Saint Peter's Rising

St. Peter's Church
Lowell City Directory, 1858

The Irish of Chapel Hill were about to have their dream come true.  For years they had to make the trek from the area around Central Street over to the Acre each and every Sunday for Mass, holydays of obligation, parish missions, funerals, weddings, etc..  This other Irish neighborhood had grown and evolved with its own shops, tradesmen, and overcrowded tenements, much as the Paddy Camps had.  The Bishop had finally heard their appeals; the new church would be built.

The day following the Bishop’s call to male parishioners of St Patrick’s for another Catholic church to be built was a busy one.  The Bishop hired a carriage, since the weather had cooled considerably, to look at a plot of land at the corner of Gorham and Appleton Streets that had been recommended to him, land that belonged to the Hamilton Corporation.  He was determined the 10,000 sq. ft. would be a perfect fit for his needs.

The Bishop spent a second night in Lowell.  He was invited by Samuel Lawrence for a carriage ride around the City.  He was amazed at the growth Lowell was going through and toured the outskirts that were lined with walls of fieldstone and waves of growing corn.  Upon his immediate return he sent Fr. Conway, St Patrick’s curate, to procure the land he viewed the previous day.  His anticipation was evident by ordering Fr. Conway to make three trips that day to meet the agent for the Corporation who could complete the sale; on each he found the agent was not present.

Two days after the Bishop returned to Boston, Fr. Conway sent a message.  The land was theirs.  The negotiated price was 40 cents a square foot; final cost was $2,000.  A building committee, made up of Owen Donohoe, John McNulty, Hugh Monahan, Hugh Cummiskey and Charles M. Short, began the work of gathering funds and support.  It appears the Fr. McDermott, pastor of St. Patrick’s was not happy with the events.  He did not believe a second church was necessary even though overcrowding was obvious.  Perhaps he was afraid of his collections falling off, or maybe it was his ego.  McDermott enjoyed the influence he had at St. Pat’s and the addition of another church might take away from that.  He voiced his opinion to the Bishop, and a group of concerned parishioners from St Pat’s even visited the Bishop to threaten consequences if the building proceeded.  The Bishop had had to deal with many problems with the growing Diocese of Boston.  McDermott was only one of them.  The Germans community of Boston was also making threats about their parish leadership.

Mr. Hall was hired as the architect, who drew plans for a brick church 90 feet long and 60 feet wide with a basement and belfry.  Ground was broken in September of 1841.  The final cost of the church would be $22,000.  The Bishop made several visits watching the progress and noted in his diary that the walls were finally up.  The Irish of Chapel Hill had their first service on Christmas day of 1842.  Having no organ the parishioners formed their own orchestra.  Newspapers noted how brightly illuminated the sanctuary was with all the “green festoons.”  The church would not be completed for another year.  The Irish Benevolent Society threw its support, financial and otherwise, over to St. Peter’s and Fr. Conway.  The former curate of St. Pat’s had long ago “severed” his relationship with Fr. McDermott.  This was evidenced by several visits of Fr. Conway to the Bishop “reporting bad news.”  The formal dedication of St. Peter’s would not take place until September of 1843.  At that time pews were being auctioned with prices as high as $192 and some even higher.  It was clear St. Peter’s would soon rival St. Pat’s. 

Shortly, the offertory collections became far greater than that of St. Pat’s as well as the number of weddings and baptisms performed.    When the Bishop visited Lowell, he often stayed at St. Peter’s.  Father McDermott’s star began to fall quickly.

NOTE: Ryan Owen over at ForgottenNewEngland has the next part of Saint Peter's story, the building of the Patrick Keely structure in 1892.    Have  a look.  http://forgottennewengland.com/tag/st-peters-church/

Growing Pains: the "other" Catholic Church

Detail fr. Acre scene

If the good Lord meant for the Sabbath to be a day of rest, the Irish of the Chapel Hill area may not have agreed.  Being Irish and being Catholic meant only one thing on any given Sunday morning, walking almost two miles and back to attend Mass over at St. Patrick’s Church.    And if you were a really good Catholic you went back in the afternoon for Benediction and Vespers.   When the St. Patrick’s opened in 1831 conditions were already crowded.  Extensions were built onto the church a few years later, but with the growing numbers of Irish entering the city even that was not enough.

