CHURCH: Benedictine Fathers, Cambria Co., PA - pp. 44-66
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THE BENEDICTINE FATHERS IN CAMBRIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
By the Rev. Modestus Wirtner, O.S.B.
PERMISSU SUPERIORUM
Copyright 1926
Rev. Modestus Wirtner, O.S.B.
THE REV. PETER HENRY
LEMKE, O.S.B.
Pioneer Priest of the Alleghenies; Assistant
To The Rev. Prince Gallitzin
THE FOUNDER OF CARROLLTOWN,
PENNSYLVANIA
44 DIAMOND JUBILEE
James Farrell 1.00 Joseph Huber 2.00
Thomas Elder 1.50 John Fresh 1.00
Jacob Klein 3.00 James Fagan 1.00
Michael Ballweber 1.00 Jacob Keebler 1.50
John Thomas 1.50 Henry Bender 2.00
Jas. Driskel 1.00 Michael Cunningham 1.00
Jacob Keefer 1.00 Jacob Nagel 2.00
Andrew Strittmatter 2.00 John Platt 2.00
Augustine Farabaugh 1.00 Francis Swam 2.00
Peter Zeiger 1.00 Michael Weakland of John 2.00
George Fresh 1.00 Sarah Byrne 2.00
George Moyers 1.00 William Baker 1.00
John Campbell 2.00 Conrad Hartman 1.00
Anthony Rudler 1.00 Landlin Gutwalt 1.50
Jacob Kuntz 1.00 John McConnell 1.00
Lewis Craver 1.00 Michael Murray 1.00
Michael Weakland 1.00 Michael Noon 0.50
Francis Gillesphy, Jr. 1.00 George Dumm 1.00
John Gillesphy 1.00 James Kennedy 1.00
Jacob Huber 1.00 Ulrich Strassler 1.50
Thomas Kirkpatrick 1.00 Michael Wasner 1.00
James Platt 1.00 Peter Woodley 1.00
Joseph Birrer 1.00 Frederick Baker 1.00
Nicklaus Swam 1.00 Frederick Fruesch 1.50
In the month of September, 1835, Bishop Kenrick wrote to Father Lemke directing
him to meet him at Bellefonte to accompany him on a visitation tour throughout
the western part of the state. Father Lemke promptly responded and met the
Bishop at the appointed place. They traveled all over the country, generally in
stage coaches, but frequently in farmers wagons. The Bishop examined into the
condition of the various stations, dedicated churches, and administered the
Sacrament of Confirmation. At many places Father Lemke was called upon to preach
in German after the Bishop had preached in English.
After the Bishop had finished his visitation Father Lemke returned to his post
of duty at Ebensburg. His spiritual activities extended over the whole county,
except Loretto, and even there he attended the sick calls. Moreover he had also
the care of Centre and Clearfield Counties, of which he was relieved in the
summer of 1836. On one Sunday of the month he visited Loretto on account of the
German Catholics; One Sunday St. Joseph's church, and on the third Sunday St.
John's church, Johnstown, where there were twelve Catholic families with a large
number of men working on the canal and the Portage Railroad. He and Father
Gallitzin were the only priests in the county, but he did not complain, "but
everywhere I went", he says in Leben and Werken, "I found it light work, for
Gallitzin had been before me and commenced it, laying the solid foundation."
Hart's Sleeping Place, sometimes called the Weakland settlement, which formed
the congregation of St. Joseph's church, had long seemed to Father Gallitzin
well fitted to serve as the nucleus of another Catholic town, upon the plan
which he had himself carried through, after years of toil and bitter opposition,
and with keen penetration he saw in Father Lemke's immense energy and persistent
nature, one well able to put the wish into practice, once he could be inspired
with
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 45
"The Old Chapel" at Carrolltown, Pa. [photo]
46 DIAMOND JUBILEE
the desire of undertaking it. "He was continually urging me," says Father Lemke,
"to do there as he had done in Loretto, promising to give me every aid and
assistance (23).
Lemke Buys a Farm at St. Joseph's Church
In the spring of 1837 Father Lemke was able to purchase 181 acres and 155
perches of land from one of the son's of John Weakland, adjoining the land on
which St. Joseph's church was erected. It is now the Thomas Kirkpatrick estate.
The deed was not recorded, as part of the farm was not yet patented.
Very Reverend D. A. Gallitzin to Rev. Thomas Heyden.
Loretto, Jan. 24, 1838.
Rev. and dear Friend.
Last spring Rev. Father Lemke, with the view of forming a permanent church
establishment, hath purchased some improved land, for which he paid the first
instalment. On the first of April he is obliged to pay two hundred dollars, as
the former owner is going to remove to Illinois, and cannot possibly do without
his money, unfortunately I am unable to assist my friend Lemke." (24).
Father Lemke moved onto his farm sometime in 1837 according to Rev. Oswald
Moosmueller in St. Vincenz in Pennsylvania, page 26. He took into his house a
pious widow, Mrs. Mary Koch, with her children, who brought her furniture and
thus relieved him from the necessity of furnishing his home. From Hart's
Sleeping Place he went in every direction where Catholic settlers were to be
found. He was seldom at home, only one Sunday in the month, yet everything was
well taken care of. He was a wonderful expert and fearless horseman. It was his
delight, during his career as a missionary, to give to the admiring settlers
exhibitions of his skill in riding and subduing wild and untrained colts.
An exhibition of this in the little town of Munster is described by Hon. Jas. J.
Thomas in the Souvenir of Loretto Centenary page 272: "Father Lemke was on his
way to Jefferson (Now Wilmore), and stopped for dinner at the tavern kept by
Peter Collins. When the time came for him to resume his journey, the horse, a
spirited young sorrel, was brought out in front of the tavern in readiness for
the priest to mount. From the action and appearance of the animal the bystanders
judged that this would be no easy matter; yet Father Lemke, taking the reins
from the hostler and refusing all profferred assistance, jumped like a flash
into the saddle. Then commenced the display of horsemanship. The animal had
apparently made up his mind that he would throw Father Lemke, and that he would
not go to Jefferson that day; yet during the whole scene of rearing, plunging
and kicking the priest maintained his seat as if he were glued to it, all the
time refusing to permit any of the spectators, who feared for his safety, to
interfere. Despite the determination of the horse to have his own way he was
compelled to yield to the stronger will and superior skill of his master; and
eventually both he and his rider disappeared in a cloud of dust on the road to
Jefferson."
