THE STORY OF A PARISH ~-- ___ •8~~ __ ,\f~ I THE First Catholic Church In Morristown, N. J. -+--- Its Foundation--* and ,,lo( -- Development Bytlle Very Rev. Joseph M. Flynn, R.D. Morristown, N. J. 1892 CoPVll.lGHT, 1892, nv JOSEPH M. FLVNN. TM£ COLUMBUS PAUi, 120•122 WHT lllCTIE.TH ITAUT, hlW \'DAil. TO ~ur t,retlecessors tn tbe jfattb, BOTH CLERGY AND LAITY, WHO SOWED IN TEARS THAT WE l\llGIIT REAi' IN JOY: TO ltbe 'Roble, Generous fflocJ; WHOSE PRAYERS, WHOSE GOOD WORKS, WHOSE GENEROSITY UA\•1, SUSTAINED AND CONSOLED HIM DURING THE DECADE OF HIS l\IINISTRY, THIS LITTLE WORK IS LOVINGLY DED!CATED BY ltbefr ~astor. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOB The Sowing of the Seed.-Early Trials. I CHAPTER II. The Jesuit Fathers Schneider and Farmer.-Don de l\liralles.-Washington and the Irish Contingent.- Pioneer Catholics. 8 CHAPTER III. The l\lother Church. l\ladison.-Fathers Senez and McQuaid.-Building of the first Church.-The first Bishop of Newark. 31 CHAPTER IV. A Resident Pastor.-The Parish School.-Father D'Arcy. p CHAPTER V. Rel". J. Sheeran.-A new Church.-Archbishop Bayley. -Right Rev. 1\1. A. Corrigan. 67 CHAPTER VI. Changes and lmprovtements. - Death of Archbishop Bayley. 68 CHAPTER VII. A promising Life ended.-The aged Pastor's last lllness and Death.-His e,·entful Life.-Bishop Corrigan transferred. 1<>4 CHAPTER VIII. The Rev. Joseph M. Flynn.-Right Rev. Winand M. Wigger, Bishop.-A new Bell.-The Morris Plains Mission. 116 V vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. The Sisters or Charity.-The Young Men's Association.- PA<lB St. Virgilius.-Morris Plains. 133 CHAPTER X. Temperance Work.- Church Bonds.-A Pastor's Reminis- cences.-Catholic Benevolent Legion. 146 CHAPTER XI. The new Organ.-The Condit Property.-A Child or the Parish ordained.-St. Margaret's Chapel. 156 CHAPTER XII. The Jubilee Retreat.-A remarkable Cure.-Corner-stone ol nc:w School.-Bishop McQuaid's Address. 173 CHAPTER Xlll. Blessing of the School.-The Young Men's perm3nent Home. 190 CHAPTER XIV. l'aulist Mission.-St. Margaret's School.-Relic of St. Virgil. -A miraculous Healing.-The first American Catho• tic Congress. 211 CHAPTER XV. St. Patrick's Day 1780 and 1890.-A new Rectory.-St. Margaret's enlarged.-The Burnham-Flynn Corre• spondence. 229 CHAPTER XVI. Re-dedication of St. Margaret's.-Friendly Sons of St. J>a- trick.-The Strike.-AII Souls' Hospital. 24S CHAPTER XVII. Parish War Record.-Gen. Joseph W. Revere.-Children or the Parish in the Confederacy. 270 CHAPTER xvm. Memorials.-Children of the Parish in the Service of the Church.-Men's Societies.-A Catholic Mayor. 278 APPENDIX. 288 PREFACE. lW AM not disposed to claim any merit for the W labors of this narrative of events which have marked the origin &nd development of the Catholic Church in Morristown, New Jersey. I have written for my parishioners, and only when I was able to snatch a fow leisure moments from other duties. Sometimes at long intervals ; sometimes my pen had to be laid aside and the thread of my " Story " broken. I am aware that mine has been a difficult task. I have endeavored to put the facts truthfully and accurately, with no desire to hurt the feelings of anybody, or to reopen wounds Jong sir.ce healed. My flock, I am sure, will extend even to this work that same forbearance which in the ten years of his labor among them they have so graciously shown to their Pastor. If, perchance, these pages go beyond our parish limits I pray my critics to believe that the sole motive which prompted this ef­ fort was to give expression to my gratitude to a generous, self-sacrificing flock- " to gather up the fragments, lest they perish," for the future chronicler. THE AUTHOR • •llornsluw11, .\',j.. j,11111a17 ;. 1892. vii THE STORY OF A PARISH. CHAPTER I. ..HE study of a Parish is somewhat akin to m the contemplation of a structure erected ac­ cording to the strictest rules of architecture, embodying the genius of the designer, startling and pleasing all by the harmony of its parts and its adaptability for the purposes which called it into being. Symmetry, grace, and loveliness are blended in a serene repose, soothing the eye and elevating the soul, and around it play the sunbeams, the varying hues of Spring-tide and Autumn, the golden splendor of Summer, and the melancholy sadness of Winter with its high lights and shadows. How little, however, is thought of him whose fertile brain evoked the masterpiece of art, whose lofty conceptions are crystallized in the everlasting granite or spotless marble! We know that Raphael, Bra­ mante, and Michelangelo threw into St. Peter's the very