ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPA1GN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Brittle Books Project, 2014.COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION In Public Domain. Published prior to 1923. This digital copy was made from the printed version held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was made in compliance with copyright law. Prepared for the Brittle Books Project, Main Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Northern Micrographics Brookhaven Bindery La Crosse, Wisconsin 2014t THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS 1820-1860 & 2Dt00ertattott SUBMITTED TO THE CATHOLIC SISTERS COLLEGE OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OP AMERICA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY SISTER MARY ANGELA FITZMORRIS, A. M. OF THE Sisters of Divine Providence, San Antonio, Texas 0MVERSI7Y OF LiflHMI AUG ■ 9 1023 THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA WASHINGTON, D, C. 1926PRESS OF J. H. FURST CO. BALTO.THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS 1820-1860 & sp&gmation SUBMITTED TO THE CATHOLIC SISTERS COLLEGE OP THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOB THE DEGREE OF DOCTOB OF PHILOSOPHY BY SISTER MARY ANGELA FITZMORRIS, A. M. OF THE Sisters of Divine Providence, San Antonio, Texas '■—"••"Tufiiimr—1 AUG ' 9 192S THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA WASHINGTON, D. C. 1926■5^ ^ F^-f- TO REVEREND MOTHER MARY PHILOTHEA SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE SISTERS OF. DIVINE PROVIDENCE 608668PREFACE. The purpose of this monograph is to show the religious conditions of the Catholic Church in Texas from the opening up of the terri- tory to colonization in 1820 to the beginning of the Civil War. The theme is by no means exhausted. Social history offers certain disadvantages which are hard to overcome. The facts are obscure and the materials frequently inaccessible. The episcopal archives of Monterey which undoubtedly would have thrown light on the earlier years are practically lost to the Church. Apart from this, the study is based on reliable sources: annals, archives, personal collections, records and letters. For assistance in the collection of material for this work the writer wishes to express her appreciation of the courtesies extended to her by Miss Harriet Smithers, archivist of the Texas State Library, and to Mrs. Mattie Austin Hatcher, archivist of the Uni- versity of Texas Library. Special thanks are due to the Reverend Charles L. Souvay, C. M., D. D., of Kenrick Seminary, Webster Grove, Missouri, and to the Reverend John Edward Hickey, Ph. D., of Detroit, Michigan, for the loan of valuable material. To various others, too numerous to mention, not the least among whom are the Superiors of her Congregation, whose interest and suggestions have aided her, she here tenders her gratitude. The author wishes to acknowledge her special obligation to Richard Joseph Purcell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History at the Catholic University of America, under whose scholarly guid- ance this work was made possible. Thanks are also due to the Reverend Patrick William Browne, S. T. D., and the Reverend Edwin Ryan, S. T. D., both of the Catholic University of America, who read the manuscript and who offered helpful suggestions. vCONTENTS. page Preface..............................................................................................iii Chapter I. The Secularization of the Missions......................1 Chapter II. Texas: 1820-1836..................................................10 Chapter III. The Reorganization of the Catholic Church... 36 Chapter IY. The Period of the "Vicariate Apostolic................60 Chapter Y. The Coming of the Religious Communities.... 71 Chapter VL An Era of Trials and Progress............................81 Bibliography......................................................................................101 Index....................................................................................................105 viiFOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS 1820—1860 CHAPTER I The Secularization of the Missions A historical sketch of the Church in Texas during this period, 1820 to 1860, could hardly be considered without some reference to her missions, partly, because they are the basis of future reli- gious growth, partly, and more particularly too, that while in their special function as frontier institutions they had long since become inoperative, nevertheless, the secularization process begun in 1793 when the missions of Texas were quite active, was not completed until 1829. The missionary period of Texas history was fraught with earnest efforts, noble deeds and heroic sacrifices. It rose, flourished and declined a century previous to the establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States. At its decline there was ushered in a new era, more political and economic than religious, whose importance threatened to overshadow and even blot out the ves- tiges of a hundred years of trial and endeavor. The ruthless hand of time, the ravages of war, and the corrosive forces of nature shared in consigning the missions to oblivion. The work of that period was not destined to remain unchroni- eled, for the field was opened anew by the researches of Professor Herbert E. Bolton of the University of California. Traveling over every site of mission activity, penetrating into archives—living storerooms of a forgotten past—evaluating the documents found with the true perspective of a historian, he has done a monumental work. Nor does this non-Catholic writer hesitate to set down his unbiased judgment: '' From the standpoint of the Church the 12 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. principal work of the missionaries was to spread the Faith, first, last and always."1 The missionaries' first task was to disseminate the Faith but it was by no means their only duty. In Spain and her colonial pos- sessions the Church was under surveillance. As an instrument in the hands of the State, she served the State's interests. So, it happened that in Texas the sovereign's peculiar interest in addi- tion to converting the Indian, was to hold in check the expansion of the over-ambitious French. This motive was strong enough to cause the mother country to finance the establishment of mis- sions, which would be a protection to the frontier. In this the mission served its purpose. The primary aim at least of churchmen, instilling the rudiments of Christianity and training to habits of industry and right living, is generally regarded as rather