1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity
3. catholicism

1. The Beginning: An Amazing Coincidence
2. Adriaen Van der Donck Park Dedication
3. The Year 1848
4. Why Two Names?
5. Thomas Clapp Cornell
6. Yonkers and the Saw Mill River
7. An Educated Guess about Our Two Names
8. The First Pastors 1848 - 1856
9. The First Parishioners
10. Pastorate of Fr. Edward Lynch 1856-1865 the Pivotal Years
11. Yonkers, the Irish and the Civil War
12. Post Civil War Years
13. Pastorate of Fr. Charles Slevin 1865-1878
14. Sons of Erin
15. Daughters of Erin
16. Pastorate of Msgr. Charles R. Corley 1877-1914
17. The Great Controversy within American Catholicism and its Effect
18. The Ministry of Sisters of Charity
19. Pastorate of Fr. Charles Murphy 1914-1933
20. Christian Brothers at St. Mary’s School (1871-1968)
21. The Depression Years: Pastorate of John Dyer
22. Pastorate of Arthur Avard: 1936-1952
23. Pastorate if Rev. Msgr. Richard M. Fitzgerald (1953-1967)
1.
The Beginning: An Amazing Coincidence
On the first day of my pastorate on Feb. 1, 1987, I took a look at our first Baptismal Book. (Our first recorded baptism was
in December of 1847). I was intrigued to find that many of the first baptisms were performed by Jesuit priests with French
names: Jouin, Daubresse, Doucet, Bienvenue. The pastor was Irish, Fr. John Ryan, which was expected in a congregation that
was almost all Irish. But why were French priests here? The short answer is that they were from St. John's College (now
Fordham University) and they were mostly French because Archbishop Hughes wanted Jesuits from the Province of France
not the American Province to teach at St. John's. Why? The longer answer involves Hughes's prickly relationship with the
Jesuits and why the Jesuits left our parish after only three years.
A few years later my curiosity got the better of me. I traced past the history of the French Jesuits in New York. There I came
across a most remarkable historical coincidence. In 1643 St. Isaac Jogues was rescued (by ransom) from a Mohawk tribe
partly through the help of Adriaen Van der Donck. In Russell Shorto's "Island in the Center of the World" Adriaen is
described as "a forgotten American, a maverick, liberal- minded lawyer whose brilliant gamesmanship, commitment to
individual freedom and exuberant love of his new country would have lasting impact on the history of this nation."He had
met Jogues earlier and found that they had mutual interests in the "flora and fauna" of the New World and in the customs
of the Native Americans. Jogues was placed in "house arrest" in New Amsterdam by his Dutch Protestant rescuers until they
could put him on a ship back to Europe. In New Amsterdam at the same time was Thomas Cornell, a landowner from the
Bronx, who was in town for the wedding of his daughter. The direct descendant of Cornell was the leading lay founder of
our parish, Thomas Cornell. Adriaen Van der Donck became the owner of a large tract of land which became known as
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"Yonkers" named after his nickname "Yonkeers" (young gentleman). He is probably buried in Van Cortland Park (once
part of Yonkers). Jogues, who after a perilous journey, make it back to France, only to return to the New World to be
martyred and eventually become a canonized saint. Two hundred years later (including the suppression of the Jesuit Order
by the Pope from 1773 -1814) members of the same French Jesuit Provincial Order as Jogues (now including Canada) were
now founding the parish of St. Mary's that included all the land of Yonkers. That's pretty amazing. Isn't it?
2.
Adriaen Van der Donck Park Dedication.
(Scheduled to be given on September 8, 2012 but postponed because of a “tornado watch”)
Who is Adriaen Van der Donck?
My interest in Adraien Van der Donck began twenty-five years ago when I became pastor of St. Mary's Church on South
Broadway. After reviewing the names of our first baptisms in 1848 I became intrigued by the first priests who administered
the baptisms. They were Jesuits, (no surprise - they came from what is now Fordham University) but why were they from
the Province of France and Canada and not America? This led me to a history of the Jesuits in this part of the New World
and to the French Fr. Isaac Jogues. In 1643, with the encouragement of the Dutch settlers, Jogues had escaped from a
Mohawk tribe and, while awaiting his eventual release by ransom, he met a man named Adraien Van der Donck. They
shared information about the customs of the Native Americans and were very interested in the animal and plant life of the
area ("the flora and fauna.") I soon learned that this was the man after whom Yonkers was named. He has a fascinating story
and it is worth remembering. l must also mention that thirteen years later in this same area Kateri Tekakwitha, who will be
canonized a saint in Rome next month, was born of a Mohawk father and Huron mother.
Adraien Van der Donck was a young man of twenty three who came to New Netherlands in 1641 to work for the Patroon,
Kilean van Rensselear, a rich diamond merchant, on his land near present day Albany. He worked as a "Shout" a
combination of Sheriff and District Attorney. As a graduate of the law school at the University of Leiden, he was the most
educated man in New Netherlands and probably overqualified for his work. He soon disagreed with his absentee Lord of the
Manor and with the system set up by the Dutch West Indian Company. The Patroon System was not attracting enough
settlers nor did the Dutch West Indian Company understand how important strategically the settlement of New Amsterdam
was going to be for world trade. He was also stymied in his efforts to obtain land for himself. His contract as Shout was not
renewed when his term expired in 1644.
What was New Netherlands? It was a large area that included what is today's states of Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
Only half of the settlers were ethnically Dutch. Many settlers were Walloons, French Huguenots, German, Scandinavians,
and English from New England. Among the latter were the families of Anne Hutchinson and Thomas Cornell. Thomas
Clapp Cornell, who was one of the founders of my church and after whom our new public school is named, was a direct
descendent of this Thomas Cornell. The Dutch tended to be merchants and traders, not farmers. New Amsterdam was
described in 1843 as settlement with a population of 800 with eighteen different languages. Trade with the local Native
Americans, especially for animal skins, was lucrative for both sides.
An opportunity for Van der Donck arose when he was asked by the Director General of New Netherlands, Wilhem Keift,
to help mediate an end to an ill advised bloody war against the local Native Americans. Called the Keift's War (1643-1645),
it was a disaster. Hundreds of Native Americans and European settlers were killed, including Anne Hutchinson and her
family (after which the Hutchinson River Parkway is named.) As the bloody war stretched into its third year Keift knew van
der Donck had good relations with Native Americans and asked him to join him to end the war. With the help of gifts of
wampum provided by Van der Donck, Kieft did achieve peace. As a result, in July of 1845, he was rewarded by the Dutch
West India Co. with a very large land grant of 24,000 acres. This included all of the present City of Yonkers plus today's
Riverdale, Kingsbridge, van Cortland Park and Moshoulu. It was initially called Colen Donck, then Jonkeers Colen DonckHistory Of Our Church
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"Jonkeers or Yonkeers" is a Dutch honorific title meaning something like" a young gentlemen of property." Eventually with
the English conquest of the New Netherland the name was shortened to Yonkers and Adraien Van der Donck faded into
history until now.
It must be said that Van der Donck was very respectful of the claims of the Native Americans and made treaties that were
accepted by both sides. It is difficult today to pinpoint who these tribes were. The Mohicans were situated to the north of
Yonkers and the Mohawk settlements were across the Hudson River near today’s Albany. The mural by Hass on the
southwest corner of Riverdale Avenue and Main Street names many possible tribes. There is some thought today that most
fell under the confederation of the Lenapi. At any rate where we stand today was certainly the settlement site of one of the
tribes and where Van der Donck set up his first saw and grist mills.
Married in 1645 to Mary Doughty, daughter of an English minister, he probably never lived here. He may have lived near
Spuyten Duyvil or in today's Van Cortlandt Park but we are not sure. This river, once called the Nepperhan (meaning
"Rapid Waters") by the Native Americans, eventually was renamed the Saw Mill River.
End of story? Not by a long shot! Much of this later history was buried in the archives in Albany unable to be translated
because no one knew the "Old Dutch" language. Thanks to Charles Gehring who was able to translate these documents and
to Russel Shorto' book "The Island in the Middle of the World" published in 2004, we now know a lot more about Van
der Donck. He has been transformed from a footnote in history to an important historical figure.
In 1847 the ineffectual Keift was replaced by Peter Stuyvesant who proved to be a dominant, almost dictatorial leader. The
Dutch colonists argued against Stuyvesant and wanted a more democratic local government. Eventually Stuyvesant agreed to
the creation of a permanent advisory board, called the Board of Nine. Van der Donck was selected by the other eight as the
"President of the Commonality" in 1648. Within days the Board of Nine declared itself independent of the Dutch West
India Company. Stuyvesant accused Van der Donck of treason and threw him in jail. He was eventually released and
representing the Board of Nine he was allowed to go to the Netherlands to present their case. He brought with him the now
famous "Remonstrances" which was a list of meticulous grievances against the Dutch West India Company. It basically
asked for more individual rights, economic freedom and a local municipal government like those in the Netherlands. "The
Remonstrances" was more than likely written by Van der Donck. Some say that it had a direct influence on our own Bill of
Rights.
Let’s pause for a second to look at the lager historical picture. France is extending its American territories as far west as
Michigan. Sweden has set up a colony on lands along the Delaware River. New England is bursting with new settlers and
they are encroaching on Dutch lands in Connecticut and Long Island. England itself is in the middle of a Civil War lead by
Oliver Cromwell which ends in 1649 with beheading of their king, Charles II. Cromwell is also devastating Ireland driving
Catholics off the fertile lands with his infamous order: "To Hell or to Connaught."
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is their Golden Age. No wonder they had a hard time convincing families to leave
for the wilderness of the New World! After sixty years of struggle they had achieved their independence from Spain. With a
population of only two million it had become the greatest maritime power in the world. It was the only Republic among the
monarchies of Europe. Although its religion was Dutch Calvinist, it was known for its religious tolerance (up to a point). It
excelled in art, science, literature and philosophy. It was the time of Rembrandt and Vermeer. Descartes and John Grotius
had taught at the University of Leiden where Van der Donck had studied law. No doubt it had influenced his political
thought.
Arriving in the Netherland in 1849 he had to wait two years for a judgment from the Estates General. His wife soon joined
him. While in the Netherlands he again attended the University of Leiden where he achieved another degree in law. He
published "The "Remonstrances" and "A Description of New Netherland." The latter, written by Van der Donck, is a
beautiful, if slightly romantic, description of New Netherlands. It became very popular and enticed a growing number of
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people to emigrate, including Van der Donck's parents. Undoubtedly some settled here in Colen Donck. He also published
an important map of New Netherlands, called the Jansson- Visscher map. It would remain the definite map of the region for
a hundred years and was responsible for many of our places retaining their Dutch names.
In 1652 The Estates General ruled in favor of Van der Donck ordering the establishment of a municipal government and
the recall of Peter Stuyvesant. Certainly Van der Donck would be a leading candidate for the new leader of New
Netherlands.
Then disaster struck. On May 24, 1652 the first Anglo- Dutch War (1652-54) broke out. England and the Netherlands
were rivals for the worldwide maritime trade. The Dutch wanted free enterprise. The English wanted a monopoly on all
trade to England. There would be three more of these wars- all basically fought at sea.
The Netherlands now needed the arms, ships and supplies of the Dutch West India Co. Peter Stuyvesant was now seen as a
better leader for a war. Not only was the previous decision in favor of Van der Donck rescinded but also he was forbidden
to return home. Pledging to retire from public life, he was allowed to return in May 1653. Once in New Netherlands,
Stuyvesant exacted his revenge by forbidding him from practicing as a lawyer. Van der Donck now disappears from history.
He probably died in 1655. Speculation has him being killed by Native Americans in the so- called "Peach Wars" but there
have been a lot of questions about his death. It would make a good detective story. Although his last years were tragic, he
should be remembered as an enthusiastic lover and promoter of America. He was an activist and writer whose ideas probably
found their way into our own Bill of Rights.
Nine years later English ships sailed into the harbor of New Amsterdam and it was the beginning of the end of Dutch rule in
New Netherlands. With the signing of the Treaty of Breda the Dutch traded New Amsterdam for Surinam, which at the
time was a much more profitable enterprise. New Amsterdam was renamed New York. The name of "Yonkeers Colen
Donck" was shortened to" Yonkers." Van der Donck's property was inherited by his wife, Mary Doughty. She transferred
the property to her brother who, in 1672, sold it to three or four buyers. Most of the land of Yonkers was bought by
Frederic Philipsen whose family built Philipse Manor located today just across the street. But that is another story in the
history of Yonkers.
With the day lighting of the Nepaperhan River we honor the Native Americans who lived for centuries at this very location.
With the naming of this beautiful park, Adriaen Van der Donck should now claim his rightful and honored place in the
history of Yonkers and America.
3.
The Year 1848
In 1848 revolutions ripped through Europe. Beginning in Sicily they spread to Paris and then throughout Europe: Milan,
Venice, Naples, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Munich and Berlin. As Metternich said "When Paris sneezes all of
Europe catches a cold (One can't help seeing similarities in the uprisings throughout the Arab world today. Leaders of
today's revolts even use the same evocative description, ―The Springtime of Hope." And is not Cairo like Paris?). The goals
were constitutional government and democracy. It was a violent and tumultuous time. The people of Yonkers were well
aware of the revolutions. Their sympathies are apparent. They named one of the new streets in Yonkers after the poetrevolutionary and, for a few months in 1848, the President of the new Republic of France, Alphonse de Lamartine. In the
short run the revolutions of 1848 failed but they sowed the seeds that eventually bore fruit in many capitals of Europe.
One place that the seeds did not take root was in Rome and in the Papal States (which were about a third of today's Italy).
Pope Pius IX, although initially attracted to some of the liberal ideas to reform the Papal States, turned against the reformers
after the assassination of his secretary of State, Count Pellegrino Rossi, on November 15, 1848 by radicals. Pope Pius IX,
leader of Catholic Church, closed its windows to anything that smacked of "modernity." This had significant consequences
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for the Catholic Church in a democratic America. The problem came to a head in the "Americanist" controversaries in the
1880's and 1890's, which in turn, affected St. Mary's bid to become the cathedral of a new diocese.
In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe formally ended the Mexican- American War. Today's California and most of the
Southwest was ceded to the U.S.A. During the war some Irish Catholics in the army of the U.S.A. deserted to the Mexican
side. One of the reasons was the refusal of the American government to allow Catholic chaplains in the army. Most were
captured after the war and executed. This fed the suspicions of those who maintained that the allegiance of Catholics was
more to their religion (Mexico was Catholic) and to the Pope than to the U.S.A.
Deep ethnic and class resentments seethed through the population. Between 1847 and 1851, 850,000 Irish entered the port
of New York City. The arrival of so many Irish Catholics, many sick and emaciated, frightened people. In an age "not given
to sensitivity" the many penny newspapers vied for attention with the most outrageous stories. In 1847 one of the leading
ministers of a leading Presbyterian Church proclaimed: "If I had the power I would erect a gallows at every landing place in
the City of New York and suspend every cursed Irishman as soon as he steps on shore."
The question of loyalty remained until the Civil War when thousands of Irish fought and died (on both sides) for their
country. Buried in St. Mary's cemetery (opened in 1855) are 137 Civil War veterans. When the draft riots broke out in July
of 1863 in New York City and in parts of Westchester, many feared Irish Catholics of Yonkers would join. They did not.
In partial response to this hostile and Protestant environment, the Catholic school system grew. In 1852, St. Mary's opened
its own school. The Sisters of Charity came to teach in 1857 . The LaSalle Christian Brothers came in 1861. The first four
founding Brothers from France 1848.
In July of 1848 the Seneca Fall Convention was held in upstate New York. It is considered the beginning of the woman's
movement in America. Lucretia Mott, one of the main speakers, was the aunt of Thomas Cornell who helped found the
parish of St. Mary's.
Gold was discovered in California in 1848.
4.
Why Two Names?
Thomas Cornell, one of the lay founders of St. Mary’s, was the city’s engineer for laying out the streets of Yonkers. When
Judge William W. Woodworth, a former Congressman, along with Josiah Rich and James Scrymser, donated the land for
the building of St. Mary’s Church in the summer of 1848, Cornell changed the name of the street from South Street to St.
Mary’s. This was the agreed upon name of the church at this particular time.
However, when the first pastor, Fr. John Ryan, S.J., from Fordham (then called St. John’s College) signed the canonical
papers to formally establish the parish, ―he wished the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin
and it is hence called either Church of the Immaculate Conception or St. Mary’s at pleasure.‖
Is our church the first church in the United States to be named ―THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION?‖
The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Yonkers has claimed this distinction. But is it true? The first problem is that
our church in Yonkers has two names. The canonical and legal name today is the Immaculate Conception. However, its
original name was St. Mary’s (our baptismal records begin in October of 1847 and are recorded in a book that clearly states
that the parish is named St. Mary’s). Sometime in 1848, as the architectural plans for the building of a church were being
reviewed, the pastor, Rev. John Ryan, a Jesuit teaching at St. John’s College, asked that a second name be added, namely the
Blessed Virgin Church of the Immaculate Conception. This meeting seems to have taken plane before July of 1848 because
Thomas Cornell writes in his ―The Beginnings of the Catholic Church in Yonkers‖ that the contract for the mason work
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was signed in July. Cornell should know because he was present with Archbishop Hughes and Fr. Ryan when they discussed
the plans for the church. Technically (although I don’t know what the canonical rule in 1848 was on such matters as two
names for a church and a parish), our parish and church can claim the name of the Immaculate Conception in 1848.
