Letters to Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap. relating to his research on the life and temperance campaign of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. Most of the letters refer to sources tracing Fr. Mathew’s ancestry. The correspondents include:
• Fr. E. Dowling, Cathabawn, Johnstown, County Kilkenny. Re Theobald Mathew’s early education in the Kilkenny Academy from 1803-7.
• Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. Re a list of Fr. Mathew’s siblings.
• David Mathew. Re the ancestry and genealogy of Fr. Mathew.
• Rev. Wallace Clare. Re the genealogy of Fr. Mathew.
• Fr. Gervase Mathew OP, Blackfriars, Oxford. Re Fr. Mathew’s genealogy and the disposition of the Mathew family papers in their possession.
• Br. De Sales. Enclosing extracts relating to Fr. Mathew from the diary of W.J. O’Neill Daunt (1807-1894).
• Fr. Brendan O’Callaghan OFM Cap. Enclosing brief extracts from the General Capuchin Archives in Rome re Fr. Mathew.
• Fr. T.J. Walsh, South Presbytery Cork. Enclosing a note from Jack J. O’Shea re the poems of John Paul Dalton (a Cork-born poet) titled ‘The Centenary of Father Mathew’ and ‘A Legend of Father Mathew’.
Certified copy probate of Kate Hannell Plunkett (d. 6 Jan. 1921). She bequeaths to her cousin, Kathleen Corcoran, a daughter of the late Michael Corcoran, manager of the Hibernian Bank Limited, Sackville Street, all her interest in the plot of ground formerly known as Thunder’s Court, Church Street, situated at the rear of 141 Church Street, now in the possession of the Capuchin friars. The probate was granted on 19 Feb. 1921. The copy is certified by O’Keeffe & Lynch, solicitors, 30 Molesworth Street, Dublin, 3 Dec. 1940. With copy conveyance by the said Kathleen Corcoran to Fr. Colman Griffin OFM Cap., Fr. Brendan O’Callaghan OFM Cap. and Fr. Charles Brophy OFM Cap., of said premises ‘now forming part of the grounds attached to the Catholic Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Church Street’, in consideration of the sum of £200. The copy conveyance is endorsed on the title page: ‘offered as altered on behalf of Kathleen Corcoran … 5 Dec. 1940’.
A photograph of (seated, centre) Fr. Bernardine Harvey OFM Cap. at the Church Street Friary on the occasion of his golden jubilee of his entering the Order (1944). Fr. Brendan O'Callaghan OFM Cap., Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. and Fr. Benedict Phelan OFM Cap. are also present in the image.
Financial statement of debt and parish improvements for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Roseburg, Oregon, signed by Father Edward Walsh OFM Cap. on 11 April 1919. The ledger tracks a significant reduction in parish debt from $10,602.26 in January 1912 down to $3,339.06 by December 1919, noting a remaining balance of $1,526.40 after money was sent to Ireland. It details incoming financial contributions totalling $4,235.00 sent from Abbottstown by Father Benignus Brennan and Father Brendan O’Callaghan, alongside an itemized list of paid local improvements. These expenditures include sidewalk installations on Lane, Washington, and Chadwick streets, school room renovations and painting for religious sisters, house and cemetery improvements, and the final completion costs for the church building itself.
Sin título
Letter from Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap., Bend, Oregon, referring to the influenza pandemic. Father Luke reports ‘through some secular source the news that Fr. Chrysostom Sutton had died (from influenza) in November. He reveals that he personally had a ‘touch’ of the flu at the beginning of October but ‘did not know it at the time’, only remaining in bed for a few days. He expresses gratitude that he and his companions ‘all escaped the flu so far’. He writes ‘I suppose now that the war over on the sea I peace it will be an easy matter to send him some help right after Xmas’.
Copy letter from Fr. Peter Bowe OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, to Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. on various personnel matters pertaining to the American mission. Reference is made to Fr. Albert Bibby OFM Cap. who is ‘recommended to the West by the Doctors, and as St. Inez [Santa Inés] is considered best for him we decided not to have him alone there, and hence Fr. Reginald [O’Hanlon]’s and Br. Columcille’s [Cregan] Obediences are for there’. It also stated that Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. and Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. will be sent to assist Fr. Brendan O’Callagahan OFM Cap. with missions in New York.
Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Peter Bowe OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, reporting on several administrative and community matters within the mission. Father Fenelon describes visiting ‘the whole ground with Luke’ to discuss plans for a new school and community house in Bend, Oregon. He relates that Fr. Albert’s health is deteriorating. He has undergone a second operation at Santa Barbara hospital, where a significant amount of water was removed from him. While he showed brief improvement, he is now reported as ‘somewhat weaker’ and is not expected to live much longer. He also notes that Fr. Dominic O’Connor OFM Cap. wishes to remain in Santa Barbara with Fr. Albert but Father Fenelon suggests that would not serve him well and that he should go back to Santa Inés and see Fr. Albert ‘now and again’. Fathers Raphael, Leo, and Brendan are mentioned as requesting to go home for the summer.
Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, referring to the issue of missionary friars wearing bears in the United States. He clarifies that while none of the friars are completely ‘clean shaven’, they have all adopted the style of ‘small beards’ (likely short-trimmed) and are shaving their side faces. Father Fenelon also mentions various personnel changes. Father Fenelon noes that he and Fr. Brendan O’Callaghan will be at St. Anselm’s in Brooklyn from May 5th to the 16th for missionary work.
Leaflet for a parish mission in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Sacramento, California. The mission was held from 25 November to 9 December 1923. It was conducted by Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. and Fr. Brendan O’Callaghan OFM Cap.
Information supplied by Irish Capuchin friars residing in Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, to Fr. Edwin Fitzgibbon OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, during his visitation. The document includes a comprehensive log of religious masses said by specific Capuchin priests at Paradise Parish in Abbottstown between August 1919 and June 1921, dedicated to the intentions of the Most Reverend Father General. Includes chronological tallies and specific location notes for individual clergy members – including Fathers Brendan, Benignus, Malachy, Ferdinand, Raphael, Leo, Gabriel, Ambrose, and Vincent – culminating in a ‘Grand Total’ of 103 masses. It also features a structured ledger cross-referencing individual priests against specific intentions, such as ‘Jubilees’, ‘House & Pious’, deceased family members (e.g., ‘Fr. John’s Mother’), and general intercessions like ‘Def. Gen. Eugenio’ and ‘Pro Fid. Def’. Handwritten annotations throughout provide contextual updates on the priests’ movements, indicating whether they arrived late, left for other locations like Lincoln in Nebraska or if a particular mass went unrecorded.