unsuc- cessful. Its failure, though, may be traced to several sources. The climate with its seasons of drought, procrastination and lack of interest on the part of the home authorities, intervals of aban- donment ; infusion of migratory tribes receding before the advance of the American frontier and insufficient military assistance, each in turn had a share in preventing effectual work of Christianizing and civilizing the natives. Viewing the missions in this light, one is more impressed by their actual accomplishment rather than their partial failure. No less than eighteen establishments gave testimony to valiant endeavor. While the Indian as a race has passed away, through intermarriage with white colonists—a system practised by Latin races though rarely by Anglo-Saxons—native blood has been preserved, and presumably the seed of faith sown by the early missionary continues to live. Ordinarily, the mission was to perform its special functions and raise the Indian to the status of citizenship in the short period of ten years. This system prevailed in the Spanish colonies of South America, but could hardly be considered applicable to the oscil- 1 Bolton, Herbert E., Texas m the Middle Eighteenth Century, p. 10.THE SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS. 3 lating system of activity in Texas. Spain, however, in the latter part of the nineteenth century, was in a precarious position as a result of the French foreign policy and impending war. All her re- sources were needed at home. The expense of maintaining unnec- essary garrisons, for each mission had some military protection, was a severe drain on an already impoverished treasury. There- fore she saw fit to suppress her missions in Texas. As early as January 2, 1793 a decree secularizing the mission San Antonio de Valero was published.2 This act may be con- sidered a part of the administrative statute consolidating the two villages—San Fernando, the original settlement of people from the Canary Isles, and the presidio of San Antonio de Bexar. In substance, this law required all mission property to be surrendered into the hands of the civil authorities and a division and appor- tionment of the agricultural lands into the hands of the Indians entitled to receive them. In the process of exchange inventories of the property were presented and signed by the mission admin- istrators and by the representatives of the government. Secular, instead of regular, priests were charged with the spiritual interests of the people. The missionaries under ordinary circumstances were assigned to new fields of activity. In some instances the number of secular clergy was insufficient and the religious remained per- forming functions in the mission chapels under the jurisdiction of diocesan authority. The transfer of the records of San Antonio de Valero was completed by June 1794, but Father Jose Francisco Lopez, the resident Franciscan, continued at the mission until the following year.3 The Indians who still adhered to the establish- ment were removed to missions Concepcion and San Jose, just below the town, and San Antonio de Valero became a quartering place for the troops of the company of San Carlos de Parras. 8 Castefiada, C. E., The 8cm Antonio Archives, p. 189; Yoakum, H., History of Texas, Vol. I, 1843. These two priests as Bishop Odin later found out left Strassburg without an exeat from their bishop. Father Schneider withdrew early in 1844. Father Oje remained in Texas for a year at least. Later his name is listed among the clergy of the diocese of New Orleans. See Metropolitan, Catholic Almanac, 1847-1849. 9 Ibid., April 16, 1844. 10 Odin's Journal, July 29, 1893.THE PERIOD OF THE VICARIATE APOSTOLIC. 63 of the tour was the laying of the cornerstone for a church in Mr. Castro's colony. To the document attesting the deed, Bishop Odin signed—Castroville, September 12, 1844. The name thus coined was unanimously adopted by the colonists.11 Absent five months, Bishop Odin returned to Galveston early in December. He found that both priests had been attacked by yellow fever and that Father Paquin had succumbed to its rav- ages.12 Aside from this loss the church had progressed. Almost all western Texas had been visited and the general results were gratifying. There had been a few baptisms and sixty confirma- tions. Confessions numbered 2774 and communions 2507, or twice as many as in 1843. The missionaries, Fathers Calvo, Estany and Clark, were untiring in their efforts and their people responded generously.13 Bishop Odin in order to meet the growing demand for priests turned to his native land to solicit help, as the bishops of the United States had found necessary. Doubtless there lingered in his mind the thrill that had been awakened in his heart years be- fore when listening to Bishop Dubourg plead for the Louisiana missions. Confiding the care of eastern Texas to the Reverend John Brands, C. M., the bishop left Galveston February 26, 1845, stopping at New Orleans, Mobile, Montgomery, Augusta, Charles- ton, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. Before sailing he learned that his vicariate had undergone a political change and that he was now a prelate of the United States. Land- ing in London after a three weeks' voyage he hastened to May- nooth College, Ireland, to make his first appeal for the Texan Missions.14 11 A. J. Sowell, Early Settlers and Indian Fighters, p. 136; Souvay Collec- tion, Letter of December 11, 1844. 19 Souway Collection, Bishop Odin to Father Rousselon, September 22, 1844, to Father Timon, December 11, 1844. 18 Ibid., Letter of December 11, 1844; Metropolitan Catholic Almanac, 1845, p. 179; Eistory of the Diocese of Galveston, p. 87. 