The day book of Mr. Joseph (father of Lewis) Bearer, shows that Father Lemke
hired men to clear the land in 1837, who off and on
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 47
Father Lemke's Dwelling at Carrolltown
48 DIAMOND JUBILEE
continued the work until the land was sold and then also worked on the new
purchase "The Curtis Clay Tract." When in 1839 Father Gallitzin heard that he
intended to call the settlement at St. Joseph's in honor of his patron and
friend, Gallitzin, the good old venerable missionary vigorously objected and
suggested the name of Carrolltown in honor of Bishop Carroll, the first Bishop
of the United States. Although it must have been a great trial for Father Lemke
to yield the point so close to his heart, he did so and the town was to be
called Carrolltown.
Bishop Kenrick's Diary: "July 17, 1839. We proceeded on horseback to the home of
Prince Demetrius Gallitzin. I went the next day to Hart's Sleeping Place in
Susquehanna Township, twelve miles distant from the home of Prince Gallitzin;
there I confirmed seventy-three persons, in the church of St. Joseph, on the
nineteenth day of July. Here lives the Rev. Father Lemke on land which he bought
with his own personal money. There are about one hundred and twenty families in
the congregation; they are generally poor people, but they are strong in
practical piety and sincere worth. The pastor is much esteemed for his devotion
to duty and zeal for religion. He requests, however, to be relieved of the
burden of visiting the sick in Loretto, and also of the care of the faithful of
the congregation in the town of Johnstown, because they are too far away.
"July 22, which was the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. I confirmed 128
persons in the church of St. Michael, Loretto. Seventy were confirmed the day
before. The Rev. Peter Lemke celebrated the Mass.
"July 24, I went to Johnstown by railroad. I confirmed seventeen persons in this
church. The Rev. Peter Lemke, who visits this mission the third Sunday of each
month, assisted me."
Father Lemke records no baptisms in his Records from September 1839 to 1840, for
Johnstown. The bishop's remark, that the people of St. Joseph's are generally
poor, reminds me of one of Father Lemke's old stories: one day when he was in
the clearing, burning logs, a bare footed young man with his bare foted girl
came up to him and asked where they could find Father Lemke, for they wished to
get married. He accompanied them to the parsonage, and then directed them to
knock at the front door whilst he in the mean while entered the house by the
rear door, washed himself, put on his clerical garb, then entered the office to
receive the visitors. Knowing that the couple lived in the outskirts of the
parish he directed them to the church, where he heard their confessions and then
united them in the bonds of holy matrimony.
About this time Father Lemke, under the patronage and advise of Father
Gallitzin, established two other missions, the one in the north-east at the
Loup, later called St. Augustine, the other in the north at Glen Connell, later
called St. Lawrence. A great many Catholic settlers had located there, and as
the land around about was quite fertile they were fairly prosperous.
During lent, 1840, Father Gallitzin was not well. On Easter Sunday, after
celebrating low Mass at a late hour, he was scarcely able to reach his room.
Father Lemke was informed of the illness, but he himself was ill from a cut in
the foot which he had given himself while chopping wood, and did not go to
Loretto. A few days later Father
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 49
Gallitzin sent his sled, Father Lemke got out of his own bed of illness and late
at night arrived at that of his friend. Dr. Armand Aristide Rodrigue, who was
attending Father Gallitzin, gave it as his opinion that the illness would prove
serious, so Father Lemke remained. Father Gallitzin died on the 6th of May.
During his death agony Father Lemke and Father Heyden, who had meanwhile
arrived, said the prayers for the dying, in the presence of Father Gallitzin's
parishoners. Father Lemke took charge of the funeral, as Father Gallitzin had
given him instructions. Rev. Father Heyden sang the Requiem Mass, assisted by
the Rev. Fathers Bradley, McGirr, Lemke and Rattigan. Father Heyden preached the
English sermon and Father Lemke the German. (25).
Upon Father Gallitzin's death, Father Lemke promptly announced the fact to the
bishop and in reply to his message received orders to take charge of the Loretto
congregation, and to make his residence at Loretto. Father Lemke was very loth
to do this, as his own congregation, St. Joseph, and his property there would
fall into decay. The bishop however insisted; so he took up the work at Loretto,
at the same time continuing his missionary labors at other stations. He was now
the only resident priest in the county. This fact necessitated an amount of
labor on his part, hard at present to appreciate, or as the bishop expressed
himself on October 29, 1830, in Father Gallitzin's case: "the work would require
the strenuous labor of three priests at least."
Whilst engaged in his missionary labors, in the performance of which he
constantly travelled from one end of the county to the other, either on foot or
on horse-back, he gradually was impressed with the fact that Hart's Sleeping
Place was not the most desirable place. It was not, he thought, the center of
the Catholic population. He consequently decided to make a new settlement
farther south, at a place which he believed to be the center of the Catholic
population. A belief in which he was supported by many of the most prominent
Catholics, and especially by Squire Bender, who was looked upon by all settlers
as a paragon of wisdom. Squire Bender's views were strengthened by the fact that
he had bought Hanna Shoefield's tract of 413 acres and 18 perches at a tax sale
for 92 cents on the 30, June, 1834. (26) This land adjoined the "Curtis Clay
Tract" which was now for sale. There were, however, some difficulties and
opposition to be overcome. In the first place he had purchased a farm at Hart's
Sleeping Place; and in the second, the settlers around Hart's Sleeping Place
objected to the establishment of a new church within a few miles of their own.
The New Location of Carrolltown
In 1840 Father Lemke sold his farm at Hart's Sleeping Place to John Ivory, his
former host at Ebensburg, on the installment plan and on the 5th of February
1844 (27) handed him the deed. He then immediately bought on the 22nd of June,
1840 (28), from William S. Vaux, executor, The Curtis Clay Tract of land
consisting of 395 acres, then owned by the heirs of George Vaux, and now the
site on which Carrolltown is situated. With all the energy and enthusiasm of his
nature Father Lemke applied himself to the founding of his projected settlement.