In July of 1841 Bishop Fenwick came to St Patrick’s to confirm 60 young men and women.  The church was overcrowded, and before the end of the ceremony he asked the parishioners to consider building a new church.  At the close of the afternoon service he stayed to discuss the proposition with interested parties.  The excessive heat of the day did not deter the crowd.  Forty-two men rose immediately and each promised $100, which would be applied to purchasing their pew once the new church was built.  That night $5,400 was pledged.    Yet, not everything was kosher.

Bishop Fenwick

There’s something odd about the Bishop’s story.  He says the crowds gave him the idea for a new church, but the next day finds him in a carriage scouting out a piece of land he had his eyes on.  He appointed the curate of St. Pat’s, Father Conway, to purchase the plot as soon as possible.  One wonders if something else was going on here.  Did the Bishop know about the land beforehand?  Why was the curate put in charge of the purchase, and not the pastor of St. Patrick’s, Fr. McDermott?  There were rumors, lots of them.  Not everyone liked the good pastor.  There were certain financially, solvent men who wanted a split.  Many of the men who stood that day to support the Bishop had homes in the Acre.  Why would they pay for a new church?  The Bishop’s notes tell of a number of visits of Fr. Conway to the Bishop’s residence.  Why?  Then there was the visit by a number of the St. Pat’s congregation to air their “grievances” about the new church being built, and that they would “retard as much as possible the progress.”  The Bishop “remonstrated” against the unnecessary noise” and dismissed them.

The church would be built.  (More to follow next week.)

Lowell's "Holy War" of 1837-1838



For the past few years much new material regarding Lowell'd early Irish past has been uncovered.  Through the work of UMass Lowell, Queen's University and contributors to LowellIrish the story of the deeds and trials of our Irish pioneers are being recorded for the next generation.  This entry is one of the most important as to its future repercussions as its results could be seen for decades.  Many thanks to Walter for gathering this material and authoring the work.

The history of St. Patrick's parish, and the Irish community in Lowell, ca. 1830-ca. 1868, was not always calm and peaceful.  Disagreement and argument were rampant.  There were conflicts among the Irish laity: “Corkonians versus Far Downers”.  Something favoured by one group was automatically opposed by the other.  There were  also 'differences of opinion' between priests and laity, between priests and Bishop Fenwick, and between priests.  One result was that there was a fairly frequent turnover of priests.  Indeed, it seems that one or two could not wait to ”get out of Dodge”. Histories of the church sometimes hint at disagreement, but that's as far as it goes.  As a result of research in newspapers, court records, and the Journals of Bishop Fenwick, we are beginning to gain new insights into those sometimes turbulent years.  Indeed, it might not be too extreme to call the period 1830-ca. 1868, the “Holy Wars”.  This is the tale of one episode.

Some months ago, while examining Record Books of the Middlesex Court of Common Pleas,  I noticed the notation: “McCool vs. McDermott”.  I was immediately intrigued and turned to the cited page.  WOW !!!  The case indeed was [Reverend] Edward J. McCool versus [Reverend] James T. McDermott.  What could this possibly involve?  

The Reverend Edward J. McCool was assigned to St. Patrick's Church by Bishop Fenwick in 1836.   Sixteen carpet weavers (Lowell Manufacturing Company) took up a collection and presented him a carpet and rug for his residence.  Fr. McCool, however, had 'problems' including an apparent over-fondness for alcohol, to the point that the Mayor advised Fenwick that he would do well to remove McCool from Lowell and assign him elsewhere. McCool was recalled in the summer of 1837 and Rev. James T. McDermott was assigned as the new pastor of St. Patrick's Church.

  Our story begins with the gift of a carpet and rug in 1836.

 “To the Revd. Mr. McCool      We the carpet weavers of Lowell Make you a present of this Carpet & rug for your Exclusive Right (?) While you Stop in Lowell.”            Note accompanying the carpet and rug gifts to McCool from the carpet weavers, presented as evidence by McCool.

In November 1837, McCool demanded that McDermott give him the carpet, which McDermott  refused to do. McCool then sought the assistance of Joseph Parker, Constable, whose deposition reads:

“I Joseph Parker of Lowell in the County of Middlesex, of lawful age depose and say, that on or about the twenty-eighth day of November 1837, I was requested to go to the house of the Reverend Edward J. McCool, the Catholic minister of Lowell, the house was then or soon afterward, occupied by the Rev. Mr. McDermott.  I went in company with an Irishman who name was Gallson or Gholson [most likely Thomas Galston] he shewed me the carpet which belonged to Mr. McCool, as he said.  I was ordered to take away the carpet by Edward Short or Gholson [Galston], and to deliver the same to Mr. McCool.

