SATURDAY'S STRUCTURE - St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The original St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
site of the wedding of Thomas and Charlotte McCaffrey - 1853

On Monday, August 15, 1853, Thomas Joseph McCaffrey (1832-1896) and Charlotte Elizabeth McCluskey (1838-1917), my 3x-great-grandparents, were married. Next month marks the 160th anniversary of their wedding.

They were married at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thomas was 21 years old; Charlotte was just 15. They were married by Reverend Patrick Rafferty (1791-1863). Their witnesses for the ceremony were Henry Donahue (1830-1890) and Isabel Maddon.

The McCluskey family lived less than four blocks from the church, in the Fairmount area of the city, on Hamilton Street.

History of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
[taken from www.sfxschool.org]


Interior of Old Church
NOTE: Joseph & Charlotte took their wedding vows here

"Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty Nine. At the time of its establishment the diocese of Philadelphia was only a little more than three decades old and included all of Pennsylvania, western New Jersey and the state of Delaware.

The new Saint Francis Xavier Church was only the seventh Catholic Church to exist within the city. The site purchased for the new church was at the southwest corner of 25th and Biddle streets -- not far from the grand front steps of today's Philadelphia Museum of Art. The erection of the new church was directed by (the first Pastor of the parish) Father Michael O'Connor. At least part of the money used to build the church was raised by a city-wide collection. The cornerstone of the new church was laid on June 10, 1839. Mass was celebrated there for the first time on Sunday, December 1, 1839.

Portrait of Rev. Patrick Rafferty
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 1842, Father Patrick Rafferty was appointed pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish. Father Rafferty took up residence in a small house at 402 North 25th Street, very near to the church. In 1844, during the anti-Catholic unrest which afflicted the United States, two Catholic churches and the homes of thirty Catholics were destroyed by fire in Philadelphia. Because of the unrest, by order of Bishop Kenrick, on Sunday, May 12, 1844, Catholic churches in the city were closed. Various accounts of the parish history indicate, however, that in spite of that situation, Mass was celebrated by Father Rafferty in our church on that day. During the month which followed, the church was guarded day and night by militia sent by the civil authorities, and by a number of parishioners who volunteered their services.

In 1845, Father Rafferty opened Saint Francis Xavier School in the basement of the church. Father Rafferty died in March of 1863.

Father James Maginn was appointed pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in 1863. Prior to being appointed Pastor he had served for eight years as an assistant to Father Rafferty, and for a brief period after Father Rafferty's death he served as Administrator of the parish. Almost immediately upon his appointment as pastor, Father Maginn began to make improvements to the parish property. He had erected a new rectory just south of the church; he added transepts, stained glass windows and a dome to the church. He also enlarged the galleries of the building. In spite of all the improvements, it soon became obvious that the rapidly expanding parish was outgrowing its church, and especially, its school. In the late 1860's Father Maginn had constructed a three story brick school building at the southeast corner of 24th and Green streets. He also purchased two adjoining houses which would eventually become the first Saint Francis Xavier Parish convent for the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM).

Map of second church location
[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

The idea of a new church became imperative when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided to change the grade of its track which ran near the church at Biddle Street. Because tunneling was involved in the project, the blasting of rock was necessary. That process resulted in significant damage to both the church and the adjacent rectory. Father Maginn then purchased the land at 2321 Green Street, where he constructed a rectory (this building is now the residence of our Oratory of Saint Phillip Neri community). As soon as the rectory was completed, Father Maginn began to negotiate the purchase of property to the west of the new building. That site would be the site of our present church. Father Maginn had secured three of the four properties needed when he suddenly became ill. On July 25, 1890, Father Maginn died at the new rectory.

Immediately after the death of Father Maginn, Reverend Michael Gleeson was appointed pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish. Father Gleeson wasted no time in taking up the work of constructing a new church. The purchase of the final ground needed was completed by 1894; the ground was cleared and the digging of the new church's foundations began that same year. On October 6, 1894, the corner-stone of the new church was laid by Archbishop Ryan. On December 18, 1898, the now completed church was dedicated by Archbishop Ryan and a Pontifical Mass was celebrated by Bishop Prendergast. At just about the time of the church's dedication, Father Gleeson was afflicted with a form of paralysis that was finally to cause his death on January 25, 1904, after a long, painful illness. In March of 1904, Father Thomas F. Shannon was appointed the sixth pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish.


St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
(current church - built 1898)

It would be Father Shannon's task to rally the parish in one of its most difficult moments. On March 31, 1906, a building then located at 24th and Wallace streets caught fire and was completely destroyed. During that event the fire managed to leap to the newly opened church at Green Street and it too was severely damaged. The roof of the church was completely destroyed, and a great deal of damage was done to the interior when the roof fell. [See newspaper story of church fire below.]

Almost immediately after the fire, reconstruction of the church began. A temporary alter was erected in the school on Green Street and Mass was celebrated there until the Church reopened on April 5, 1908. The cost of the reconstruction had been one-hundred thousand dollars."

To get a complete 360 degree view - top to bottom - of the present church please go to http://www.360cities.net/image/stfrancisxavierchurchphladelphia#-155.88,-10.07,69.6 at 360cities website. It is simply awesome. The church is described here: "St. Francis Xavier is a striking asymmetric Romanesque church at 24th and Green Streets near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia.  It was originally built in 1893-1898 to designs by architect Edward Durang, extended to its present size in 1906, and rebuilt in 1908 after being damaged by a fire that started in a nearby hat factory.  Unlike many Catholic churches, it did not modify its old High Altar following the liturgical reforms of Vatican II in 1962."


St. Francis Xavier - The Oratory

Fire Ruins Beautiful St. Francis' Church
[from The Philadelphia Inquirer; April 1, 1908; page 1-2]
Priests Risked Lives Saving Valuable Contents of Roman Catholic edifice That Ignited From Hat Factory Blaze

    "The beautiful interior of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis Xavier, at Twenty-fourth and Green streets was swept by a spectacular fire yesterday afternoon that originated in the hat factory of Henry Roelofs & Co. adjoining the rear of the edifice.
     When the firemen, after a hard battle of nearly three hours, finally had the flames under control, only the walls and the steeple of the church remained standing, the hat factory had been destroyed, and several residences nearby had been badly damaged. The total loss was estimated at $150,000. 