14 Odin's Journal, July 6, 1893.64 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. From the British Isles he went to France to visit his own home and to seek that ever ready charity for American missions. In the Grand Seminary of Lyons he told a story of a missionary's life. Similar stories had often been heard within the hallowed precincts but the apostolic simplicity of the bishop deeply im- pressed all his hearers. Six deacons or clerics volunteered to accompany him. To these in particular the prelate explained: "You will not always have wherewith to satisfy the calls of hun- ger and thirst. Your journeyings will be incessant, through a country as yet but little known, and boundless in extent. You will pass nights on the damp earth, and entire days exposed to a burn- ing sun. Perils of every kind you will encounter, which will try your courage and energy at every step." 15 There were two priests found to undertake the hazardous journey. Both were to labor long and fruitfully in Texas; one, Abbe Claude Marie Dubuis was to become the successor of Bishop Odin in the see of Galveston.16 There was still another source of supply to which the prelate could turn before leaving Lyons. Since its foundation in 1822 the So- ciety of the Propagation of the Faith had been assisting in mis- sionary work all over the world. The previous year the Texas missions had received 20,000 francs. So it was with a feeling of assurance that he again begged alms. The appeal was not in vain. The society agreed to pay the passage of all the missionaries whom the bishop would conduct to America. For many years to come the poverty of his missions was relieved by its benefactions.17 From France Bishop Odin went to Rome where he had several audiences with Gregory XVI and visited Cardinal Fransoni, Pre- fect of the Propaganda, who appeared especially interested in his spiritual work.18 He then proceeded to Austria. There had been 15 Abb4 Damenech, Missionary Adventures in Texas a/ad Mexico, p. 2. 19 The other was Reverend James Giraudon. 17 Souvay Collection, " iSketch of Giovanni Maria Odin"; Metropolitan Catholic Almanac, 1848, p. 282; 1859, p. 257; 1860, p. 326; Hickey Tran- scripts, 1852-1861. 18 Vie de Odin, pp. 141-142; Odin's Journal, July 6, 1893.THE PERIOD OF THE VICARIATE APOSTOLIC. 65 a steady immigration of Germans to Texas since 1843, so with the hope of encouraging worthy religious recruits from that country and likewise of securing aid from the Leopoldine Society he made an appeal in Vienna. The Leopoldine Society, unlike the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, had been founded principally for the relief of churches in the United States. The largest contributions of this organization had been made to German congregations in the Middle West. Cincinnati had been especially favored, probably because a priest of the Cincinnati diocese had suggested the society's form- ation. Bishop Odin had written during the previous year to the authorities of this society,19 but his personal appeal was more ef- fective. He was assured that in the annual distribution of funds he would be remembered. While sojourning in Vienna he also appealed to the Benedictines to accept the care of new settlements forming in his province. No definite help was promised but he left Austria with the hope that his request would be answered. In Havre on March 20, 1846, he gathered about him his little band of missionaries, now increased to fifteen. Imparting to them his blessing he dispatched them to America. Retracing his steps he went to England and thence to Ireland where he visited semi- naries in search of missionary vocations. Here his success sur- passed expectations. "Four,'7 he wrote, ''will embark after Easter and others will follow.'' Equally encouraging was his trip to Belgium where he was not only furnished with 500,000 bricks but also their free freight to Galveston,20 for the construction of a larger church. After an absence of a year, Bishop Odin arrived in New York April 11, 1846, on the eve of the Sixth Provincial Council of Balti- more. The council placed the new state of Texas on a suggested list of new sees 21 for the sanction of the Sovereign Pontiff. The 19 Berichte der Leopoldinen &itiftung im Kaiserthume Oesterreich, Sept. 19, 1844, Report XIX, Nos. 2, 3. 20 Odin's Journal, p. 2; Vie de Marie Odin, pp. 143 ff. 21Metropolitan Cath. Almanac, 1848, p. 118.66 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. annexation of Texas caused a breach between Mexico and the United States; consequently it was to a country threatened with war that Bishop Odin returned. Fortunately, the burden of caring for Catholic troops was not imposed upon the few priests in Texas. To the credit of Secretary of State James Buchanan, Catholic soldiers were given an opportunity of practising their religion, for ecclesiastical authorities had been applied to for Catholic chap- lains. The selection was made from the Society of Jesus: Rever- end Anthony Rey of Georgetown University, and Reverend John McElroy of Frederick, Maryland, accompanied General Taylor's army to the Mexican frontier.22 While stationed at Brownsville, Texas, they aided local priests, administering the sacraments and blessing a few marriages. War necessarily retarded but did not check immigration, and ships from Antwerp and Bremen frequently had numbers of pro- spective settlers. Texas developed rapidly. In 1844 there was not a house west or east of San Antonio. In the fall of that year Castroville was founded and in two years had a population of about seven hundred inhabitants, mostly Catholics. About nine miles away the village of Quihi had fifty-five Catholic families. New Braunsfels situated about thirty-five miles north of San An- tonio had twelve hundred inhabitants, about one-third Catholics. Fredericksburg, another German settlement, numbered six hun- dred inhabitants.23 On the banks of the Red River a hundred Catholic families had located. There had been likewise a decided Catholic increase at Cummings Creek, Houston and Galveston. These were the figures given by Bishop Odin to the Leopoldine 22 Shea, Vol. IV, pp. 31-32, 288-289. The Catholic soldiers were estimated at eleven hundred. Father Key received a place in the staff of General Taylor, from whose acquaintance he enjoyed a high degree of esteem and confidence. He met his death in the vicinity of Monterey. Father McElroy was detailed for hospital work at Matamoras.—United States Catholio Magazine, v, p. 343; vi, pp. 549-551, 281-282. 28 New Braunsfels and Fredericksburg were settlements begun under Prince Solms.THE PERIOD OF THE VICARIATE APOSTOLIC. 67 Society, 1846. Though he had seventeen priests, there were but two of German extraction whereas eight were needed. The Leo- poldine Society had contributed about fourteen hundred dollars in our money.24 Even this small amount helped defray the ex- penses of six students in the seminary at St. Louis, Missouri. The "Catholic Almanac'' for 1846 noted that ten churches and chapels had been erected, four were in process of construction, and two schools had been established, one at Browns Settlement, Lavaca county, conducted by Reverend Edward Clark, another in Brazoria under Reverend James Miller.25 Eight Ursulines of New Orleans had volunteered to open a school in Galveston, for which the property had been secured. This band under the direction of Mother St. Arsene arrived in Galveston in January 1847.26 They came in turbulent and impoverished times. Although sustained by the mother community, they endured the hardships of pioneer life. Within a year fifty students had been enrolled, fully three- fourths non-Catholics. Future religious communities of women coming to Texas have found hospitality with the Ursulines. In 1847 Pope Pius IX in response to the petition of the Pro- vincial Council of Baltimore erected Texas into a bishopric. On March 14, Bishop Odin laid the cornerstone of the new cathedral, Very Reverend John Timon delivering the sermon from a text taken from St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. The other clergy- men present were the Reverend Bartholomew Rollando, C. M., Matthew Chazelle, Ludwig Claude Mary Chambodout and Antony Mary Charrion.27 The five priests who arrived in the diocese at the beginning of the year received the following appointments. Fathers Chambodut 34 Berichte der Leopoldinen Btiftwng im Kaiserthume Oesterreich, Dec. 28, 1846. Report XX, No. 19. 