What complicates matters further is that in the dedication ceremony of the new church of the Immaculate Conception in
Manhattan (now on 14th St.) on May 16, 1858, Archbishop Hughes spoke of this church as having the distinction of being
the first church in the nation so named. Who was the pastor? None other than the same Fr. John Ryan who certainly would
have known about his church in Yonkers. However, if my memory serves me, Hughes’s precise words were ―the first church
since the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.‖ Since the dogma was defined on December 8, 1854,
Hughes’s statement does not contradict the Yonkers church’s claim as being the first.
However, the most valid claim to being the first is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. The final
judgment depends on the answer to this question. When does a church officially receive its name: the laying of the
cornerstone, the dedication of the church, the first time that Mass is celebrated in the church, or the signing of an official
document before any of the above takes place? Let’s look at the evidence.
Bishop Hubbard of Albany, a classmate of mine, was kind enough to respond to my historical question.
―Dear Hugh,
In answer to your query, our records indicate that the cornerstone for our Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was laid
on July 2, 1848 by Archbishop Hughes of New York and dedicated in November of 1852. Bishop McCloskey was
installed as Bishop of St. Mary’s Church on November 19, 1847 making it the pro-Cathedral; until the dedication of the
present Cathedral Church on November 21, 1852. I assume, therefore, that the July 1848 cornerstone laying would
constitute the naming of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Fraternally, yours, Howard‖
The case for our Church in Yonkers is as follows: The first Mass in the new church was celebrated on December 25,
1848. The dedication took place on November 16, 1851. We have no evidence when or if there was a laying of a
cornerstone. The contract for the mason work was made in July of 1848. Did the work begin at this time? Was there a
ceremonial laying of the cornerstone before any work began?
If the laying of the cornerstone is the answer, Albany has the evidence and should be considered the first (but only by a few
days). If the answer is the first time the church is used for Mass or the dedication of the church, then Yonkers is the first.
To be fair, however, it must be said that our church was always called St. Mary’s until its incorporation in 1877. Even after
this date, up until the present day, the popular name (although not the canonical or legal name) remains St. Mary’s.
5.
Thomas Clapp Cornell
Thomas Clapp Cornell, after whom the newest Yonkers public school is named, came to
Yonkers as a young man of 28 in the summer of 1847. At that time, as Cornell himself wrote
almost 50 years later, ―There was no Warburton Avenue … nor any Dock Street, nor any
Hudson River Railroad, nor even any Yonkers as we now know Yonkers. There was but a little
rural hamlet of perhaps five hundred people. There were hardly half a dozen streets or crossroads
in the whole settlement.‖(1)
1
Thomas C. Cornell, “Some reminiscences of the old Philipse Manor House in Yonkers and its surroundings, ”Yonkers Historical
Bulletin (XXXIV:1, 1988-1989)
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A civil engineer, Thomas Cornell was employed at the time by the Hudson River Railroad Company and was largely
responsible for the construction of the railroad line from Spuyten Duyvil to Dobbs Ferry. The railroad company’s local
office -- in which he worked from August 1847 until the completion of his ten miles of track in 1850 - was located in a
rented room in the Philipse Manor Hall, which was then a private home owned by Lemuel W. Wells.(2)
Born in Flushing, Long Island, on January 7, 1819, Thomas Cornell had little formal schooling. When Thomas was but a
child, the family moved to a farm in the vicinity of Rochester, and it is there that his father Silas is said to have operated a
little school during the winter months. According to The Yonkers Herald, this school was ―the only school … Thomas ever
attended.‖ The Herald added that the ―aggregate‖ of Thomas’s schooling ―did not exceed three years and was ended before
he was twelve years old.‖ Despite the arduous farm work that he took on from an early age, however, the Herald assures us
that Thomas ―kept up his studies and was often seen spending an hour or two before breakfast, by lamplight studying Latin,
Greek or mathematics.‖(3)
When Silas Cornell became surveyor of the Rochester area in 1836, Thomas became his assistant. Within four years, by the
time he was 21, Thomas was working for New York State on a project to enlarge the Erie Canal. In 1846, after a few years
working as an engineer for the Canadian government, Thomas went to Europe. And it was there, in Lyons, France, that this
scion of two staunch Quaker families was received into the Catholic Church.(4) Returning to the States, Thomas took
the job with the railroad and shortly afterwards first set eyes on Yonkers. From that day in August of 1847, until December
29, 1894, when he died at the age of 75 in his home on Highland Place, Thomas Cornell would prove to be one of the
greatest benefactors Yonkers has ever known.
"The main efforts of his life," the pastor of St. Mary's Church, Rev. Charles R. Corley, said at Thomas Cornell's funeral,
"were for his church. He came to Yonkers when it was but a hamlet. He at once put forth efforts so the members of the
Catholic faith could get together and have a house in which to worship. Father Preston, the first priest that came to Yonkers,
leaned on him for support." (5)
Thomas Cornell had a hand in the founding of St. Mary's Church in 1848, of St. Joseph's Church in 1871 and of St. Peter's
Church in 1894. He donated the land in Riverdale on which the original St. Margaret's Church was built. He was likewise
active in the establishment of both St. Mary’s School and St. Joseph's Hospital. He served as a hospital trustee and as the
hospital's treasurer.
―The archbishop asked for his assistance," Father Corley noted, "when he wished to establish the Sisters of Charity in
Yonkers. It was given and Mr. Cornell has ever been their faithful friend." (During the course of the following century -- as
should be well known to everyone in this city -- thousands of Yonkers children were taught by the Sisters of Charity at St.
Mary’s, St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s schools.) Indeed, Cornell accompanied Archbishop John Hughes on a tour of the Edwin
Forrest estate -- now the College of Mount Saint Vincent -- when the Sisters of Charity were considering the purchase of the
2
In 1849, the Manor Hall property was purchased from Lemuel Wells by a real estate developer (yes, even then!) and the new owner, as
Cornell wrote, “converted the old Manor House into a boarding house.” Cornell moved in at that time and took a single room directly
over his first-floor office. Almost half a century later, he remembered how cold “that elegant room” was during his tenancy of it in the
winter of 1849-1850. Ibid.,
3
“Obituary – Thomas C. Cornell,” The Yonkers Herald, 29 December 1894
4
The biographical sketch of Thomas Cornell which Rev. Charles E. Allison published in his 1896 History of Yonkers – it is not, let us
recall, a sketch written by Rev. Allison himself (cf. Allison‟s comments on p.402) -- records this fact: "During the course of his European
sojourn, Mr. Cornell was induced to abandon the religion of his ancestors ...," a formulation which may tend to suggest that Cornell was
but the passive object of someone else's initiative in this matter. But Thomas Cornell himself has recorded, in his 1890 genealogical
treatise on his mother's family, the Motts, how first in Montreal and then later in Europe he sought out Catholics to inquire of them about
the tenets of their faith. (Cf. the Appendix to Adam and Anne Mott: Their ancestors and their descendants. The Appendix bears its own
title, A suggestion of the origin of the Quakers.)
5
“Funeral of Thos. C. Cornell,” The Yonkers Herald, 2 January 1895,
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property in the mid-1850s. A full account of the matter, including an amusing episode involving the bishop’s reaction to
Forrest’s castle, is given in Cornell's article on The Beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers. (6)
There are few maps of Yonkers dating from the last half of the 19th Century. But there are probably even fewer which don't
bear the name of Thomas Cornell. For, as the Yonkers Statesman pointed out at the time of his death, ―He did almost all
the surveying and engineering of Yonkers for many years, with occasional work as architect.‖7
In June 1852, Yonkers got its first newspaper, a four-page weekly called The Yonkers Herald. It was Thomas Cornell who'd
convinced reporter Thomas Towndrow to begin publishing a newspaper here. Within a few years, Towndrow's associate
Thomas Smith became the editor, and Smith's anti-abolitionist politics were anathema to Cornell (a Republican virtually
from the founding of the party in 1856). Thomas Cornell then induced Peekskill's Matthew F. Rowe to relocate to Yonkers
and to start a rival newspaper here. Rowe's The Examiner began publication in 1856. 8
Thomas Cornell was also involved in establishing several Yonkers businesses, including the Yonkers Gas Light Company,
the Bank of Yonkers, the Yonkers Savings Bank, and the Yonkers and New York Fire Insurance Company. His genealogical
and historical interests led him to take an active role in the Westchester County Historical Society, the New York
Genealogical and Biographical Society, and the Yonkers Historical and Library Association. Let the last words on this
illustrious life be Father Corley’s: "For 17 years he was my friend and I always found him a true man, a good friend and
loving husband."9
The above article on Thomas Cornell was written at my request by John Favareau, the research librarian for the Yonkers
Public Library at Larkin Plaza.
6
The archbishop‟s sister, Mother M. Angela, was the superior of the Sisters of Charity when in 1856 the sisters were looking for a place
to build a new mother house. After Cornell and Mother Angela visited the Forrest property (then within the town limits of Yonkers),
Mother asked him to “[conduct] Archbishop Hughes over [the property] that he might advise her about the purchase. „This is the place,‟
said the archbishop on seeing it, and a few minutes later, reaching the castle, he added, „but that must come down.‟ ” Of course, the
castle still stands. “Second thought, however,” Cornell wrote, “preserved it as a residence for the chaplain.” Forrest, by the way,
contributed $5,000 to the sisters towards their purchase of the property. (The Beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers,
pp.10-11 in the photocopy of this article which is kept in the Vertical Files of the Riverfront Library).
7
“Thomas Clapp Cornell,” The Yonkers Statesman, 29 December 1894
Helen M. McCadden, “Early newspapers in Yonkers”(Part I), Yonkers Historical Bulletin (XX, 1: Winter 1973),
9
“Funeral of Thos. C. Cornell,” The Yonkers Herald, 2 January 1895
8
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6.
Yonkers and the Saw Mill River
Almost every day I walk down to Larkin Plaza to see the progress on the daylighting of the Saw Mill River. It is quite a
construction job. I can't wait to see the water flow on December 6, 2011.
When our present church was dedicated in 1892, there was an item in the paper that the millponds at Getty Square had been
blown up in the middle of the night. There was a question whether the city administration had a legal right to do so. John
Copcutt who owned at least one of the millponds had an injunction in the courts to prevent this but they did it anyway and
everyone was happy that they did. The river had become a sewer system for "garbage, all strawbeds, dead cats and dogs,
rotten ham and corned beef, manure and waste matter from the factories. It created a malador which was discernible some
distance away‖. (N. Y. Times. Jan. 23rd 1892).
At the time of the founding of our parish in 1848, the Saw Mill River was used as a power source for the factories that were
being built in Yonkers. The river was originally called the Nepperhan River but became the Saw Mill River after Adrian Van
der Donck built a Saw Mill on what is now Warburton Ave. Eventually dams were created along the river to harness the
energy of the water. These dams became known as millponds. They were also used for recreational purposes. Parishioners of
St. Mary's could sail on them in the summer and skate on them in the winter. Bridges were built on Warburton Ave and
Broadway to cross people over the river and the millponds. They were a delightful asset to Yonkers.
Eventually as Yonkers became more industrialized, the river and especially the millponds became polluted. The population
of Yonkers began to soar. In 1845 there were 2,517 residents, by 1860, 11,848, in 1890, 32,033. When the cornerstone of
new St. Mary's was laid in built in 1890, there were two Catholic churches in Yonkers. In the next few years ten more
churches were added. By 1920 there were 100,471 residents in Yonkers. Once the flow of Saw Mill River into the Hudson
was channeled into a flume and put underground, Getty Square became the great shopping center in Southern
Westchester and our river disappeared from sight It is now noticed only when the Saw Mill River Parkway is flooded
Hopefully we will enjoy again the rushing waters of our river as it meets the mighty Hudson river.
7.
An Educated Guess About Our Two Names
I can’t prove this definitively but some historical evidence points to my conclusion. The key was my close reading of Fr.
Schroth, S. J.’s history of Fordham University (called St. John’s in 1848). In the book it is mentioned that
the Jesuits wanted to found a parish in Yonkers but Archbishop Hughes ruled against it. The Archbishop was afraid that
the Jesuits would become too influential in his diocese. He had invited them to come to New York in 1846 but was
constantly fighting them once they came. It was really over power and influence but it revealed itself in small petty things.
Hughes allowed the Jesuits to open one parish in Manhattan but when that structure burned down he told them that they
had to change the name of the church from the Holy Name of Jesus to St. Francis Xavier. According to the Jesuits, their
first choice reminded Hughes too much of the great Jesuit mother church in Rome, named the Holy Name of Jesus
(popularly called the ―El Gesu‖). Hughes thought that the Gesu was becoming more popular than St. Peter’s.
St. Mary’s was founded in 1848 (our baptismal records go back to 1847) and was initially served by Jesuits from Fordham.
They wanted the new parish to be one of their own (the parish boundaries at that time were quite extensive, beginning in
Kingsbridge and Riverdale and ending at north of Tarrytown). The future potential of such a vast area on the Hudson
River with its stately mansions was a factor in the Jesuits’ planning. They named the church ―St. Mary’s‖ but when they
went to Hughes for formal naming the pastor added the name ―Immaculate Conception‖ saying that either name was
permissible. What I think happened was the same as in Manhattan. ―St. Mary’s‖ was the name of the Jesuit motherhouse in
Kentucky (from which the Jesuits at Fordham had originally come) and Hughes didn’t want this identification. Instead of
having another public fight, the Jesuit pastor convinced him to put the both names on the document. In the meantime (we
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are talking about only a year) Hughes decided that the Jesuits should not make this parish one of their own. So Fr. John
Ryan, S. J. was transferred and made pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan where he built not only a church but a
college building. The Jesuits wanted another priest, Fr. Larkin, to be the rector of the new college but Hughes appointed
Ryan while Larkin was in Rome. Ryan was one of the few Jesuits that Hughes could get along with. Ryan remained at St.
Francis Xavier until 1855 when he left the Jesuits to become a diocesan priest under Archbishop Hughes. He founded a
new parish on 14th Street and named it the Immaculate Conception. He died in 1861. As an indication of his relationship
with the Jesuits, he received two lines in the history of Xavier College.
St. Mary’s was without a pastor until July, 1851 when a diocesan priest Thomas Preston was appointed. Preston was
famous at the time and I always wondered why Hughes sent such a prestigious person to such a small parish as St. Mary’s.
Now I think I know why. But that is another story—or a continuation of this same story.
8.
The First Pastors 1848 - 1856
The Jesuits’ Years 1847 – 1852
The first Pastor was Fr. John Ryan, a Jesuit from St. John’s College (today’s Fordham University). He and other Jesuits
served the Catholic population along the Hudson River. They celebrated Mass in homes or buildings until the Church of
St. Mary’s was opened on December 25, 1848. This, our first church (today’s Parish Hall), was built under the direction of
Fr. Ryan, by Patrick C. Keeley who was to build hundreds of Catholic Churches. Fr. Ryan, born in Ireland in 1805, was a
stone mason before he entered the Jesuit novitiate at St. Mary’s in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1839. He easily related to the
Irish laborers who were his first parishioners and to Archbishop Hughes who was also from Ireland and a former manual
laborer. He came to St. John’s in 1846 and within a year was also serving the ―Jesuit Mission‖ of St. Mary’s. He was ―in
charge‖ until October 25, 1849 when he was appointed Pastor of the new Jesuit parish, St. Francis Xavier, and, in
September of 1850, as the first President of the College of Francis Xavier on West 15th St. in Manhattan. Fr. Ryan was
pastor at St. Francis Xavier until 1855 when he left the Jesuits and became incardinated into the Archdiocese of New York.
He as appointed by Hughes on Oct. 25, 1855 as pastor of the new Immaculate Conception Parish on East 14th St. He died
on March 22, 1861. He built three churches and one school during his three assignments. The Jesuits, (Fr. Jouin,
Bienvenue, Tissot, DuBanquet, Daubresse and others) continued to celebrate the sacraments at St. Mary’s until July, 1851.