Mr. McDermott came in shortly after & I told him I came to get Mr. McCool's carpet.  He forbid my taking it and said it belonged to the house.  I came away without it.  Soon after I went to the same house with Mr. McCool and saw Mr. McDermott there.  McCool told him he had come to get his carpet.  This was in the house.  He refused to let McCool have it & then after demanding of it we came away.  I was then requested to go to Mr. Fuller's by Mr. McCool.  Mr. Fuller [Elisha Fuller, Justice of the Peace] gave me a writ and I served it the same day on Mr. McDermott.”

Inter. By A. Locke, Esq., Counsel for Deft.

Did Mr. McDermott occupy that house at that time?

            Ans.  That I don't know.

2nd Int.  Was the carpet on the floor?

            Ans.  It was.

3 Int.   Did McDermott appear to be at home in the house?

            Ans. I think he did.

4th Int.            Did McCool live in that house at that time?

            Ans. I dont know.

5th Int.            Did he appear to live there?

            Ans. He did not.

6th Int.            Did you find him elsewhere and leave him elsewhere?

            Ans. I did.

7th Int.            Where is McCool now?

            Ans. I don't know except by hearsay.

8th Int.  Was he at that time the officiating Catholic priest in Lowell?

            Ans. I can't say.

9th Int.            Did you ever see Mr. McCool drunk in the streets about that time?

            (Objected to by Ptff as improper and irrelevant to the case.)

            Ans. I never did.

10th Int.  Who was present at the time the demand was made before specified?

            Ans. There were two or three Irish men Caskin, Gholm, Short  whose names I do not know.

11th Int.  Did Mr. McDermott demand of Mr. McCool to shew his right to have or take the carpet?

            Ans. I cant recollect.  They had sharp words but I dont remember the [word not clear].

Middlesex Ss. Dec 21, 1838

Subscribed and sworn to & agreed to be admitted in evidence in case of McCool vs McDermott.

In rebuttal, Rev. McDermott presented the deposition of Alexander Wright, Superintendent of the Lowell Manufacturing Company (the Carpet Mill).

“I, Alex Wright of Lowell in the county of Middlesex on oath I depose and say as follows.  I was a subscriber to the carpet procured by certain carpet weavers in the carpet factory in 1836.  It was procured for the purpose of fitting up the house occupied by the Catholic priest Edward McCool in Lowell.  I subscribed on that ground I should not have subscribed for the purpose of giving to an individual.  There had been difficulty with the incumbent priest just before that time about a rug, and it was talked of when I subscribed.  I never was notified of any meeting of the subscribers in the cloth room of the carpet factory to determine about the destination of the carpet and rug.  If I had been, should have noted against giving it to any individual.  What I gave, I gave with a view to having the house furnished and not to the individual that occupied it, for I knew that he might be removed at any moment by the order of their Bishop.

I am superintendent of the Lowell Manufr. Co. Mills”

1.      Int by  Ptff.   What do you mean by saying you were a subscriber?  Did you subscribe your name to any paper on this occasion?

Answer- There was a paper with names penciled on it shown me.  I told them they might put me down two or three dollars I forget which.

2.        Who requested you to give any thing towards a carpet?

Answer- Stephen Lanigan and Patrick Sherridan.

                                                                        Alex Wright (signature)

3^rd.  Do you know of any person, who gave anything toward the carpet except yourself who was not a carpet weaver?  If so who was it?

Middlesex Ss Dec 20, 1838

                                                                                    Sworn to before me

                                                                                    Elisha Fuller { Justice of the Peace

McCool's argument was based on the note signed by the carpet weavers which accompanied the carpet as well as the deposition of Constable Parker.  McDermott's defence rested solely on the deposition of Wright who clearly intended the carpet for the residence, not the individual.

The Jury found “that the Deft. is guilty in manner & form as the Ptff has alleged and assess damages at Seven dollars and eighty cents.”  McDermott lost.  In his financial report of St. Patrick's Church for 1838-1839, there is charge of $87.50 for “expenses on Carpet Law-Suit.”