Old settlers for miles around, who had learned to regard
50 DIAMOND JUBILEE
him with tender affection, flocked to his assistance, and gave him in labor in
clearing the forest what they could not give in money. He encouraged settlers to
buy land, clearing forests, making roads, being to them all for the time,
lawyer, doctor, and priest in one. His unfailing cheerfulness, hope and aid did
much to encourage and sustain the many homeless emigrants who began to flock
there. Looking for a proper location for his house he discovered a vein of coal
which (29) was promptly opened. His day book shows that the first person in 1841
to be charged for coal was: "Dr. Pfaff got 27 bu. coal at 10 cts, per bu.; Peter
Urban got 10 bu. coal at 10 cts. per bu.; sold 45 bu. coal to a stranger for 45
cts."
Father Lemke says in his Autobiography: "John Campbell had been living on the
land and cleared some acres on the choicest spot around his cottage, so that I
had an opening to erect a substantial log house with cellar and spring house and
a frame house with chapel, and got about twenty acres of wood land cleared, all
in the first year." On the southern (30) slope of a hill, with the assistance of
thirty volunteers, he built over a spring, the source of the West Branch of the
Susquehanna River, a two story house, the lower story being a spring house and
cellar, the upper story a living room and a kitchen; a covered porch encircled
three sides of the building and a bell was placed in the south gable. Peter
Gauntner (31) did the mason work and Peter Urban looked after the carpenter
work. Twenty paces north east of the house he built a log chapel. Later he added
a frame addition to it, thus it became a small church in which Sunday early Mass
was celebrated for the people living in the vicinity of Carrolltown and late
Mass at St. Joseph until Christmas 1850. The dwelling house is in a fair
condition at the present time.
Bishop Kenrick's Diary: "Aug. 21, 1840, I confirmed 30 in the church of St. John
Gaulbert, Johnstown.
"Aug. 22, 1840. I blessed a church under the invocation of St. Bartholomew, near
Jefferson. I confirmed also 40 persons.
"Aug. 23, 1840. I confirmed 120 in the church of St. Michael, at Loretto. The
Rev. Peter Lemke has the administration of this congregation since the month of
May of this present year, when, on the sixth day, the Rev. Demetrius A.
Gallitzin departed out of this life."
The Rev. Matthew W. Gibson was ordained by Bishop Kenrick, in August, 1841, and
was sent to assist Father Lemke at Loretto. He said his first Mass there on
September the eighth. He assisted at Loretto in 1841, but soon judged himself
capable of taking sole charge of a congregation. Accordingly in 1842 Father
Lemke imitated Father Gallitzin's example by installing Father Gibson in the
center of his missionary work, namely at St. Bartholomew, Jefferson, where the
people desired a resident priest. The Baptismal Records, preserved at Loretto,
show us the extent of his missions.
"Register of Baptisms, Marriages, etc., of the mission which comprises
Ebensburg, Summit, Jefferson (Wilmore), Johnstown, Recevoir (South Fork Dam)
from the first of October, 1841, when I Matthew William Gibson received
Jurisdiction from the Rt. Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick, Bishop of Philadelphia."
Other places mentioned in the Records are Viaduct and Halfway House.
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 51
Father Lemke attended Loretto, Hart's Sleeping Place and these stations: at
Ashville he celebrated Mass in the residence of (32) Joseph Conrad in a room
later called the 'Mass Room'; at the Loup, (St. Augustine) in the residence of
Thomas Adams, of Henry Kreis and when the attendance became larger, in the
school house down towards the Beaver Dam, according to some, perhaps also in the
house of Francis Hoover, close to the present church; at Glen Connel (33) (St.
Lawrence) in the house of Martin Ballweber, then of Jacob Gill and finally in
that of John Thomas, an 1824 settler, who had the largest house and near the
present church.
The Rev. Lemke to M. A. Frenaye, of Philadelphia.
Loretto, Pa., July 6, 1843.
“. . . . . My respects to the Bishop and tell him that the Rev. M. Gibson lives
now since about, 6 or 7 weeks, with me at Loretto, and also that I have
investigated the affairs of the church in Jefferson and saw no great danger and
difficulties as have been expected." (34).
These difficulties were overcome by Father Lemke giving Father Gibson work in
the parish of Loretto, but he himself now spent most of his time at Carrolltown,
looking eagerly forward to the day when Carrolltown would be a reality.
In 1843 the diocese of Pittsburgh was erected with the Rt. Rev. Michael
O'Connor, D. D., as the first Bishop. There were in the diocese 14 priests, 33
churches, a Catholic population of nearly 45,000, 12,000 being of German origin.
The status of Cambria county was: Loretto, St. Michael's, frame, 1800; Jefferson
(now Wilmore), St. Bartholomew's, stone, 550; Johnstown, St. John Gaulbert's,
brick, 400; Ebensburg, St. Patrick's, frame, 250; Hart's Sleeping Place, St.
Joseph's log, 300; Summit, St. Aloysius' church in course of construction,
frame, 500. The Rev. H. Lemke and the Rev. M. Gibson.
In the last week of February 1844 Father Gibson left for Worchester, Mass. The
Bishop then sent the Rev. Andrew P. Gibbs and Thomas B. O'Flaherty as
assistants. Father Lemke gave the pastoral residence at Loretto over to the
assistants for the time being, and he resided principally at Carrolltown.
This arrangement gave him more time to oversee the clearing of the neglected
site for his town. In the fall the bishop sent a third priest to Loretto. Father
Kittel in "The Souvenir of Loretto Centenary" page 67 states: "Rev. Hugh Patrick
Gallagher became pastor (of Loretto) September 27, 1844, and remained until
1852." He made his first baptismal entry October 1844. Father Lemke made his
last baptismal entry in Loretto on October 12, 1844. Now he was able to devote
his whole spare time to his settlement. When he had conceived the idea of
founding a town, he fondly looked forward to a time, when he could build a fine
church there, but sufficient funds were lacking. Now before he began his final
work he desired to spend a vacation in Europe. He distinctly states in his
Autobiography that he did not ask the favor of being allowed to collect money in
Europe. He wrote to the bishop for leave of absence to spend a vacation in
Germany. "The Bishop granted me, not only leave of absence, but authorized me in
writing to engage in his name German priests for the new diocese." (35).
52 DIAMOND JUBILEE
Lemke Takes a Vacation
On October 14, 1844 Father Lemke handed Mr. Christopher Ruh a deed for 60 acres
of land which he sold him for $160.00. He arranged his affairs for a temporary
absence. On December 1st the first Sunday in Advent he celebrated Mass in St.