Thomas Cornell in his history, ―The Beginning of the Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers‖ describes Fr. Ryan as ―a spare
man, of medium height, with dark hair and complexion and a thin grave face, decidedly Hibernian in speech and appearance
but with quiet suavity of the Jesuits, and if not courtly, was gracious and pleasant in manner. The writer’s relationship with
him during his charge in Yonkers became so intimate and kindly that he takes pleasure in this mention of him.‖
Fr. Thomas Preston 1851 – 1853
Fr. Preston became a very influential person in the Archdiocese of New York serving as Secretary, Chancellor or Vicar
General under Archbishop Hughes, Archbishop McCloskey and Archbishop Corrigan. More ―Roman than the Romans‖ he
was very helpful to Archbishop Corrigan in defeating ―The Americanist Movement‖ in the American Catholic Church.
With Mother Mary Veronica he helped found the Sisters of Divine Compassion.
In 1851 when he came as pastor to St. Mary’s at the age of 27 he was well already known. Ordained an Episcopalian priest,
he, with John Murray Forbes, his pastor at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Greenwich Village, converted to Catholicism and
were ordained priests in the Catholic Church. Ordained on November 16, 1850 he was sent to St. Mary’s in the summer of
1851. In his two years and three months as pastor, he was a human dynamo. He opened up a small school house, bought
land opposite the church on which the future school was built in 1860, and completed the church building (among other
things it had no ceiling or pews). He celebrated Mass at Hastings, Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown and built the Church of St.
Teresa of Avila in Sleepy Hollow. Rivaling the open air tent meetings of the Protestants, he preached special missions at
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Mary’s that attracted thousands of Catholics from Westchester. He built the first rectory for the priests but before he could
actually use it, he was recalled on October 20, 1853 by Archbishop Hughes to be assigned as his secretary.
Rev. John McMahon 1853 – 1854
We know nothing about this pastor except that he came in October, 1853, closed the small school (it became the residence
of the sexton), left before May 10, 1954 and returned to Ireland.
Rev. Eugene Maguire 1854 – 1856
Father Maguire was born in Ireland and was ordained in St. Joseph’s Seminary at Fordham in 1847. In 1848 he was an
assistant pastor at St. Raymond Church (now in the Bronx but then in Westchester) and in 1853 at St. Mary’s in Rondout.
He was later an assistant to Fr. John Ryan at the Church of Immaculate Conception in 1858. From 1866 until his death in
1883 he was pastor at St. Paul’s Church on 117th St. in Manhattan.
Thanks to a gift of land by John Murtha (it was part of a farm on his summer residence) Fr. Maguire established the
cemetery of St. Mary’s in 1854.
In Fr. Maguire’s time a state census reported the average attendance at the ―Catholic Church in Yonkers‖ at 800 (estimated
total Catholic population: 1200-1300). This same 1855 census of Yonkers counted a total of 7,554 residents. In 1850 it
had been 4,165. Yonkers was growing and so was the Catholic population. In 1848 when plans were drawn up for St.
Mary’s Church, many thought the church was too big for their needs. Soon it would be too small.
9.
The First Parishioners
I have always wondered about the inner lives of our first parishioners. Since this was the time of the "Great Hunger" how
many of our parishioners experienced the horror of seeing so many of their own people die excruciating deaths as they
travelled across Ireland to reach the ships. Did any experience the "coffin ships?" What was it like to spend weeks at sea with
350 passengers jammed below deck( with only two toilets)? No one in St. Mary's left any memoirs. Survivors of such
horrors rarely spoke of such things. Historical fiction novels, like Ken Bakers "Paradise Alley," are probably the only way
that we can come close to understanding the inner damage to the souls of the survivors.
The first parishioners of our parish were 98% Irish. Some came before the famine years. Hugh Donoghue born in Ireland
was married in 1834 in New York City, came to Yonkers in the 1840's, worked as a laborer, and was a founding father of
St. Mary's. Hugh Dalton came during the famine years, stayed a year in New York City and arrived in Yonkers in 1851.
Weakened by the voyage from Co. Waterford in Ireland, his wife died after a year in Yonkers. Both families eventually did
well in Yonkers. Compared to New York City, Yonkers must have seemed like a great place to live. This was the time of the
Astor Place Riots, the anarchy of the Five Points District, and the awful living conditions of the shacks in what would soon
become Central Park. One commentator remarked that the people living in these hovels did not die because Death himself
was afraid to cross the threshold.
In 1848, Yonkers was rapidly changing. The stagecoach ended in 1848. The railroad (built by many of our parishioners)
opened in 1849. Although there were small factories along the Saw Mill River e.g.William Warner's hat factory, Prince
Paddock's lumber mill, Morgan's dye factory (where our first Mass was celebrated before the church was built), the
industrialization of Yonkers was about to significantly increase. Soon Yonkers would become the largest center in the world
for the production of hats and carpets. Yonkers needed workers so the Irish came.
From 1850 census we learn that there were 4,160 residents in Yonkers. 18% had Irish surnames. Of the 424 Irish males,
275 were laborers. Of the 319 Irish females over the age of 14, 106 were married, 193 were listed as servants. There were
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few children. A surveyor's map of 1849 (probably done by Thomas Cornell) shows all the land between Hudson St and St.
Mary's St. from South Broadway to the Hudson River as empty except for a few houses on South Broadway and two
buildings on St. Mary's St: our new church and the home of Hugh Donoghue. By 1870 (I couldn't find the Census of
1860), there were 18,892 residents of Yonkers. 40% had Irish surnames. There were at least 1,000 Irish female servants.
There were now many marriages, many children and many houses on St. Mary's St.
In 1848 the first parishioners (including Thomas Cornell) thought the new church was too large for their needs. Fifteen
years later they had to almost double the size of the church. The boundaries of the parish in 1848 included all of today's city
of Yonkers plus Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortland and Moshulu and to the north up to Tarrytown. Priests from St.
Mary's traveled to Hastings on the Hudson, Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown to say Mass at least once a month on Sundays.
Our new stone altar installed on the 150th anniversary of the parish was carved from a quarry in Yonkers. It commemorates
our first parishioners who did the work of digging up and breaking the stone of Yonkers (dynamite was not yet invented) to
build the railroad, the factories, the homes and the foundation of the Church of St. Mary's.
The cemetery of St. Mary's opened in 1854.
10.
Pastorate of Fr. Edward Lynch 1856-1865 the Pivotal Years
After eight years of four pastors and two administrators, St Mary’s was happy to see a new young pastor in February of
1856. During his pastorate of only nine years (he died on May 5, 1865) St. Mary’s was transformed, he built a new school,
doubled the size of the church building, brought the Sisters of Charity and the Christian Brothers to teach in the school and
guided the parish through a most difficult time, the Civil War.
His family history is interesting. His uncle, James Lynch of Country Kerry, Ireland, Enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a shipping
clerk during the war of 1812. (There would always be military careers for Lynch men. It may explain why the future pastor
of St Mary’s was a staunch supporter of the union army in the Civil War. One of his nephews died in the war.) Eventually
he came to America and married Elizabeth Van Mullers from a prominent New York City Knickerbocker family. He was
invited by Thomas McCarthy to join him at Salt Point, Salina (later called Syracuse) near the Erie Canal. He opened a store
and prospered. His brother John followed in 1833. He and his wife, May Scanlon, sailed from Ireland with their six sons
and one daughter, the youngest son being our Edward Lynch (born in 1829). Another son was born on the ship and a ninth
son was born in USA on their farm in Dewitt, New York. Edward’s oldest brother, Cornelius, prospered in the dry goods
business. Since he and his wife had no children of their own they invited Edward, now age nine, to live with them. Years
later when Cornelius was very sick, he and his wife lived with the now Fr. Edward in St. Mary’s rectory. When her husband
died in 1857, she remained in the rectory and helped take care of Fr. Edward until he died
At the age of fourteen, Edward met a young priest, John McCloskey (The future Cardinal of New York) who encouraged
him to become a priest. After some initial objections from his family who wanted him to run their business (he had a knack
for it, as is evident at St. Mary’s), he entered Holy Cross College in Worchester, Mass. And then transferred to St. John’s
College at Fordham (where Jesuits were also serving at St. Mary’s). After graduation he entered the seminary, St Joseph’s, on
the same campus. He was ordained a priest in 1854 by Archbishop Hughes and, after brief assignments at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral and, for health reasons, at St. Mary’s in Rondout, N.Y., he was assigned as pastor to St. Mary's. He does not seem
to have enjoyed good health and may have been suffering from the illness, consumption, which eventually killed him nine
year later at the age of thirty-six. Archbishop Hughes called consumption, "The natural death of the Irish". We now know it
to be tuberculosis.
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The first order of business for the new pastor was to build a school and find religious sisters and brothers to come and teach.
An opportunity immediately presented itself when the Sisters of Charity were looking for property to build their new
motherhouse.
Thomas Cornell persuaded them to look at property in Riverdale, owned by the Shakespearean actor, Edwin Forrest. This is
the same Edwin Forrest who was unwittingly involved in the Astor Place riots in 1849. At least twenty-five people were
killed and more than one hundred and twenty wounded. It was the first time a state militia had fired into a crown of citizens.
The theater in those days was a very audience participation affair (see the movie "Gangs of New York.") audiences rooted
for and against the actors. When Forrest, who was a favorite of the Irish Catholics, was replaced by an English actor, the
Irish audiences were enraged and took to the streets.
Thomas Cornell knew Forrest and convinced him to sell his property to the Sisters of Charity. At the time Riverdale was
part of Yonkers and therefore part of St. Mary's parish. In 1856 a meeting was arranged with Fr. Lynch, Archbishop
Hughes, and Thomas Cornell (his description of the negotiations is very detailed) at the rectory of St. Mary’s. They then
proceeded over to the Forrest property where they met Angela Hughes, mother superior and sister of the Archbishop.
Cornell was very proud of his role in convincing all the parties involved, especially archbishop Hughes to buy the property.
They bought the land in December of 1856. Within a few months, two Sisters of Charity, sisters Chrysostom and Winifred,
came to teach at St. Mary’s School which at the time was a small schoolhouse with eighty- three girls. Fr. Lynch provided a
carriage to bring the sisters to school every morning and returned them to their home at Mt. St. Vincent's every night. At
that time there was also a boy's school in the basement of the church under the direction of Mr. Riley. There were about one
hundred students.
A much larger school was built in 1860. In 1861 four La Salle Christian brothers came to teach the boys under the
leadership of Brother Clementian (Peter Muth). He was twenty- one years old. Enrollment jumped to two hundred and sixty
three boys in 1861 and then to two hundred and ninety- seven in 1862. The brothers taught the upper grade boys and they
lived on the top floor of the new school.
In 1863 Fr. Lynch convinced his parishioners to enlarge the original church -almost doubling its capacity. As a pastor I
asked myself how he ever got the money to do this. This was during the Civil War where even the building of the new St.
Patrick’s Cathedral had to be stopped for lack of money. We know that Fr. Lynch collected funds by visiting the homes of
his parishioners and by personally taking up a second collection at Sunday’s masses. I doubt whether this was sufficient. The
only answer I could think of was his older brother’s wife who was living in the rectory at the time. She must have
contributed substantially to St. Mary’s.
The great crisis that faced Fr. Lynch and his 98% Irish parish was the draft riots in New York City in 1863. Many feared
that they would spread to Yonkers where there was a large munitions factory on Vark St., one block away from the church. I
will write about Yonkers and the Civil War in the next chapter but suffice to say that it did not reach Yonkers. I believe that
Fr. Lynch was a main factor in preventing this. When President Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, Fr. Lynch was
dying. As the funeral train bearing Lincoln passed Yonkers, he asked to be carried down to the station to do homage. Three
weeks later Fr. Lynch died. He was buried in the family plot in Syracuse. I wish he had been buried in St. Mary’s cemetery.
Then we could visit his grave and give homage to the priest who in my opinion was St. Mary’s most important pastor.
11.
Yonkers, the Irish and the Civil War
Yonkers with a population estimated between 9,000 and 12,000 at the time of the Civil War had 254 enlisted men, 212
draftees and 16 dead. There are 139 veterans buried in St. Mary's cemetery (some did not live in Yonkers during the Civil
War). One inscription reads "Died from wounds from the Battle of the Wilderness." One veteran, Capt. William
Heermance, received the Medal of Honor for his service with the 6th New York Calvary at the battle of Chancellorsville. He
is buried in Oakland Cemetery. However, Yonkers was a divided city over the war, especially the emancipation of the slaves.
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This is clearly seen in the two weekly Yonkers newspapers, the Yonkers Herald and the Yonkers Examiner. As was the
custom of the time, they were very partisan. The Yonkers Statesman was Republican, the Party of Lincoln, and proabolitionist. The Yonkers Herald was Democratic, anti- abolitionist and anti- Lincoln. So vitriolic was its attacks on
President Lincoln that charges were brought against the editor for preventing the prosecution of the war. Accused of being a
Copperhead (poisonous snake against the war effort) paper, the editor, Thomas Smith, resigned.
Although most of the parishioners of St. Mary's were Democrats, some, like Thomas Cornell, were Republican and
Abolitionist. In the 1860 elections Lincoln won the vote in the Town of Yonkers by -three votes. In the 1864 elections, he
lost the Yonkers vote by 232 votes. The second district, heavily Irish, voted overwhelmingly against Lincoln.
In 1861 most people thought the war would end soon. The Irish signed up for the usual reasons: patriotism, adventure,
money ($300 bonus). James Sheridan, a parishioner of St. Mary's, signed up almost immediately. Edward Mitchell, much
against the wishes of his mother, left St. Mary's School and enlisted. For many who enlisted the main reason for the war was
the preservation of the Union, not the abolition of slavery. Although slavery was the main cause (the South broke from the
Union because with the election of Lincoln it would be blocked from extending slavery to the new territories of the United
States), the rallying cry was the preservation of the Republic. As the war grinded on and the casualties mounted (a recent
estimate of the casualties of war is 750,000 dead from both sides), the justification for this sacrifice became a moral one: the
abolition of slavery. As more and more deaths, especially among the Irish, were being published in New York City, ("and
orphans roamed the streets") opposition to the war increased, especially since its main purpose now was the abolition of
slavery.
Looking back it seems strange that so many Irish Catholics would be opposed to the freeing of fellow human beings from
slavery. Daniel O'Connell, the "Great Emancipator" of the Irish from the English Penal Laws, wrote to the Irish Americans
about their opposition to the abolition of slavery: "It was not in Ireland that you learned this cruelty. Your mother was
gentle, kind, humane. How can your soul have become stained with a darkness blacker than the negro's skin."
The opposition to the emancipation of the slaves by the Irish is primarily explained as an economic one. The freed African
Americans would come north and take jobs from the huge number of Irish workers who were desperate for work. In fact
many African Americans were hired when Irish workers went on strike for better wages. There were other factors. The
Democratic Party to which most Irish belonged was against abolition. Some of the more prominent Abolitionists were upper
class Protestants who despised this unruly lower class that were Irish and even worse Catholic.
Catholic religious leaders were not helpful. Pope Gregory XVI finally condemned the slave trade in 1839 but not slavery
itself. Archbishop John Hughes advised the government that "Catholics will fight to the death" to uphold the Union, but
never for the abolition of slavery. He himself believed that slavery was legitimate.
And there may be something more primal. To escape the ugly racism directed at them, they became racist themselves. For
some the Irish were at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder. They were referred to as "niggers turned inside out." African
Americans were sometimes called "smoked Irish."
In an ideal world, the Irish, who had experienced the injustice of the Penal Laws in Ireland, would have identified with the
suffering of the slaves and fought for their freedom. But it was not to be so. The Irish whose bodies and souls were almost
annihilated by the Famine did not have the psychological resources nor the spiritual or political leaders to make this great
leap of solidarity.
This was the tinderbox that exploded in the Draft Riots in New York City on July 6, 1863. The Federal Conscription act,
which was passed in March, 1863, seemed very unfair to the poor Irish. For $300 (equivalent to $5,000 today?) a person
could buy his exemption. Few Irish had this kind of money. The battle of Gettysburg had just published the list of casualties.
Irish casualties were high. Although we now know that this was the turning point in the war that eventually lead to the
surrender of the South two years later, at the time no one even knew who won the battle. There was great fear that General
Lee's army was marching on Washington D.C. Reserve troops from New York (including Yonkers) were pulled out to
defend the Capitol. The Draft Riots began on July 6 as an orderly protest against the draft but soon turned into a
murderous racial riot. When it was finally put down by five Union army regiments on July 16, there were at least 105 dead
and thousands wounded. Among the casualties were eleven African American males who were killed and mutilated by the
rioters.
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Yonkers was justly afraid that the riots would spill over into their village. Yonkers knew that it had spread into other parts
outside New York City. In White Plains the house containing the lists was burned down. Telegraph offices were destroyed.
Railroad tracks at the Harlem and New Haven lines were ripped up. Bands of Irish workers from the quarries in Ossining
marched on the abolitionist Horace Greely's house in Chappaqua. Another crew of Irishmen from the quarries in Tuckahoe
marched towards Tuckahoe.
