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St.
Rose of Lima Catholic Church |
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 St.
Rose of Lima Catholic Church, located immediately north of
Hickory Corners, has its inception in the settlement in that vicinity of
a few German Catholic families, between 1845 and 1860, who were
principally engaged in mining coal. Among the earliest of these were Martin
Scholl, Nicholas and Peter Rommelfangen, Michael and Matthias
Schumacher, Clemens Dach, Nicholas and John Kahl, Matthew Koch and
Michael Knapp. Rev. Andrew
Skopez is believed to have been the first priest who held
services in the settlement, celebrating mass at the house of Martin
Scholl prior to 1850. He was followed in succession by Revs.
J. Reiser, J. J. Gallagher, Andrew Schweiger and Joseph Gobbels,
resident pastors of the Greenville congregation, who occasionally
visited Sharon and the German settlement at Hickory Corners, and held
services in private houses. The Redemptorist Fathers, of Pittsburgh,
also occasionally visited this settlement between 1850 and 1860. In 1850
Rev. F. J. Hartmann began his visits, and
the following year commenced erecting the present frame church, which he
completed in 1861. He,
however, held services in it in 1860, and the church was dedicated under
the name of St. Rose of Lima. A half acre of land was donated by Clemens
Dach, as a site for church and cemetery, and Father
Skopez afterward purchased of Mr. Dach an additional acre. Soon
after the church was completed Father Hartmann
took up his permanent residence in a part of the building, but
subsequently erected a dwelling-house adjoining the same. He remained
the pastor of St. Rose until August, 1870, and during this period built
up a large and flourishing congregation, but the decline of the coal
business in that locality finally necessitated the removal elsewhere of
a large number of its members. Rev. Andrew
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 Did
your ancestors attend church here? Do you have
more information (church booklets, photos, history) on this
church? Please let
me know.
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List
of the Churches in Hermitage today
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Early
German Catholics in Hickory
Martin
Scholl
Nicholas
& Peter Rommefangen
Michael
& Matthias Schumacher
Clemens
Dach
Nicholas
& John Kahl
Matthew
Koch
Michael
Knapp
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Churches
in Hermitage (Hickory) in the late 1800s
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continued -
Skopez
became pastor in August, 1870, and ministered to St. Rose
congregation until his death in the fall of 1887, being at the time one
of the oldest priests in the diocese. St. Rose was then attended by Father
Clarke, of Sharpsville, until September 1, 1888, when its first
resident pastor, Father Hartmann, again
took charge of the parish, which now [1888] embraces about forty
families.
The
History of Mercer County, 1888, pages 539-540 |
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