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

    The fire was replete with sensational incidents. Again and again the firemen bravely risked their lives in their efforts to subdue the flames, scaling the burning and treacherous roof of the church with lines of hose, dodging falling masses of debris and narrowly escaping being buried beneath toppling walls. Three of them were badly bruised and cut as one of the walls of the hat factory fell. They were taken to the German Hospital. They were Asst. Fire Chief Waters, Charles H. Porter, Jr., assistant foreman, and Robert McClellan, both of Engine Company No. 4, Seventh and Sansom streets. Other firemen received various minor injuries, but all refused to leave their posts while there was danger of the flames spreading eastward to the residences on Green street.
     Remarkable courage was shown by Rev. John J. Fleming, acting rector of the church aided in carrying many objects ices, vestments and other articles of value that were in the sacristy or on the altar when the church caught fire. Rev. Mr. Fleming risked his life by running into the smoke-filled edifice and bearing away from the altar the Blessed Sacrament. Many of the men parishioners of the church aided in carrying many objects of value from the burning structure until the quickly spreading flames made further efforts of that sort too hazardous.
     The fire started at the storehouse of the factory of Henry Roelofs & Company, 609-19 North Twenty-fourth street. There were fifty men at work in the factory at the time, all of whom got safely out.
     The flames spread throughout the factory with remarkable swiftness. The south wall of the two-story brick structure was but three feet from the rear of the church in which were five large stain glass windows overlooking the sacristy. These glass in these windows were shattered by heat of the flames that rose from the burning factory. The wind was blowing toward the windows and through them the flames swept into the church. In vain did the firemen try to save the church, an immense granite pile upon a high terrace.
     The wind fanned the flames and they swept along the walls of the church and up through the slate roof. From the top of nearby house the firemen poured streams of water upon the burning structure, but the wind was so strong that at one time grave fears were entertained for the safety of the immediate neighborhood....

Page 2
[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

    As great tongues of flames shot through the roof of the church , above which rolled great clouds of smoke, the rays of the setting sun seemed to intensify the glare. Now and then the bells of the church steeple, probably as a result of the vibration of the walls or of water descending upon them, would peel forth melancholy notes with weird effect.
     Although the interior of the church was wrecked a large crucifix over the altar and one or two effigies of saints remained unbroken. The $6000 organ was ruined while several pains were broken in the circular stain glass window in the front of the church, which was a gift of Archbishop Ryan...."



MONDAY'S MOTHER - Louisa Elizabeth Waetcher Horst (1838-1933)

Louisa Waetcher Horst
ca. 1900

Louisa Elizabeth Waetcher was born September 14, 1838, in Schildesche, Bielefeld, Westfalan, Prussia, a town that was formed in the year 939. [Schildesche is now a part of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany]. Her parents were Johann Frederich Waetcher (1807-1883) and Anna Catherina Illsibien Horenberg (1813-UNK). Louisa had a twin sister, Hanne Friederieke. They are two of the ten siblings that immigrated with their father and step-mother, Hanne Friederiecke Luise Hartman, to the United States, arriving on November 9, 1852, in the Port of New Orleans. Louisa was just 14 years old. [NOTE: Louisa's step-mother gave birth while on the ship.]

The Waetcher family settled in Massac County, Illinois. On October 19, 1856, Louisa married Charles Horst (1836-1900), an immigrant from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. She just turned 18; Charles was 21. Charles was the youngest brother of Martin Horst (1830-1878), my 3x-great-grandfather. Charles, who changed his name from Carl after arriving in America, had arrived with his father and siblings and step-mother in August 1846 when he was just 11.

Charles and Louisa Horst are my 4x-great-aunt and uncle.

Charles and Louisa set up their home in Metropolis in Massac County. Charles was working in 1860 as a Cabinet Maker. After the Civil War was over he wrote his brother Martin, now living in Mobile, Alabama, to ask for a loan to help him purchase a mill in Metropolis. Martin wasn't able to help him at this time but by 1870 Charles listed his occupation as a "Flour Miller" according to the U.S. Census. He remained a miller throughout his lifetime.

Charles and Louisa had their first of twelve children in early 1856. [NOTE: This date is before the known date of their marriage but this may be an error in the transcription of the old records.] Over the next 26 years Louisa would give birth to eight more daughters and two sons; the name and sex of their twelfth child is not known. Their children were:

• Kunigunde Elizabeth Horst (female), called Gundy, was born in March 1856. She married Frederick William Rieke (1854-1922) in 1880. Together they had five children: Gertrude Augusta (1881-1970); twins Bertha Wilhelmina (1883-1953) and Maude L. (1883-1963); Charles Grover (1885-1969); and Romona (1890-1986).
• Bell Horst (female) was born in 1858. She died before 1880.
• Tell Horst (male) was born January 28, 1861. He died before 1880.
• Eleanora Horst was born 1866. She died before 1880.
• Fannie Caroline Horst, born March 1869. She married George Mehaffey (1864-1957) in 1901. Fannie died during childbirth, giving birth to twins Francis Carl Mehaffey (1908-2003) and George James Mehaffey (1908-1994). [NOTE: older sister Gundy helped care for the infants boys for a time immediately after their birth.]
• Twin Nellie Horst was born in 1871. She died before 1880.
• Twin Nettie Horst was born in 1871. She died before 1895.
• Lillie Dale Horst was born January 1, 1875. She married Morton Burnette Card (1878-1950) in 1914. They had one daughter, Flora Louise Card (1914-1996). Lillie died January 20, 1972.