In Yonkers, rumors spread that rioters were headed for the Starrs Munitions Factory on Vark St. (between the present day
Riverdale and Buena Vista Ayes.) to steal firearms and ammunition. Since the Yonkers Reserve Guard had been called Guard
of 300 men and drilled in the streets. The owner of the munitions factory distributed arms to their employees and
surrounded the factory.
To the relief of everyone, nothing happened. There are many reasons. Many of the Irish had homes, families and jobs in
Yonkers. They would have discouraged any riots. The Home Guard of Yonkers may have been too old to frighten anyone,
but the hundred of armed employees at the munitions factory was certainly a deterrent. The influence of Thomas Cornell, a
respected leader and founder of St. Mary's parish, cannot be discounted. However, I think that the major deterrent was the
pastor of St. Mary's who knew his parishioners very well and was respected and loved. He was a supporter of the Union and
would not have tolerated any riots. In a small (compared to parishes in N.Y.C.) and tightly- knit Irish parish like St. Mary's,
the parish priest would have been obeyed.
12.
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
Post Civil War Years
John McCloskey is now Archbishop of New York. Archbishop Hughes had died on January 3, 1864.
The Thirteen Amendment of the Constitution, abolishing slavery as a legal institution in the United States is passed
by Congress in January of 1865. It is ratified by two thirds of the States on December 18, 1865.
General Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House on Palm Sunday, April 9 1865 -in effect- ending the Civil
War.
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on Good Friday April 14, 1865.
Fr. Thomas Lynch, pastor of St. Mary's Church, dies on May 5, 1865.
Fr. Charles Slevin becomes the new pastor of St. Mary's.
In trying to understand these years in the history of St. Mary’s, I looked at what was happening in the wider world of the
American nation and the international world of the Roman Catholic Church.
The movie ―Lincoln‖ (a great movie) demonstrated the political genius of Abraham Lincoln in abolishing slavery and the
legitimate concerns of many about the future of the freed slaves. It seems only a Lincoln could have made Reconstruction a
success. His successor, Andrew Johnson (1864-18668), one of our worst Presidents, was unable or unwilling to further the
goals of Reconstruction. Ulysses Grant (1868-1876) tried his best to help the freed slaves and integrate them into Southern
society. ―States rights,‖ the violence of the Ku Klux Klan and the enactment of the Black Codes defeated his goals. The
North, tired of the troubles of the freed slaves in the south, removed federal troops from the South in 1877. This was the
result of the Great Compromise of 1877 that elected Rutherford Hayes by one electoral Vote. Samuel Tilden, who lost the
Presidency by one vote, retired to his estate in Yonkers (today’s Untermeyer Park). The South then degenerated into an
apartheid society which was to last almost a hundred years. Did this affect the parishioners of St. Mary’s? I doubt it.
Although some Irish in Yonkers were doing well because of investments in real estate and the ―dry goods business,‖ most
were struggling. African Americans were seen as competitors for jobs.
The negative effects of the Civil War could be seen in the many disabled veterans who now came to Yonkers. They were
part of nation wide ―Tramp Problem‖ i.e veterans who either could not get jobs or were incapable of working. Today we
recognize this as ―Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder‖. Then they were called ―undesirables or tramps.‖ Yonkers had its fair
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share. Many of them were Irish Catholics. They were either contained (the homeless initially slept in police station) or
imprisoned by the Yonkers Police force which was now mostly Irish. John Mangin, Yonkers first Chief of Police, was a
parishioner of St. Mary’s. The ―Battle of the Glen,‖ in 1870 (described well by George Rutledge in a recent edition of the
―Yonkers Historian‖) was a fight between the Yonkers police and at least a hundred men, mostly Irish, who were fueled by
alcohol.
What was happening in the Catholic Church? Pope Pius IX turned against modern society issuing the embarrassing
―Syllabus of Errors‖ in 1864. In 1870 he lost most of the Papal States to the new nation of Italy and retreated to a small
piece of land we now call Vatican City. Pope Pius IX called the bishops of the world to assemble for the first Vatican
Council. On July 18, 1870, with great pressure from the Pope, they declared that Pope was infallible when proclaiming
dogmas ―Ex Cathedra‖ i.e. from the Chair of Peter. It further isolated Pius IX from the non-Catholic world. However,
Catholics rallied to his cause. The support for the Pope was evident in St. Mary’s where Brother Clementian of St. Mary’s
School organized a special marching band, called the Pio Nono Cadet Corps. Imitating the Pio Nono Corps in Rome, they
dressed in red Zuoave uniforms, and marched proudly in the St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Yonkers.
Having proved their loyalty to the nation in the Civil War, Catholics were becoming more acceptable. Catholics in Yonkers
never experienced the fierce anti-Catholicism that had existed in other places. I attribute this to the influence of Thomas
Cornell who was a social equal to the Protestant elite of Yonkers; also to the fact that most of the workers in their factories
were Catholics. ―The Herald Statesman‖ could be very harsh against Catholic Irish but it seemed to be fueled less by antiCatholic feeling than by the fact that the Irish belonged to the Democratic Party. Newspapers in those days were very
partisan. The ―Yonkers Gazette‖ was controlled by the Democratic Party; ―The Herald Statesman by the Republican Party.
When southern Yonkers (Riverdale, Highbridge, Van Cortland, Moshulu) chose to join New York City in 1872, the
Republican Party did not protest too much because these sections were Democratic. The rest of Yonkers chose not to join
New York City and incorporated legally as a ―City‖ in 1872.
The north was invigorated by the war. Its industry surged ahead creating great, especially for the few. So it was for Yonkers.
Factories, like Otis elevator and the Carpet Factory, were among the largest in the nation. Before the war the rich build their
homes on Locust Hill Avenue. Now they built beautiful mansions along the Hudson River, e.g. the Trevor Mansion (which
still exists as the Hudson River Museum). The Magnificent Warburton Baptist Church was built in 1869 by the Colgate
Family on land donated by the Trevor family (it was demolished in 1971). The accumulation of wealth by a few based on
the low wages of the workers would eventually create tensions, anger and even violence. Yonkers would not be exempt.
13.
Pastorate of Fr. Charles Slevin 1865-1878
Fr. Charles Slevin was appointed pastor on May 5, 1865. Born in 1826 in Fintona, Co. Tyrone, Ireland he was ordained a
priest at St. Johns’ college at Fordham in 1857. He served at St. Bridget’s Parish in Manhattan and then in Dover Plains.
Dover Plains was a difficult assignment because he had to serve the needs of Catholics spread over a large area. He
contracted some sort of disease that stayed with him all his life. The life span of priests at the time was only thirty-seven
years.
Unfortunately, the most information you read about pastors is what they built. In his first few years he was very active. In
1866 he installed a white marble altar and tabernacle in the church. The next year he had five frescos painted on the walls
behind the main alter by the Italian artist, Francisco Augero. He rebuilt the organ gallery and installed a new organ. He also
had a paid choir. In 1868 and 1869 he built a new kitchen in the rectory and he doubled the size of the rectory. The
additional rooms in the rectory enabled him to attract a succession of assistant priests, most notably Alfred Lings in 1867
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and Andrew O’Reilly in 1874. Lings left in 1871 to found the second Catholic parish in Yonkers, St. Joseph. O’Reilly
stayed until 1903, still an assistant, not a pastor.
Fr. Selvin’s health deteriorated and he had to leave the parish at various times to recuperate. Although canonically still the
pastor, he had been replaced by Fr. Charles Corley in June of 1877. He died on July 18, 1878. In his last years he made the
controversial decision to close the Boy’s School in November of 1877. The official reason was the lack of money to pay the
Brother’s salary. It was reopened in November of 1876. One can only speculate that if the real reason was financial two
events were major contributing factors. First, the creation of a second parish in Yonkers had to have lessened the Sunday
collections. Secondly, in 1873, there was fierce financial recession in the nation. Millions of dollars were lost. It affected not
only the rich but the ordinary worker.
During Fr. Slevin’s pastorate, in 1868, the Sisters of Charity opened up the Academy of St. Aloysius on the four acre Vark
Estate next to church and rectory. It was a boarding school for boys from the growing Catholic middle class. The former
home of the Vark Family was greatly expanded. It also became the residence of the Sisters who taught at St. Mary’s school.
This is the present site of St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Convent of Mary the Queen.
14.
Sons of Erin
Edward J. Mitchell
Edward was born in Rutland, Vt. on July 10, 1849. A year later the family moved to Cabondale, Penn. His family moved
from place to place until it finally settled in 1856 in Yonkers. He attended the public schools and then St. Mary's School up
to 1859 when he was went to work for a grocery store and then Eagle Hat Factory. Why did he leave school at such an early
age? No doubt to help support his family-he was the oldest of seven children. In 1861 his father enlisted in the Union army.
With seven children why did he do this? Most likely for the bonus money and probably he thought, as did everyone else,
that the war would end quickly. His father returned in 1863 and his mother died in Jan. 1864.He tried to enlist three times
but his father prevented it until May 10, 1864 (one month shy of fifteen years old). Although the official age for enlistment
was eighteen at the beginning of the war, they allowed younger men to enlist as the war dragged on.. The total number of
enlisted men in the Union Army was 2,700,000. 100,000 were fifteen or under.
After the war ended he returned home. In May 1866 he joined the Fenian Movement and enlisted in the Irish Army for
seven years. Building on their experience fighting in the Civil War some Fenians went back to Ireland to begin an armed
revolution. In February of 1866 they were captured by the British and were tried for treason- a capital offense. However they
claimed citizenship in the United States and, through the intervention of the American government, they were allowed to
return to the United States. Edward Mitchell was not involved in this adventure but he was in another one closer to home:
the attempted invasion of Canada. The Fenians planned to capture part of Canada and trade it for the freedom of Ireland.
Edward was sent to Malone, N.Y, where some thousand men were prepared to march into Canada. On June 1, 1866, 1,000
armed Fenians crossed the Niagara River near Buffalo into Canada. The next day they were defeated in the battle of
Ridgeway. The USS Michigan blocked any reinforcements. General Sweeny was arrested in Malone, New York, and all the
men, including Edward Mitchell, were discharged and sent home. This attempted invasion of Canada was not as crazy as it
sounds today. Some prominent Americans thought that it was only a matter of time before Canadians voted to join the
United States. Remember also that Edward had just turned seventeen.
The independence of Ireland continued to be a constant goal for many Irish. In Yonkers the Irish formed the Montgomery
Club which met regularly for many years. Its name was a cover for the Clan-na- Gael, a secret society whose aim was the
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overthrow of the British government. Tom Flynn's "St. Patrick's Day and the Irish Community in Yonkers 1857-2003" is a
gold mine of information about attempts to aid Irish freedom. It was a constant problem for the American bishops (most of
whom were Irish) and would remain so up until a few years ago.
Edward returned home and went to work for Otis Brothers until 1874. He then joined the Protection Fire Department and
where he eventually became its secretary, foreman and engineer. In 1872 he married Mary McGovern in St. Mary's Church.
She died in 1887 leaving one daughter, Mary Mitchell. He became an Alderman representing the Democratic Party for six
years serving as Chairman of the Board in 1883.
One of his proudest achievements was the planning and building of the public dock at the foot of New Main St .In Allison's
"History of Yonkers" his contributions to Yonkers are extensively recounted.
John Wallace
I can easily imagine John Wallace sitting down with his children telling fantastic and thrilling stories about his life. His
telling didn't need any embellishments because his life was truly remarkable. He was born in 1838 in Co. Galway in Ireland
and lived there during the Famine years. As a teenager he joined the British army because, as he put it, "I broke one of their
laws and to avoid going to prison I joined the British army." He served in the disastrous Crimean War of 1853-56 where
Russian fought against the forces of France, Ottoman Turks and England. There were hundreds of thousands casualties on
both sides. Florence Nightingale began her nursing service here. Alfred Loyd Tennyson wrote his famous "The Charge of
the Light Brigade" about its brutality and insane heroism. Then he was assigned to India where he witnessed the execution of
the Indian Sepoys. They were Indian soldiers who revolted against their English army commanders because they had heard
that the bullets they would soon use had been dipped in pig or cow grease. This would be a violation of both the Hindus
and Muslim religious laws. Of course it was about something more substantial. Today India calls this uprising the "First
War of Independence‖, not the" Mutiny of the Sepoys." In revenge for the killing of English women and children, some of
the Sepoys were tied to the front of cannons and blown apart. Great Britain then took direct control of India (it had been
administered under the British East India Co.) and continued to expand its Empire throughout the world. John was then
assigned to Canada probably as part of the 20,000 troops rushed to Canada in the Trent Affair. In November 1861, a
British steamer, named the Trent, was boarded by a Union officer on the San Jacinto. He seized two Southerners who were
on their way to represent the Confederacy in France and Great Britain. This could have been considered an act of war by the
British. To show their seriousness, they strengthened their army. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and war was averted.
Finishing his service in Canada John was discharged in 1864. He then joined the Army of the Republic on July 13, 1864
―because the bonus money was very attractive.‖ His service record includes this description: ―Age 26, hazel eyes, height 5'6
¾, ruddy complexion. Regiment 14 U.S. Infantry 2Ild Battalion. Co. C. transferred to 23 U.S Infantry. Co D. Rank Sgt.‖
After the Civil War he completed his three years serving in the Indian Wars in the West.
He came to Yonkers in 1874 with his wife and four children and opened up a shoe business (he had learned the cobbler's
trade in the British army). When his first wife died, he wrote to his home town in Ireland for a wife. When she died after
three months of marriage, he married her sister, Catherine Lane. Catherine bore him two more children, one of whom died in
infancy in 1883. All surviving children attended St. Mary's School. His shoe store prospered in Yonkers. He became a
trustee of St. Mary's Church where he was instrumental in buying the land for the second St. Mary's Church. He did not live
to see the church built. In 1890 he died at the age of fifty two after catching pneumonia ice skating on the Hudson River.
His family married into the Dalton family. His grandsons became prominent lawyers in Yonkers, very much involved in the
Democratic Party, one becoming a judge. His granddaughter, Agnetta became a school teacher and eventually principal of
School 12. His oldest son, John, sold the family business to his in- laws, the Daltons, and became a turf accountant. He was
seen at all the area racetracks, including Empire City in Yonkers, seated in an elevated chair taking bets. Family legend has
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him attending the early Mass at St. Mary's with a rooster under his coat. After fulfilling his Sunday obligation, he would
then go the local cockfight on School St.
15.
Daughters of Erin
One of the difficulties in writing a history of a parish is the lack of women’s name in the documents except in baptism and
marriage records. This is true of other historical books e.g. Charles Allison’s ―History of Yonkers.‖ Yet we know that
women are the heart and soul of any parish.
―Broom, loom to Schoolroom‖ is a way of expressing the upper social mobility of Irish women. The type of work that Irish
women did in Yonkers followed the pattern of Irish women throughout America. The first generation preferred to work as
domestic servants. They did not like factory work. However, as the number of factories increased in Yonkers, out of
economic necessity, they put aside their initial disdain. The records of St. Mary’s School show clearly that many young girls
left school to work in factories. By the second and third generation, some became teachers, owned their own homes, and
invested in real estate.
In the time frame of our history, many of the Irish women in Yonkers worked as servants. I am indebted to Hasia R. Diner’s
―Erin’s Daughters in America‖ for the historical background of the following.
Servant
In the Passenger list of the ship Elsinore, which set sail on April, 15, 1849 from Liverpool, England, carrying
Luke and Catherine Dalton to Yonkers, the occupation listed for all Irish women was ―servant‖. In the 1850
Federal Census of the Town of Yonkers, there were 319 Irish females over the age of 14, 106 were married and
193 were listed as ―servants.‖ In the Census of 1870 when the Irish population of Yonkers grown to 7,000
(40%of Yonkers) with many families with large numbers of children, there were at least 1,000 Irish servants.
Most middle class households in Yonkers in 1870 had one or two servants and some, like the Trevors, had eight
to ten. For over 100 years, millions of Irish women began their new lives in America as servants. To many other
women, native born and foreign, domestic service was undesirable and demeaning. Irish women enthusiastically
embraced this kind of work. Why?
A good place to begin to understand this phenomenon is to look at the consequences of the Great Irish Hunger
(or Famine) that devastated Ireland in the 1840’s. Before this disaster the Irish population had grown enormously
to eight million in a seventy five year period, unlike anything in Europe at the time. Among the poor because there
was no prospect for a secure economic future, the Irish married very young and had many children. As children
came of age, parents would continually divide their land creating smaller and smaller plots of land. Families were
able to live off less than one fourth of an acre of land because of the nutritious potato. When the potato blight
struck, it not only doomed a million to death and sent another two million into exile but it changed the social and
cultural patterns of Ireland.
Under the new law of single inheritance, land was now passed down only to the oldest son. Men married much
later in life, women often waited until they were in their forties to marry and bear children. Celibacy became an
acceptable way of life. The sexes became more segregated. Excess children, especially daughters, for whom
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resources were limited, had no future, especially in rural Ireland. Before many females emigrated only with their
families, now single females emigrating became the norm.
