SYRACUSE
398
SYRACUSE
of these Jesuits. He planned also to establish a
settlement of Irish Catholics in the interior of the
colony, very likely somewhere within the hmits of the
present diocese. But when Dongan fell all pros-
pect of liberty for Catholic worship in the colony
of New York disappeared, and the hope was expressed
at the time of his downfall "that Papists would not
henceforth come so freely to settle in the colony".
Governor Bellemont of New York secured the pas-
sage of a law by the colonial legislature punishing
with perpetual imprisonment any priest remaining
in the province or coming after 1 November, 1700,
and any priest who escaped from his dungeon was
liable to the penalty of death if he should be retaken.
To harbour a Cathohc was to incur a fine of £250
and to stand in the pillory for three days. Under
these circumstances the Jesuit missions were neces-
sarily closed among the Five Nations. The mission
of Ogdensburg, established a little later for the Onon-
dagas and the Oneidas by Abb6 Francois Picquet, a
Sulpician, was finaUy abandoned in 1760, and the
last chapter was closed in the story of the Jesuit
missions among the Iroquois.
The Church among the Whites. — Less than a quarter of a century after the final destruction of the missions among the Iroquois the first whitesettler came to Oriskany. Gradually, a few Cathohcs followed, John Cunningham of Utica being the first Catho- lic of whom history makes mention. Rev. Paul McQuade who was ordained in Montreal in 1808 was the first missionary. He was pastor of St. Mary's church, Albany, from 1813 to 181.5, and made fre- quent visitations to Utica. There is no record of where the first Mass was celebrated in Utica, but there is no doubt that it was in the home of John C. Devereux, one of the pioneer Catholics then (1813) a member of the board of trustees of St. Mary's church, Albany. Rev. Michael O'Gorman, a native of Ireland, pastor of St. Mary's church, Albany, from 1817 to 1819, was the founder of the first parish in the Diocese of Syracuse, though not the first pastor. He celebrated the first public Mass in Utica, in the Court House, 10 January, 1819. He organized the Catholics, and it was decided to erect a church for Central and Western New York, at Utica. A corporation was duly formed under the name of the "Trustees of the first Catholic Church in the Western District of New York". The first trustees were: John O'Connor of Auburn; John C. Devereux and Nicholas Devereux of Utica; Morris Hogan of New Hartford; Oliver Western of Johns- town; Thomas McCarthy of Syracuse; John McGuire of Rochester; and Charles Carroll of Genesee River. The resident congregation did not exceed thirty. Rev. John Farnan, a native of Ireland, appointed pastor, began at once the erection of St. John's church, Utica, and the little chapel was dedicated by Bishop Connoly, 19 August, 1821. While pastor of Utica, Father Farnan visited Rochester, in 1820, and celebrated the first public Mass in that city. He was also the first resident priest to attend the Catholics of Brooklyn. Among the Catholic lay- men of that early period, might be mentioned James Lynch and Thomas McCarthy of Syracuse, and Dom- inick Lynch of Lynchville, now Rome, N. Y. Dom- inick Lynch was one of tlie first trustees of St. Peter's church, New York, and in 171I1) when the Catholics of the LTnited States presented an address of congratu- lation to George Washington, on his election to the presidency, he w:vs one of the four laymen who signed it.
The DroCESK op Svu\ri'SE. — Tlie Diocese of Syracuse wasprojectedby tlic llolv See, 12 September, 188G, and lit. l{<>v. P;it rick Ant hoiiy Ludden, D. D., then vicar-general of the Diocese of Albany, and rector of St. Peter's church, Troy, was nominated for th(! contemplated see. Father Ludden declined tlio
honour. Thereupon, considerable corre.spondenoe
passed between Archbishop Corrigan of New York
and the Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation
of the Propaganda in Rome. Finally, the Diocese
of Syracuse was erected by Leo XIII, 20 November,
1886, and Father Ludden, in spite of his emphatic
refusal, was appointed bishop of the new see, 14
December, 1886. He was born 4 February, 1836,
near Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, and was
ordained priest, 21 Maj', 1864, in the Gr.and Seminary,
Montreal, by Bishop Bourget. He was rector of the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany,
under Bishop McCloskey, and \'icar general under
Bishops Conroy and McNeimy, and for seven years
previous to his appointment as Bishop of SjTacuse,
he had been rector of St. Peter's church, Troy. He
was consecrated at Syracuse, 1 May, 1887, by Arch-
bishop Corrigan of New York, assisted by Bishop
McQuade of Rochester, and Bishop McNeimy of
Albany. When the diocese was established, there
were but 64 secular, and 10 religious priests; 46
parish, and 20 mission churches; 15 chapels; 16 paro-
chial schools; 2 academies; 5 orphan asylums; and
2 hospitals. Rt. Rev. Mgr. John Grimes, D.D., was
appointed coadjutor Bishop of Syracuse, with the
title of Bishop of Imeria, 9 February, 1909. He
was bom in Ireland, 18 December, 1852, made hia
ecclesiastical studies in the Grand Seminary, Mon-
treal, and was ordained to the priesthood in Albany,
19 February, 1882, by Bishop IVIcNeirny, of Albany.
He was consecrated bishop 16 May, 1909, in the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, SjTacuse,
by Archbishop Farley of New York. St. John the
Evangelist church in Syracuse was the pro-cathedral
until 1903. At that time, Bishop Ludden purchased
with his own money, property adjoining St. Mary's
church which had been jjlanned and constructed by
Rev. James A. O'Hara, D. D., for many years one
of the mo.st prominent figures in Central New York.
He died 26 Dec, 1889. Bishop Ludden, at his own
expense, erected on the property a new cathedral and
consecrated it 25 September, 1910.
Among the pioneer priests of the diocese may be mentioned: Right Rev. David W. Bacon and the Right Rev. Francis P. McFarland; Fathers William Beecham, Thomas Daly, Michael Hackett, Michael Heas, Bartholomew F. McLoghlin, Leopold Moczy- gemba, O.M.C., Walter J. Quarter. The prominent laymen include Francis Baumer, ITlric Burke, M. D., John Carton, John C. Devereux, Nicholas Devereux, Capt. David Dodge, Francis Keman, James Lj-nch, John McCarthy, Thomas McCarthy, Peter McGuire, Michael McQuade, Francis Murphy, Owen O'Neil, Edward White.
There are many causes for the remarkable growth of the Catholic Church in Central New York. It was chiefly the Irish immigrants who dug the Erie Canal, which was begun 4 July, 1817, almost the exact date of the organization of the first church. in the diocese. The salt springs of Syracuse discovered by Father Le Moyne, in the missionary period, added much to the wealth of these parts and attracted many. When through tarilT reduction this in^•estment became no longer jirofitable, extensive cotton and woolen mills, foundries and factories of all kinds, were es- tablished. .Another cause which contributed to the growth as well as to the cosmopolitan character of the people, was the coming of various nationalities at <lifTi'rcnt periods. The Germans began to come in small numbers, soon after the erection of the first church (1820). According to the oflicial records, Rev. John I^ewis Wariath was placed in clmrge of these immigrants sis early as 1837. The Italian immi- gration began with the construction of the West Sliore Railroad in the early eighties. The Poles be- gan to locate in the diocese about a quarter of a century ago. They have now large and flourishing