Joseph's church and bade farewell to his parishoners, and said Mass again on
Christmas day in the cathedral of Strasburg.
He was cordially received by his old friends in Germany and was given an
attentative ear to all that he had to relate of the new world. The first person
among his friends whom he met was Dr. Raes, whose poignant joke in Schlosser's
castle gave to America one of her most zealous and successful missionaries. His
dear patron and friend, Bishop Sailer, was dead, and also his successor, Bishop
Wittman. At Saltzberg he was present at the consecration of his dear friend
Diepenbrock as Prince-Bishop of Breslau. Bishop Diepenbrock offered him a
position in his diocese, but Father Lemke thought that the Germans of
Carrolltown were in greater need of his assistance than those of Breslau. His
old patron Schlosser gave him five hundred florins for his church in America and
King Louis of Munich gave him 3,000 florin for the same purpose. Bishop
Diepenbrock, later Cardinal, in 1850, offered him any and as many books of his
library as he wished to take along.
Father Lemke was of the opinion that in America there was a large field of
activities for a conservative Order such as that of St. Benedict. In a letter of
January 29th, 1835, he wrote: "What think you, my dearest friend; would it not
be a great thing if a number of congenial religious and lay brothers would
settle among these plain, honest people, and would, according to the old
Benedictine custom, clear up forests, and engage in teaching the arts and
sciences, pray and educate the people? The necessary freedom for such work
exists here and land can be bought, many thousands acres, at from one to two
dollars an acre, but where is the money to come from for such a purpose? If the
ground were purchased, the rest would follow. The messengers of the gospel did
not thrive in our German forests in carriages; nor did they in the beginning
live in palatial monasteries. This is really the only way in which Catholicity
will ever get a proper foothold here, and will be enabled to influence the lives
of the people of this country. Every thing else is lamentable patchwork, and,
depend upon it, I have already learned the full meaning of this proposition."
(Mainzer Monatschrift.)
In Munich he met several Benedictines of the Monastery of Metten, who had charge
of the Royal Institute of Munich. The Benedictines showed a disposition to learn
all they could about America, and he availed himself of the opportuinty to plant
in their minds his ideals about the field of labor for them there. After dinner
Father Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., informed him that he had read the Catholic
papers and the Annals of the Foreign Missions, and, learning of the death of
German priests in America, made up his mind long ago to go there and found a
Monastery; in fact he had now the approbation of the Papal Nuntius in Munich
Monsignor Morichini, of the Coadjutor Bishop Prince Reisach and of the Directors
of the St. Louis Mission Society. Father Lemke urged him to establish his
community in the
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 53
diocese of Pittsburgh, at the same time offering his land as a site for the
Monastery and himself as a candidate for admission into the new community.
After ten months of vacation Lemke, rich in tokens of friendship, money, books,
vestments, etc., returned to his American missions. He went directly, with boxes
and baggage, to Loretto to make his monthly visit to the German Catholics of the
congregation. From there he went to Carrolltown and engaged Augustine Farabaugh
to transfer his boxes from Germany to the residence of John Wirtner, Sr., who
should store them in his storeroom in the tannery, about a half mile south of
Bradley Junction. The last baptismal record entered into the Records of St.
Joseph's church by the priest from Loretto was dated Oct. 21, 1845. Father Lemke
made the next entry on Oct. 26, the last Sunday of the month.
The Rev. Boniface Wimmer, O. S. B.
Father Boniface Wimmer, with the consent of his Abbot, wrote to Bishop Michael
O'Connor for permission to establish a monastery in his diocese. The bishop
cheerfully gave his consent. He also wrote to Father Lemke that, the bishop
having given his consent to the establishing of the monastery, he and his
companions would leave next summer for Carrolltown. In the meanwhile he
announced in the papers that he was ready to receive vocations and assistance
for the new monastery to be established in America. In the following year Father
Lemke bought 79 acres of land on the 5th of June, 1846. Some weeks later he
received another letter stating that Father Wimmer and his companions would
leave for America during the last week of July. Father Lemke then bought 226
acres more on the 14th of September. Rt. Rev. William Quarter, Bishop of
Chicago, had heard of the intended monastery in America, also wrote to father
Wimmer, inviting him to come to his diocese. Father Boniface Wimmer and
companions left Metten on July 25, 1846. (36). At Rotterdam they boarded the
ship Iowa, and after a peasant voyage landed at New York on the 16th of
September. On board the ship Father Wimmer wrote his second letter to Bishop
O'Connor, which he mailed in New York.
Boniface Wimmer's reception in America was not encouraging. Father Lemke was not
there to meet him. Prominent ecclesiastics, to whom he had letters of
introduction, shrugged their shoulders in pity when they heard of his project.
He was informed that others had already tried to do what he now intended and
failed. Nay, there had been a Trappist Monastery began at Carrolltown and was
abandoned. Lemke is only seeking a buyer for his poor land. But Father Wimmer
was a man of remarkable courage and will-power and hence these representations
did not cause him to falter. "I have come so far and with the help of God I will
try." Three days later (37) when he was about to leave the New York depot for
Philadelphia he met Father Lemke. Father Lemke was introduced to each member,
but what a disappointment. In place of a twenty fully fledged Benedictines there
was only one, Father Boniface Wimmer, four students of theology, who expected to
become Benedictine priests, and fifteen were to become lay brothers. Under the
present circumstances he could not make up his mind to become a Benedictine.
54 DIAMOND JUBILEE
RT. REV. BONIFACE WIMMER, O.S.B. [photo]
Founder of St. Vincent Archabbey
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 55
He escorted Father Wimmer and his companions by railroad on September 19, to
Philadelphia, where they remained only one day, then to Columbia where they went
by canal to Hollidaysburg. Here a number of teams were secured to take their
baggage to Ebensburg. The candidates walked to Carrolltown, where they arrived
on Wednesday September 30th, the day on which Bishop O'Connor held the first
diocesan synod.
Father Wimmer began to take his bearings. His first impression of his new home
was rather disappointing; not much land was under cultivation, and that was
studded with stumps; the roads were rough, stony and hilly. In a valley, almost
surrounded by hills, there was a farmhouse and a barn, a short distance away
there was another house in course of construction, St. Joseph's church was about
three miles father northward. Here then the little colony was to erect a
monastery.