Irish women had no problem in accepting domestic service. Because it paid well and it did not go against their new
cultural values. Native born American though such jobs were below their station in life. Many foreign born
women did not want this kind of work because if clashed with their cultural values e.g. Italian women were used to
living under the watchful eye of a father or brother; there was never an excess of Italian females in the United
States so that almost all Italian women married and at an early.
Because of this lack of competition (Irish women feared only African American women as competitors), under the
law of supply and demand, the wages for servants were very attractive. Living in other people’s homes presented no
problem because they were used to a segregated female world. Since they could marry late in life of not at all, they
were able to save money. They could send some of their savings to their home to their family in Ireland, pay for
the ship fare for brothers and sisters, contribute (which they did substantially) to the local Catholic church, buy
real estate of save for their future family.
Irish women were impervious to the cruel stereotypes of Bridget and Nora or ―Biddy the Kitchen Canary‖ because
they laughed all the way to the bank (often Emigrants Savings Bank). If they were faulted by their employees
because they could not cook, they were also highly sought after because they were known for their chaste lives,
seemingly uncorrupted by sexual temptation. This was not a small thing in a time when husbands often preyed
upon young servant girls.
16.
Pastorate of Msgr. Charles R. Corley 1877-1914
GROWTH OF YONKERS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN 1876, Sitting Bull and the Sioux defeated General Custer at Little Big Horn. In 1877 Samuel Tilden, former
Governor of New York, retired to Yonkers (Untermeyer Estate) after losing the Presidency to Rutherford Hayes
by a special electoral decision, called the Great Compromise. In 1878 Pope Leo XIII succeeded Pius IX. A year
later Edison invented the first practical incandescent light bulb.
In 1877, Fr. Charles Corley came to St. Mary's at the age of twenty-nine. Although he did not officially become
pastor until the former pastor, Fr. Slevin, died in 1878, he always dated his pastorate from 1877.
The nation was undergoing vast changes. It was the age both of the cowboy and of steel and steam. invention
followed invention. The Industrial Revolution was reaching its peak and with it came the urbanization of America
and a vast increase immigrant labor.
Yonkers was in an excellent position to take advantage of these opportunities. As early as 1649 Yonkers had used
the energies of the Nepperhan and Hudson Rivers to build the first saw mills. Other industries came in the early
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19th century: hats (1829), carpets (1846), rubber works (1852), elevators (1854) sugar refining (1862). The
beautiful mansions that still exist today were built by men who made their fortune at this time: the Copcutt
Mansion (the present rectory of St. Casimir's), the ninety-nine room Greystone (built by the hat manufacturer,
John Waring, later the Untermeyer Estate) and the Trevor Mansion (now part of the Hudson River Museum).
Inventors found a home in Yonkers. The elevated railroad system, first used by New York City, was invented and
created by Yonkers men. Otis, Smith, Eichemeyer, Hedley, and Armstrong head the list of distinguished inventors.
The need for cheap labor for the factories in Yonkers brought many immigrants to Yonkers. After the Irish,
Scotch, and Germans, came the Poles, Jews, Italians, Russians and other Central and Eastern Europeans. They
came and settled in their own distinct ethnic geographical communities. The population of Yonkers soared:
17,000 in 1872; 50,000 in 1909 and 100,000 in 1932.
At the time the new St. Mary's was being built, Yonkers was undergoing unprecedented growth. The dams in the
center of the city were torn down and commerce began to thrive. The Getty Square Branch of the Hudson
Railroad opened in 1887. St. Joseph's Hospital opened in 1890. The first electric trolley car on Riverdale began
in 1892. Other Catholic parishes were being established: Sacred Heart (1891), St. Nicholas of Myra (1892),
Most Holy Trinity (1894), St. Peter's (1894), St. Michael's (1895), St. Casimir's (1899), St. Anthony's (1900).
By 1914 six more parishes and six schools had been created out of the original St. Mary's boundaries.
The defining characteristic of St. Mary's at this time was that it was an Irish parish. Records of baptisms,
weddings and school attendance show that it was at least 90% Irish with the remainder German or Scotch. The
parish was founded in 1848 at the same time that the potato famine hit Ireland. This disaster killed perhaps a
million people and sent millions into exile. The first generation, the Irish born, had a very difficult time. They
were mostly peasants with little training and few resources.
The Irish encountered additional difficulties because they were the first large non-Protestant group to enter the
U.S.A. The fact that they settled in cities added to the fear and apprehension on the part of many Americans.
Their loyalty was clear in the Civil War but the prejudice, although lessened, still existed. Their strengths were
their religion, the ability to speak English and their political skills.
By the time the new church of St. Mary's was built, the Irish were beginning to dominate the Yonkers political
system. The alumni of St. Mary's Boy's School included many of the most powerful political figures in Yonkers.
Since the Irish were mostly working class, they were often involved in the formation of the new labor unions,
especially the Knights of Labor. In 1887 Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, who was in Rome to receive the red hat,
made a special plea to the Pope to prevent the condemnation of trade unions. To Rome these organizations
looked too much like the secret societies of Europe that had been enemies of the Catholic Church.
In Yonkers in 1885 the Knights of Labor organized a group of men and women at the Alexander Smith Carpet
Mill where 3,000 workers were employed. The owner fired the union leaders and the workers went on strike.
When three of the women organizers, Ellen Tracy, Lizzie Wilson and Mary Carey, were jailed, thousands rallied
throughout Yonkers in support. Management gave in, wages were increased and working conditions improved. It
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was a great victory for the union and the three women became celebrities. However, by 1890, the union was voted
out because of troubles within the Knights of Labor and Smith's better treatment of the workers. But these
nonviolent demonstrations were a major factor in convincing the American bishops that labor unions were a
positive movement. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII in his historic encyclical "Rerum Novarum" gave the blessings of the
Catholic Church to the formation of unions.
Many of the Irish kept a keen interest in their homeland and were often involved in the struggle to free Ireland
from England. This was the time of the so-called "land war" (1879-82), the greatest mass movement of modern
Ireland up to that time, and the rise and fall of the great Irish leader, Charles Stewart Parnell.
"Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" was the slogan used against the Democratic Party in the 1880's but it was
obviously aimed at the Irish.
Because they were often in competition with other ethnic and racial groups who were brought in by employers to
work for lower wages, the Irish could be intolerant. However, in many ways, the Irish, as the first "different"
immigrant group, took the first blows of American prejudice and fought back, easing the way for future
immigrants. That prejudice still existed is clear by the rise in 1894 of the anti-Catholic American Protective
Association, claiming a million members. In addition to the Irish they were now attacking the "beaten races": the
Greek, the Pole, the Serb, the Hungarian and the Italian.
Irish priests, by their sheer numbers, dominated the American Catholic Church.
Although St. Mary's was predominantly Irish there were other ethnic groups as well, especially Germans and Scots.
Fr. Albert A. Lings, born in 1844 in Baden (soon to be part of the new Germany), had been an associate at St.
Mary's from 1857 until he became pastor of the second Catholic Church of Yonkers, St. Joseph's, in 1871. Two
German names appear as donors of the stained glass windows: Blatzheim and Imhoff. St. Boniface the Apostle to
Germany, was chosen as one of the figures in the smaller stained glass windows.
The Germans, fleeing the Revolutions of 1848 and Bismarck's attack on Catholics in the newly formed Germany,
came to America at the same time as the Irish but with greater resources and better education. Since their numbers
were never great in Yonkers, they do not seem to have been involved in the controversy, called Cahenslyism, which
in 1891 arose in many German parishes in the Midwest. Under the slogan "Language Saves the Faith," these
German parishes resisted strongly any attempt to weaken their attachment to German language and culture. They
especially resented the domination of the Catholic hierarchy by the Irish.
The Germans in Yonkers must have found St. Mary's parish hospitable because their numbers continued to grow
well into the 1920's. Perhaps it was Fr. Corley who made them feel at home. We know he visited Germany in
1891 to buy the stained glass windows for the new church.
The names of all the other donors on the windows are Irish. The stained glass windows also give us an insight into
how the parish was organized through the lay societies, e.g., Sodality of the Immaculate Heart, League of the
Sacred Heart, Rosary Society, Holy Name Society, Children of Mary. Although not on the windows, we know
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there were many kinds of Temperance Societies in the parish. These societies and devotional confraternities
defined a Catholic parish at this time.
The parish was not only the religious and educational center but the social center as well. Drama groups often put
on shows to entertain the community. Youngsters met, often married one another, and joined the adult clubs or
societies. It was a place where new immigrants could feel at home and learn the new American ways. Despite the
fears of men like Thomas Jefferson, these parishes became great centers of assimilation into American life.
The school was the crowning glory of St. Mary's parish. The affection of the parishioners towards the Sisters of
Charity can be seen in the dedication of the new St. Joseph's altar to Sr. Mary Magdalena White. She had been
principal at the school since 1878 and had died in 1890. Sr. Agnes Loyola, the principal in 1892, served at St.
Mary's for forty-two years. The Sisters of Charity taught all the girls and the younger boys up to the fourth grade.
The Christian Brothers were especially respected by parents. Discipline and a quality education were equally
desired for their sons. Although there were only eight grades, many of those who graduated were fifteen and
sixteen years old. The school grew from 375 when Corley arrived in 1877 to 1,300 in 1903. Classroom size at
times was over seventy students but graduating classes never seemed to be over forty. Apparently many, out of
economic necessity, left school to go to work. Since families could not afford to keep their children out of the job
market, few sent their children to high school. Tuition was free but there were fees for books.
The reputation of St. Mary's School was so high that many had to be turned down for admission. The following
is taken from a church bulletin in 1907: "The pressure for admission is great and it was found necessary to refuse
many. Italians and Poles were not accepted as they have churches of their own and should provide for their own
children. St. Mary's school is supported by St. Mary's Church and children of the church must be provided for
first." What was really being said? At first it looks like discrimination was being practiced against the Italians and
Poles but another interpretation is quite possible.
The relationship with St. Casimir's, a Polish national parish (one that serves the Polish people wherever they may
live), throws some light on the question.
Founded as a parish in 1899, the pastor lived at St. Mary's and said Mass in Polish in St. Mary's Chapel until a
church was built in 1902. The school opened in 1906 and was staffed by the Sisters of the Resurrection in 1907.
Rather than being discriminatory against the Poles, the above statement may have come at the urging of the pastor,
Father Dworzak, so that Polish children would come to his new school.
Although there were two associates, Frs. Andrew O'Reilly (1874-1908) and John Fullam (1898-1912), who
remained at St. Mary's for many years, there is no doubt that the dominant person was the pastor of St. Mary's,
Fr. Charles Corley. Intensely loyal to their priests, the Irish expected their pastors to act like "Lords of the
Manor" and they often did. Extended vacations in Europe and the Holy Land were concluded with the school
children lining St. Mary's Street welcoming the returning pastor. Every anniversary of his priesthood was
celebrated with great dinners and gifts. That Fr. Corley was wise enough to use these occasions to raise money for
the parish (altar: 1896, organ: 1906, bells: 1911) was an indication of his shrewd administrative abilities.
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In 1904 Fr. Corley suffered an illness that would remain with him until his death in 1914. He was an irremovable
pastor which gave him the right to have a voice in the choosing of the Bishop. In 1908 he received an honorary
doctorate from Manhattan College and became a Monsignor in 1911.
Mrs. Magilton, daughter of one of the Duffy brothers, stone masons who helped build the new church, remembers
Fr. Corley coming to visit her house for tea. Her mother used to iron the cassocks for the priests. She remembered
him as a "very lovely man." She believed that her oldest sister was the second person baptized in the new church
(actually the tenth).
Fr. Corley spoke in Protestant churches and was well respected by the Protestant clergy. He and Dr. Cole, pastor
of the First Reformed Church on South Broadway, were friends. Both were pastors in Yonkers for many years and
both built Richardsonian Romanesque churches around the same time. While St. Mary's would last to see its
100th anniversary, the First Reformed Church would be sold and turned into the Strand Theater.
17.
The Great Controversy Within American Catholicism, and its Effect Upon
the New St. Mary’s Church
WHEN "THE WHITE MANTLE" OF ROMANESQUE CHURCHES was being spread across Europe in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Roman Catholic Church dominated society. Later as the structures of
feudal society began to change, the Catholic Church often found itself in opposition to the new forces of
modernity. This struggle reached a tragic climax in the French Revolution. In a destructive rage, this most
Catholic of all nations desecrated or destroyed many of its own great church buildings, including the great
Romanesque monastery at Cluny. This bitter struggle continued into the nineteenth century. It was a most
difficult time for the Catholic Church as it dug in its heels and fought the changes of "Modernity."
The United States was a new nation founded on the principles of modernity. Into this new world came Roman
Catholics. It was inevitable that tensions would arise. Thomas Jefferson considered the Catholic Church the most
hopelessly "un-American" institution in the land. How could such an authoritarian religion live in a democratic
society? How could Roman Catholics assimilate into this new society?
There were Catholics who thought that the Church should and must adapt to this new situation. If it did it would
alleviate the suspicions of men like Jefferson and make Catholicism an attractive option for Americans.
Catholicism should enter into dialogue, challenge and, if necessary, adapt to the new democratic society. If it
meant changing the non-essentials of Catholicism, then so be it. The problem was how to distinguish the essentials
from the non-essentials.
On the other side were those who were reluctant to change anything lest the whole structure crumble. To them
Catholicism had such a distinct vision of God, self and the world that any change would distort its mission.
Rather than change, Catholicism should simply invite others to join. The Trustee Controversy of the early
nineteenth century, in which parishioners wanted to chose their own pastors, was an example of the turmoil caused
by trying to change the system.
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The time of Fr. Corley's pastorate was an especially volatile period for American Catholicism. There were few who
would embrace all the positions of either the "Conservative" or "Liberal" side because the issues were so many
and intricate: The Temporal Power of the Papacy (Papal States), Separation of Church and State, Elections within
the Church, Latin, a separate Catholic School System, National Parishes, Ecumenism, Religious Liberty were some
of the issues.
Of particular ferocity was the fight between Fr. Francis McGlynn, pastor of St. Stephen's Church in Manhattan
and his Archbishop, Michael Augustine Corrigan. Students together in Rome, they disagreed on almost every
subject. In 1886 when the very popular McGlynn promoted Henry George for the Mayor of New York City,
Corrigan removed him from his pastorate. Later he suspended him from his priestly duties and finally
excommunicated him from the Church. McGlynn would eventually be reinstated and given a parish upstate but
the bitterness of the struggle would linger for a long time.
These controversies involved some of the most prominent bishops of the time. The leaders of the conservative side
were Archbishop Corrigan and Bishop McQuaid. On the liberal side were Bishops Ireland and Keane and perhaps
even -Cardinal Gibbons. In the early 1890's it looked like Rome, represented by the Papal Delegate, Archbishop
Satolli, favored the more liberal side. However, by the end of the 1890's, Rome decided in favor of the
Conservatives.
The controversy left no one untouched including the liberal faculty of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. A liberal
intellectual journal, The New York Review (1906-1909), was discontinued and most of the faculty was
transferred. Among them was a very bright diocesan priest, Fr. Francis X. Duffy. He would later become famous
as the chaplain of the fighting 69th Regiment in World War I.
These disputes were known to everyone because they were the headlines of all the newspapers of the time. I believe
that these controversies had a direct impact on St. Mary's new church. It is my hypothesis-that Fr. Charles Corley
designed the new church with the expressed intention of making it worthy to become the Cathedral Church of a
new diocese.
It did not happen because of these great controversies raging within American Catholicism. When Fr. Charles
Corley spoke at the Dedication Ceremonies of the new St. Mary's Church on November 13, 1892 he had to be
justly proud of his achievements. As a young priest of 29, he had become pastor of a church that was in financial
difficulty. The year before, the Christian Brothers had left St. Mary's School. When Fr. Corley arrived they asked
him for their back pay.
In hindsight we can now see that when the young Corley arrived, Yonkers was about to enter a time of prosperity
and growth. The new pastor, however, made all the right moves. He convinced the Christian Brothers to return in
1878, greatly enlarged the school in 1885, helped in the building of St. Joseph's Hospital and then built this large
beautiful church.
He had only one other goal. His ambition now was no less than to make St. Mary's the Cathedral of a new
diocese. Since there is only one Cathedral (cathedral: chair or seat of the ordinary) in each diocese, one can only
assume that Fr. Corley would be the new Ordinary Bishop.
History Of Our Church
Page 25
Because the correspondence, diaries and architectural plans of the church have long since disappeared, it is
impossible to conclusively prove this. However, although the evidence is circumstantial, I think a very good case
can be made that this was indeed Fr. Corley's intention.
In 1890 it was known that Archbishop Corrigan wanted to create a new diocese to lessen his administrative duties.