  

  Cassie Horst
  ca. 1900

• Twin Callie Emma Horst was born August 16, 1877. Callie never married; she died March 11, 1964.
• Twin Cassie Anna Horst married Elwin Arba Magill (1874-1947) in 1902. They had two children Calina Magill (1903-1989) and Elwin Arba Magill, Jr. (1914-2001). Cassie died June 10, 1956. 
• Walter Earnest Horst was born July 12, 1882. In 1910 he married Anna J. Murray (1880-1953). Walter died November 1, 1959. They had no children.

Callie Horst
ca. 1900

Louisa's twin sister, Rieke, as she was called, also had twelve children with her husband William Frederick Rixie (1836-1888).

In 1895, Charles and Louisa left Illinois with their surviving children and moved to Pomona, in Los Angeles County, California. Charles died in 1900. Louisa lived with her unmarried children in Pomona, supported by their various incomes. One by one they married and moved away. All but daughter Callie. Callie worked as a Bookkeeper at a Laundry in town. Their last residence was at 678 Gordon Street in Pomona, which Louisa owned.

from Los Angeles Times
May 6, 1933; page A-6

On May 5, 1933, Louisa died in her home. She was 94 years old. She is buried at Pomona Cemetery.

In her 94 years Louisa had lived quite a lifetime.  Born in Prussia, she lost her mother as a young girl. She traveled to America at the age of 14, in steerage class. Speaking only German she settled with her family in the town of Metropolis, Illinois. She married at the age of eighteen and bore twelve children over twenty-six years. She was the wife of a flour mill owner. She buried four young children while living in Illinois. At the age of 56 she packed up her home and her family and traveled across country by train to California before the turn of the century. She left behind her home of forty-three years, her friends, and her family - including her twin sister.

In California she lost her husband of forty-four years and saw at least four of her children marry, leave home and have children of their own. She buried four more of her children before she herself died. She was survived by four children, ten grandchildren and at least thirteen great-grandchildren. What kind of mother was she? I don't know for sure, but there's no doubt that she was a hardworking mother, a supportive wife and a woman devoted to the well-being of her family.

TWINS MUST RUN IN THE FAMILY: Louisa was born a twin (1838). She gave birth to two sets of twins, in 1871 and 1877. Her oldest daughter gave birth to one set of twins in 1883, and another daughter died giving birth to her own set of twins in 1908. In a time when there were no fertility specialists, this is quite a legacy.

THURSDAY'S TREASURES - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

On this, the 237th birthday of the United States of America, it seems the perfect time to celebrate not only our country's birth but also the gifts that were passed down to us from our ancestors who made it possible for us to celebrate as Americans.


Irish Immigrants Leaving Queenstown Harbour
The Illustrated London News, September 1874

For each of us there were great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers who left their homeland, their neighbors, the culture and very often their own families to take a chance in this new country of which they knew very little. They gathered up all they could carry with them, said good-bye to their friends and families, and left the only home they had ever known and most likely one they would never return to. They travelled by cart or by foot to a sea port where they would board a small packet ship. Once aboard they would climb down into the hull of the vessel with one hundred, two hundred, or more strangers to travel for several weeks across the Atlantic Ocean. With all of the multitude of people stuffed into the ship's steerage area [see post "Packet Ship Gladiator", January 1, 2012,  for more information about steerage] they all shared one common dream - a better life in America.

Many left behind poverty, with little chance to ever change their circumstances. Most left countries with governments that held a tight rein on their individual rights and freedoms. Towns where they weren't allowed to speak, or protest, or gather freely. Where they couldn't vote to choose their own leaders. Where their children faced forced conscription into the military. Where the right to practice the religion of their own choosing didn't exist.



"Irish Immigrants Leaving Home"
Harper's Bazaar, December 1870

They each knew that a better life existed - for themselves and for their children. And for their children's children. They wanted more for their life and for their family. They wanted to be free to choose their own path in life, and be treated as human beings with God-given rights. They wanted to work hard and be rewarded with just compensation. They wanted to have a say in their government and in the laws they lived under. They wanted to freely practice their faith. They wanted the freedom to have a dissenting opinion about their leaders, share it openly, without the fear of reprisals. They wanted this for themselves. But most of all they wanted this for their children.

"From the Old to the New World"
German Emigration
Harper's Weekly, November 1874

They left everything behind for a promise of a better life. They sailed on a ship across a wide ocean, not knowing if they or their family members would survive, or if the ship itself would make it safely. They landed in a port where they couldn't speak the language, maybe had no one waiting for them, had little direction on where to go or what to do next. But they paved the way for each one of their children, each one of their grandchildren - each one of us - to enjoy those unalienable rights we each possess, endowed for us by our Creator.

Among these - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

America wasn't perfect then and it isn't perfect now. But it's the best there is. And we have our ancestors to thank for giving us the opportunity for a better future. So it's nice today to remember those that made it possible:

Patrick McCloskey (1810-1855) who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1838, at the age of 28, from his home in Ireland. His wife Mary Ann (1805-1871) also immigrated from Ireland, date unknown. They are my 4x great-grandparents.

Thomas McCaffrey (1799-1890), arrived in New York Harbor in June 1825 from his home in County Tyrone, Ireland. His wife Susan (1793-1869) also immigrated from County Tyrone, date unknown. They, too, are my 4x-great-grandparents.

Johann Eckard Horst (1802-1852), my 4x-great-grandfather, arrived in August 1846 in New York City Harbor at the age of 43 with his second wife and five children. This included my 3x-great-grandfather Martin Horst (1830-1878), who was just 16 years old when he arrived. Later my 5x-great-grandfather Johan Conrad Horst (1780-UNK), Martin's grandfather, also arrived here, in May 1860. He was 80 years old when he arrived. They were from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.


"Irish Emigrants Leaving Home - The Priest's Blessing"
The Illustrated London News, May 1851

Apollonia Weinschenk (1829-1908), my 3x-great-grandmother and wife of Martin Horst, arrived in the port of New Orleans around 1843, at the age of 14, from her home in Forst, Bavaria, Germany.

 My great-great-grandfather Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911) arrived in this country in December 1849 from Ireland, along with five of his 7 brothers. He was 26 years old. His wife Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893) immigrated from her home in  County Tipperary, Ireland, sometime in the early 1850's.