35 Metropolitan Cath. Almcmac, 1847, pp. 190-191. 30 Shea, Vol. iv, p. 289; Diamond Jubilee of the TJrsulme Academy, pp. 3-4; Berichte der Leopoldinen Stiftung im Kaiserthume Oesterreich, Dec. 5, 1847; Metrop. Cath. Almanac, 1848, p. 119. 37 Democratic Telegraph and Texas Register, Mar. 29, 1847, quoting Galves- ton News, History of the Diooese of Galveston, p. 102.68 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. and Charrion were assigned to Nacogdoches and the Sabine river district, which had not known a resident priest since 1834. So successful were their labors that before the close of the year they were able to report a Catholic population of more than eighty families and a church in the process of construction.28 Father James Giraudon became the co-laborer of Father Edward Clark at Browns Settlement. To Reverend Claude Marie Dubuis was entrusted the mission of Castroville. Claude Marie Dubuis deserves a special place in Texas history. Physical characteristics as well as sterling qualities of mind and heart fitted him for the life of a missionary. In zeal and assiduous labors he was second to none of the many priests who strove to build up the Church in Texas. There was nothing attractive about the district to which he was assigned; even the barest necessities of life were lacking. Nevertheless from the first day in the com- munity, he became a vital force in its temporal and spiritual life. The church, though completed only a few months, could accommo- date only half the congregation. With his own hands he built the little stone structure which still stands as a monument to his zeal. Shortly he welcomed as an assistant the Reverend Matthew Cha- zelle. It was an unhealthful season and both priests were seized with typhoid fever, Father Chazelle dying. Their dire circum- stances are pitifully described in Father Dubuis' letter to Doctor Deschavannes of Fontaines. The Annals of the Propagation of the Faith relate how the poor missionary died, deprived of the necessities of life—without even a bed—and was buried in the wilds of Texas. Only a few brief years were his remains shadowed by the huge cross erected by his confrere, before they were trans- ferred to a crypt under the altar of the church.29 Before the close of the year death snatched another zealous 28 United States Catholic Magazme, vi, pp. 165-166. 29 Annals, Vol. x, pp. 124ff., London series; Abb£ J. P. Vie de Monseigneur Dubuis, pp. 75-84; Memoirs of Fifty Tears, by the Sisters of Divine Provi- dence, pp. 7-8.THE PERIOD OF THE VICARIATE APOSTOLIC. 69 worker, Reverend Bartholomew Rollando, C. M., worn by fourteen years as a missionary. A marble slab in Saint Mary's Cathedral, Galveston, commemorates his death. During the year 1847 the Society for the Propagation of the Faith allotted to Texas 25,600 francs; and the Leopoldine Society gave £310 or $1474. A large portion of the money was used to pay the current expenses of the missionaries. The entire income of the missions was about a thousand florins.30 Frequently throughout Bishop Odin's correspondence we meet with comments on the favorable disposition of Protestants towards "our religion." Occasionally the contrary attitude was to be found. Such examples were furnished in 1848. Certain lands in Victoria claimed as church property were seized by the Presbyterians, and the court in the case of William C. Blair, appellant, vs. John M. Odin, Catholic Bishop of Texas, appellee, decided against the latter. The counsel for appellee centered his argument on the colonization law of 1825 which provided that in the four square leagues designated for each town "the block front- ing the principal square on the east side shall be destined for a church, curate's dwelling, and other ecclesiastical edifices"; and on the legislative act of the Republic of Texas which restored to the Chief Pastor of the Roman Catholic Church in Texas all the churches "with outbuildings and lots," which the Church had held previous to the political separation from Mexico. The deci- sion of the case rested on the technicality that the church edifice was never on the lot in controversy.81 In the municipality of Goliad the Church likewise sustained a loss of property. The bishop, however, settled the dispute without court proceedings by purchasing the property for a thousand dollars. Aside from these difficulties the Church grew apace. Bishop Odin on his visit to San Antonio in September 1848 conferred 80 Berichte der Leopoldinen Stiftimg im Kaiserthuone Oesterreich, Dec. 5, 1847; Souvay Collection, "Sketch of Giovanni Maria Odin"; Metro. Catholic Almanac, 1848, p. 119. 81 Texas Supreme Court Reports, Vol. m, pp. 288-304.70 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. Holy Orders for the first time in Texas. The newly ordained Father Domenech was assigned to Castroville where Father Dubuis with his assistance was able to open a school and to extend his labors to the settlements of New Braunsfels, Fredericksburg and to the Irish soldiers of the garrison at D 'Hanis. Four churches were completed and others were building. On November 28 St. Mary's Cathedral was completed. The occasion was a momentous one for the Catholics of Texas. Archbishop Blanc of New Orleans, long interested in Texas, came to assist in consecrating to divine service Texas' first cathedral. The former prefect-apostolic, ele- vated to the bishopric of Buffalo, showed his attachment to Texas and to his old friend Bishop Odin, by making the long journey to Galveston. Ten priests were in attendance and a great con- course of people assembled to witness the impressive ceremony. The consecration was followed by solemn Pontifical Mass, cele- brated by the Archbishop. Bishop Timon was the orator of the day. Truly it was a memorable day. Galveston has been visited by many storms but St. Mary's Cathedral has weathered them all and stands as a monument after seventy-five years bearing