He was finally persuaded not to create one because, in the context of the controversies within American
Catholicism at the time, a new diocese might be interpreted as a rebuke from Rome. In 1895, when he was finally
given an auxiliary bishop, John Farley, to help with his growing archdiocese, the idea of a new diocese was
abandoned. However, in the time frame when St. Mary's was being planned and built, Archbishop Corrigan had to
be considering Yonkers and St. Mary's as a center for the new diocese.
Whether Corrigan spoke about this to Corley or Corley decided on his own to persuade Corrigan, Corley made
certain decisions in the construction of the church that he hoped would promote St. Mary's as the new Cathedral.
One was the placing of the high pulpit on the right side of the church (then called the Epistle Side). Although this
is not unusual in some countries, it is rare in the United States. The only other church with the pulpit originally
on the right side in the Archdiocese of New York is St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The second is the selection of St. Augustine and St. Charles Borromeo to be placed alongside one another in the
large stained glass windows in the northeast corner. They might seem out of place. However, we know from the
Sisters of Charity that Charles Corley identified with Charles Borromeo. The mystery of the choice of St.
Augustine is cleared up when we realize that Archbishop Michael Corrigan's middle name was Augustine. The
emphasis in the painting of Augustine is not on his theologian's status but rather, clothed in elaborate robes, it is
on his episcopacy. Might not these twin figures be Archbishop Corrigan and Bishop Corley of the new diocese?
An additional clue lies in the substructure of the church. There, amidst all the solid foundation stones, lie three
brick rounded arches. They seem totally out of place until one realizes that they may have been intended to be the
niches where the tombs of the future bishops were to be placed.
Finally, I think the choice of Romanesque was a statement that Corley was aligning himself with Corrigan and the
other conservatives of the day against the liberals. Romanesque recalled the time when Catholicism not only
rescued a destroyed Europe but built a new society. The massive ground-hugging stability sent a message that
change and adaptation, if they were to come, should come slowly. If Corrigan was considering Corley for the
episcopacy, his conservative credentials would be clear.
The argument is further advanced by the fact that the two leading conservative bishops of the day were present at
the Dedication. Archbishop Corrigan as Ordinary would, of course, be expected to be there but why was Bishop
McQuaid not only present but delivering the main sermon?
The only other well known Conservative not present was Msgr. Thomas Preston. He had died the year before. He
certainly would have been there because St. Mary's was his first pastorate. A convert from Episcopalianism, he had
come to St. Mary's in 1851, built the first rectory (now the Catholic Center) and the first one room schoolhouse.
In 1853 he became Archbishop Hughes' secretary and then Vicar General under Cardinal McCloskey and
Archbishop Corrigan. He was very unyielding in the fight against McGlynn and other liberal priests. The fact that
he presided at the laying of the cornerstone of the new St. Mary's in 1890 clearly establishes that he kept in touch
with St. Mary's.
History Of Our Church
Page 26
It must have been with mixed feelings that Archbishop Corrigan returned to St. Mary's on June 6, 1896 to
celebrate Fr. Corley's 25th anniversary of his priesthood and to dedicate the magnificent new altar and tower
clock. Amidst all the rejoicing, he and Fr. Corley now knew that there would be no new diocese, no Cathedral for
St. Mary's and no Bishop Corley.
If he could have looked into the future, it would have been some consolation for Fr. Corley to know that his
young associate at the time, Fr. Thomas Cusack, would become a lifelong friend and achieve the position that had
eluded him. When Msgr. Charles Corley died in the rectory in 1914, Bishop Thomas Cusack was at his bedside.
Newspapers reported that his funeral cortege was the largest in the history of Yonkers.
18.
The Ministry of Sisters of Charity
The Sisters of Charity taught at St. Mary’s School from 1857 to its closing in 2011. From 1857 to 1899, while teaching in
the school, they resided at Mt. St Vincent or St. Aloysius Academy for Boys (located where St. Joseph’s Hospital now
stands). When the priests moved into the new rectory in 1899, the Sisters renovated the building to accommodate twelve
sisters (Census of 1900). They enlarged the building in 1914. Some
Sisters lived in the convent but worked in St. Joseph’s Hospital. The
convent closed in 2004.
One way to comprehend the contribution of these nuns is to list their
names and years of service. As I reflect on the large numbers at St. Mary’s,
I realize what a tremendous debt of gratitude that our parish and the
American Catholic Church owe to these women. They taught and
governed schools, hospitals, orphanages, etc., at a time when our Catholic
people might have been overwhelmed
and fractured by forces beyond their
control. We live now in a different world. Religious orders no longer attract the
numbers that they once did nor probably will they ever again. But for the time period in
which these nuns taught and lived in our parish, they were magnificent. We should never
forget then.
Listed below are the names and years of service of the Sisters of Charity who taught in our school or lived in the convent.
Sister who lived / worked at St. Mary's
1
2
3
4
Sister
Sister
Sister
Sister
Mary Vincenza Allen
Maria Anne Alles (Patricia)
Mary Angelica Barrington **
Mary Benedict
History Of Our Church
1922-1925
1974-1977
1871-1878
1995-1996
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Maria Monica Brady
Marita Agatha Brennan
Mary Bibianna Byrne
Mariam Elizabeth Canty
Teresa Angela Carberry
Mary Gonzaga Carmody
Mary Leonora Casey
Mary Alice Cassidy
Mary Chrysostom Clancy **
Mary Brogis Clarry
Mary Alpheus Coffey
Loretta Mary Coffey
Lucy Agnes Colby
Catherine Carmita Condon
Mary Anita Connolly
Mary Leonilla Conway
Cecilia Agnes Creighton
Mary Myra Cross **
Miriam Annina Crowe
Mary Colette Courtney (Theresa)
Marian Ann Coyle **
Mary Martina Curran
Louise Carmela Daly **
Xavier Mary Dawson **
Mary Almida Dempsey
Mary Blanche Devlin
Maria Eileen Dickenson
Rose Felix Dixon
Donna Dodge
Marie Noeline Dooley'
Rose Maureen Dormer
Mary Euphemia Dougherty
Louise Rosaire Doyle
Anastasia Marie Doyle **
Regina Magdalen Eastwood
Mary Anncilla Egan
Maria Priscilla Egan
Ann Marie Falloon
Rose Loreto Finn
Agnes Loyola Fitzgerald **
Loretta Margaret Fitzsimmons
Winifred Flood
Rrita Winifred Ford
History Of Our Church
1889-1892
1958-1959
1889-1913
1916-1924
1874-1876
1881-1887
No Dates
1898-1903
1857-1865
1880-1881
1881-1883
1962-1964
1872-1873
1959-1969
1904-1927
1894-1895
1883-1884
1921-1928
1911-1913
1959-1960
1976-1982
1875-1877
1933-1935
1935-1940
1878-1881
1868-1869
1959-1962
1925-1936
1974-1976
1900-1906
1970-1973
18691897-1899
1958-1959
1895-1900
1958-1961
1933-1940
1982-1986
1966-1967
1899-1911
1914-1920
1945-1954
1894-1930
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Vincent Dolores Fosket
Marie Agatha Gfearon
Mary Roberta Geary
Florence Miriam Gilloon
Linda Giuli
Stella Joseph Glaeser
Mary Emeline Goggins
Regina Catherine Gorga
Agnes Gonzaga Grady
Mary Louisita Grant
Kahleen Gregg
Mariana John Griffin
Mary Eleanora Halloran
Laboure Hart
Carmela Vincent Harnett
Vincent Miriam Healy
Joseph Clare Hodgkinson
Marie Raymond Hogan
Mary Serene Hogan
Miriam Leonard Howeiler **
Loretto Josephine Hoy
Cornelius Marie Hoynes
Mary Henrietta Humphrey
Margaret Mary Alacoque Johnson
Agnes Marilda Kane **
Narua Barbara Kane
Edwardine Kane
Mary Angela Keating **
Staniaus Marie Kelly
Teresa Kelly (Marilda John)
Liguori Kelly
Mary Winifred Kenney
Francis Genevieve Kenny
Mary Stella Kenny
Genevieve Mary Keresy
Maureen Charles Knox
Francis Mercedes Konowski
Antonio Concepta Kraus
Ann Marie Lagan **
Mary Louisita Langton
Miriam Celestine Larkin
Anna Marian Lascell
Maria Angela Layden
History Of Our Church
1932-1939
1968-1971
1872-1874
1927-1931
1970-1977
1918-1930
1923-1932
1941-1942
1875-1877
1873-1875
1995-1997
1967-1968
1970-1971
1973-1977
1900-1926
1936-1938
????-1916
1931-1932
1885-1890
1937-1943
1916-1921
1954-1955
1913-1916
1921-1923
1895-1896
1958-1962
1925-1932
1889-1890
1898-1901
1962-1966
1891-1923
1857-1868
1931-1936
1869-1870
1911-1919
1957-1964
1940-1945
1900-1928
1978-1996
1972-1977
1903-1904
1954-1956
1946-1947
1963-1972
**
Left
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Mary Albert Lilly
Muriiel Long
Theresa D. Luciano
Miriam Alice Lynch
Mary Theodora Lynch
Mary Germana Lynch
Winifrey Lyons **
Loretta Stephen McBride
Agnes Stanislaus McCarthy
Maria Frances McCarville
Agnes Clotilde McCauley
Mary Benita McCool
Mary Frederica McDonald
Vincent Dolorita McFadden
Mary Esperanza Mclnerney
Maria Magdalena McKenna
Maria MagdalenMckenna
Agnes Bernard McKeon
Nancy McNamara **
Mary Ellen McNamee
Maria Rosealba McNeil
Martha Vincent McQuaid
Gabriel Maria McWilliams
Marietta Joseph Mackin
Maureen Margaret Mackin
Martha Magdalen Magee
Regina Frances Maher (Eileen)
Mary Irmina Mahon
Mary Arsenia Manning
Maureen Ann Martin
Marie Graziella Masterson **
Mary Constance Mayer **
Mary Vivina Meehan
Mary Isadore Miller
Marie Albert Molony (Veronica)
Mary Euphrasia Mulcahy
Ann Dolores Mulvey
Mona Mulvy
Loretta Cecilia Murphy
Margaret Mary Murphy
Mary Luke Murray
Mary Stella Murray
Mary Adolphus Nanry **
History Of Our Church
1941-1946
1989-1998
1971-1976
1947-1959
1921-1922
1881-1888
1982-1985
1942-1958
1928-1929
1907-1911
1885-1888
1869-1870
1874-1881
1932-1959
1881-1889
1894-1899
1902-1913
1985-1931
1971-1977
1875-1877
1899-1901
1885-1902
1909-1911
1997-2001
1951-1952
1893-1898
1936-1941
1917-1920
1884-1888
1956-1957
1920-1921
1946-1947
1890-1895
1896-1897
1943-1950
1931-1936
1966-1994
1933-1940
1931-1936
1961-1963
1960-1961
1917-1918
1890-1899
1958-1959
1989-1991
1959-1963
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Ann Cecilia Nealis **
Mary Eugenia Nelligan
Marita Paul Neylan **
Mary Anne O'Brien
Corona Rosita O'Connell
Mary Aquila O'Connor
Elizabeth Mary O'Connor
Siste Mary Leonora O'Connor
Miriam Patrick O'Connor (Theresa)
Rose Francis O'Gara
Agnes Francis O'Hara
Mary Clare O'Neill
Mary Augusta O'Toole
Paul Miriam Owen (Ethel)
Mary Evariloda Quigley
Mary Leonia Quinlan
Mary Redempta Quinlan
Marie Cecile Quinn
Margare Maria Rafter **
Maria Rhoda Reed
Ignatius Rosaire Regan
Mary Maurice Reilly
Winifred Reilly
Christopher Maria Reynolds
Maria Stephen Richardson
Marie Syra Rooney
Mary Richard Rowley
Marie Laura Ruckel
Carmela Mercedes Ruskarmf
Miriam de Sales
Corona Rosaire Scales
Genevieve Mary Scalfani
Maria Cornelius Schuck
Mary Bennett Shanley
Mary Josita Sharkey
Margaret Carmita Sheehan
Loretta Regina Sheridan
Gertrude Slevin
Mary Adele Smith
Carmita Vincent Smyth
Marie Louise Spillane
Marie Xavier St. Clair
Mary Gaudentia Sullivan
History Of Our Church
1865-1871
1870-1875
1952-1958
1936-1947
1906-1929
1885-1888
1947-1954
1937-1960
1963-1966
1892-1893
1927-1931
1952-1955
1952-1963
1945-1951
1868-1872
1899-1908
1931-1933
1893-1895
1928-1932
1964-2002
1928-1930
1866-1871
1974-1976
1956-1958
1930-1933
1929-1945
1947-1956
1978-2000
1911-1912
1912-1917
1961-1967
1934-1938
1961-1967
1923-1931
1868-1870
1903-1907
1913-1914
1930-1932
1935-1942
1914-1918
1937-1938
1891-1892
1888-1890
1915-1916
1956-1958
1946-1952
**
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Maria John Sullivan
Mary Kathleen Sullivan
Patrick Regina Sullivan
Mary Ambrosia Sweeney
Ann Aloysia Tierney
Regina Mercedes Tierney
Teresa Stella Tolster
Mary Anilda Turner
Mary Baptista Verden
Joseph Aloysia Wallace
Ann Marie Walsh
Catherine Walsh
Regina de Paul Watkins
Mary Jude Watson
William Marie Whalen (Margaret)
Maria Magdalena White **
Mary Angela Woods
Gertrude Maureen Zagarella
19.
1942-1946
1964-1972
1946-1954
1861-1862
1887-1891
1899-1900
1908-1909
1918-1924
1881-1883
1908-1910
1976-2001
1987-2000
1928-1934
1950-1956
1941-1946
1878-1889
1883-1890
1967-1970
1950-1952
Pastorate of Fr. Charles Murphy 1914-1933
How do you write a history with almost no documents? Whatever documents might have existed have disappeared. One gets
the impression that someone without any sense of history got annoyed with all the papers and threw them all out. We don't
even have the architectural plans for the new church.
The biography of Fr. Murphy, included in the journal celebrating the 150th anniversary of the church in 1948, consists of
three sentences-even though his pastorate was nineteen years. "He improved the old Church building, now used as an
auditorium, by putting on a new front and adding a small hall and three small meeting rooms. He also had the Church
redecorated and painted for the first time since it was built. He died, after an illness of several months, in October 1933"
Those nineteen years included two Popes (Benedict XV 1914-1923, Pius IX 1922-1939), two Archbishops of New York
(John Cardinal Farley 1902-1918, Patrick Cardinal Hayes 1922-1939),World War I (1914-¬1918), Influenza which
claimed 20 million lives worldwide (1918) Woman's suffrage (1920), Prohibition (1920-1933), Irish Independence
(1922), Al Smith's attempt to become the first Catholic President of the United States (1928) and the Great Depression
(1929- 193?)
His obituary in the Catholic News tells us that he died at the age of sixty-six, on September 26, 1933. He was born in New
York City of Irish parents on June 6, 1867. He attended Fordham University. After one year in law school he decided to
become a priest. He entered St. Joseph's Seminary, then located in Troy, N.Y. and was ordained a priest by Bishop Gabriele
in the Cathedral of Albany on June 251892. His first assignment was as assistant at Blessed Sacrament on W. 72 St in
Manhattan where he served for sixteen years. In 1908 he became pastor of St. John's in Goshen. On November of 1914 he
became a "permanent rector" of our parish. He had a younger brother, John, who was also a priest who eventually became
pastor of St. Bernard's in White Plains. In the eulogy at his funeral Mass he was described as "a modest and retiring man."
History Of Our Church
Page 32
There are only two historical documents on file in our archives. A third document is from the Archives of the Archdiocese of
New York.
1. Baptism Records of St. Mary's
Baptisms records show that the ethnic makeup of the parish was beginning to change, but not drastically. Irish surnames
declined from 95% to 80% Irish during Fr. Murphy's pastorate. This reflected the tremendous ncrease in the population of
Yonkers, especially of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Italy. The population of Yonkers was estimated to be 75,000 in
1917 and 100,000 in 1923.The Irish were moving on "to the suburbs of Yonkers to be replaced‖ in the territory of the
parish of St. Mary's by Eastern and Southern European esp. Jews, Italians, Polish, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Russians, and
Hungarians and Lithuanians. Many of the Catholic ethnic groups used St. Mary's Chapel until they created their own
churches.
Some who lived near St. Mary's became lifelong parishioners. St. Mary's School was oftentimes the great attraction.
2. An official certificate verifying that "the Parish of the Immaculate Conception contributed $28,000 to the New York
Catholic War fund Campaign conducted in the Archdiocese of New York, March 17 to 25, 1918".
World War I was a horrible and probably unnecessary war. The total number of casualties on both sides was ten million.
The Allies listed six million dead. It settled very little. But America emerged as a world power. The war began in September
of 1914 and hostilities ended on November 11, 1918. The entry of the United States in 1917 turned the tide of war but at
a terrible price. 116, 516 Americans died- half in battle -half by disease. 204,002 were wounded. In the battle of the
Argonne Forest in the fall of 1918, 26,277 Americans died.