Phillip Huber (1847-1901), also my great-great-grandfather, arrived in New York in June 1867, at the age of 19, from Florsheim, Hessen, Germany.

My 3x-great-grandparents, John Michael Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863), and Barbara Frisse (1822-1893) traveled onboard the same ship, from their homes in Seingbouse, Moselle, France, arriving in the port of New Orleans in July 1846. Traveling with Barbara were her parents (my 4x-great-grandparents) Joseph Frise (1796-1864) and Marguerite Lang (1802-1868), as well as several siblings. Marguerite was 44 years old; Joseph was 50.

[NOTE: My Fortier and DeGruey ancestors arrived from France to Canada and then settled in Louisiana before the United States was formed. I have no information yet as to when my Flemming or Jackson family ancestors arrived in America.]



"Immigrants Behold the Statue of Liberty"
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, July 1887

None of these ancestors arrived as we might imagine - coming into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty, stepping off their steamship onto Ellis Island to be officially inspected in long lines. [The Statue of Liberty wasn't dedicated until 1886.] None of these ancestors settled on the east coast - most made their new homes in southern cities. And somehow, through happenstance or through fate, their offspring met other offspring of these immigrants and eventually, over time and over years, my mother and her siblings were created from a combination of all of these immigrants. And that made it possible for me to sit down, in my home in Birmingham, Alabama, and celebrate Independence Day and my great-grandparents' dreams for a better life.

THURSDAY'S TREASURE - Grandmom's Earbobs

One Pair of Grandmom's Earbobs

Treasures can come in all shapes and sizes. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a treasure as follows: "(1) wealth of any kind or in any form; (2) something of great worth or value; also : a person esteemed as rare or precious; (3) a collection of precious things." I know that throughout my large extended family there are treasures of great monetary value, treasures passed on through generations and treasurers with great stories behind them. The treasure that I want to share today doesn't fit any of these descriptions. But they are precious and of great worth to me - my grandmother's earbobs.

Susie Flemming O'Donnell
wearing a pair of earbobs - 1992

Susan Elizabeth Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) was hoot. She told me at one of my bridal showers in 1990 that she was always invited to parties throughout her life "because she was cheaper than hiring a clown." She was the mother of eight children and the grandmother of twenty. At the time of her death she also had nineteen great-grandchildren. She had been married to the love of her life, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964), and was widowed when she was just 54. Her faith and her family kept her going, and she lived 35 years longer as the matriarch of my mother's family.

She was a southern lady - born and bred in Birmingham, Alabama - a product of her times. But she was also a rare, one-of-a-kind treasure to her family, friends and all who had the unique pleasure to meet her. This post can't begin to do her the justice that her life and legacy deserve. So I won't attempt. But I can share these little treasurers that I was able to pick out - after all her other treasurers were chosen - from items that my mother got after her death. These treasures are Grandmom's "earbobs".

Grandmom, as we grandchildren call her, enjoyed dressing up to go out to lunch or dinner with family and friends. She always wore a necklace or a pin, maybe a bracelet or two, with her dress - pants or slacks were not a part of her public attire. Along with her various accoutrements she always wore "earbobs".  They were clip-on earrings, usually quite large and round, and mostly not of any great monetary value.

Earbobs with Matching Pin

She seemed to have dozens of pairs to choose from. I remember as a little girl going off to her bedroom while the adults talked in the living room, and looking in her jewelry box, full of all colors and styles of jewelry. I don't remember picking anything up or trying anything on, but I probably did. Her things were bigger and bolder than the styles my mother had at home in her jewelry case. My Mom seldom wore earrings - and never wore "earbobs". So Grandmom's treasures were unique unto her.

I tried to find the origin of the term "earbob". I couldn't find when or where the word originated, but I found numerous historical museums that had "earbobs" from native Americans in their collections. I found the term used in 19th century literature, as well as in more modern books. Many fans of the movie Gone with the Wind will remember Scarlett O'Hara offering her "earbobs" to Rhett Butler for collateral for a loan (he declined). The use of the word "earbobs" continued, mostly in the South, but the word is seldom heard anymore.

But I can't look at these inexpensive clip-on earrings that I chose as a keepsake from my grandmother without remembering the giggles from me and my sisters and cousins when Grandmom made any mention of her "earbobs". We thought it was so silly a word then. Now I see the word, and the earrings - and, of course, my grandmother - all as wonderful, precious treasures.

QUESTION - Do you remember Grandmom's earbobs? Or your own grandmother's earbobs? Add your memory (or comment) below to share.

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Father John J. Malloy (1922-2013)

Father John J. Malloy
(1922-2013)

Father John J. Malloy
"Fr. John J. Malloy, SDB, 91, died Wednesday morning, March 27, 2013, at St. Mary's Hospital, San Francisco. He had been a Salesian religious for 72 years and a Catholic priest for almost 63 years.

John Malloy was born in Berkeley, California, March 17, 1922, the son of Charles and Agnes Malloy who had moved to California after their marriage in Lima, Ohio, in 1917. John was baptized on the 19th of March, 2013, at St. Ambrose Church, Berkeley. Fr. Malloy has four living sisters: Louise, Mary, Catherine and Margaret, his twin, and his brother Joseph. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Richard and his sister Rita. A host of family members mourn his death and celebrate his life.

The growing family moved to San Pablo, California, in 1929, where John Malloy met the Salesians at their House of Studies in Richmond, CA. In 1935 he joined the high school seminary of the Salesians in Richmond and graduated from high school in 1939.

In September, 1939, John Malloy was accepted into the Salesian Novitiate at Don Bosco College, Newton, NJ. On Sept. 8, 1940 he pronounced his first religious vows. In 1943, after studies in philosophy, he received his B.A. degree. From 1943 to 1946 he taught at St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, and the Salesian House of Studies, Richmond. In the Fall of 1946 he was admitted to the Pontificio Ateneo Salesiano, in Turin, Italy, for theological studies. In 1950 he was awarded a S.T. L. in theology and was ordained a priest July 2, 1950 in Turin.

