Catholic Parishes in PEI (c. 1885) by Rev. Alfred E. Burke
Please see the Contents page for information on this and other historical sketches of PEI Roman Catholic parishes, as compiled by Father Alfred Burke circa 1885.
The Mission of St. Joseph, DeSable
This mission although known more generally by the name of DeSable or of Kelly's Cross, was called by its early settlers (Truagh) in memory of their beloved home amid the green hills of Monaghan in the goodly diocese of Cloghers. Township twenty nine in which St. Joseph's Church is situated, was, at the time of the opening of the parish, the property of viscount Melville.
Upon that portion of the estate which extends along the shore between Sable River and Crapaud, the families of Timothy Burns, Thomas Murphy and Cornelius Harrington dwelt full sixty years ago, but the first Catholic settler in Kelly's Cross was John Creamer from County Longford who emigrated in 1839. He was a successful farmer and soon after his arrival built himself a commodius house, so that when four years later a number of emigrants arrived in the district Mr. Creamer was able to accomodate them, and sheltered them beneath his hospitable roof until such times as their own dwellings were habitable. To him Lord Melvilles agent entrusted the work of laying off and portioning the farms taken up by these new settlers. These farms comprised one hundred acres of land and were granted for three years at three pence an acre, three at six pence, three at nine pence and nine hundred and ninety nine years at a shilling per acre. When Mr. Creamer arrived the settlement could not boast of any roads, but soon after his arrival the surveyors went abroad and a cart road was opened from Charlottetown as far west as McAlder's farm; Cross Roads were also laid out between Charlottetown and Victoria and the Anderson's Road, Bedeque and the South Shore of Sable.
The settlers who from 1840 to 1844, moved into the district which they so fondly named Truagh, were nearly all from the parish of Donagh in the barony of Truagh then presided over by Father Moynagh. This good priest having advantageously placed a portion of his flock in Fort Augustus sought to assist more of them to settle in the green pastures of Prince Edward Island. Those who came to Township Twenty nine were chiefly from the estate of Colonel Leslie who although he had the reputation of being a good landlord had agents and subagents both hard and cruel. Father Moynagh's curate Father McKenna was much averse to the emigration schemes and used to endeavour to impress upon people that they were going to a "frozen country" where they would be in greater danger of starving then at home. However, they elected to abide by the judgement of Father Moynagh and took passage, some in the "connisbruck" and some in the "Agitators", for Charlottetown.
Among those who settled in Township Twenty Nine was one Patrick McMurrough who had for years acted in the capacity of Father Moynagh's clerk in Donagh. This worthy man, when the possibility of building a church was first considered by the emigrants, gave two acres of land as a site for the proposed sanctuary. The idea of building a church was under discussion for some years and Mr. Creamer before his death prepared a large quantity of scantling, but the project fell through not to be revived until 1847, when the existing church was built upon the land given by Mr. McMurrough, it was not completed interiorly until 1859.
The Rev. Malachy Reynolds who attended St. Josephs for many years, built the first presbytery of the mission after the erection of the church. It stood upon the opposite side of the road to that occupied by the handsome dwellings in which the priest of St. Joseph's mission now resides, and was built upon land which had been bought from Mr. William Waddell for a glebe farm. While Rev. Patrick Doyle was in charge of St. Joseph's mission that farm was sold and one of one hundred acres bought from Mr. Hughes of Charlottetown. Father Doyle built the parochial house which is one of the finest in the diocese.
The church is fast crumbling to ruin and is not at all in keeping with the general appearance of the parish. It is intended to replace it in the course of a few years by a handsome edifice, the plan of which may be seen in Meacham's altar. There is however, one parochial treasure at St. Joseph's, in the shape of a fine bell, hung in a tower which stands near the entrance to the church. Its history is best related in the words of the inscription on its side, composed by a young man, a native of the parish:-
"Stranger would you know my name,
Who placed me here and whence I came,
From Baltimore I came, then know,
Cast by renowned McShane and
Placed here, observe, through zeal and pains,
Of McKenna, Reverend Father James,
Assisted by the willing, able
Generous people of DeSable
I beg to add, I did arrive,
In eighteen hundred and twenty-five,
Six hundred pounds my weight is found,
I can be heard for miles around,
I'm here the world and you to tell,
That I'm the great St. Joseph's Bell."
The cemetery occupies a very picturesque position on the side of a hill, it is partially surrounded by fine old trees, and can show some very handsome marble monuments. Under the cross in the centre of the graveyard is buried the Rev. James Duffy who from March 1859 to December 1860 was in charge of the mission. This priest was a native of Auchnamullen, County Monaghan, Ireland, and the third of his family to receive Holy Orders. He came out to Newfoundland in 1829 and for forty years laboured as a missionary in that colony. He then removed to Nova Scotia; after eight years of work there he came to Prince Edward Island where during the one year of his ministry he gained the lasting regard of the people of St. Joseph's, DeSable, and St. Anne's Township, Sixty Five. His niece has erected over his grave a marble slab, bearing the following inscription:-
+
Hic Jacet
R.D. Jacobus Duffy
Die 1 Decembris M.D.C.C.C.L.X.
Oct. LVLLI
Presbyter atus an X X X
A native of Ireland, County Monaghan
Parish of Auchnamullen
Besti Mortui qui ni Dominio Morientur
Erected to his memory by his niece
Rose Duffy as a Token and tribute of respect.
The mission of St. Joseph's was first served by Rev. M. Reynolds, from 12 October 1851 to 13 February 1859. He was succeeded by Rev. James Duffy who was in charge from 24 March 1859 to December 1860. On 10 March 1861 Rev. F. de Langie's name appears in the parish register, his last entry being 13 October 1861. On the 17 November 1861 Rev. M. Reynolds resumed charge of mission, retaining it until 26 August 1866, when it passed under the administration of Rev. Patrick Doyle whose first entry is 1 January 1869. In the summer of 1876, Father Doyle resigned St. Joseph's into the hands of Rev. Felix Van Blerk who took charge of the mission for one year. On the 6 September 1877 Rev. James Aeneas MacDonald came to reside at St. Joseph's of which mission, conjointly with that of St. Anne, Township Sixty Five, he is the well beloved pastor.
Judging from the exterior appearance of the farm houses that crown the hills and nestle in the hollows of the rugged country in the heart of which the mission lies, one must believe that the emigrants sent out by the far seeing Father Moynagh were remarkably successful in their fight with the hardships of life in the western hemisphere. That they did encounter hardships those of them who still live, well remember, not the leats of these was the extreme severity of the winters, indeed even summers were too cold for comfort or for vegetation. Mr. Creamer relates how the first crops of potatoes put in by his father was killed by the frost in the month of August 1839. All obstacles however have been bravely surmounted, perseverance and thrift have brought their reward, and there are no more prosperous farmers, in Prince Edward Island today than the sons of Lord Melville's Irish tenants.
First Settlers of St. Joseph's Mission
| John Creamer | from County Longford |
| Henry Woods | from Donagh |
| Felix McGuigan | from Donagh |
| Owen MacDonald | from Tyholland |
| Mrs. Mary Kelly | from Donagh |
| John Haughey | from Donagh |
| Robin Craig (a Protestant) | from Donagh |
| Peter McNally | from Donagh |
| John Monaghan | from Donagh |
| Thomas Hagan | from Tyrone |
| Patrick McMurrough | from Donagh |
| William McKenna | from Eryle Trugh |
| Francis Malone | from County Monaghan |
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