Bishop O'Connor promptly answered Father Wimmer's letter, which is preserved in
the St. Vincent Archabbey archive. He says that "I can not explain how it
happened that you did not meet Father Lemke who had gone to New York for that
very purpose. In a few words I give you a cordial welcome and I look forward
with exceedingly great pleasure to see a monastery of St. Benedict erected in
this diocese. Be not solicitous about the conditions, which I placed in my
former letter to you, for they will be made agreeable to you and for the good of
religion. I am pleased that you say you have the intention to call upon me in
Pittsburgh. The best time would be next week when we are holding the diocesan
synod and on the first Sunday of October the church of the Redemptorist Fathers
is to be blessed with great solemnity. I will receive you with great pleasure
and I thank God that you have given this new sign of good will toward our
diocese. I am sure that before you receive this letter you will have seen Father
Lemke who will give you all the information of which you speak."
I commend myself to your prayers and remain your most humble servant in Christ.
M. O'CONNOR,
Ep. Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, 25 Sept. 1846
Father Lemke offered to sell Father Wimmer his land at Carrolltown, and this
offer Father Wimmer thankfully took into favorable consideration. But now he
must pay his respects to Bishop O'Connor and seek his advice. He met with a
cordial reception and welcome into the diocese. The principal subject was, of
course, Father Wimmer's project. The Bishop was favorably impressed and offered
to assist the young Benedictine colony in every possible way. He, being better
informed, did not consider Carrolltown a favorable location for the future
monastery and seminary. In lieu thereof, he offered St. Vincent's in
Westmoreland County, which had many advantages over the mountain town. On the
following day the bishop, in company with Father Wimmer, visited the place. Here
he saw a brick church, a brick parochial residence and other buildings, situated
in center of a large area of fertile and gently sloping land, many acres of
which had been brought under clean cultivation. The location commanded a
magnificent view of the surrounding country, and in particular of the
56 DIAMOND JUBILEE
RT. REV. AURELIUS STEHLE, O.S.B. [photo]
Abbot St. Vincent's Archabbey
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 57
beautiful wooded Chestnut Ridge on the eastern horizon. The country was settled
by many German Catholics, the climate was milder and the projected Pittsburgh-
Philadelphia railroad would pass near by, which would be of the greatest
advantage to the seminary.
Without committing himself any way Father Wimmer returned to Carrolltown. Here
he found everybody busy. He made known the bishop's offer to his companions, and
its many advantages over Carrolltown. Before they came to a decision, a
petition, signed by almost all the members of St. Vincent congregation, was
handed to Wimmer inviting and entreating him to locate in their midst. Father
Wimmer now informed Father Lemke, to his great disappointment that he would not
buy his farm. To such a degree was this disappointment shared by the good people
around Carrolltown, that there was some difficulty in getting them to help
Father Wimmer away with his luggage (38). They had been most desirous to have a
religious community in their midst, and now that their wishes in this matter
were about to be gratified, they were most loth to give up the opportunity.
Father Wimmer made up his mind on the 15th of October, 1846, to leave the
following day.
After the Benedictines had gone Father Lemke rearranged his plans. For nearly
two years he fostered the idea of assisting in founding the monastery, and
becoming a member of the community. He made great preparations for their coming,
went to New York to meet them and was disappointed in seeing only one, so that
he could not make up his mind to join them. He would at least offer them his
land for the monastery and thus become instrumental in founding it, but now all
his hopes were blasted. The land which he bought he now sold to an advantage.
The first tract of 79 acres he sold on Nov. 7th to John Flick; the other tract
of 226 acres he sold on Nov. 3, to Bernard Lambour, his hired man, who was
anxious to have his family come here from Germany. Father Lemke told Lambour
that the farm was advantageously situated and that some day a town would be
built there and that he reserves 15 acres for the church. This agreement was not
made in writing but was an agreement made between gentlemen. (Thus Sr. Martha
Lambour, granddaughter of B. Lambour) St. Nicholas Church was built in 1866 and
the village was called St. Nicholas but later changed on account of the
postoffice to Nicktown. Father Lemke then rented his farm to Blase Noel and sold
at public sale all his farm goods. He now decided to devote himself more
exclusively to his priestly duties. He attended to St. Joseph's Church at Hart's
Sleeping Place and to the missions and proceeded with his plans of laying out
the town of building a church at Carrolltown.
Lemke Sells Lots In Carrolltown
No date for the sale of the lots in the town has been found, but the dates of
the actual transfer of titles, as seen in the Recorders Office, are as follows:
on April 27, 1847, sold two lots to J. Peter Urban; on December 24, 1847, sold
two lots to Martin Schroth and eight lots to Mary Catherine Koch. On January 11,
1848, one lot to
58 DIAMOND JUBILEE
John Flick; on January 27, donated ten acres of land to the Rt. Rev. Michael
O'Connor, D. D., in trust for the Catholic Congregation of Hart's Sleeping
Place, also in the same year on January 22, a lot to John Itel and another to
John Sharbaugh; on September 21, sold two lots to Mary Catherine Koch, two lots
to Francis Strittmatter, one lot to Peter Strittmatter and one lot to Peter
McDade; on October 9, sold to the Benedictine Order 298 acres. On September 22,
1849, sold to Jacob Huber one lot and another to Paul Strittmatter; on September
28, sold a lot to Peter Strittmatter and one to John Sharbaugh. On March 28,
1850, one lot to Francis H. Strittmatter.
Father Lemke now seriously thought of leaving the mountains and returning to the
jurisdiction of his former Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick. He,
however, was tied down by his interests at Carrolltown. One day to his great
relief, Father Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., appears and offers to buy his land. The
story runs thus:
Bishop O'Connor, in a letter dated June 26, 1847, to the Very Rev. Boniface
Wimmer, advised him not to build a college annexed to a monastery having a
seminary . . . Since Wimmer had in mind to build such institutions, he advised
him to build each in a different locality, and made him here a splendid offer of
a very suitable place ... (Moosemiller in Erzabt Bonifaz Wimmer, p. 39.)