The mobilization by the United States was amazing. 4,272, 521 persons were drafted or enlisted. Over 2,000,000 were
transported across the Atlantic Ocean. The United States amazed the world with its ability to produce men and machines.
As the Japanese would remark twenty three years later: "We have awakened a sleeping giant."
In Yonkers it is estimated that almost 7,000 men and women of Yonkers served in one capacity or other. The population of
Yonkers was 75,000 at the beginning of the war. 50% of the population was estimated as Catholics. The war memorial at
the foot of City Hall on South Broadway lists almost 200 Yonkers residents who died during the war. There were many
other casualties who came home suffering, especially from the effects of poisonous mustard gas.
Some churches kept exact figures. St Joseph's Catholic Church reported that 450 men had been in the military service, 15
had died and six received wounds. Our pastor, Charles Murphy, as seems to be his custom, kept no records He was quoted
as saying: "We kept no record of our various activities during the war. We just jumped in and did our best and forgot about
it."
Fortunately we have records from the Crescent Club of Yonkers. The Crescent Club was originally organized from the
membership of St. Mary's Parochial School by Brother Augustus who was the Christian Brother principal of the Boys
School. At the outbreak of the war, there were 143 members of which 122 "joined the colors." During the war years the
club was maintained by its Ladies Auxiliary. The records show that two members died in the war, one of gas and the other of
influenza. Seven were casualties - usually from gas. One lost his hearing from the explosion of the bombs. Eight men received
medals.
The Catholic Church became very involved in fundraising for the soldiers. A Catholic War Fund Drive" to improve
conditions in military camps in the United States and in overseas service for the benefit of soldiers and sailors of all creeds
was held in March of 1918." The quota for Yonkers was $82,800. The quota for each parish was listed in the newspapers:
St. Mary's: $17,500; St. Joseph's: $15,000; Sacred Heart, Monastery: $9,000; Holy Eucharist: $7,000; St. Denis: $6,500,
Our Lady of the Rosary $5,500; St. Peter's: $5,000; St Casmir’s : $5,000; St. Bartholomew’s :3,000; Most Holy Trinity:
History Of Our Church
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$2,500; St. Anthony's: $2,.000; Our Lady of Mt Carme: $1,500:; St. Nicholas of Myra:$1,500;St.John the Baptist: $1,000,
St. Michael's: $800.
The actual total raised by St. Mary's was $22,800 the equivalent in dollars today is $377,000.. It is an extraordinary amount
of money for St. Mary's. Part may be explained by the fact that perhaps 25% or more of the total sum was donated by nonCatholic. Many of these donors had businesses in and around Getty Square - which were included in the territorial
boundaries of parish of St. Mary's. The results throughout New York State were also astonishing. The goal set was
$2,500,000. The amount raised was $4,862,424. Part of the key to its success was this was the fact that this was the first
really professional fundraising drive by the Catholic Church. Index lists of parishioners were provided by every pastor and
volunteers were sent to each residence soliciting funds. It was also a way of countering the accusations of anti-Catholic
organizations that the Irish would not fight to defend England and the Germans would not fight against their own people.
3. A letter to the Chancery Office from Fr. Murphy (found in a footnote in Fr. Shelley's wonderful history of the Slovaks
Catholics in Yonkers.) Charles Murphy to Thomas Carroll, the diocesan Chancellor of the Archdiocese of New York
(August 16, 1929.) The Chancellor had asked on what authority he had designated such generous territorial boundaries for
his parish.
Fr. Murphy replied: "I have no authority other than what fairness would dictate. I honestly tried, when appointed here, of
making inquiries of the diocesan authorities to find out what the exact limits were. No information was afforded me other
than a general statement that there were no limits in Yonkers....My neighbors, were, however, more helpful in the matter than
the diocesan authorities. They gave me limits with a vengeance- limits which would reduce St. Mary's to about five hundred
adults. As I could not accept their ridiculous claims, when the "Status Animarum Report" called for parish limits, I was
forced to give limits such as included the bulk of people of the people regularly attending Sunday Mass."
"His neighbors" were pastors of nearby parishes. Territorial boundaries of parishes were (and to some extent still are) very
important. You could not choose your own parish. You had to go to the parish whose geographical boundaries included
where you lived. The only exceptions were "national parishes" which were set up to accommodate people who could not
speak English e.g. St. Casmir (Polish), Most Holy Trinity (Slavic), Mt Carmel(Italian) etc. In 1920 in Yonkers there were
eight territorial parishes and seven national parishes. National parishes presented their own difficulties as Fr. Shelley's book
demonstrates.
The main source of the dispute was over the creation of the parish of Holy Eucharist, a territorial parish set up at the foot of
Nodine Hill just a few blocks east of St. Mary's. It siphoned off many of the parishioners of St. Mary’s. Fr. Murphy's
boundaries extended the territory of his parish by at least two blocks on the east, south and north. In this regard I am in
complete sympathy with Fr. Murphy. When I became pastor in 1987 I couldn't believe how small the boundaries of St.
Mary’s are e.g. St. Peter's is two and half times the size of our parish. Fr. Murphy did not win this battle. How necessary was
the creation of Holy Eucharist parish? The answer may be in the fact that the parish ceased to exist in the 1950's. The
population of Yonkers was booming when the parish of Holy Eucharist was created. it was easy to overestimate future
numbers. Federal anti- immigration laws were passed in the mid 1920's that would greatly limit the number of Catholics
from eastern and southern Europe.
A foot note. If Fr. Murphy "feisty" (Fr. Shelley's word) letter to the authorities is any indication of his temperament there
may have been good reasons to destroy any other writings. I am beginning to like Fr. Murphy.
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20.
Christian Brothers at St. Mary’s School : 1871-1968
The De La Salle Christian Brothers came to the United
States in 1845 from France. In the 1861, Brother
Clementian, with three assistants, became the Principal of
the Boys Department of the new St. Mary’s School. The
new school building consisted of two main floors, an attic
and a basement. The residence of the Brothers was in the
attic. There were 135 girls and 150 boys. The Brothers
taught the boys in the upper grades (fifth to eight). The
Sisters of Charity and lay teachers taught the girls and the
younger boys in lower grades. We have no photos before the
1880’s. There are no photos of the Sisters of Charity
because their rules of the Order prohibited it.
The first photo in our archives was taken in 1887. The boys
were older than today’s eighth graders. Section 1 of the class
of 1887 probably took advanced course preparing them for
―college.‖ Our present division of eighth years of elementary school, four of high school and four years of college had not
yet been mandated by the State of New York. Francis X.
Donoghue, the youngest son of one of the lay founders of
the parish, was born 1856 and was one of the first students
in the Boys School. After graduation he attended the Jesuit’s
Francis Xavier College on 15th St in Manhattan. Xavier
College was the early favorite of these advanced boys
because the first pastor of St. Mary’s, John Ryan S.J. was its
President. It also was easily accessible because of the new
railroad along the Hudson River. After graduating from
Xavier in 1875 he studied law in a law office in Manhattan
and was admitted to practice in 1878. He became the first
Catholic City Judge in Yonkers in 1892. He remained in
public office for many years. He was a prominent member
of the St. Mary’s Alumni Association whose members were
influential in the political life of Yonkers.
Enrollment in the school shows the financial difficulties of
the parents of the students. There were as many as a
hundred students in the first year but often less than fifteen
graduating. Students, especially the girls left after the sixth
grade to work in the carpet, hat and silk factories in Yonkers
to help support their families.
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By the 1880’s the school was filled to capacity. In
1882 there were 370 girls for a total of 683. Fr.
Corley, pastor (1877-1914), wanted to build a new
school on the former property of Aaron Vark. Now
owned by Sisters of Charity. When their boarding
school for boys, St Aloysius Academy. Located on
the same land, burnt down on New Year’s Day in
1887, the Sisters decided to use the property for a
hospital, St. Joseph’s. Revising his plans, Fr Corley
greatly enlarged and renovated the old school. It
gircould now accommodate over a thousand students.
The Brothers eventually moved into their own
building in 1901 just to the west of the former
church, now the Parish Hall. Below is a photo of this
new school. It is taken many years later but it is the
only we have of the entire building. The photo shows
the new church build in 1892.
We do not have the names of all the Christian Brothers who taught at St. Mary’s but we do have the names of the principals.
Their term of office was usually three years but some stayed only a year. Brother Augutus Pius, pictured in the photo, was
the exception. He was principal for fifteen years (1899-1914). It was said of him that he was the backbone of the school and
the Church. As Msgr. Charles Corley’s plan for creating Immaculate / St. Mary’s a Cathedral of a new diocese faded, so did
the prominence of the parish. He suffered a minor stroke at the beginning of the century and was never quite the same. The
parishes of St. Joseph (1871), and Sacred Heart (1991) seen to have the energy and vitality that once was St. Mary’s –
except for the school. It thrived during this time.
The photo reveals a pivotal year, 1914. Msgr. Charles Corley, after thirty seven years as pastor, would be dead in a few
months. St Mary’s convent was enlarged. World War I was about to start. Fr. Augustus, after fifteen years as principal, was
leaving. The world was changing. But, thanks to Brother Augustus, the school was ready for the challengers ahead.
Fr. Murphy has been pastor since 1914. Brother Clementian of Jesus is principal. ―Clementan seems to be a popular name.
Three of our principals have taken this name (in honor of the first principal?). The other two brothers in the photo are
Brother Ivan Ibar and Brother Ambrose of Mary who taught the two eighth grade classes. One had 25 students, the other
had 22. But there are over 70 students in the photo. Some students seem much older than others. Was there a ninth grade?
Or a number of students who needed another year to pass the final exams? At one time the principal taught a class – now its
is recorded he doesn’t. Did these older boys get the principal’s attention? The records of the school state that there were
three other classes. A seventh grade class of 51 taught by Brother Ambrose. A sixth grade class of 50 taught by Brother
Amedy John and a fifth grade class of 57, taught by Brother Bernard John.
One of the earlier job description for a Brother is ―cuisinier.‖ What is that? I just looked it up on the internet. It is French
for a male chef or cook. Eventually they had a layperson doing the cooking. We even have a photo of one of these cooks
whose name was Mrs. Minnie O’Leary.
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Parents throughout Yonkers sent their boys to St. Mary’s because the Brothers gave them discipline, a good education and
plenty of sports to absorb their energies. Here is a list of the winners of the Yonkers CYO Schoolboy Race from 1908 to
1972.
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1948 was the 100th anniversary of the parish of the Immaculate
Conception / St. Mary’s. Among the many special activities was a
visit by leaders of the Christian Brothers (Pictured here). Fr. Avard is
now the pastor (1936-1953). The Catholic Church was enjoying its
triumphal years. She had carved out her own separate world of
schools, hospitals, social activities, athletics, etc. Even Hollywood was
glorifying this Catholic world. Of the many movies of this era about
Catholics, (―Boystown‖, ―Song of Bernadette‖. ―Joan of Arc‖. ―Going
my Way‖.) None was more popular than ―The Bells of St. Mary’s,
starring Bing Crosby as the parish priest and Ingrid Bergman as the
nun. You can imagine how the students of St. Mary are identified
with this movie. The theme song in the movie became the anthem of
their school and parish. Even today the ―Bells of St. Mary’s‖ is played
at the end of the funeral Mass for all the former graduates of the
school and any parishioner whose family requests it.
I chose these next two photos because they show the joy and
confidence of the Christian Brothers in the 1950’s. They reflected the
mood of the Catholic Church. During the 1950’s the Catholic
population grew by 44% while the number of children in the
parochial schools grew by 66%. In 1950 the number of priests was
43,000. Although I don’t have the exact figures for the Christian
Brothers, I am sure their numbers were as high. The De La Salle
Brothers taught in the high school of my home parish in the Bronx, St.
Nicholas of Tolentine. My best friend, Tommy Reilly, entered the
Novitiate in Barry town N.Y. after the eighth grade. I decided to
become a priest and entered Cathedral College. My freshman high
school class at Cathedral College in 1953 numbered 116.
Looking back I just remembered that the Brothers, whose residence
was beside my apartment building on Andrew Ave., got me to help
out in their garden. Is that where my love of Gardens began?
For the first time we have an official photo of the sisters of Charity with the Christian
Brothers and other members of the staff at the school. Included are the parish assistants,
Fr. Doyle and Pucci, and the pastor, Msgr. Fitzgerald. Msgr. Richard M. Fitzgeralde
became pastor in 1953 and would retire in 1967. He had ambitious plans for a new
school. Little did anyone realize that by the time the new school was built the Christian
Brothers would withdraw from the School.
The official reason was the dwindling number of Christian Brothers. It was a valid
reason. Vocations were not as numerous as before and there was steady stream of
Brothers leaving the order.
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That still doesn’t explain why St. Mary’s Boys School, founded
in 1861, and about to build a new school building, was chosen. I
think it had something to do with the tense relationship between
the Brothers and Msgr. Fitzgerald. Our photo shows the last
graduating class under the Christian Brothers. Brother Robert
McCann was the last principal. He tried to persuade his
superiors to reverse their position but it was too late.
Included is a photo showing the shock and anger of the parents
to the withdrawal of the Brothers.
The school continued under the leadership of the Sisters of
Charity for the next twenty-eight years.
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21.
The Depression Years: Pastorate of Fr. John Dyer
The Great Depression began with the stock market crash on "Black Tuesday" in October, 1929. It lasted until the end of
the 1930's and had a profound effect on the American people. In !933 newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt began the
New Deal which had lasting consequences for the people of Yonkers, not least of which were Social Security, Federal and
State subsidized public housing projects and Labor's right to organize. The radio became an essential part of every home.
A month after the death of Fr. Murphy, Fr. John Dyer was named pastor on Nov.23, 1933. He had been ordained in St.
Patrick's Cathedral in 1901 and was pastor of St. John Evangelist in Pawling since 1919. He served at St. Mary's for less
than three years. Citing illness as the cause, he voluntarily resigned as pastor in the summer of 1936. He returned to his
previous assignment in Pauling and remained there until his death in 1951 at the age of seventy five. It may not be fair to
speculate but the burden of administrating a large parish in Yonkers in the middle of the Depression was probably too much
for him.
What did he have to face? Decrease in Baptisms: 139 in 1929, 72 in 1933. Church door collections: $12, 090 in 1923, $
7,870 in 1934. Church savings in Yonkers banks lost 70%of their value. The school was in need of repair. The population
in Yonkers increased only 5.9%in the 1930's after decades of significant growth. 1910-1910: 66.5% 1910 -1920: 25%
1920- 1930: 34%.
Newspapers reported the following statistic s in September of 1932. 20%of the population needed public aid. 5,340
families were on the charity rolls. Dependent on City Charity 4,200 families; Receiving aid from Catholic Charities (Minnie
Costello was the county agent at the time: 125 families, Salvation Army: 325, Jewish Relief: 50. Homeless in the Armory
North Broadway: 90 men. The number of people waiting on line to receive food supplies at the supply station at
Washington Stand Jefferson St. was so great in 1934 that the station was moved to a larger facility: a warehouse at the
National Sugar Refining Company at 45 Buena Vista. Ave.
Despite all this Fr. Dyer managed to find enough resources to install steel staircases and concrete floors in the school,
making the school fireproof. He may have had no choice- there was a fire in the school in 1934.The church and rectory were
also rewired. Again he may have had no choice after witnessing a horrific explosion in February of 1934 that was caused by
faulty electrical wiring in front of the Proctor's Theatre at South Broadway and Prospect. Patrick Whalen, a motorcycle
policeman and Michael Gruber, a taxicab driver, were both killed trying to rescue a trapped girl.
He also witnessed the end of Prohibition in 1933 that had made Yonkers famous with its many attempts to escape the law.
One of today's parishioners, Vincent Nowak. Remembers his grandmother brewing her own beer and selling it from her
home. The best true story was the system of hoses that followed besides the sewer system of Yonkers. The local State Cereal
and Beverage Company was a front for the Underhill's Brewery. The Brewery made real but illegal beer at night and delivered
its products through this underground system to various collection points throughout the city.
The pattern of parish life continued on. Sunday Masses were celebrated at 7,8,9,10,11 (High Mass) and 12:15. Pew rents
were still collected quarterly. Families could reserve the same places in the pew for a particular Mass. Prices ranged
depending on the popularity of the Mass All our pews in church today still have numbers, reminding us of our past..
Marriages could be arranged three weeks in advance. Baptisms were every Sunday at 4 pm and on Wednesday at 7 pm.
Graves for the cemetery could be purchased at the sexton's residence at 16 St. Mary's St. There were ten church societies
who met at least once a month. Together they also sponsored a Minstrel Show and Dance on October 31 and November 1,
1935 in the Parish Hall. The Dramatic Guild of St. Mary's Junior League presented a Three Act Farce Entitled "Stop
Thief" on June 7, 1935. In addition to these St. Mary's School used the Hall for their own productions and athletic
events. The church and its many activities were a source of great comfort and enjoyment during these Depression years.