His first assignments as a young priest were in the Salesian schools of California. In 1952 he became principal of St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, and later principal of Bishop Mora Salesian High School, Los Angeles.

Father John J. Malloy

In the 1960's he was assigned, also, to help with leadership in the Salesian province of San Francisco. In 1965 he was appointed Provincial of the western province and in 1967 transferred to Provincial of the larger Salesian province in eastern United States.

In 1973 he returned to California as President of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Rosemead, and in 1979 returned to Salesian High School, Richmond, converting the all-boys school to a co-educational Catholic high school.

In 1990, John Malloy became pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Surrey, near Vancouver, Canada. His administrative skills and his pastoral zeal added new life to the parish including his building of a youth center which influenced the lives of young people in the area.

In 2001, he returned to San Francisco as Pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish, San Francisco. In this multi-cultural parish, he called the parishioners to a greater sense of unity and cooperation. He supported the Archdiocese in all its activities including the Right to Life annual appeal.

The last years of his life, from 2007, were spent at Salesian High School, Richmond, very close to the area of his childhood.

On Monday, April 1, 2013 at SS. Peter and Paul Church, there will be viewing at 9:30 a.m., a Rosary at 10:00 and his Funeral Mass at 10:30 am. His interment follows at the Salesian Cemetery, Richmond, Calif. Donations in memory of Fr. John Malloy may be made to the Salesian Province, 1100 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA 94109" [from San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar 2013]

Father John Malloy, R.I.P.
 The following was posted on Father John Malloy’s blog on Thurs., March 28 by Gibbons Cooney,  Father Malloy’s secretary at Saints Peter and Paul Church.

 "Our dear Father Malloy has fought his last fight. He went home to the Lord early on Wednesday morning (Ed note: March 27) . Readers of this blog know that he had been suffering from congestive heart failure as well as a number of other ailments natural to a man of 91. Father’s bearing of his condition was a marvelous thing to see. He was perfectly lucid right to the last, and more than once he said he was ready to go. He never complained and was amazingly cheerful. After a conversation with his doctor he agreed to go on a respirator for a few days to see if that would help his condition, after which they would take him off, and let his body take its course. He was taken off the respirator Tuesday morning, and almost immediately began to grow weaker.

Father John Malloy with Pope John Paul II

I saw him on Tuesday night, and he was quite weak physically, but not spiritually. The nurse had something nice to say to him about how easy he was to work with, and I said “Boy, Father, see what a great patient you are!” He smiled and replied with good natured sarcasm, which was his standard response to when anyone gave him a compliment: “Yeah, sure!” He passed away about 12 hours later.

Father Malloy came to us as pastor of Saints Peter and Paul in 2001. At that time he was 79 years old. It struck some of us as a little odd that a 79-year-old would be appointed to lead one of the busiest parishes in San Francisco. Well. Little did we know!

One of his first acts as pastor was to reinstitute a weekly Holy Hour. During his pastorate the entire interior of the church was refurbished top to bottom. It was cleaned and repainted. Beautiful new carpet was installed. The wood floors were refinished, and because all that beauty needed to be seen, new lights were installed. That revealed details that had not been seen for years, and even old timers were amazed. All this while celebrating weddings, baptisms, and masses beyond count.

I think it is fair to say that what Father Malloy became best known for to the wider world was his uncompromising stand against the horrific epidemic of legalized abortion and against the redefinition of marriage. Under his pastorate, Saints Peter and Paul became the pro-life and pro-family center of the Catholic Church in San Francisco, the birthplace of the Defense of Marriage movement, and the home parish of the Walk for Life West Coast. Father Malloy did not hesitate to call out Catholic politicians by name when their actions violated the most basic teachings of the Catholic faith.

Dolores Meehan tells the story of creating the March in Defense of Marriage. Back in 2004, when Gavin Newsom’s illegally started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Dolores and others wanted to create a rally to show that there were San Franciscans opposed to this. She sought the advice of Bill May, president of Catholics for the Common Good, asking “but where can I find a church that will support it?” Bill said “Well, there’s this one priest at Saints Peter and Paul…” The rest is history. When Dolores visited Father Malloy to ask him about holding a Mass and rally in defense of marriage, she didn’t get a “well, maybe…” or an “I don’t know…” or a “well, let me think about it…” As Dolo tells it, Father Malloy, with Mimi the cat on his desk, just started flipping through his desk calendar looking for a date, and said “I don’t care if I go to jail!” Father Malloy did not follow his flock. He led it.

The response to that April, 2004 rally gave Eva and Dolores and Kelly and Lisa and all the others the courage to create the Walk for Life West Coast in 2005. In that year, Father Malloy became the chaplain of the Walk for Life West Coast, a position he retained until his death. In that year he received the first annual St. Gianna Molla Award for pro-life heroism. Because no matter what, we knew Father Malloy had our back. And from those beginnings, the Walk for Life is now the second largest pro-life event in the country. Someone once told me that Deacon Jeff Burns, the historian of the archdiocese of San Francisco, was asked what was the most significant expression of Catholicism in San Francisco in recent times. He answered “It’s the Walk for Life West Coast.”

Father Malloy eventually became known all over the country for his sermons and writings in defense of the right to life and marriage, with praise and threats to prove it. But despite his powerful stands, almost everyone who met him, even those who disagreed, found in Father John a friend. With my own eyes I have seen people come into the rectory absolutely furious, and walk out a few minutes later with the words “Huh. He’s a nice guy.” When I think of Father Malloy I think of the Blessed John Paul II who was once addressing a group of young people about the evil of abortion. They told him “Why do say this to us? You know we don’t agree.” The Holy Father simply said “I love you too much to lie to you.” That was Father  John’s attitude as well.

Most of us will have heard of Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Many of us will be familiar with his humble tombstone in that Cathedral, on which is written “If you seek his monument, look about you.” The whole cathedral was his monument. But while it is right and proper to see the buildings of a great architect as his monument, the monument of a Priest of God is different. The monument of a priest of God is the people he has inspired to follow Jesus Christ, to imitate Jesus Christ, and to bring others to Jesus Christ.