testi- mony to the enduring labors of pioneer priests and laymen.82 82 History of the Diocese of Galveston, p. 103; Shea, Vol. iv, pp. 290-291.CHAPTER Y The Coming of Religious Communities Bishop Odin attended the Seventh Provincial Council in 1849, making use of the opportunity as on previous occasions to visit the large Eastern cities to obtain both material assistance and priests for his poor diocese. He had the good fortune to meet at the house of the Sulpicians of Quebec a religious who had been commissioned by his superiors to seek a mission in the United States. The prelate looked upon this incident as a special dis- pensation and availed himself of the opportunity of obtaining priests. The mission of Brownsville was accepted by the priest, Father Telmon, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, in the name of his superior, Msgr. de Mazenod, Bishop of Marseilles. Later in 1849, Father Telmon with two priests of his congregation arrived in Texas. Two of them, Fathers Telmon and Soulerin, were imme- diately assigned by Bishop Odin to locations on the Mexican fron- tier while Father Gaudet remained in Galveston. Brownsville had grown up during the Mexican War around the little American fort on the left bank of the Rio Grande, which on the death of Major Jacob Brown was known by his name. A heterogeneous group of Englishmen, Frenchmen, Americans, Mex- icans, Italians, and Germans of the vicinity called the site Browns- ville.2 At the solicitation of this village, Bishop Odin had sought missionaries and fortunately secured the Oblate Fathers. The motives of the townsmen appear to have been rather selfish.8 The 1 Vie de Odin, p. 149. The Oblates of Mary Imaculate were founded in 1816 by a young French priest, Charles Eugene de Mazenod, afterwards Bishop of Marseilles. Even during the lifetime of the founder the congregation spread widely. Ortolan, K. P. Th., O. M. I., Cent cms d'Apostolat dwns les deux Hemispheres. Les Oblats de Marie ImmacuUe durant le Premier si&cle de leur existence. 2 vols. 2 Brown, op. cit., p. 319. 8 Missions de la Congregation des Missionai/res Oblats de Ma/rie ImmaculSe, 7172 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. first Mass, December 8, 1849, was well attended as many had come through curiosity. The sermon, which treated of the extraordi- nary prerogatives of the Mother of God, was a subject so foreign to most of that crowd that thereafter their attendance was poor. A few Mexicans came to Mass but religion among them was mori- bund. Four times in four months had the Fathers been compelled to change their habitation, and thrice the wretched quarters alloted for a chapel. Lieutenant Julius P. Garesche of the American army was their only friend. At last they succeeded in building a small chapel. Their finances were exhausted and their labors seemed fruitless, so when their Superior General became aware of conditions he withdrew them. Father Soulerin returned to Canada and Father Telmon went to France.4 The diocese again suffered the loss of two young clergymen, a desperate loss in a field so extensive and so destitute. Rev- erend James Fitzgerald, one of the volunteers from Ireland, or- dained at the express wish of Bishop Odin, labored two years in Houston. He was later pastor of Victoria, doing valiant service when death called him, July 28, 1849. In less than two months Reverend Anthony Charrion died at twenty-seven years of age. He had served but two years in Nacogdoches and the surrounding territory. The following year Reverend Father Jacobs succumbed of cholera at Indianola.5 On his visitation of the diocese in 1850, Bishop Odin spent seven months in constant travel. On account of the large Mexican popu- lation along the Rio Grande he remained several days in each settlement. He was convinced that the Catholic faith could not survive long unless additional priests were obtained; accordingly Letter of R. P. Soulerin to P. Gaudet, dated March 20, 1850. Vol. Ill, pp. 64-65. * Ibid., Extract of a letter of R. P. Telmon to P. Gaudet, dated April 3, 1850; Robert Cooke, O. M. I., Sketches of the Life of Mgr. de Mazenod, Vol. II, pp. 4-6. 5 Metropolitan Catholic Almanac, 1850, p. 218; Shea, Vol. IV, p. 292; Odin's Journal, July 13, 1893.THE COMING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. 73 he set out for Europe the next year in search of more volunteers. He was especially hopeful in interesting religious communities, for then the missionary supply would be constantly replenished.® Bishop Odin had never resigned himself to the withdrawal of the Oblates; consequently while in France, he laid before the Bishop of Marseilles, Charles Mazenod, Superior General of the Order, the spiritual needs of his vast diocese. Fully appreciating Bishop Odin's motives and touched by the sentiments of esteem that the Texan prelate held for the Oblates, Bishop Mazenod made arrangements to establish two houses in Texas, one at Galveston and another in Brownsville. The Fathers were likewise charged with a college and seminary to be established as soon as possible. Bishop Odin agreed to donate the land for their respective estab- lishments and to find the travelling expenses of six priests and two lay brothers from Marseilles to Texas.7 When Bishop Odin had visited Europe in 1845 the idea of establishing a college in San Antonio had been suggested to him. He was more interested because he had four acres of land around the Alamo for a site and the advantages of a school for Mexicans were apparent. Then too, the American and German population was increasing. His chief difficulty would be in procuring a fac- ulty. Abandoned for a time, the project was never lost sight of. Therefore in 1852, on his "ad limina" visit to Rome, he stopped at Bordeaux to solicit assistance from the teaching Brothers of Mary. They were not ready to undertake the task, yet Bishop Odin, schooled in perseverance and reverses, was not lightly turned aside. Returning from Rome, he again renewed his request so earnestly that the superior introduced him to the council, where pathetically and eloquently he presented his cause, moving that body to grant 6 Shea, Vol. IV, p. 290; Odin's Journal. 