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22.
Pastorate of Arthur Avard: 1936-1952
On July 18, 1936 Fr. Arthur Avard was assigned to St. Mary's by Cardinal Hayes. He had been pastor of St. Catherine's in
Blauvelt for ten and a half years. He brought to our church in Yonkers a welcome burst of enthusiasm and energy. At the
100th anniversary of the parish in 1948 it was written of him in the Anniversary Journal that he wanted to be remembered
for invigorating the spiritual life of the parish. "He has encouraged the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Penance and
Holy Eucharist. A Holy Hour is conducted each week as well as services in honor of Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.
The Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Legion of Mary have been established in the parish and the previously
established groups like the Children of Mary, the Holy Name Society- Senior and Junior, the Sacred Heart Sodality have
been continued and encouraged." He had a special devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes and it was he who erected the grotto in
her honor in the church.
One of his first major projects was cleaning up and organizing St. Mary's Cemetery (established in 1855).He had experience
with cemeteries in his previous assignment. He put the cemetery on the "lawn plan" and appointed Fr. McGrath, his
assistant priest, to do the important preliminary work of map drawing and record checking. This was not an easy task
because many owners of graves did not want their barrier railings and vigil candles removed. They were finally removed
during World War II when the metal railings (seven tons) were donated as scrap metal for the war effort. The blackouts (aIl
lights out at night) forced the removal of the vigil lights.
The great project which took many years was the channeling of the Sprain Brook that flows through the cemetery. Even
today architects marvel at the stone work that created this channel and the three stone bridges across it. Probably workers
employed by the W.P.A during the Depression years were used at the beginning of the project but most of the work was
completed under the supervision of Mr. Lotzy Proft. Thanks to Babara Macy we have some wonderful photos of Mr. Proft
and his crew at work in the cemetery. In 1946 a parcel of land, one and a half acres, across Sprain Road, was purchased. The
first burial in this" New Section" was made in August, 1946. In 1952 Msgr. Avard was also involved in preliminary
negotiations with New York State on how to use part of the cemetery for a new State Thruway.
Once World War II began in 1941, Yonkers and St. Mary's were fully involved in the war effort. Two of the assistant
priests Frs. McGrath (twenty two years at S. Mary's) and Lawrence Gough ( three and half years) became Army chaplains.
Fr. Gough was killed in a plane accident on September 11, 1942 at a training field in the United States. Fr. McGrath
returned safely home after the war and became pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Croton on the Hudson.
It is estimated that 20,000 of Yonkers residents served in the military during World War II. 532 died. Many of Yonkers’s
manufacturing plants were transformed to serve the war effort. The Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Factory (which
sometimes employed 5,000 people) made blankets. Otis elevator manufactured munitions. In July of 1943 there was a huge
explosion near this factory. Habirshaw Cable and Wire factory was involved in a secret work, called Operation Pluto that
manufactured in record time the pipeline under the English Channel. This was used to transport fuel for the
Normandy Invasion. Masses and Novenas e.g. Cross and Flag Novena were often said for the soldiers and their families.
Names were placed on flags and placed in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes 700 employees of the Habirshaw factory
attended Sunday Mass in honor of fellow employees in the Armed Forces and "those who made the supreme sacrifice."
Many married women worked in these factories during the war years. This experience proved to be a turning point for the
changing role of women in our society.
Post World War II were great years for St. Mary's. Marriages and Baptisms rose dramatically. The Catholic Church, after
years of discrimination, was celebrated by Hollywood in such films as the Bells of St. Mary's, the Song of Bernadette, Boys
Town. Ordinations were sky high (40 to 50 each year). The high point for St. Mary's was the celebration of the 100th
anniversary of the parish in 1948. Professional photographs of this celebration show the pageantry and confidence of the
Catholic Church and St. Mary's. As a reward for his work, Fr. Avard was made a Monsignor at this celebration by Cardinal
Spellman.
There is no doubt that Msgr. Avard was the driving force during these years at St. Mary's He was known also to have a
temper. Cardinal O'Connor told me this story about Msgr. Avard.Fr. James Killeen was an assistant under Msgr. Avard for
nine years (1942-1951.) After hearing confessions one evening the pastor lost his temper and yelled at Fr. Killen. Since this
was not the first time this happened over the nine years, Fr. Killeen went out the two days later and signed up to be chaplain
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in the U.S. Navy. At this time the Korean War was being fought (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953). When Fr. Avard cooled
down and apologized, it was too late. Fr. Killeen eventually became Chief of Chaplains where he met and mentored Fr. John
O'Connor. Fr. Killen became a Bishop in 1976 but died two years later. Fr. John O'Connor succeeded him as the Chief of
Chaplains in the U.S. Navy."So you see, Fr. Corrigan, I am where I am today because of the temper of Msgr. Avard."
In January of 1953 Msgr. Avard became pastor of his home parish, Blessed Sacrament on W.71th St in Manhattan. He died
on Feb. 12, 1970 (one day after the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes) at the age of 87 and was buried, appropriately enough, in
St. Mary's Cemetery
23.
Pastorate of Rev. Msgr. Richard M. Fitzgerald (1953-1967)
Msgr. Richard M. Fitzgerald was born on May 23, 189 and was ordained to the priesthood on September 20, 1919. His
first appointment was at St. Peter's Church in Monticello. In 1930 he was appointed to Holy Family in New Rochelle
where he served for eleven years. In 1941 he became pastor of Church of the Good Shepherd in Rhinebeck. N.Y. He
was appointed pastor of St. Mary's on January 29, 1953. He became a Right Rev. Monsignor in December of 1958.
Although there were weekly and monthly bulletins before his time (few were preserved), he began the weekly
bulletin, "The Bells of St. Mary." which continues to the present day. These bulletins printed more information
about the parish than previous bulletins. Most of these bulletins in the 1950's were preserved in our archives. After
1960 few were preserved.
To give you some idea about parish life during the 1950's, the following statistics show how busy the parish was. I
will use the "1957 parish report."
Catholic population: 2,810 adults (this number might include 500 non practicing Catholics), 1,125 children.
Baptisms: 236, Marriages: 57. Sick Calls: 288, Population of the school: 843.Religious education for public
school students: 371.The priests were chaplains at St. Joseph's Hospital resulting in Confessions: 3,.171., Communions
52,681, Extreme Unction’s: 167, Baptisms:22. There were also ten candidates studying for the priesthood, two for the
Christian Brothers and two for the Sisters of Charity.
Beside the pastor, there were three full time assistant they included at various times: Fr. Ed O'Donnell, Jim Doyle, Anthony
Pucci, Benjamin Roth, John Breen, Christopher Kane and John Sullivan. They were moderators of the many parish
societies of which two were most prominent: the Holy Name Society (there was also a Junior Holy Name) and the
Ladies Auxiliary. As one member put it: The Ladies Auxiliary was the backbone of the parish, running card parties,
dinners and cake sales to make money for the parish. They also went house to house collecting money for Catholic
Charities. Other parish organizations that began during Fr. Fitzgerald's time were the Young Adults, the Ladies Skating
Club and the Drama club which became the St. Mary's Stage Players. Dances were held on Saturday nights. Young men and
women often met their future spouses at these gatherings.lt was, as many Catholic parishes were at that time, "a world
unto itself."
Also residing in the rectory was Fr. John Harrington (1947-1961) who worked for Catholic Charities. His office was
at 53 South Broadway in Getty Square. He began the outreach to the new Hispanic population. This ministry to the
Hispanics was continued by Fr. Doyle. Fr. Harington also had an outreach program for those not attending Mass. He
was especially proud of getting a local gang of youths called the "river rats" to come to church.
Fr. Fitzgerald began the weekly envelope system. He eliminated pew rents but did not remove the designated numbers
attached to each pew( they are still there today). He completely overhauled the organ He greatly improved the rectory,
installed an elevator 1956, and built a new garage He was quoted as saying: "This was the priests' home and they should
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have the best because they devoted their lives to the church" He was considered a talented man, writing poetry, taping
books for the blind, playing the organ. He also liked to travel returning with art objects for the church and rectory. The
four evangelists that today surround the high pulpit were brought back from one of his travels. He also liked to control
things. I doubt that his assistants were consulted when he installed a communication system that relayed their homilies to
a speaker installed in his room.
A Sunday Dialogue Mass at 10:00 a.m. began in 1955. Responses by the laity were in Latin. lt did not seem too popular at
the time but it was good preparation for the more extensive liturgical changes in 1966. The 12:05 Mass was added in
1960. With the change in fasting before receiving Holy Communion (mow three hours before instead of from midnight)
attendance at this Mass now numbered 300.
Services in Spanish were celebrated in the chapel by Msgr. Harrington on Saturdays. He was succeeded by Fr. Puebla, a
priest from Spain, who offered Mass in Spanish in the chapel on Sundays. On Oct. 12, 1957, the bulletin included, in
Spanish, information about classes to learn English These were held at the parish's "Catholic Information" (once called
"Lourdes Library" by Fr. Avard) on 169 South Broadway.
The Annual Yonkers St. Patrick's Day Parade began again on March 11, 1956. The Yonkers parade, which began at St.
Mary's in 1863, had ended fifty years earlier when organizers choose to march in the much larger New York City Parade.
The parade began with Mass at St. Mary's. The reviewing stand was on the lawn of St. Mary's rectory. 10,000 people
marched in this 1955 parade.
'In the school in 1955 there were 840 students with 18 teachers of which 10 were Sisters of Charity, and four Christian
Brothers. There was no tuition for the school although parents had to contribute at least fifty cents in the Sunday
collection. When there was room non- parishioners (Catholic) were allowed in the school. Thanks to donations from the
Alumni Association, a cafeteria was built in the basement of the Parish Hall. Children could choose to eat hot meals at
lunch. Cost was $1.50 a week. It was made clear that only the school children could use these facilities
A major, problem was the physical condition of-the school. Built in 1861 and expanded in 1885, it was an very old
building. People knew that it would eventually have to be torn down and replaced with a new one. Where would the
moncome to do this? St. Mary's parishioners were mostly working class people.lt was rare to have much of a surplus at
the end of the year. Complicating things was the uncertain future of what was called "Downtown Yonkers.‖I a brief
historical background is helpful in understanding what was happening in St. Mary's at this time. The post World War II
years saw a significant shift in the habits of Americans. Rising prosperity and increased educational opportunities,
especially for veterans, made it possible for many Americans to own their own home. Aided by the new federal and state
roadways, the automobile opened up a new accessible world to live. Parishioners of St. Mary's, especially the newly
married, began to leave the parish for homes in the suburban parts of Yonkers and beyond it was the beginning of the end of
Getty Square as the preferred shopping center of Yonkers Shopping malls accessible by car were now the place to shop. The
Cross County Shopping opened in 1956 quickly eclipsed Getty Square. Substandard housing in the area and urban
"removal" further accelerated the exodus.
The building of the New York State Highway was an example of this transformation. When it was finished in
1956 it reached from Buffalo to the Bronx, a total of 563 miles, crossing the Hudson River by means of the Tappan Zee
Bridge. It made the suburbs, especially Rockland County, accessible. It also made the Cross County Center and Central Ave.
in Yonkers the preferred places to shop for residents of Westchester and the Bronx. It also had a direct impact on St. Mary's
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cemetery. The State of New York needed its Thruway to pass through part of the cemetery. As far back as 1952
negotiations had begun to find a solution that would be acceptable to St. Mary's. It was finally agreed to exchange two
acres of land on the east side of the cemetery for five acres of land next to the north side of the cemetery property ("which
fronts on Sprain Road north of Curtiss Lane") . Human remains in the old part of the cemetery were carefully removed
and buried with the appropriate blessings in the newly acquired land. On June 17, 1956, this new section was consecrated
by Most Rev. Joseph Flannery, Auxiliary Bishop of New York. At this ceremony, attended by five priests and more
than a hundred parishioners and relatives of the deceased, a former Supreme Court Justice, representing the State of New
York, handed over the deed to the new property to Rev. Richard Fitzgerald. This enabled the cemetery to acquire
much needed land for future burials.
The last six years of Fr. Fitzgerald’s pastorate were devoted to the building of a new school This was to be his legacy to
the parish and to the city of Yonkers Aware of pessimistic projections for the future of "Downtown Yonkers" he put his
faith in the urban renewal projects, as exemplified in the plans for Phillips Towers., This was to be built the west of his
new school Advertized as the "First middle income rental development in lower Westchester. Located on Riverdale
Avenue from Prospect Street to Vark Street in the heart of downtown Yonkers " It consisted of three buildings
of fifteen floors each containing 540 apartments. Parishioners of St. Mary's, especially those who had previously lived in
the affected area, were given priority. Msgr. Fitzgerald wanted his new school to open at the same time as this new
housing Opened in 1965, Phillipsie Towers ,a Mitchell-Lama co-operative enterprise, was a great success The new St
Mary's School, would open three years later.
Monsignor Fitzgerald's plan for the new school was very ambitious. He took to heart the 1957 clarion call of Thomas
Dickerson, New York State's Secretary of Commerce, to "Think Big". It included 24 classrooms, a kindergarten, central
service facilities and special rooms for modern education. Another building adjacent to the school would include a new
auditorium gymnasium, a convent and more classrooms. The Parish Hall and the old convent would be demolished. The
Bothers' residence would remain. The problem was financial. By 1965 it became clear that the parish could not raise the
more than$2,300,000 needed for the project. Plans for the auditorium gymnasium and convent were eliminated. A
capital fundraising campaign was started in 1965 to raise at least $250,000 to begin construction. The overall cost was
now $1,300,000.00
On May 22, of 1966 this letter was sent to Msgr. Fitzgerald by John J. Maguire, Coadjutor Archbishop of New York: "In
regard to Thursday's ceremonies of which your reminder was just received, I am sure that unless approval is given you to
assume the financial burden of your building program, I'll not be able to participate in any groundbreaking ceremonies.
Monsignor Hunt tells me he plans to discuss this with you." Ouch!
The problem was the insistence by Msgr. Fitzgerald not to reduce the number of classrooms from twenty-four to eighteen.
A series of heated letters and meetings followed. In July of 1967 the pastor was still arguing his point. Ground breaking
ceremonies did take place when the eighteen classrooms were finally agreed upon. There is a photo of the ceremony in our
archives showing the Mayor of Yonkers, not Bishop Maguire, holding the shovel. On September 19, 1967, having reached
the age of seventy-five, Cardinal Spellman thanked Msgr. Fitzgerald "for his many years of service and regrets that he will
soon be leaving St. Mary's parish." I doubt that the pastor wanted to leave. Even after the fundraising campaign had raised
$250,000 the debt for the parish was $570,000.
A new pastor, Fr. Bernard Cunningham, was installed on November 12, 1967. Construction of the new school continued
while the students went to classes in the old school.
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In May of 1968, Brother Augustine Loes, Provincial of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, informed the new pastor that
the Christian Brothers, citing decreased personnel, were withdrawing from St. Mary's School Parents were shocked by the
decision and immediately organized (including public protest) hoping to change the decision It didn't help that the Brothers,
concentrating on staffing high schools, assigned three Brothers to join the staff at Sacred Heart High School
It was quite a year for the new pastor. On July, 1968 Fr. Cunningham, citing illness, retired. .A new pastor, Right
Rev Aloysius Weber, arrived in July 28, 1968. The old school was torn down that summer and students began classes in
September in the new school. The new school was dedicated and blessed by new Archbishop of New York. Terrence
Cardinal Cooke on May 18, 1969.
As the struggle to build a new school occupied Msgr. Fitzgerald in his last six years, there were momentous events that
impacted on the people of St. Mary's: Election of the first Catholic President, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam
War and the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. It would be fascinating to read about the reaction of the parish in the
weekly bulletin, "the Bells of St. Mary." Unfortunately few copies remain in the archives and none of them deal with
these topics. One thing is for sure the parish was no longer "a world unto itself"
When Msgr. Fitzgerald retired, he resided until 1971 in the Convent Mary the Queen on Vark St. (it was built as a
retirement home for Sisters of Charity in 1956). He moved to the Lourdes Residence in Palm Beach Florida, and then to the
Mary Manning Walsh home in Manhattan. He died at the age of 94. His funeral Mass was celebrated in our church on July
7, 1986. He was buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
Msgr. Bernard V. Cunningham was appointed pastor on Nov. 12, 1967. He was born in 1911 and ordained a priest in
1938. He spent over twenty years as chaplain in the U.S. Navy retiring with rank of a Commander. In 1965 he was named
pastor of Our Lady of Loreto Church in Manhattan and Director of the Holy Missions. In November, 1965 he was elevated
to the rank of Domestic Prelate (Rt. Rev. Monsignor). Citing illness he retired from the pastorate of St. Mary's in July,
1968. I could find no further information about him after he left our parish.
History Of Our Church
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