For as St. Peter himself tells us, the Church is made of living stones. The students he has taught and inspired, that is Father John’s monument. The people he brought into the faith, that is Fr. John’s monument. The young men and women whom he has inspired to the religious life, that is Father John’s monument. And the 50,000 people who in January peacefully, joyfully, yet firmly marched through downtown San Francisco for the littlest among us, that is Father John’s monument.

Father, may we be worthy of the sacrifices you made for us. May we continue to fight firmly and with charity, as you taught us, for life and the family. And above all, may we fulfill your dearest wish for us, to follow Jesus Christ and to live lives that will allow us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, we pray that you watch over us from heaven just as you always did on earth."

Funeral services for Father Malloy were held on April 1 at Saints Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco.

Saints Peter and Paul Church
San Francisco, California

Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, San Francisco, California
[The following information is taken from Wikipedia]
     "Saints Peter and Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Located (somewhat ironically) at 666 Filbert Street, it is directly across from Washington Square, San Francisco and is administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It is known as "La cattedrale d'Italia ovest," or "The Italian Cathedral of the West," and has served as the home church and cultural center for San Francisco's Italian-American community since its consecration.
     During 1926-1927, the church was the target of radical anti-catholic anarchists, who instituted five separate bomb attacks against the building in the space of one year.On March 6, 1927, police shot and killed one man and seriously wounded another, Celsten Eklund, a radical anarchist and local soapbox orator, as the two men attempted to light the fuse of a large dynamite bomb in front of the church. The dead man, known only as 'Ricca', was never fully identified; Eklund died of his wounds some time later without giving any information about his co-conspirators.
     In recent years, Saints Peter and Paul has also become the home church for the city's Chinese-American Roman Catholic population, offering weekly masses in Italian, Mandarin, and English. Mass in Latin is offered monthly as well.
     Saints Peter and Paul serves the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

In Popular Culture - The church is prominently featured in the Clint Eastwood movies Dirty Harry (the Church, and nearby Dante Building, are the scene of sniper attacks by the "Scorpio Killer") and The Dead Pool. Scenes from Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments were filmed at the church while it was under construction. Parts of Sister Act 2 were also filmed here.

Interior of Saints Peter and Paul Church
CLICK TO ENLARGE

     After their civil ceremony in 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio returned for photographs on the steps of this church. DiMaggio was married to Dorothy Arnold in the church on November 19, 1939, but later civilly divorced. Still married as far as the Church was concerned (having not obtained an annulment), he could not be married in the Catholic Church. In a side entrance, Sts. Peter and Paul Church still showcases a photo in a book displaying proudly DiMaggio's marriage day photo-but with Arnold, not Monroe. DiMaggio's funeral was held here on March 11, 1999."
 

IT'S ALL RELATIVE

Father John Malloy is my 2nd cousin, twice removed. That sounds so distant, made up, a stretch as far as relationships go. But it's not. We are related, sharing the same set of grandparents, immigrated from France in the mid-1800's. I didn't know he existed until last night, while doing family history research. He never knew I existed. I wish I had known - he seems like quite an amazing person. So we are cousins and I wanted to share him with you. Here's how we're related:
     Father John is the grandson of Peter Brunett (1857-1908) and Clara Schmitt (1859-1903). Peter is a younger brother of Barbara Brunett (1952-1896), my great-great-grandmother.
     Father John's great-grandparents are John Michel Baptiste Brunett (1818-1863) and Barbara Frisse (1822-1893), who are my great-great-great-grandparents. John and Barbara were both born in Seingbouse, Lorraine, France. Barbara, traveling with her parents and siblings, arrived in America in July 1846. John traveled on the same ship. The Frisse family (later spelling their name Frisz) and John Brunett settled in St. Anne's Village, Jennings County, Indiana. John and Barbara married here, just 22 days after arriving in America.
     Barbara Brunett [Father John's great-aunt and my great-great-grandmother] married Phillip Huber (1847-1901) in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1871, and had 7 children including my great-grandmother Mayme Huber (1873-1913). Mayme married my great-grandfather John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937) in 1904 in Birmingham, Alabama. John and Mayme had 4 children, including my grandfather John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964).

IMAGINE. . . Your child and your sibling's child are first cousins; they share the same grandparents. [Father John's mother Agnes Brunett Malloy (1898-1980) and Mayme Huber O'Donnell were first cousins.]
     These 2 first cousins each have children, who are 2nd cousins to each other; they also share the same great-grandparents. [Father John and my grandfather Huber O'Donnell are 2nd cousins.]
     Children of 2nd cousins would be 3rd cousins to each other OR a child of one 2nd cousin would be "once removed" from the other 2nd cousin relationship. [Since I am a grandchild of one of the 2nd cousins, I am Father John's 2nd cousins, twice removed.]

SATURDAY'S STRUCTURE - Club Rex, Homewood, Alabama

During the mid-1930's, my grandfather John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964) went into partnership with Bob Smith when they leased Club Rex in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Huber was a stenographer at TCI, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, a major American steel manufacturer located in Birmingham. Bob Smith was a co-worker of my "Pop" and together they had briefly owned a nightclub in downtown before taking over the lease when the country club went bankrupt.


Historic Marker in Homewood, Alabama

A popular recreational and entertainment facility, Club Rex began as Hollywood Country Club, built in the mid-1920's. It was then part of the newest subdivision being built south of Birmingham - Hollywood. The town of Hollywood was incorporated as a city in 1927. The brainchild of Clyde Nelson, Hollywood was advertised to meet a variety of needs, including health - "Out of the Smoke Zone and Into the Ozone" - and exclusivity - "one of Birmingham's most beautiful, highly restricted residential subdivisions". 