Father Wimmer took the advise under consideration. In October he, accompanied by
the Very Rev. Peter Lechner, O.S.B., went to Carrolltown to visit his old friend
Lemke and to see what progress the town had made. On this occasion Father Wimmer
offered to buy Father Lemke's farm, of 29S acres, and buildings which he had
erected for his own use. Father Lemke was very well pleased and accepted the
offer. The transfer of title was made on October 9, 1848, for a consideration of
$3,000, payable in yearly installments of $300. Moosemiller, in his chapter on
Carrolltown, has made several mistakes. He says, that Bishop O'Connor assisted
Wimmer with $2,000 in the transaction, this, I think is another mistake. There
is no document in the St. Vincent Archive to prove it. Being now free Father
Lemke secured his exeat from the diocese, and went back to Bishop Kenrick in
Philadelphia.
Bishop Kenrick sent him to Reading, to St. Peter's church where he became
associated with Father Henry Balfe. His first baptismal entry at St. Peter's is
dated October 22, 1848. He worked one year on this mission. The spirit of
trusteeism, which had driven him away from Holy Trinity in Philadelphia shortly
after his arrival in America, still prevailed among the Germans in Reading, and
he found in the lawlessness which it engendered a very annoying disdain of his
own ideas of authority.
Whilst at Reading he translated into German and published Father Gallitzin's
pamphlet, entitled, "A Defense of Catholic Principles." This literary work,
together with his parochial duties, gave him ample occupation, but he was
apparently discontented. His last baptismal registry at St. Peter's church is on
August 19, 1849.
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 59
Lemke Returns To Carrolltown; Becomes A Benedictine Monk
On September 22, he wrote, at Carrolltown, two titles of transfer of towns lots,
and three more titles on the 28th. Later in the fall he paid a visit to St.
Vincent's. In his Autobiography he says: "I was quite astonished and felt great
remorse about by puislanimity, when I saw what Father Wimmer had brought about
with that material with which he had come to me in 1846. New buildings were in
progress of construction, the young theologians who had come with him and made
profess and were ordained. Three Benedictines from three different monasteries,
one of them, a very learned man and author of several works, Father Peter
Lechner, had joined the house. There were, therefore, already eight priests,
seven aspirants for priesthood in minor orders, twenty-six lay brothers and
nineteen novices and aspirants." This list agrees with that of Father Moosmiller
with the exception of the number of novices for that year.
If the mind of Mrs. George Waltz, daughter of John Stolz, failed her not, then
Father Lemke remained in Carrolltown until he entered the Benedictine Order in
1851. Father Lemke found the widow Stolz in destitute circumstances. A certain
man had cheated her or withheld from her money due her deceased husband. In her
name he took up the case against that man. The case was put off from one term of
court to another, but Lemke remained until she obtained her money.
Father Boniface Wimmer wrote to the Mission Society of Munich on the 7th of
November, 1851: "The two priests here (at Carrolltown) with whom the aged
missionary Father Lemke now lives, have the care of 260 souls in the parish.
They also attend missions in Clearfield and Indiana Counties and in many other
places, where the Germans have no priest of their own."
Father Lemke finally made up his mind to become a Benedictine. He entered a
baptismal registry at Carrolltown on the 30th of November, 1851. He then went to
St. Vincent's Monastery. Father Lemke and the Rev. Joseph Billon, a priest who
had labored on the missions in Canada for eleven years, received the holy habit
of St. Benedict on the second day of February, 1852, and began their novitiate.
According to Rev. Oswald Moosemiller in St. Vincenz, page 116 and in Erzabt B.
Wimmer, page 145: "With great difficulty a room was alloted to each priest," not
to speak of a spare room for a visitor. In order to ease the situation, Father
Henry, as he is now called, was sent to Carrolltown in the latter part of
February, 1852, to continue his novitiate under the direction of Father
Celestine Englebrecht, O.S.B., the Prior at Carrolltown. Here he also assisted
in the church.
During the year of his probation, he, at one time, hesitated to make his
profession, but recalling to mind the words of the Lord: "No man putting his
hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven," he
persevered and as he says: "I made my profession on the second of February,
1853, in the church of Carrolltown" into the hands of the Very Rev. Superior,
Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. The Rev. Boniface Wimmer entered a baptismal record on
January 30, 1853 at Carrolltown.
60 DIAMOND JUBILEE
Father Henry remained at Carrolltown as the assistant priest. Before entering
the Order he had bought, in 1851, 260 acres of land in the Hopper Valley and in
1854, the Fisher estate being for sale, he also bought it. Now he looked forward
to the day, as also Father Boniface did, when a Monastery and college would be
built in this fertile valley (39).
Lemke Leaves for Kansas
During the year 1855, whilst Father Boniface was in Rome with a petition into an
Abbey, a misunderstanding arose between Father Henry and some of his younger
confreres. Father Henry, to whom Father Boniface had given permission to live
either here or in some other house of the Order, now formed the resolution of
becoming a Trappist Monk in Kentucky (40). On the journey there, Father Henry
met a member of this branch of the Benedictine Order in Pittsburgh, and it
became evident to him that he did not have a vocation for such a heroic life. On
the contrary, the attractive letters of Dr. Aristide Rodrigue, received while at
Carrolltown, enkindled in him the Kansas fever, "Go West, young man", and he
went to St. Louis to become a missionary again. At Westport, Missouri, he met
Dr. Rodrigue, and with him, during Christmas week, went to Lecompton, Kansas. It
was here that he had the fever and was so seriously ill.
In the meanwhile Father Boniface Wimmer returned from Rome to the United States
as the first Benedictine Abbot. He sent a letter to Father Henry, who was now in
the Kansas Territory. He answered the letter as follows: (41)
Kansas Territory, February 8, 1856.
The Rt. Rev. Abbot:
"Your letter of the 3rd of January I received yesterday, very fortunately, for
all communication between here and the States has been cut out for several
months . . . . Next week, if possible, a caravan will go, passing through Fort
Leavenworth, into the State of Missouri for food. I will go along in order to
see Bishop Miege, who is at present in Leavenworth. He knows of my presence here
through Dr. Rodrigue and others, and wrote to me at Westport, a beautiful
letter, inviting me to work in his small diocese (from the Rocky Mountains to
the border of Missouri.) . . . . Let me lay before you my ideas and plans.
Permit me and authorize me, as a Benedictine to live in this Territory under
your authority and dependant upon you. Send me therefore some brothers. Every
man, be a citizen or one who has declared his intention of becoming one, has the
right to preempt a quarter of a section of land (160 acres). If I had three
brothers with me, we would preempt a whole section (one square mile). I am
acquainted with the Surveyor-General and he as well as his assistants, among
whom there are several Catholics, will assist me in every way. I have already
chosen the locality. It is on the Miami River, where a reminant of the half
civilized Indians live. The Jesuits had here formerly a mission, which they gave
up years ago. If a Catholic priest does not soon take up the work, the Methodist
or some other sect will.
