The City Of Chester.

service - silver tankard, paten, chalices, and plates for alms, while F. Stanhope Hill and Mrs. Hannah Depue gave the pulpit Bible. On May 19, 1874, St. Luke's Church was admitted into the Diocesan Convention, Samuel Archbold and William Ward being the first lay deputies. In 1874, John Burrows McKeever, who was an ardent friend of the new parish, died, and through the efforts of Rev. Mr. List a memorial font was placed in the church in whose behalf he labored so zealously. In September, 1875, Rev. Mr. List, having received a call to a church in Philadelphia, resigned the rectorship. In October of the same year, Rev. George Clifford Moore, the present rector, was called, and almost immediately after his installation he began the advocacy of the abolition of pewrents, substituting therefor voluntary contributions. In 1876, Charles Kenworthy bequeathed three hundred and fifty dollars to the parish, which sum was applied towards liquidating the mortgage, and the following year, Elizabeth Kerlin, by will, gave one hundred and fifty dollars, which was used in like manner until, in 1880, the entire debt was extinguished. The parish, at present, is in a flourishing condition.

St. Michael the Archangel. - The imposing Catholic Church of St. Michael's is the second sanctuary erected on the site, the first having been razed, in 1874, to make room for the present edifice. The church organization extends backward in the history of our city over forty years. In 1842 a number of Catholics employed in this neighborhood - the nearest church being located nine miles distant - determined to establish one of that denomination in the borough. Application was made to Rt. Rev. Francis Patrick Kendrick, Bishop of Philadelphia, for permission to organize a congregation and erect a church in Chester. In response to the request the bishop assigned Rev. Philip Sheridan to the parish, and earnestly did he labor to accomplish the end in view. July 12, 1842, a lot was purchased on Edgmont road, and Thursday, September 29th, of the same year the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Kendrick. June 25th of the year following the church was dedicated to Almighty God under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Moriarty preaching the dedicatory sermon. Rev. Messrs. Sourin and Sheridan, accompanied by a large number of ladies and gentlemen, came from Philadelphia on the steamer "Bolivar," Capt. Whilldin. The first church building was of stone, in Gothic architecture, seventy-five by forty-two feet, the tower in front rising one hundred and five feet above the level of the street. For many years St. Michael's Church was the most noticeable building in Chester, and so conspicuous was it that the gilded cross, surmounting the lofty spire, could be seen glittering many miles away as the town was approached in any direction. On Sunday, Aug. 9, 1846, a violent storm of rain and wind occurred, which loosened some of the masonry, and a stone hurled by the fury of the blast, falling on the roof, crushed through it into the aisle below, breaking the pews and the floor of the main apartment. For nearly seven years no regular pastor was assigned to the parish. Occasional visits were made by Fathers Sheridan, Lane, Sourin, Walsh, Amat, and Dr. O'Hara until July 12, 1850, when Rev. Arthur P. Haviland, who had been ordained a priest in Philadelphia, June 29th of the same year, was appointed to the charge of St. Michael's parish. So faithfully did he labor that in a short time the building became too small to accommodate the worshipers, and for many years the parish struggled under that difficulty.

In 1854 the parsonage adjoining the sanctuary was built, and the same year Father Haviland was assigned an assistant, Rev. Patrick McEnroe. On Sept. 20, 1858, a bell, the present one, weighing one thousand pounds, was raised to its designated place in the tower, and for almost a quarter of a century its well-known tones have daily been heard in the thriving city of Chester. On the occasion of raising the bell to its allotted place a large concourse of people was present, the services being conducted by Archbishop Wood. In 1867, Father Haviland went to Europe, and during his absence the parish was in charge of his assistant, Rev. Edward McKee, Father McEnroe having been removed to Mauch Chunk. On the return of Father Haviland, Father McKee was assigned to Catasauqua, and Rev. Father Shankey became his assistant for a brief period, to be followed in succession by Revs. Fathers William F. Cook, Thomas McGlynn, Hugh McGlynn, James Timmins, and Patrick J. Mackin.

Early in 1873, notwithstanding the parish had been divided, and the Church of the Immaculate Heart erected in the South Ward, it became evident that the old edifice was insufficient to accommodate the congregation, and it was resolved to erect a new sanctuary. Before the plans to this end could be fully matured the financial disturbances in the fall of that year so paralyzed business that it was deemed inexpedient to begin the demolition of the old and the erection of the new edifice until the industrial dejection had in a measure abated. In the summer of the following year permission was granted by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood to demolish the old structure and rear in its stead a larger and more attractive building. To that end, on July 29, 1874, the pews were taken out of the church, and the parochial school-house, which had been erected in 1866, was prepared for use as a temporary chapel. August 11th following the excavations for the foundation of the new edifice were made, and on the 31st of the same month the old building was leveled to the earth. The corner-stone of the new church was laid Sunday, Nov. 1, 1874, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood. The new structure is one hundred and seventy-eight feet in length, and the façade forty-two feet. Its height from the pavement to the eaves is sixty-eight feet, while from the centre of the façade rises a tower of