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From
the History of Mercer County, 1888--
St. Michael’s Catholic Church.
—This congregation had its inception in 1838, when a missionary priest,
sent out by the bishop of Philadelphia, made a tour of Northwestern
Pennsylvania, and, among other places, celebrated mass at the house of Bryan McNally, in Greenville.
Mr. McNally was a native of Ireland, and for a time served in the
British army, but immigrated to the United States, located in
Meadville, Penn., where he was married, and in March, 1830, removed to
Greenville, where he took up his residence near the southwest corner of
Main and Race Streets. He was a tailor by trade, and was the pioneer of
that occupation in the, village. In 1837 he erected the frame residence
on Race Street in which he died, and where two of his children yet
reside. It was in this structure that the first Catholic service in
this portion of the county was held. Besides Mr. McNally there were
present at this service John and
Ferdinand Schmidt, Martin Lindeman, John 0’ Hara, John McCoy
and John U. Hoffman,
all of whom had previously settled in the county. Of these the Schmidt
brothers were of German parentage, and were attracted to Greenville by
employment offered on the canal; Mr. Hoffman, also a native of Germany,
immigrated in 1837, and came to this to do blacksmith work for the
canal constructors, while 0’Hara and McCoy were Irishmen, the latter
being a contractor upon the canal. The Catholic families scattered over
the northeastern portion of the State afterward received occasional
visits from missionaries sent out by the bishop to minister to their
spiritual wants. In the summer of 1842 Rev.
Hugh Gallagher, of Loretta, Cambria Co., Penn., followed
the path of the canal on one of these visits, and celebrated mass in
Mr. McNally’ a home. Besides some of those previously mentioned there
were present at this service Mark
and Bridget Doyle, Patrick and Ann Doyle, and James Doyle, all of whom lived
in Trumbull County, Ohio, but afterward settled in West Salem Township,
Mercer County; Richard, John and
Patrick Many, of Greene Township; John
Savage and Mrs.
Schoonmaker, all of whom were natives of Ireland except
the last one mentioned. Father
Gallagher, who died in California a few years ago [1888],
returned to Greenville at intervals for over a year, and was succeeded
by Rev. John Reed, of
Pittsburgh, who ministered to the little flock for a number of years
following. The services conducted by both were frequently held in the
houses of Ferdinand Schmidt and
Mrs. Schoonmaker.
During the ministrations of Father Reed several families were added to
the congregation, among the number being Michael
Mitchell, a native of Ireland, and family, Michael and Matthias Schumacher and
wives, Bernard George
and father, Nicholas Rommelfangen
and family, Leonard Sauers,
Christopher Frum and Theodore
Kirk, all except the first being of German origin.
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The
necessity of a church now became apparent. Upon Father Reed devolved the task
of selecting the site. He encountered considerable opposition from
property owners, who were averse to selling land for the purpose of
locating a Catholic structure, but he overcame this by a clever
stratagem. Two parishioners, John
and Ferdinand Schmidt, who were then laboring in the blast
furnaces, purchased the desired land for the ostensible purpose of
erecting private residences thereon, and when it was secured they
promptly turned it over to the congregation. The building, a part of
the present edifice, was erected in 1848. The committee that
superintended its erection consisted of John
McCoy, John Savage, John O’Hara, Ferdinand Schmidt and Matthias and Michael Schumacher,
the last mentioned subsequently giving place to John Schmidt. In the same year
the structure was sufficiently enclosed to hold services therein, and
in the following year was dedicated by Father Reed as “St. Michael’s
Church.” Following Rev. Reed
in the ministry came Revs. M. J.
Mitchell, August, 1850-51;
T A. Smith, October, 1851-58; C.
M. Sheehan, March, 1854, to May, 1854; Peter M. Garvey, May, 1854, to
August, 1854; Arthur McConnell
(the first resident priest), September, 1854, to September, 1856; J. Reiser, September, 1856, to
December, 1856; J. J. Gallagher, July, 1857, to
March, 1858; Andrew Schweiger,
March, 1858-59; Joseph Gobbels,
1859-81; F. J. Hartman,
1861-64; John J. O’Keeffe,
1864 to February, 1866; Kiearn
O’Branigan, March, 1866, to September, 1868; Thomas Tracy, October, 1868, to
July, 1876, and the present pastor, Bernard
Donohue, who began his labors in July, 1876. The lots on
which the pastor’s residence stands were purchased by Father O'Branigan, and a
story-and-a-half frame building built thereon. The ground north of the
church had been in use for burial purposes since 1848, and during
Father O’Branigan’s pastorate the present cemetery, in rear of the
church, was secured from Eugene
Rooney, Esq. The latter had purchased the land from the
mother superior of a Cleveland, Ohio, convent, to which institution it
had been willed by William C. Daly,
of the Mercer congregation. The addition to the church, including the
belfry and bell, was made during Father
Tracy’s pastorate, the choir gallery having been also
built at that time. Under the present pastor many additions and
improvements have been made to the church property, and the
congregation has enjoyed both spiritual and material prosperity. The
cemetery has been enlarged, the membership has grown until it now
numbers over 500 souls, and a flourishing Sunday-school of 100 pupils
has been maintained.
History
of Mercer County,
1888, pages 425-426.
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