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 61
A NEW VIEW OF ST. VINCENT ARCHABBEY, COLLEGE, AND SEMINARY [photo]
62 DIAMOND JUBILEE
The wrong method of christianizing the aborigines was in vogue. All scolding and
faultfinding is in vain. They must be accustomed to cultivate the soil and live
a domestic life, and here a community, which gives then the good example and
with charity seeks their welfare, can accomplish much. They are distrustful but
that is no wonder, when a person considers how they were treated. When a person
has gained their confidence, they are obedient and as confiding as children. If
I, as said, had here with me some good industrious brothers, I would at once
build a chapel and some log houses, and fence in a portion of the prairie, so
that by midsummer, we would have to a great extent our own eatables, for the
productiveness of the prairie, especially for corn, potatoes and vegetables is
immense. Cattle and hogs can thrive almost the whole year without being fed and
become fat. Thus a Benedictine Monastery in the far west could be founded in the
right manner, in poverty and humility as everything great has begun.
The Abbot gave his consent to the plans of Father Henry as may be seen from the
following letter. He wrote:
Leavenworth, July 4, 1856.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop is highly gratified and authorizes me to write that he will
have the deed made in the name of the Benedictine Society. Namely, some Catholic
families have located on a beautiful section of land towards Nebraska and a man
of influence has asked for a priest and has promised some property. The Bishop
promises $500.00 towards the erection of a church. . .
"P. S. July 5th. I would request that you send me a chest full of goods. . . .
In it I expect to find a small breviary, a Benedictine Ordo, a sick call outfit,
a chalice and vestments.
"Tomorrow morning I will depart into the wilderness. I recommend myself to the
prayers of my confreres."
Doniphan, August 28, 1856.
"There seems to be a fatality hanging over your letters. Two of them, as you
know, were lost. In the last letter of the 27th of July, (my birthday 1796) I
received today . . . . In my last letter from Leavenworth I wrote that I was
ready to go to my new place of work. This I have done. I arrived here during the
beginning of July. They have laid out a city . . (here a lengthy description of
the place, the harbor, the sale of lots, etc.)
"Now I have, in the nicest part of the city, about one hundred feet higher than
the river, a whole square of 12 lots, 308 feet long by 264 wide. I have also
began building so as to have my residence under roof before winter. Until then I
will fare bad enough.
"An Irishman has erected upon his lot a hut, 14x16. He has a land claim and
shanty thereon, about two miles from the city, where he with his family
cultivate the land during the summer. He rented me his city residence, which has
neither a floor nor a plastered wall. Near by there is a family, which does the
washing, baking and furnishes me with milk and water. Morning and evening I make
my own coffee, tea and soup, but for dinner I go to the hotel in order to get a
good meal each day. I sleep upon a straw tick which lies on slats.
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 63
As regards my parochial activities, the parish, on the civilized side reaches
half ways to Leavenworth, on the other side to the border of the state of
Nebraska, and on the other indefinitely to the Rocky Mountains. My church is a
wooden shanty, which was erected for a carpenter shop, and my parishioners are
in petto. Certainly there are individual Catholic families scattered everywhere.
Most of them are lukewarm and it will cost me much labor to bring them back as
fervent Catholics. Some are half Indians, where the Irish and American Catholics
have intermarried with the Indians . . ."
At the request of Bishop Miege, the Abbot sent Father Augustine Wirth and Father
Casimir Seitz, who had just completed his theological studies but was not yet
ordained, to Kansas on April 1st, 1857. They arrived on Holy Thursday evening at
Leavenworth. Father Henry met his confreres on the following Sunday evening. The
Bishop sent Father Henry to Lecompton and Father Augustine to Doniphan. Father
Casimir was ordained on the second Sunday after Easter and went also to
Doniphan. Among the missions attended from Doniphan was Atchison. Father
Augustine soon came to the conclusion that this was the place for a monastery.
Accordingly he removed to Atchison.
Meanwhile changes had taken place among Father Henry's family affairs in Europe
that called for another trip to the land of his birth. Toward the end of the
Year 1857 he returned to St. Vincent's Abbey and on the road escaped a ship
wreck, as he wrote to the Abbot, on November, 6, 1857. He tells him not to worry
if he has read of accidents on the Missouri River, for within the last two weeks
there was an explosion in one steamboat, another sank in the river and about 6
to 8 are ice bound or stranded on sand banks, among the latter, was he. At
present he is in a farm house situated on the opposite shore, about 7 or 8 miles
from Independence. The next year The Rev. Francis Cannon and Edmund Langenfelder
were sent to Atchison. Now the large and stately Monastery and College of St.
Benedict flourishes in the city.
Father Henry called at Carrolltown, as may be seen from the Baptismal Register
on April 18 and August 15, 1858, and attended to his affairs in Clearfield
Township. According to Dr. Flick, he took his departure for Germany in the early
part of 1859. The exact date is not known. He wrote to his friend, Mr. Johnston,
from Asbach, Germany, on September 16, 1859, and from Vienna, Austria, on
December 21, 1859. In his Vienna letter he stated that he had collected about
six thousand dollars for the monastery, and that he expected to remain at Vienna
a long time. He spent the greater part of the year among his friends in Germany
and during that time wrote and put into the press the life of Gallitzin, "Leben
und Werken des Prinzen Demetrius Augustin Gallitzin." Unfortunately, the
documents from which this life was written never came to light since.
Lemke In New Jersey
Upon his return to America in 1861, the Abbot gave him charge of St. Michael's
church, Elizabeth, N. J. Father Henry performed his first baptism in St.
Michael's, July 21, 1861, and his last May 1st, 1870.
64 DIAMOND JUBILEE
In a letter to his friend in 1862, he said that he had a nice little parish of
nice people who were attached to him, that he had many friends who came to see
him, and that he had a rubber of whist in the evenings for a past time.
The church being too small for the ever increasing congregation, he wished to
build a new large St. Michael's church but in a different locality than the one
favored by the parishioners, so he left there and came across the New York
Central Railroad tracks, thinking that the people would follow, however in this
he was mistaken, as is shown by the few that followed him. The objection was
that the new church, so far away from the old site, would eventually become
English.
