THE ERECTION OF THE OLIVER STREET CHURCH.--DOUBLING ITS
SIZE.--SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF ITS PASTORS, FATHERS DUFFY,
O'REILLY, JAMES QUIN, THOMAS QUIN, SENEZ, BEAUDEVIN AND CALLAN.--A
PRIEST'S HEROIC DEATH.
The arrangements for the building of a new church in Oliver street were
made in 1828, the year in which the trustees of St. John's Church
obtained the grant of the land from Mr. Colt. Rt. Rev. Bishop Du Bois,
who had so generously interested himself in the welfare of the
congregation, solicited subscriptions and among others obtained one of
$2,000 from a Southern gentleman. Father Duffy and the trustees of the
church were indefatigable in their efforts and in 1829 the foundation of
the new church was laid, the work being done by Thomas Parker. It was
intended to erect a church fifty-five feet front and one hundred feet
deep and the work progressed favorably until the foundation wall had
been erected and the lower window frames fixed in their places.
Unfortunate dissensions among the members of the congregation then arose
and to this was added the debate of the question whether church property
in the State should be held by trustees, as had hitherto been the case,
or whether the title to the church property should be vested in the name
of the Bishop of the diocese. The result was that the work on the new
church was stopped for the time being and the congregation continued
worshipping in the old church, on Market and Mill streets, which had
been somewhat improved. In 1832 the trustees of the church were Charles
O'Neill, John P. Brown, Joseph Warren, Andrew Lynch, James D. Kiley and
Andrew Griffith. There was no question that the church on Market and
Mill streets was too small and that something had to be done to
accommodate the constantly and rapidly increasing congregation. So in
the early part of 1833 the trustees above mentioned, together with a
number of other gentlemen prominent in the church, held a meeting in the
yard of the old church on Market and Mill streets and deliberated what
to do. It was soon apparent that there were two factions. The one
faction favored doubling the size of the church on Market and Mill
streets and abandoning the Oliver street enterprise. The other faction,
of which Mr. O'Neill was the leader, insisted that a new church be
erected on Oliver street and Mr. O'Neill argued strongly in favor of
this project. The meeting finally adjourned without having come to any
conclusion. The friends of the Oliver street church then visited their
opponents at their residences and by dint of argument and persuasion
finally induced them to give their consent to the new project so that at
a meeting held two weeks after the first meeting it was resolved to go
on with the work on Oliver street. It was then discovered that some of
the trustees and a portion of the congregation favored constructing the
church on the foundations as originally built in 1829; the larger and
more conservative element considered the limited resources of the church
and finally prevailed. Changes were made in the plans, a portion of the
foundation was taken down, so as to bring the windows nearer to the
ground, and the second Catholic Church in Paterson was erected. The
church on Mill and Market streets had been sold for $1,625. There were
two bidders for the work to be done in Oliver street, but James
Galbraith being $700 lower than his competitor, the contract was awarded
to him and he erected the church. Subscriptions came in better than had
been anticipated and the church was compelled to borrow but little; that
little was raised on the individual notes of prominent Catholics, but
when the church was completed there was very little debt.
The work on the church was done under the superintendence of the
trustees and Father Patrick Duffy, the pastor of the church. Father
Duffy had no clergyman to assist him but his energy and untiring zeal
were equal to all occasions; and when he left Paterson in 1836 it was
with the sincerest regrets of all the members of the congregation, and
the most hearty wishes for his future welfare followed him to the new
scene of his labors, Newburg, Cold Springs and Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Catholicism had not as yet taken deep root in that vicinity and Father
Duffy had a large field but a small flock. With the increase in the
number of the Catholics more priests were needed and Father Duffy
confined his labors to the City of Newburg, where he died on June 20,
1853.
Father Duffy was succeeded by Father Philip O'Reilly, who still lives in
the pleasant recollections of hundreds of citizens of Paterson. He
continued until 1845 as the sole shepherd of St. John's congregation. He
was a large and powerfully-built man, of commanding presence and very
social qualities. He mixed a great deal with persons of other faiths,
and by his sociability, brilliancy and powerful arguments succeeded in
destroying a great deal of prejudice which had previously existed
against the Catholic religion. Father O'Reilly belonged to one of the
oldest and most respectable families in Ireland. He was born in the town
of Seraba, county Cavan, a county which was once called O'Reilly's
county. Father O'Reilly traced his ancestry back to beyond the time of
James I., and at the time of Father O'Reilly's labors in Paterson some
of his kinsmen were still in possession of the estates which had
belonged to the family for centuries. Father O'Reilly was educated in
Spain, being a member of the order of St. Dominic, and travelled through
Italy, France and England. For some years he was chaplain to the Duke of
Norfolk, a position of ease and honor. The duties there were, however,
not enough for the restless and untiring spirit of Father O'Reilly, and
so when less than thirty years of age he left Europe to seek for sterner
duties in this country. He was first stationed at Poughkeepsie and then
came to Paterson. From this city he went to Cold Springs, N. Y., where
he built the first Catholic church. He was then removed to West Troy,
and afterwards placed in charge of St. Bridget's Church in New York. As
pastor of this church he died in the 62nd year of his life on the 7th of
December, 1854. His remains were interred on the 9th of the same month
in St. Patrick's Cathedral, the funeral being attended by a large
concourse of admiring and sorrowing friends, both of the clergy and
laity.
