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. Peter, Seven Mile Bay
This mission is one of the oldest in the diocese. It was settled in the first decade of the present century by Highland emigrants from Uist.
These men built their pioneer Church under the direction of Bishop, then Father McEachern about the year 1815. This little log chapel stood down near the shore on a farm now occupied by Mr. Matthew Lowther, and beside it was the old burying ground. After a few years the chapel was removed to the site occupied by the present church of St. Peter.
The mission of Seven Mile Bay comprises the districts of Augustine Cove, Cape Traverse, Seven Mile Bay, Sea Cow Head and Albany. In the days of the first Chapel Seven Mile Bay proper was annexed to the mission of Indian River, while the Cape Traverse, Tryon Road and Augustine Cove part of the parish was served from Charlottetown, and attended by Father Fitzgerald, Bishop McDonald, Father Morris, Father Reynolds, and Father Thomas Phelan.
When arrangements were made for building a new church at Seven Mile Bay, Father James McDonald, then Pastor of Indian River, took charge of the whole parish with its outlying districts, consolidated it, and superintended the building of the church. This structure which is fifty feet in length by forty in width with a wall of twenty feet, was framed ...
[There appears to be several lines or paragraphs of text missing from this section of Prof. Blanchard's transcription - DLM]
... are of stained glass; everything about the church is very neat and in perfect order.
In the early days, owing to the scarcity of priests in the diocese, Mass was celebrated but seldom at Seven Mile Bay, sometimes only twice a year, and many through want of the spiritual aids of Holy Religion, grew cold in the faith for which their fathers had suffered and even "turned" away at their hearing from the truth.
In the part of the parish nearest to Charlottetown, Father Reynolds used to hold a station at the house of Mr. Michael Dalton, and Father Morris used to hold one at Mr. Martin Dolyles.
The old families of Scotch Settlers have for the most part become extinct, some have moved to old homes and Seven Mile Bay is now chiefly settled by Irish families.
The origin of the name of this district is not known. Some people say it was so called on account of its being Seven Miles from the settlement of Bedeque, others give as a reason, the width of the Bay which measures Seven miles from Sea Cow Head to Carleton Point.
Since the opening of the railway from County Line, Cape Traverse has become quite a busy place, and when the Tormentine Branch shall have established a connection with the Intercolonial Railway, it will be one of the chief ports of the Province. Such being the case, it is the intention of the Bishop to remove the church of St. Peter from its present site and to place it in the village of Cape Traverse, so that it will be more conveniently situated and easier of access to the majority of the parishowners, as well as to the pastor, the Rev. Patrick Doyle who has been in charge of the mission for twenty years, he having first said mass in St. Peter's Church on the 9th September 1866.
First Catholic Settlers of the Mission of
St. Peters
Seven Mile Bay
Roderick McDonald
Laughlin McDonald
John McDonald
Dugald McInnis
Neil McDonald
Donald McNeil
Thomas Doyle
Donald Woods
George Kelly
John Brenan
James Murphy
Michael Deagan
Martin Doyle
James Doyle
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