he raised up a church and a Catholic people, cultivated the land and cleared the forests, so that at his death all the blessings of home and religion were enjoyed by thousands of happy souls, where
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once a lone wilderness spread its attending desolation. Father Gallitzin died at Loretto, May 6th, 1840. He visited Cone- wago at different times during his life, and many people yet have a personal recollection of this saintly priest. Poor, dear Father Gallitzin ! When discouraged by the sad failures of life, and disgusted at the hollow deceits of the world, we recall the sacrifices, privations and sufferings of this truly noble man, we become reconciled to fate and feel that we have done nothing to entitle us to the miserable existence an unworthy life affords.
FR. DE BARTH TO FR. LEKEU.
With the growth of the country and that of towns and villages, the days of the traveling missionary were drawing to a close. In the beginning of the present century all the outlying missions had already been supplied with churches, and priests stationed at the most central points, who supplied the wants of the Catholies within their reach. So the priests of the community at Conewago had their respective fields of labor. Littlestown, York and Carlisle were the first places provided with church buildings, and where there were none, services were held at first once a month in a room of some Catholic family, where the surrounding Catholics would meet. The priests made use of the best means in their power to keep the Catholics who were far from churches well grounded in their religion, and that was " Catechism." Who does not remember the happy days when " going to Catechism !" Be- fore schools or churches were built, the priests would give in- structions at stated times wherever a few Catholic children or people could be gotten together ; at the same time, baptizing marrying, and performing all the rites of the church as neces- sity demanded. All the surrounding towns, villages and
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country places were thus visited by the Conewago Fathers. Those were days of trials for the Catholics, and the sacrifices they made to practice their religion show that the faith was strong in them. Who to-day walks ten and twenty miles to hear Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation ? With all our modern conveniences many of us are exceedingly care- less and negligent in this respect. Our fathers and mothers tell us that they walked from the "barrens,"-from beyond Abbottstown and the Pigeon Hills in Paradise, from East Berlin and Pinetown (now New Chester) to the vicinity of Gettysburg, and down by Littlestown to the country below Hanover,-walked many a time from these places to Cone wago Chapel to church, carrying their shoes in their hands as far as Slagle's Run or the Conewago and there putting them on, and feeling as neat and trim in linsey dress and homespun as we do to-day in silk and broadcloth. How times and customs change, while the church suits herself to every need and cir- cumstance and goes on forever ! We who are proud and haughty and religious only for fashion's sake, might learn a wholesome lesson from the simple manners and true piety of our forefathers of the " good old time." And if some writer one hundred years hence undertakes to teach his generation by the example and practice of this age, O what is to become of our boasted civilization !
Among the priests who were at Cone wago from 1800 to 1820, and of whom we have nothing but mere mention, are the following : Rev. Matthew Carr, O. S. A., in 1807. Ile established the Order of St. Augustine in Philadelphia in 1795, and started the building of the church of St. Augustine. Rev. Francis Rolof from 1808 to 1810, who was in Baltimore in 1828. Father Marshall, in 1814; there was a Rev. Francis Xavier Marshall at Reading in 1839, and this may be the same one. Father Middleton puts the date of Father Matthew Lekeu's coming to Conewago as May 26th, 1817, and pro- bably he labored here continuously from that time till his
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departure for France about 1843. Rev. P. Rantzun or Ran- son was at Conewago in 1818. This was no doubt Rev. Maximilian Rantzau, spelt so himself in his will, a copy of which we have. He was born in Munster near Westphalia, Dec. 23d, 1769 ; died at Frederick, Aug. 7th, 1827. Father Vincent Phil. Mayerhoffer was at Conewago in 1819. There is mention of Fathers Cummysky and Stogan, as assistants to Father De Barth ; Rev. J. W. Beschter is also mentioned in that capacity, but we do not know at what time he came to Conewago. A breviary preserved in the old library has the following inscription ; " Ad usum J. W. Beschter, 1816."- This must have been when he was a young priest, for he died at Conewago (Paradise) more than twenty-five years after- wards. There is a death record at Conewago of Father Pat- rick O'Connor, July 18th, 1816. Whether he labored here any length of time, is not known. He was probably a Mary- land priest.
The Revolution in France was a blessing to the church in America. What Europe lost by her wars against religion, this country gained. The Jesuits were great missionaries, teachers and statesmen, and worked for great ends. The So- ciety of Jesus was founded as an army to battle against the enemies of religion ; to fight the battles of the church against infidelity, and to stand between the powers of the world, the flesh and the demon in their attacks upon God, His church and His poor. The prayer of its saintly founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, was for continual persecution of its members, so that they might become grim warriors used to the struggles that light is bound to meet with darkness as long as time shall exist. Like the soldier, the Jesuits are trained to religious austerities from youth to the grave, and they are practiced in every mode of christian warfare. They are as learned a body of men as the world will ever see. Their school of theology is the grandest in the history of the church. As teachers they have hardly an equal, and when they once have the training of a youth his habits as a rule are formed for a life-
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time. No wonder that they are persecuted by the world of cruel and ambitious tyrants ; for if religion is to be crushed, the Jesuits will have to be conquered first. All the intrigues of men have been brought against them in vain, and though their suppression may have been thus accomplished, them- selves slandered, calumniated and persecuted, it only served to make them stronger and more powerful in the cause of re- ligion. Defeated in one place, they turned up in another with half a nation converted to the church before their enemies knew what had become of them. Thus it seems providential that when Europe ceased to be a profitable field of missionary labor, perseention drove the Jesuits into other countries where they met with unbounded success.
Among those whose names will ever adorn the annals of the Society in America, Adolphus Lewis de Barth is not the least. Next to Father Pellentz is his memory cherished at Conewago, and his life and labors here rank with those of such Companions as Lekeu, Enders, Deneckere, Villiger and Emig, in what they have done for Conewago. He was born Nov. 1st, 1764 ; came to this country shortly before 1800 ; labored at Bohemia Manor, Maryland ; at St. Joseph's, Phila- delphia in 1795 ; at Lancaster a number of years ; Vicar- General to Bishop Egan, and administrator from his death in 1814 to 1820, when he became Superior at Conewago. Ile remained here until 1828, when he became rector at St. John's Church, Baltimore, where now stands the beautiful church of St. Alphonsus. In 1838, his growing infirmities compelled him to retire for rest to Georgetown College, where he died a saintly death, October 13th, 1844. His name occurs at Conewago in 1807. He signed his name "L. Barth " and " Lewis Barth." He is further mentioned at Conewago in 1804, 1809 and 1815. His name is pronounced " De Bart " by the old people who knew him. It is said that he was pas- tor at Conewago for twenty-five years, but he could not have been such and performed his official duties to the Bishop and the Diocese. He may have been connected with Conewago
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and had more or less supervision, from the beginning of this century to 1828. In 1820, the pew system was introduced, and on that question there was a decided difference between him- self and Father Lekeu. The sketch of 1830 says Father De Barth was the " Presiding Pastor " of . Conewago Congrega- tion, and Father Britt the "Superior of the Fathers of the same house." Be that as it may, we know that Father De Barth managed the property and all the business and papers were transacted in his name. He received power of attorney from Rev. Francis I. Neale, of Georgetown College, June 21st, 1811, for the estate at Conewago,-then already " in his pos- session," which had been bequeathed to Father Neale by Father Molyneaux and held by Father Pellentz, and transferred from Father De Barth to Father Lekeu in 1828. Father Neale we presume was the successor of Rev. Robert Molyneaux as Provincial of the Jesuits.
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