This case was first filed in the March Term, 1838 of the Middlesex Court of Common Pleas and after continuances decided in the December Term of 1838.

Rev. McCool was involved in another incident early in 1838 in which others were criminally charged in the Police Court and the Criminal session of the Court of Common Pleas, but that is a tale for another day.

Fire in the Acre - 1841

Headline for Lowell Courier, 1841

Sometimes when you search for a story, it just falls in your lap.  Other times you have to spend hours looking for a lead.  And then there are times you find that tip, and you follow it, and you develop it, and when you’re just about to go to post it you find there’s more to the story.   That’s what happened to this week’s entry. 

I keep a little list of items I’d like to blog about, suggestions folks have made, and sundry key words to remind me of things to write.  I even have a couple of spare articles just in case of writer’s block.  So I began a search for this week’s topic.  My eyes were just about to give out searching for an entry.  Then it appeared; the story I was looking for.  It had drama; it had pathos. 

The Boston Courier of 1841 reported that before midnight on Thursday of August 26^th a great fire took place in the Acre section of the city.  “Five entire blocks of wooden buildings and parts of others were consumed.”  Workshops, furnishings, and tools were also destroyed.  “About 50 poor families were burnt out, losing the greater portion of their furniture and effects.”  The most tragic detail of the story was the loss of life of a Mrs. McLaughlin and her infant child who were buried under the ashes.  The conflagration took place near the Catholic Church on Suffolk and Fenwick Streets.  Beyond the loss of human lives another entry details the loss of several animals.

The story could have ended here, but of course I asked Walter to check some facts.  He used his paranormal powers to find the following.  There was a fire as reported by the Boston papers a few days after it happened, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story?  A closer investigation (and this is the precise reason I do not call myself a historian) reveals the true facts.  The Lowell papers corrected the errors made by the Boston Courier report.  No human lives were lost.  The dog that died actually ran back into the house after being rescued.  The paper states, “We have not learned his name, but believe it was Bose.  His master says he was a good dog.”  The other animals were pigs that “had been converted into roast pork.”  Actually one pig leaped out of the attic window of one of the houses.

Google Image

Five blocks were not burned, but 2 houses and 4 “ten-footers” were destroyed.  Much of the furniture was saved, but it was also noted the families that were affected were those “of little property.”  Interestingly, the Courier lists the names of those who suffered loss.  They list them by American families, and then by Irish families.  The following days also state that the fire department had a difficult time fighting the fire since the canal had been drawn down and it was very difficult to get water to the flames.  Large stones lined the canal and an engine had to be lifted over the rocks to the canal’s edge to get the needed water.  A committee was formed by some concerned citizens, among who were Reverend James McDermott and Hugh Cummiskey to help the unfortunate victims. It was hoped that the sum of $800 could be raised in the churches that Sunday.

So a good story became an even better one, with Walt’s help.  This account helps us understand the bigger picture.  It’s important to remember that the Acre was home to many Yankee poor as well as Irish.  Pigs were still running around the neighborhood in the 1840s, telling us their necessary use as a food supply.  Housing was so much in need that multiple families were living in substandard dwellings.  The line between American and Irish was still something to make a note of.  The year was 1841.  What would happen when the Famine Irish arrive?

Bring Out Your Dead

Source: St Patrick Cemetery (c1920s)

I’ve always had the sneaking suspicion that Walter was reincarnated from the 19^th century.  For one, he just knows too much first-hand information about that period.  He is able to quote people who have been dead for 150 years.  He knows intimate facts about people that no one else knows, unless you were there.  And then there is that odd 19^th century wit when you aren’t sure if you should smile or take the person seriously.  That’s some pretty strong evidence.  Then you read today’s piece written by Walter and it pretty much closes the case.  One must question where on earth he gets these great stories.

Some visitors to St Patrick’s are savvy enough to question why there were two catholic churches within yards of each other. Fr. McDermott was pastor of St. Pat’s, but then buys a church and opens St. Mary’s, just a few doors down in the 1840s.  One might say the reason was that the old, wooden St. Pat’s could no longer accommodate the growing numbers of Irish Catholics streaming into the Acre especially at the height of the potato famine.  There’s some truth in this, but the story goes much deeper.  Read on. 

In the 1850's undertakers were appointed by the Mayor and Board of Alderman. This was an official city position.

