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Mount Saint John Deep River Mount saint john deep river Continue Mt. ST. JOHNS SCHOOL John William Tuohy Sitting majestically high above the banks of the Connecticut River in the Deep River is a huge building and expansive property that once housed the Mount Saint John School. Saint John's story began in 1904 with the founding of the St. John Industrial School on land in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of West Hartford. The school, which was actually an orphanage, was run by the Sisters of Mercy to begin in Ireland in 1831 dedicated to helping poor women and children around the world. The four members of the order arrived in Hartford, via coach, in May 1852 and were the first gathering of religious women to serve in the Diocese of Hartford, which then included both Rhode Island and Connecticut. Thomas Galberry, who was to become bishop of Hartford, asked the sisters to come to his thriving diocese to help the tens of thousands of Irish who came to New England. Galberry was an interesting man. He was born in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, in 1833 and brought to the US at the age of three, with his family eventually settled in Philadelphia. There, Young Galberry witnessed violence against the church by members of the Indian Party (The Know-Nothings) and the atrocities left an indelible impression on the young man. He saw Catholic churches burned to the ground and witnessed breathtaking discrimination against the Irish. On January 1, 1852, he entered the Augustinian order in Villanova at the age of 16. Galberry, who has always been ill and rarely knew a long period of good health during his short life, was described as a serious but not grumpy disposition, calm temperament, meticulous, conscientious student..... he was given to retire and solitude, which was manifested in his love for long walks in the beautiful neighborhood of Villanova ...... a gentle and modest boy who avoided something like cruelty or anger - - always cheerful, collected and diligent. After holding a number of positions from New York to Massachusetts, he was appointed bishop of Hartford in February 1876. It was a job he didn't seek or want, mainly because of his poor health, and on 15 January 2013, he was arrested. As the fourth bishop of Hartford, Galberry quickly realized his diocese, like most others at the time in the United States offered a rare few schools or orphanages for Catholic boys and he was determined to solve this problem. With his help, Sisters of Mercy bought villa located on South Quaker Lane in West Hartford, an attractive and substantial structure in West Hartford in September 1877, and in 1883 the wing was added to the main building to accommodate a growing number of pupils. Bishop asked the nurse if they would begin the process of opening a temporary home for boys without parents in the property and they agreed and about 1879-1880 a home was opened for the boys. The huge responsibility for the organization of St. Augustine's School in the villa was handed over to M. Angelo's mother and later, in 1900, was taken over by Sister M. Genevieve. They both did an excellent job. The villa was thoroughly modern for its day and was surrounded by extensive grounds to give the boys, who were mostly from overcrowded rental slums, space for exercise and free running. The school could easily accommodate about seventy boys between the ages of four and fourteen, a large population at the time. The object boasted: Everything that contributes to the health, happiness and progress of pupils receives constant and conscientious attention. The discipline is maternal and uniform and the course of teaching is thorough and widespread. In an atmosphere as healthy as this, the boy gains physical strength while having his mind cultivated by a carefully planned education system. As for Bishop Galberry, in his short time as Bishop of Hartford... less than twenty months...... Bishop Galberry founded the Connecticut Catholic Newspaper , (Catholic Transcript.) confirmed 10,235 children and increased the number of priests in the small, swaying diocese by seventeen. On October 10, 1878, he retired to his beloved Villanova College. However, he was suddenly sick on the train from bleeding and died later in the evening. He was 45 years old. The very capable Michael Tierney followed as the fifth bishop of Hartford and more than anyone else, he is responsible for creating Mount Saint John's School. Born in Ireland but raised in Norwalk, he was ordined in May 1866. Bishop McFarland immediately made a young priest his chancellor and rector of his cathedral. Tierney was a force for himself. At least once a year he visited every parish and every school room in his diocese, at that time it was a boring trip. During his episcopal period, he confirmed 85,000 children and made a total withdrawal vow to each of them. (The Promise of The Pioneers) He was a strong supporter of literature and education and an enlightened Catholic population. A tireless builder at a time when a church in Connecticut needed builders, it was Tierney who funded the creation of Catholic hospitals Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Willimantic. He brought the sisters of the Holy Ghost and the Little Sisters of the Poor to help create and run a number of charitable institutions. Tierney saw that there were few resources available in the church for the needs of young Catholic men. He acted quickly and built the Seminary of St. Thomas and approved the creation of St. Industrial school for boys within the St. Mary's Home for the Elderly run by the Sisters of Mercy. Finally, it was time to move St. John's Industrial School for its temporary reasons in West Hartford. But where to put the new school that was so desperately needed? The answer came from Monsignor Thomas Duggan, the Bishop General. Daniel Duggan and his wife Elizabeth lived at the foot of a hill in Connecticut's Deep River, locally known as Duggan Hill. Although Daniel Duggan ran the farm on the property, the land was in fact owned by his brother, John Duggan, a Catholic priest station first in Colchester and later in Waterbury. The family lived at 125 Kirtland Street, at the bottom of the hill, the property still stands. A 750-foot, three-bedroom home known then and now as Nathan Southworth's Homestead. (Kirtland Street was established in 1792 by Nathan Southworth) The house was later donated by Mt. St. Johns, as well as the historic home of Captain Calvin Williams at 131 Kirtland. Mt. St. Johns sold 125 Kirtland in 1982. Its owners since then include renowned author Richard Conniff and Hogan, a family known for their service to the United States Navy. The entrance to St. John's would be built to the right of the property. At that time, a narrow dirt road led up to the top of Duggan Hill, it would eventually be replaced by a wide and winding road that even today gives some of the best views of the Connecticut River and neighboring Gillette Castle. A second narrow dirt road, a road for wheelchairs, led to the landing, where David Humphreys operated a sawmill and a shipyard. The couple had five children, Lizzie and Maggie, who would eventually become teachers in deep river, Jeremiah (called Jerry) would be farming with his father and continued to work at St. John's until the late 1940s, tending to farm animals. Mary Duggan joined the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph and spent her entire career at St. John's. Mary and Jerry would have spent their years at 101 Kirtland Street. Thomas, later Monsignor Duggan, who as a teenager, created ivory piano keys at a local store. Thomas Stephan Duggan, born in Deep River on December 26, 1860, attended local schools and later joined St. Charles College in Ellicott City Maryland and then the St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. He was ored in 1892. In 1904 he was appointed vicar of Hartford Cathedral, and later, on 22 December 1904, he was appointed vicar of Hartford Cathedral. Multi- talented, a man for all seasons and a historian, as well as a gifted and prolific writer, he was the founder and first editor of the Catholic Standard and author of the Catholic Church in Connecticut. Duggan, Great, August, forbidding the man who called everyone captain, was known for giving away his money. He was said to rarely walk away from the fight, was widely as one of the best speakers in the state and a man who wields a superficial pen. Most people in the well-known Hartford assumed that Monsignor Duggan would take over as Bishop Tierney's successor when Tierney died in 1908, but for unknown reasons he was not. It was Father Thomas Duggan who, at Bishop Tierney's request, arranged the gift to the dioceses of Duggan's Hill, which has one of the most magnate views of the Connecticut River anywhere in New England. The school would eventually include 112 acres, about half of that tipping property. Father Duggan died on September 11, 2001. The cemetery is located on the grounds of St. Patrick's Church in the Brooklyn section of Waterbury, where he was the first rector. It is the smallest registered cemetery in the state and can be seen from Route 8. Father John Duggan actually donated deep river land to the care of the newly created Roman Catholic Protectorate office for boys, which was administered by the bishop's office.
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