Club Rex Postcard ca. 1940

In Homewood: The Life of a City, Sheryl Spradling Summe describes the club's beginnings:

"Nelson built Hollywood Country Club on Shades Valley Highway, now Lakeshore Drive, overlooking Shades Creek where the Marriott Courtyard Hotel stands today. The large Spanish Mission-style clubhouse, with a swimming pool in the front that was a favorite place for children and teens, 'offered the finest in meals and entertainment six or seven days a week.' Although plans to add a golf course on the property were never completed. Hollywood Country Club provided members and guests 'an elite dining and dancing spot' for years....It changed ownership several times after 1930, but the building remained in existence until a fire damaged it in 1984 and subsequently it was torn down." [p. 86-87]



"Hollywood Country Club" sign added for postcard only

"Homewood added a swimming pool to its list of community recreation facilities when it began leasing the Hollywood Country Club pool in the summer of 1934. (By then the club was privately owned by G.C. Lockhart and would change hands many times in the years to come.) The popular Municipal Swimming Pool took in more than $500 during the first half of July 1934 alone. Men could rent swimsuits, and all swimmers were provided with towels. The city hired two lifeguards, Bob Purdy and Wallace Ward, at sixty-five dollars per month each and a cashier, Miss Lottie Lee Patterson, for twenty-five dollars per month...The city council allowed underprivileged children to use the municipal pool at no charge....The Summer Bus Line, which operated the Hollywood bus service originally established by Clyde Nelson, ran a shuttle to the pool from Dunn's drugstore and from Broadway at Roseland Drive, stopping at many points along the way." [p. 125]

backside of postcard

These articles appeared in Billboard magazine in 1945 [Billboard magazine, originally a trade paper for the bill-posting industry, carried news for live entertainment including vaudeville, minstrel shows, circuses, amusement parks, and fairs. Later it included news for nightclubs, and other music venues. It now carries news for music and the music industry worldwide.]


January 20, 1945 cover

"Rex, Alabama Club, Bought   Birmingham, Jan. 13 - Joe Robino, restaurant owner, has purchased for $59,500, the old Hollywood Country Club building, with five acres, a swimming pool, and new streamlined nitery equipment, including a $2,750 rotary cooker that broils 90 steaks at once. Clubhouse originally built as private country club for exclusive Hollywood residential section, has been operated on lease from foreclosures as Club Rex nitery for nine years. Club plans use of nitery entertainment and occasional guest ork." [Billboard magazine, January 20, 1945, p. 23]

July 21, 1945 cover

"Birming'm To Get 25G Club With All-Glass Blg. & Floor  Birmingham, Ala., July 16 - Birmingham steps into the big-town nitery class next month with the construction of a new $75,000 all glass club with glass dance floor and penthouse atop a circular club building. Name bands and floorshows are to be imported, according to Bob Smith, widely known nitery op promoting the project on the club membership plan with guest memberships for visitors, with 60-G already in hand. Smith operated Club Rex in Hollywood for 10 years." [Billboard, July 21, 1945, p. 27]

Poolside at Club Rex
1938

My mother has wonderful memories of summer days spent swimming at the pool at Club Rex. When she was about three-and-a-half-years-old, while swimming at the pool one day, a man came up to her and asked if he could photograph her. He picked her up and set her on a concrete bench. Later he sent her parents copies of the photographs (at right). She also had several birthday parties in the club room when she was very young. Her birthday was in December so a family member would dress as Santa Claus and visit her party each time.

The swimming pool, of course, was always a favorite place to go during the hot Birmingham summers. My mom remembers their maid would go with them and was responsible for watching she and her older brother and sister swim. A maid at that time was fairly common for families, but since she was black she would only have been able to watch the children swim from a seat - the pool itself was whites-only.



Backside of Club Rex postcard

There was an area on the lowest floor of the club, known as "The Cave Room". Here swimmers could enter in their wet bathing suits and buy burgers and eat lunch. My mother's older brother, who was five years older, worked in the Cave Room around 1944. Mom remembers giving out pool passes to friends at school during these years. She also remembers New Years Eves - her father would be out late at the club and would always bring each of the kids souvenirs from the party. When they woke up on New Years Day they would have party hats, horns and noisemakers from the night's revelry. Each year the new year would be part of the hats' decoration - "1939", "1940" etc.

My grandfather continued to work at his job with TCI while helping to run Club Rex, going over to the club after a full day at work, as did Bob Smith. For a time Bob and his wife and daughter lived on the property, in bedrooms that were part of the property, as did another partner who managed the property during the day. The property was bought by Joe Robino in 1945.

How fun it was to have a swimming pool and a night club, located less than a mile from their home, as part of your childhood memories.

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - Edward Martin Horst (1882-1916)

 

Death Notice - Edward Martin Horst
from Birmingham Age-Herald, Nov. 5, 1916

       "The remains of Edward M. Horst, who died at Asheville, N.C., Thursday afternoon, were received Saturday morning by Lige Loy. Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at St. Paul's Catholic Church at 3 p.m. and internment will be in Elmwood Cemetery. The deceased is survived by his mother, Mrs. C. F. Horst, Sr., two brothers, C. F. Horst, Jr., and O. L. Horst, and two sisters, Mrs. H. C. Flemming, and Miss Odalie Horst.
     The following will act as pallbearers: W. W. Thomas, M. R. Mullane, P. H. Anderson, D. F. Achor, C. C. Flemming, Jr., and Stanley Atkins." [from Birmingham Age-Herald, November 5, 1916]

Pearl and Ed Horst
Birmingham, AL (ca. 1896)

Edward Martin Horst was born May 5, 1882, in Mobile, Alabama. His parents, my great-great-grandparents, were Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912) and Odalie Felice Fortier (1857-1920). He was their second child of five - older brother Charles Frederick (1880-1964); Pearl Alphonsine (1884-1961), my great-grandmother; Omer Leo (1887-1945); and Odalie "Dolly" Marie (1896-1990). The family - he, his parents, and brother Charles - moved to Cincinnati soon after he was born, for his father's health. Here his sister Pearl and brother Omer were born. Soon the family moved back to Alabama, this time to the city of Birmingham, not yet 25 years old. Father Charles' younger brother Edward (1858-1901) had already relocated here and bought a local bar - the Palace Royale.  Charles came to Birmingham to help him run it.