My original intent was a brief write-up on Terrence Hanavor.  Thanks to the on line availability and indexing of the DAILY CITIZEN, I stumbled across another story.  As to Terrence Hanavor, well known to most of our ancestors, he will have to wait for another day. 

Our cast:

Michael Roach – undertaker and sexton of St. Patrick's Church

Rev. John O'Brien -- Pastor of St. Patrick's Church; in charge of St. Patrick's Cemetery

Rev. James T. McDermott –  Pastor of St. Mary's Church

James Farley (Farrelly) –  Sexton of St. Mary's Church

  Note: His real name is Farley, but he is more often cited as Farrelly in various accounts.  Farrelly will be used throughout.

John McEvoy  –  Attorney and Organist at St. Patrick's Church

 The story begins with a petition presented to the City Council on March 24, 1857 requesting the appointment of James Farrelly as undertaker.  The following week the Mayor and Alderman voted to remove Michael Roach from the office of undertaker and appointed James Farrelly in his place.  Farrelly's appointed was backed by Father James T. McDermott, pastor of St. Mary's Church.   This set the stage for some fireworks as Roach was Father John O'Brien's man, and it was understood that he would not allow any undertaker into the Catholic burying ground except Roach.  Father O'Brien was pastor of St. Patrick's Church and in charge of the cemetery more often referred to as the Catholic Burying Ground..

 Although officially removed from office, Roach did not go quietly, probably with encouragement from Rev. O'Brien.  On April 13, he was arraigned in the Lowell Police Court for continuing to act as undertaker after he had been removed from office.  The case was continued to May 4^th for examination.    More than a week after his removal, he made returns of five burials to the Superintendent of Burials.  Michael seems to entertain an equal contempt for the city fathers and the English language.  He puts down the various diseases of those he attended as “Water on the brean,” “consomtion,” “hooping coff” and “yellow ganders.”  As a result, Michael was arrested by the police on April 27 on a charge of officiating without authority.  In early May, the City Solicitor was directed to apply to the Supreme Judicial Court for an injunction to restrain Michael Roach from serving as undertaker. 

 After several continuances, his trial was to be in early July.  However, that was not to be.  According to the Daily Citizen and News of July 7, 1857 “The contest whether Michel Roach shall act as undertaker or not, without consent or appointment of the city authorities, has been finally settled.  An injunction has been served on Roach from a higher power than earthly courts, and another has done the job for him that he had done for so many others.  Michael died on Saturday last, of dysentery at the age of sixty-five.  Death has ended the controversy; and as he was superseded in office by one of his own blood and race, we suppose there will be no further endeavor on the part of his friends to keep up an ill feeling.”  

                                                        That was wishful thinking!

 Following the death of Roach, Rev. O'Brien and others petitioned for the appointment of one Patrick Smith as undertaker.  Smith was appointed but Farrelly retained his position.  As a result, there were now two undertakers to tend to the Catholic burials: McDermott's man, Farrelly, and O'Brien's man, Smith. 

 McDermott's congregation numbered about 800 while O'Brien's was about 5000.  The two priests had a long-standing bitter personal feud which was amplified by the preference of the Catholic population for burial by Farrelly!  O'Brien was incensed and in March 1858,  he denounced from the pulpit all who would employ Farrelly as being unworthy of the name of Christians and further declared that he would deny 'christian burial' to any corpse whom Farrelly would carry to the grave. By August, 1858, Catholics continued to prefer Farrelly over Smith despite the denunciation and threats from O'Brien.  As Rev. O'Brien was the Bishop's agent for the sale of cemetery lots, he refused to sell lots to any who employed Farrelly as  undertaker, and he filed suit against Farrelly for trespass in burying the dead in the lots they had purchased.

 On October 5, 1858, the CITIZEN reported that the court decided against Father O'Brien, and “the waters of bitterness closed over the head of his reverence.”  However, this is not quite the end of the story.....

 Farrelly was defended by John McEvoy, an attorney who coincidentally just happened to be the organist at St. Patrick's church!  Father O'Brien summarily discharged him from his position in the church!  He was FIRED!!

 Postscript

On November 5, 1858, the Daily Citizen and News reported the appointment of McEvoy as a Justice of the Peace, with the comment, “All Right, saving the presence of his reverence who shut the doors of the organ against the new “Squire”.