7 Archives of Oblate Fathers, San Antonio, Texas. Arrangements arr£t6s entre Monseigneur Charles Joseph Eugene de M^azenod £v£que de Marseilles et Superieur General de la Congregation des Oblates de Marie Immaculee d'une part, et Monseigneur Jean Marie Odin, £v£que de Galveston, Etat de. Texas dans l'Amerique de Nord, d'autre part. 674 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. his petition. Four brothers were promised, three from France and the other from the college of the Brothers of Mary in Dayton, Ohio.8 Another plan which was frustrated on his former visit met suc- cess on this occasion. He had applied for Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, but the superiors did not feel that they could spare the necessary nuns at the time. In his disappointment he had asked Father Timon if it " would not be preferable to obtain the Sisters of (Nazareth) Kentucky?"9 On this visit to France, he determined to seek aid from some cloistered community, even- tually turning to the religious of the Incarnate Word and the Blessed Sacrament at Lyons. In answer four Sisters volunteered for the distant missions. As the Ursuline community in San An- tonio had met with such generous patronage that the number of nuns was insufficient, he asked for more nuns for this community. A nun of Brignole, France, and two from Waterford in Ireland, offered to join the Texan community for five years.10 French religious had ever been generous in entering foreign missions, but Bishop Odin also sought aid in Germany. In 1845 his application for Benedictines to care for the numerous German Catholics in Texas had failed, so that this time he asked for the sons of St. Francis in the Monastery of Oggersheim in Bavaria from whom he received a willing response. Four Conventual Fran- ciscans accepted the call. In his desire for religious, Bishop Odin had not lessened his efforts to procure more secular priests. He visited seminaries in Italy, France, Germany and Ireland, and his zeal was requited by the enlistment of eighteen young clerics. In March 1852, the band of heroic souls—six Oblate Fathers and one lay brother, four nuns .of the Incarnate Word and the Blessed Sacrament, three Ursulines, 8 Souvay Collection, Bishop Odin to Father Timon, Aug. 8, 1845; Brother John E. Garvin, S. M., The Centenary of the Society of Mary, p. 190. 9 Souvay Collection, Letter of Aug. 1, 1845. 10 Parisot, Reminiscences, p. 5; Parisot and Smith, History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of San Antonio, p. 119.THE COMING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. 75 three Brothers of Mary, and eighteen seminarians—departed from Havre, France.11 Bishop Odin gave the little party his farewell blessing, being compelled to remain longer in Europe. After a wearisome journey of over fifty days, the missionaries landed at New Orleans.12 The seminarians were sent to the Bar- rens, Missouri, to complete their theological studies and await the bishop's call to pastoral duties. The nuns proceeded to Galveston, where they were welcomed by the Ursulines, and the priests were received at the episcopal residence, a frame building of seven or eight rooms, which mirrored the poverty of the dibcese. The Brothers of Mary after a short sojourn in Galveston, proceeded to San Antonio, where they were hospitably received by Miguel Calvo, C.M., pastor of San Fernando Church. Bishop Odin returned in time for the first Plenary Council of Baltimore which opened its sessions May 6, 1852. With the in- crease of priests in his diocese, Bishop Odin lost his faithful pioneer Fathers of the Congregation of the Missions, who withdrew from every field as soon as the diocese was able to provide itself with other clergymen, reserving for themselves the unbroken grounds of new missionary areas. The mission of Brownsville in the eighteen months since the retirement of the Oblate Fathers had witnessed an increase in its American and Mexican population. After the treaty of Guada- lupe Hidalgo the Mexicans had returned in such numbers to Texas that Bishop Odin in his visitation tour had to spend three months along the Eio Grande ministering to the wants of the people. A small chapel was enlarged to meet the immediate needs, and a convent for the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and the Blessed Sacrament was commenced. So extensive was the field that the good missionaries learned the truth of all hardships of which Bishop Odin had spoken. Ceaseless were the journeyings up and down the Rio Grande through the cold and heat, frequently with 11 Parisot, Reminiscences, p. 5. lf Ibid., p. 6; Parisot-Smith, op. tit., p. 133.76 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. only the 44moist earth'7 as a bed. The people were on scattered farms and ranches quite inaccessible. Outside of Brownsville the religious received no remuneration. Their success depended in no small measure on the beneficence of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which contributed to the current expenses of the missions for more than a decade.13 The Oblates assigned to Gal- veston were entrusted with the parish and missionary work. Early in 1853 Reverend P. F. Parisot was sent to visit eastern Texas which because of the shortage of priests had been rather neglected. There Father Parisot found Catholics who had not seen a priest in twenty years, and communities in which there was not a single Catholic. The matter of erecting a college was immediately con- sidered ; though the bishop had struggled, his resources, even with the aid of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, were so inadequate that he thought seriously of giving up the work until better times. At the suggestion of Father Parisot, however, the bishop allowed him to take up a subscription from the wealthy planters of Louisiana, to which Archbishop Blanc readily con- sented. This energetic collector met with such a gratifying re- sponse that the college of the Immaculate Conception was ready for classes in November, 1854. At first the number of students was limited to forty, but before the close of the year the enrollment increased to eighty-three. For three years Fathers Vignolles and Parisot taught successfully in the college, when rearrangements between the superior general and Bishop Odin caused their with- drawal for missionary posts, leaving the college without a faculty.14 Meanwhile the Brothers of Mary established themselves in San 13 Even in our own day the Oblate missionary traverses that vast territory along the Rio Grande on horseback. Hickey Transcripts, April 15, 1852; Apr. 15, 1853; May 1, 1854; Apr. 16, 1855; Apr. 14, 1856; Apr. 24, 1857; May 1, 1858; May 7, 1859; Mar. 27, 1860; Apr. 10, 1861; Apr. 10, 1861. The allocation of the missionaries from the Society extend beyond this date. 14 Parisot, Reminiscences, p. 18; Ibid., p. 37; Hickey Transcripts, Extract from a letter of the Oblatea to the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, May 1, 1858.THE COMING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. 