When Ed was 18, the 1900 U.S. Census listed his occupation as "General Plumbing". The city directory listed him in 1905 as a "Steamfitter" at the Alabama Supply Company; in 1909 the directory listed him as a "Helper" at Monarch Plumbing, Steam Heating and Supply Company. As a steamfitter he would be responsible for installing, maintaining and/or repairing pipes and piping systems for ventilation or heating systems. He remained in this profession throughout his life. He never married.

Around 1914, when Ed was about thirty-two, he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, a contagious pulmonary disease that was often fatal. It was one of the leading causes of death in the early twentieth century. An estimated 110,000 Americans died each year in the early 1900's from TB.



North Carolina Death Certificate
[click to enlarge]

Because tuberculosis was thought of as a death sentence, those infected were isolated from society and sent off to sanatoriums - hospitals designed to care specifically for tuberculosis sufferers. Before antibiotic treatments existed, a regiment of rest and good nutrition offered the best chances that a sufferer's immune system would "wall off" pockets of the TB infection and be cured.



Tuberculosis, known as consumption in the 19th century because it seemed to consume the patient's body, is evidenced by chronic cough, blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats and weight loss. In January 1915 Edward was sent to Asheville, North Carolina, to the St. Joseph Sanatorium run by the Sisters of Mercy. Asheville, the county seat of Buncombe County, is situated in western North Carolina.

Ed stayed at St. Joseph's for 1 year and 10 months, according to his North Carolina Death Certificate. He died on November 2nd of 1916 at 1:15 in the afternoon. The official cause of death was "Hemorrhage from lung"; the secondary cause was listed as "Tuberculosis of lungs".  The death certificate stated he had suffered from TB for "about 3 years".  He was just 34 and a half when he died.

The following day, Friday, Ed's body was put on the train and taken to Birmingham. It arrived the next morning, Saturday, and he was buried Sunday, November 5th after services were held at St. Paul's Catholic Church. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery next to his mother and father.


Headstone - Elmwood Cemetery
Birmingham, Alabama

Asheville as a Health Retreat
[taken in part from the National Park Service 'National Register of Historic Places' website]
"As far back as 1795 records show that the Asheville area was regarded as a place to come heal oneself of ills. The climate was regarded to be optimal--the components (temperature, barometric pressure, etc.) were actually measured by physicians who wanted to determine the best place for patients to recuperate. A long line of physicians came to Asheville, some to convalesce themselves, and ended up staying, building practices and promoting Asheville as a health retreat. From the late 1880s to the 1930s Asheville rose in prominence as a curative place for tuberculosis. 

Biltmore House postcard
[click to enlarge]

One of Asheville's greatest promoters was Dr. S. Westray Battle who came to Asheville in 1885 and turned out to be, perhaps, the most influential doctor to come to the area. Through his connections and reputation, many wealthy individuals and families came and ended up staying in Asheville. Among them was George Vanderbilt, who accompanied his ailing mother. While in Asheville, Vanderbilt fell in love with the area and returned to build his now famed Biltmore Estates. Edwin W. Grove also came to Asheville as one of Battle's patients and stayed on to build Grove Park Inn.

Grove Park Inn postcard
[click to enlarge]

In 1900, there was only one sanitarium available, the Winyah, with 60 beds. The rest of the patients that came to Asheville stayed in boarding houses that had open air sleeping porches, thought to be necessary for recovery. Between 1900 and 1910, the number of sanitaria and boarding houses greatly increased. These sanitaria and boarding houses were usually on the outskirts of town, but as Asheville grew, they came to be within the city limits.

By 1930, Asheville bragged 20 tuberculosis specialists and 25 sanitaria with a total of 900 beds. But with the rise of state care and the depressed economy, the market for the private sanitaria had dwindled. During the 1930s and 1940s the sanitaria and boarding houses for tuberculosis patients closed with just a few remaining into the 1950s. As antibiotic treatment was introduced in the late 1950s, sanitariums were rarely needed.

Asheville is still a health center where people come for specialized treatment. Mission-St. Joseph's Hospital and the many specialists located nearby have made Asheville the prime medical center for Western North Carolina."

Sisters of Mercy and St. Joseph Sanatorium

St. Joseph Sanatorium
Asheville, North Carolina (ca. 1920s)

The Sisters of Mercy was founded in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley in 1831. Unlike other orders of religious women, McAuley didn't want her community to be cloistered; she wanted her order to work among the poor. Members of her order came to America in 1841 to continue the mission. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Asheville in the mid-1800s, at the request of the local Bishop, to establish a boarding school. With poor enrollment the school building became the site of a hospital to serve tuberculosis patients, at the urging of the Sisters. In November 1900 the Sisters of Mercy opened St. Joseph Sanatorium.
 Over the years the Sisters had to relocate the hospital to meet the needs of the growing number of patients coming into Asheville. From 1900-1905 the hospital was located at 40 French Broad Avenue. The facility had 18 beds. From 1906-1909 the hospital was moved to a larger home on Starnes Avenue, a building with many open porches - a characteristic common among facilities serving tuberculosis patients. In 1909 the hospital moved to a twenty-two acre parcel located on Biltmore Avenue. There were objections from neighbors who thought the sanatorium would lower property values and they obtained a court injunction to keep them from operating. The judge ruled in favor of the Sisters, stating that the benefit to the community far outweighed the fear of contagion.


St. Joseph Sanatorium postcard
[click to enlarge]

 The Biltmore Avenue location underwent changes. The building was able to house 20 patients in the main house and more in the two out-buildings which were used as patients prepared for discharge. The facility expanded twice more before 1938. These additions increased the size of the building to now accommodate 95 patients, and added an administrative wing.

In 2000 the Sisters of Mercy sold the hospital to Memorial Mission Hospital, forming Mission Hospital Systems. Both hospitals had been run by women during a time when that was very rare. Doctors had been hired to work at the hospital but the mission was always to service the sick, the poor, those in need. That mission continues today.