In the meantime the Benedictine Sisters built an Academy, there, the ground
floor of which was used as a church and called St. Henry's, the second and third
floors being used as Academy. Certificate of Incorporation of St. Henry's Church
was recorded April 18, 1871. Later when the present large church was built it
was called the Sacred Heart Church, of Elizabeth. Father Henry performed the
ceremonies of his first baptism at St. Henry's on April 17, 1870, and on the
next day his first marriage ceremony, and his last baptism on December 25, 1876.
On July 25, 1876, he celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his elevation to the
priesthood. It was an occasion of congratulation and joy not only to the good
Father Henry himself but also for his numerous friends of the clergy and laity.
Bishop Corigan of Newark and Bishop McQuaid of Rochester were among those
present. The members of the congregation presented him with a golden chalice of
exquisite workmanship. The nuns gave him a set of rich gold cloth vestments. The
clergy of the diocese contributed a purse of $700. With the best wishes of his
friends he withdrew from Elizabeth into the retirement of his old home at
Carrolltown, January 25, 1877, at the age of 81. Here as a humble monk, in the
simplicity of the Benedictine life he dwelt in the Priory until his death.
Father Lemke's Death
During his quiet life here, his admirers induced him to write his reminiscences
for the edification of future generations. These reminiscences began to be
published serially in the columns of The Northern Cambria News, a paper
published at Carrolltown, beginning on June 7, 1879, No. 9, and ending abruptly
about the middle of the Father Lemke's Autobiography, November 22, 1879, No. 33.
It is a most valuable document from a historical point of view, but many facts
and dates must first be verified.
Thus he writes of his first visit to St. Joseph's church on January 6. 1835, "I
baptized a round dozen." The fact is that Father Gallitzin baptized a round
dozen of children on October 10, 1830, the day when he dedicated the church of
St. Joseph. The sketch on the location of Carrolltown appeared three times in
the News, yet not once were the facts given verified. He calls the land "the
Drinker Land". It is the Curtis Clay Tract of Land, at this time called "the
estate of the late George Vaux" which Lemke bought from William S. Vaux,
Trustee. "If I
ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH 65
could only get rid of my farm (at St. Joseph) I would buy it and such an
opportunity offered itself very soon. John Ivory bought it . . and I bought the
Drinker Land." (The actual transfer of the property to Mr. Ivory took place on
February 5, 1844.) "I had an opening to erect a substantial log house with
cellar and spring house and a frame house with a chapel. and got about 20 acres
of woodland cleared, all in the first year. (This would be 1840. I was always
informed that the log house was built in 1843 and that later the frame addition
was added to the chapel. Several old timers tell me that they cannot swallow the
idea that 20 acres of land were cleared from July to the time when snow would
stop the work.) During the second year I laid out a town (he made the first deed
for town lots on April 27, 1847, and the next on the 24th of December, 1847)
which I intended to name after my friend Gallitzin. But when my friend Gallitzin
found this out, he protested against it." (Lemke bought the Vaux estate on June
22, 1840, but Gallitzin was then already dead, having died on May 6th, 1840.)
After an illness of several weeks Father Henry died a few minutes before nine
o'clock on November 29, 1882 at the age of 86 years, four months and two days.
The funeral was held no Saturday, December the fourth. The Solemn Requiem began
at 10 o'clock. After the Mass and Solemn Absolution, a touching and eloquent
tribute was paid to his memory by the Rev. E. A. Bush of Loretto. His remains
were lovingly laid to rest in the lot set apart for the Fathers of the
Benedictine Order.
A neat and pretty monument marks his last resting place at the foot of the
Mission Cross and almost within the shadow of the church, the founding of which
was the dream of early manhood.
REV. P. HENRY LEMKE, O.S.B.
FOUNDER OF
CARROLLTOWN.
BORN JULY 27, 1796
CONVERT APRIL 21, 1824
PRIEST APRIL 11, 1826
SOLEMN PROFESSED FEBRUARY 21, 1853
DIED NOV. 29, 1882.
R. I. P.
Dr. L. Flick, in the American Catholic Historical Society Records, Vol. IX, page
191: "Father Lemke's work in Cambria County, pa., was supplementary to that of
Father Gallitzin, and in its results can only be judged in conjunction with it.
He worked for a while under the direction of Gallitzin, and after the latter's
death, along the same lines. The fruit of these two men's labors, as far as it
can be measured, is a truly Catholic country in the greater part of the district
which their labor covered. In the little towns of Loretto, Carrolltown, St.
Augustine, St. Lawrence, and St. Boniface, and the country around
66 DIAMOND JUBILEE
about them, Catholic customs and practices are as well fixed and Catholic faith
is as deeply planted as in any Catholic country in Europe. There one can see at
any time during the summer the practical illustration of Millets' Angelus, and
find the most scrupulous observation and celebration of Catholic holidays.
The seeds of faith that have been carried by emigrants from this little Catholic
colony into the far West, and indeed into all parts of the United States, and
that were scattered upon fruitful soil to grow into powerful influences for good
in other communities, constitute an element in the good work of these men, which
is difficult to estimate properly. The many vocations for the priesthood and for
religious life in the cloister which have emanated from those parishes; the
strong and well-grounded faith; the truly Catholic lives of many of the young
men and women who have gone forth from there to live in other places, are more
tangible fruits of their labors. But it was the indirect spreading of the Gospel
by the good example of those well grounded in Catholicity that constituted the
chief inspiring motive of both Gallitzin and Lemke in their work in that remote
obscure district on top of the Allegheny Mountains; and it is by the secondary
results and their labors should be judged. Prince Gallitzin as been criticised
for using so much energy in founding a little town in the heart of the Alleghany
Mountains, when he might have devoted it to more brilliant results in some large
city. The result of his labors, however, demonstrate the wisdom of his foresight
and the correctness of the principles upon which his work was based. Father
Lemke had similar ideas to those of Gallitzin before he joined him, and found in
Gallitzin's work a corroboration of his views, and therefore be me a worthy and
capable disciple of Gallitzin. Their work is unique, and will ever stand out
prominently in the history of the Church in the United States; and their names
will ever be linked as the Apostles of the faith in the Alleghany Mountains."