In the latter part of the pastorate of Father O'Reilly the congregation
of St. John's had so increased in numbers that it was found necessary to
enlarge the church. Steps were accordingly taken in this direction, but
the project was not carried into execution until some time after the
advent of Father James Quin, who came to Paterson in 1845. There was
considerable discussion concerning the plans of the addition and the
work was not begun until 1846. Instead of erecting the church to the
size of the old foundation walls--which had been entirely torn down and
used in the construction of the first part of the church in 1833--the
building was made thirteen feet longer, so that the present size of the
church is one hundred and thirteen feet deep and fifty-five front. The
original plot of land obtained from Mr. Colt would not have permitted of
the erection of a building of that size, and so an arrangement was
entered into with the county--which at that time was contemplating the
erection of the present county jail--by which the congregation deeded to
the county a gore of land in return for another gore of similar size.
The addition to the church was built by Colonel Andrew Derrom, and
resulted in a vexatious law suit which was decided in favor of the
congregation. Shortly after the completion of the addition the seating
capacity of the church was considerably enlarged by the erection of a
gallery on the sides of the church. The seating capacity of the church
was about 1,300. As was the case with the first half of the church
building the moneys needed for the construction came in in a very
satisfactory manner so that the church had very little debt when the
structure was accepted from the contractors.
When Father James Quin came to Paterson to take charge of St. John's
congregation his brother, Thomas, was preparing for ordination, and
after Father James Quin had been here about a year he was joined by his
brother, who came to Paterson as soon as he had been ordained. Father
James Quin was of delicate health, and in addition to the assistance of
his brother had the occasional services of Rev. Dr. Cummings, who
frequently came to Paterson from St. Stephen's Church. Father James Quin
died on the 13th of June, 1851, being at the time pastor of the church.
He was the only priest who died in Paterson, and his remains are
interred in the cemetery on Sandy Hill. Father Thomas Quin succeeded his
brother as pastor of the church and remained about a year. He was
educated at St. Joseph's Seminary, at Fordham, and was ordained by Right
Rev. Bishop Hughes on June 14, 1849. His remains are interred at Rahway
in this State, of which place he was pastor. His sister, Mrs. Bridget
Smith, widow of Michael Smith, still resides in this city on Mill
street, near Slater.
Father Thomas Quin was succeeded by Father D. Senez, who came in 1852
and remained until 1858. In the latter part of his pastorate he was
assisted frequently on Sundays by Father G. McMahon. Father Senez came
here from Newark and when he left he went to Jersey City, where he built
St. Mary's Church, of which he is still the pastor. He made a number of
improvements to the Oliver street church in this city and it was with
the greatest regrets that the Catholics of Paterson saw him depart for
other fields.
Father Victor Beaudevin succeeded Father Senez in 1858 and remained
until October, 1861. He was a scholastic of the Society of Jesus and was
ordained a priest by Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes on May 25, 1850. When he
left Paterson he rejoined the Order of Jesuits and is at present in
Canada. He was assisted by Father J. Schandel, who was subsequently the
first pastor of St. Boniface's Church of this city, in the erection of
which church he received material assistance from Father Beaudevin.
Father Callan came to St. John's congregation in 1861 and remained about
two years, leaving here in October, 1863. He was one of the most
energetic priests that ever came to Paterson. He was quiet and
unassuming but continually busy with projects for the benefit of the
Catholic Church. His death constituted one of the most romantic episodes
in the history of the Catholic Church in this country. Some time after
he left Paterson he went on a mission to California traveling thither by
boat from New York. While going from San Francisco to his mission in
Santa Barbara the steamer on which he was was discovered to be on fire.
The wildest confusion ensued and an attempt to run the vessel ashore
failed. While most of those on board were busy devising plans for their
personal safety and resorting to all kinds of expedients to save their
lives Father Callan buried himself giving spiritual consolation and
administering the last sacraments and rites of the Church. He had ample
opportunity to save his life but the poor distressed on shipboard, who
had been injured by the explosion which had taken place, and some of
whom were dying, called for the consolations of religion and Father
Callan remained to dispense them. He died while in the discharge of his
duty--the death of a hero and a martyr.