heart and soul of their inspiration, to erect to the living God such a temple as the eye of man had never gazed upon. But there are other monuments which thrill no less the beholder, and the names of their crea. tors sleep in an impenetrable obscurity. The cross- 2 TIIE STORY OF A PARISH. crowned fane, lifting to the highest heaven the sign o~ man's redemption, may tell us neither of him whose genius conceived nor of the toilers whose strong arm and cunning eye, in the burning heats of Summer, or in the chilling blasts of Winter, un­ folded to the wondering crowds who daily watched their labors, step by step, inch by inch, the beauties whose finished product Time has preserved to us in many a shire of Britain ; by the glistening lake and verdant vales of Erin ; in sunny Italy, in fair France, and in the hallo·.,·ed soil bathed by our own Potomac. To the humble laborer who dug the trenches, to the artist whose chisel carved foliage on cusp and capital, a share in our grateful mem­ ory is due. Thus we, in a later generation, survey compla­ cently the stately Church ; the spacious School, per­ fect in its appointments with Hall and meeting­ rooms ; the graceful Rectory; the well-kept walks of the peaceful God's-acre ; but little thought we give to yonder moss-grown graves where repose the valiant Confessors who, in days gone by, kept alive and aloft the torch of faith, and, by unswerving fidelity and unflinching clinging to the Church of their fathers, made our present prosperity possi­ ble. They laid the foundations deep and secure. Theirs it was to battle with poverty, and to wrestle with bitter prejudice. Theirs it was to share the contumely of Christ, to stand forth in defence of religion and fatherland, even, at times, at the cost of blood and at the sacrifice of fortune. THE LEGACY OF HA TRE.D. 3 Theirs it was to bear the brunt of sneer and jibe, and to hear the ribald jest hurled at what they held most holy and sacred. Theirs it was to pro­ vide for the wants of the flock of little ones, who clamored for bread and raiment ; to remember the poor old father and mother, left behind at Home in distress and desolation; and, at the same time, build the humble chapel, devoid of art and naked of or­ nament, save the Altar ; and support the Soggarth who cheerfully shared their poverty and the con­ tempt which bigotry and ignorance heaped upon them both. Hat in hand, with faltering step and hesitating speech, our fathers asked for work. Their broad brogue, their quaint and odd attire, gave un­ limited fun and amusement, until checked by some sharp, keen retort, which while it wounded, soothed by its spontaneity and brightness. Not rarely, indeed, was their going to meeting, and their attendance at evening prayer, made a con dition of their engagement. Starve they might and would; but by any overt or implicit act deny their faith, never. With them, when it was question of faith, the motto was : Death before dishonor. The week's toil over, came the preparation for the long and weary tramp to the nearest Church. The women donned their best gowns and put on their brightest ribbons; the men brought out their best suits, and wore the well-polished tile ; and so, off to the common meeting-place, whence with others, bent on the same duty as themselves, they 4 THE STORY OF A PARISH, wended their way to Mass. Then the news was gone over: their trials, their loneliness for the Cha­ pel, the goings on at Home, the bitter and, at times, almost intolerable persecution on the part of their masters and neighbors ; and thus, with gossip and mutual sympathy, they plodded on until the goal was at hand, the Church was reached. The little bell rang from the sacristy window ; all cut their stories short and hurried within. Perhaps they un­ derstood little of what the good Father said in his broken English. What mattered it ?-he was a priest; he heard their confessions, baptized their children; offered for them the unbloody Sacnfice. They were fortunate who had friends in the town, for comfort and food were assured, and they would not go home hungry. By no means should it be inferred that the Catholics, in those days, were lacking in hospitality; but the instinct of the Celtic heart to avoid giving trouble, forbade him to step beyond the limits he had set for himself. If his foresight had not prompted him to bring along the meagre lunch, he turned his steps homeward, and waited until his good wife had prepared the frugal meal for his very much sharpened appetite. This is but a faint picture of what our forefathers and predecessors in the faith did so willingly for many years.