77 Antonio. Brother Edel of Dayton had been chosen as the superior of the new foundation, because of his acquaintance with American life and methods. With the assistance and advice of Mr. Twohig, a Catholic banker of San Antonio, Brother Edel purchased a favor- ably situated piece of land on the bank of the San Antonio River. There a building of four rooms was erected. At first sight the task appeared singularly unpromising, and if their labors had been confined to the Mexican population it would have been, but San Antonio was growing rapidly. Castro's Alsatian colonists learn- ing that the brothers were from France immediately patronized the establishment, so that for many years St. Mary's was known as the "French School" and the brothers were always addressed as "Monsieur." 15 In Ohio the German element predominated in the community; whereas, through force of circumstances, the French did in Texas. The enrollment increased to a hundred; and additional teachers were needed. Two more brothers arrived from France, a boarding school was added and Bishop Odin's hopes were being fulfilled. The "San Antonio Ledger" observing the good accomplished by the schools gave editorial expression to its satisfaction: "We had the pleasure of visiting during the past week, accompanied by Rev. Mr. Dubois (Dubuis), the Academy for young Ladies in this city under the direction of the Ursulines. We must confess that we were surprised to find so large and admirably conducted a school in our midst. The number of pupils at present is about eighty, and the course of study pursued in the institution is as extensive and thorough as that of any like school in the country of which we have any knowledge. " The buildings are large, airy and beauifully located on the banks of the San Antonio River. To our own citizens we usually say there can no longer be an excuse for sending your daughters from home for an educa- tion; and to those abroad, desiring to avail themselves of the advantages of a good English and Classical School, we can say that we know no better institution than that of the Ursulines in this city. " The large building erected on the banks of the San Antonio River, below the Female Academy, by the Catholics for a Male Academy, is now 15 Garvin, op. citt., pp. 191-192.78 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. nearly ready for occupancy, and the course of instruction to be pursued will embrace every branch of academic study. " The Catholics certainly deserve great praise for their efforts in the cause of education, not only in San Antonio, but in the State at large." 16 The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacra- ment, after a prolonged stay in Galveston with the Ursulines pro- ceeded to Brownsville where they were provided with a temporary dwelling by the Oblate Fathers until the completion of their con- vent; they found employment teaching a few girls from the town and from Matamoras, Mexico. Once the school was put into opera- tion it met with generous cooperation on the part of the inhabi- tants. The progress of the institution under the wise direction of Mother St. Claire was noticeable and the current newspapers were kind in their announcements: 44The Roman Catholic Convent, which has for some time past opened here for the reception of young ladies is a decided acquisition to this place, and an honor to its founder and managers.''17 The band of Conventual Franciscans from their motherhouse of Oggersheim in the Palatinate arrived in Texas April 8, 1852 18 consisting of Fathers Bonaventure Keller, superior, Leopold Bona- venture M. Moczygemba, Dominic Mesens and Antony Miiller. They confined their attention to the several German communities, some of which were given them "in perpetuum." Father Mesens was entrusted with Castroville where Father Dubuis had nourished the seed of faith transplanted from Europe. Second to Castroville in time and population were the thriving towns of Fredericksburg and New Braunsfels. Previous to 1850 these communities had been 16 March 17, 1853; see Garvin, op. tit., pp. Ill, 155, 157. 17 Texas State Gazette, April 22, 1854. 18 Hammer, P. Bonaventura, Die Franciscaner in den Vereinigten Staaten Nordamericas. Hammer gives 1855 as the dates for the entrance of this branch of the Franciscans into the United States, without mentioning their missions in Texas. See Metropolitan Almanac, 1853, p. 136; Parisot-Smith, op. cit., p. 109; and Letters of Menzel to the Archbishop ofi Wein, July 5, and Dec. 5, 1850 in Berichte der Leopoldinen Stiftung im Kaiserthume Oester- reich, No. 23, pp. 78-87.THE COMING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. 79 visited occasionally by Father Dubuis, and then for a year they had known the untiring zeal of Father Gottfried Menzel, a Bohemian priest, who used his influence to interest the Leopoldine Society in Texan missions. After his withdrawal the burden fell again on Father Dubuis until 1852 when it was assigned to Keverend Antony Miiller, 0. M. C. In 1856 Father Miiller was transferred to D'Hanis from which place he attended the several neighboring stations. In 1853 Eeverend John Dornseiffer joined the other Fathers in Texas and assisted Father Keller with the German Catholics in Galveston and the adjacent settlements. Ill-health soon obliged Father Keller to withdraw from Texas and he found service in Brooklyn, New York. There was considerable Polish immigration to the United States in the fifties. Of these immigrants some were attracted to the Southwest and Polish villages appeared in Texas. Very Reverend Leopold Moczygemba, superior since the departure of Reverend Bonaventure Keller, was authorized by Bishop Odin to care for the new arrivals. In order to meet these additional spiritual wants the Conventual Franciscans increased the number of their missioners. Father Antony Rossadowski ministered to the churches of Panna Maria, St. Hedwig and to scattered settle- ments; Father Alphonsus Zoeller was assigned to Fredericksburg where he also had the care of a school; and Father Moczygemba made San Antonio his headquarters where in addition to assisting at San Fernando's Church he endeavored to make improvements at San Jose mission with a view to opening a college.19 Bishop Odin on his visitation in 1852 remained two months in San Antonio20 when he became convinced that another church must be built to care for the American and French-German ele- 19 Metropolitan Oath. Almanac, 1857, pp. 249-250. See Registry books of San Fernando Church, San Antonio, Texas, 1854-1859; Hellmann, Othmaro, Album Fratrum Mmorurn 8. Frandsci Conventualium in Statibus Foederatis Americae, pp. 86-87. 20 The registry books of San Fernando show that the Bishop was per- forming the duties of pastor from September 5 to November 10.80 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. merits. So well pleased was he with the choice of a location made by the Brothers of Mary that he purchased an adjoining lot for a church. Meagre resources prevented any improvement on the grounds until 1855. The number of churches in the diocese had increased to twenty-six and others were in the process of construc- tion. Twenty-five priests were zealously laboring in the various towns where chapels were situated and in addition to his own little settled parish each priest cared for several missionary stations.CHAPTER VI An Era of Trials and Progress The year 1853 brought a dread epidemic scourge to the diocese of Texas. The tidewater region of the Gulf States and of the Mississippi Valley annually witnessed a visitation of the fatal dis- ease, and science had as yet found no means of checking it. On this occasion the death toll for Galveston alone was over three hundred in a population of only six thousand. Among the vic- tims were five priests and a subdeacon, who refused to heed the advice of doctors to withdraw to the interior of the state. A com- munication from Bishop Odin in western Texas that those not absolutely needed should leave, was never received. At any rate, the fathers remained, rather than desert their flock in the hour of need, and paid the penalty of their service with death. Buried in the plot of ground fronting St. Mary's Cathedral, a monument erected to the memory of the Reverends J. C. Melton, J. Baudrand, 0.M.I., J. P. Bayard, G. Metz, J. Dixon, D. O'Driscoll, and E. Hug, shadows their last resting place. The Reverend Joshua Dixon, whose name is on the marble shaft beside his confreres, died of consumption. One of the yellow fever victims, Father Baudrand, 0. M. I., assisted at the obsequies of Father Dixon on September 4, 1853. Two Oblate Fathers and Vicar General L. C. M. Chambodut, alone of the priests of Galveston escaped death.1 The mode of travel in Texas in 1852 had not advanced beyond the lumbering stage-coach. As early as 1846 plans were formu- lated for the introduction of railroads, with many warm advocates.2 1 History of the Diocese of Galveston, p. 88; Parisot, op. tit., p. 8; Shea, Vol. iv, p. 690. Father Baudrand, 0. M. I. died Oct. 1, 1853—Missions de la Congregation des Missionaires Oblats de Mcurie Immaculee for 1854. 2 Brown, History of Texas, 1685-1892, p. 354; The Quarterly, Vol. 5, pp. 350 fif.; History of the Diocese of Galveston, quoting Galveston News, August 5, 1872. 8182 FOUR DECADES OF CATHOLICISM IN TEXAS, 1820-1860. Several years, however, elapsed before definite steps were taken, when the persistent and persevering efforts of General Sidney- Sherman brought to consummation the first plans. Sidney Sher- man, a native of Marlborough, Massachusetts, came to Texas by way of Newport, Kentucky. In 1835, when Texas called for volun- teers, the General in command of a volunteer corps under com- mission of Kentucky found it easy to raise troops for Texas. And this he did. Before the battle of San Jacinto he was spoken of as a possible substitute for General Houston. In the battle en- trusted with the extreme left wing, he was the first to strike the enemy. To his soldierly ability no small credit for victory was due. Leaving in 1837, he returned the following year with his family to make Texas his permanent home. He was elected representative from Harris county in 1842. About 1846 he conceived the re- building of Harrisburg which had been destroyed by Mexican troops in 1836. To this end he purchased large interests in the former site and four thousand acres of adjoining land. Returning to Massachusetts, he endeavored to interest Boston capitalists in a railroad from Harrisburg westward. With much difficulty, because few were willing to invest in a practically unknown coun- try, he succeeded in forming a company. With unabated persever- ance all obstacles were surmounted, and in 1853 a few miles of the pioneer road were built. The next ten years saw its slow extension. Naturally railroad facilities aided the missionary work of the priests and the railroad laborers under the Catholic builder were largely immigrant Catholics. Hence the numbet of Irish and German communicants increased, especially in the resultant rail- road towns. In the early years of Texas there was little party life.8 The question of annexation presented an issue which divided men into anti-Americans and Annexationists. The faction opposed to Amer- 8 Wooten, jHistory of Texas, Vol. II, pp. 36-37; Winkler, E., Platforms of Political Parties in Texas, pp. 37 ff.; F. W. Johnson, History of Texas and Texans, pp. 521-523.AN ERA OF TRIALS AND PROGRESS. 83 ican union was known as the Whig party, the other as the Demo- cratic. Nevertheless, for nearly a decade once the annexation issue was closed, the party lines were not drawn. In 1852 the Demo- crats met in Austin in their first state convention and announced a definite program based on the national platform of 1848. Dele- gates were appointed to the national convention* and General Sam Houston was proposed as a favorite son candidate for the presi- dency. The Whigs followed with a program in the Eastern and Western congressional district. A new element, however, brought party alignment among Demo- crats.4 This was the secret political organization introduced into the State of Texas, late in the year 1854, known as the Know Nothing or American party. The political tenets of this party were, principally, opposition to foreigners and opposition to Ro- man Catholics. Before any danger from the party had been appre- hended it had carried the elections in various parts of the State, particularly in San Antonio, a Catholic centre. From the news- papers one gains a fair view of how the battle raged. Sixty-one current journals in Texas were divided as follows: thirty-two Democratic, twelve Know Nothing, twelve Independent, four reli- gious, one literary. The outstanding newspapers were the 4' Texas State Times," chief organ of the Know Nothings, and the 44Texas State Gazette'9 of the Democratic party. The German defense was taken care of by the "San Antonio Zeitung" and the "New Braunsfeller Zeitung." The foremost men of the State were to be found in either party. Anson Jones, Ashbel Smith, John Reagan, Francis Lubbock, and others stood opposed to General Sam Houston the leader of the Know Nothings, doing valiant work for toleration and fairness. Houston's adhesion to this party was due, as he himself declared in the United States Senate, to the fact that the Democratic party advocated the principles of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, to which he *The Texas State Times (Austin), January 6, 1855; The Texas Alm