Father John T. Smith, the first pastor

Photo caption: Father John T. Smith the First Pastor

Bishop O'Connor's promise came true in August of 1877, when Father John Smith was appointed as the first permanent pastor of St. Joseph's Church in O'Neill. Father Smith was born in Ireland on February 2, 1850 and was ordained a priest on June 24, 1877. As the newly ordained arrived in O'Neill, he temporarily resided at the home of John Cronin and at intervals with the families of Dennis Daly and J. P. O'Donnell. In October,1877, Father Smith was installed as the first resident pastor. During the year 1877 Patrick Hagerty and John McBride were appointed as the two lay trustees and the parish of St. Joseph came into existence with the following parishioners: Neil and Margaret (Keyes) Brennan, Patrick and Anna (Finigan) Barrett, Edward P. Boyle, Thomas and Ann (McGee) Connelly, John and Julia (Cavanaugh) Cronin, Daniel and Honora (Harrington) Cronin, William Cronin, Patrick and Catherine (Welsh) Carney, Patrick and Bridget (Enright) Carney, Michael Costello, John and Mary (Stuart) Carberry, Agnes C. Clark, Henry Cook, Sr., John and Anna (Moyles) Cook, Dennis Daly, Michael and Teresia (Shotes) Dillon, John and Mary (Higgins) Donohoe, John and Margaret (Reynolds) Donlin, James Dorgan, John and Mary (Burke) Enright, John and Mary (Hannigan) Fallon, Patrick and Sara (Fitzgerald) Fahy, John and Mary (Boyle) Grady, Thomas and Mary (Swift) Gallagher, Michael and Bridget (Erwin) Gallagher, Edward and Bridget (Durkin) Graham, Patrick Hagerty, John Hanrigan, Patrick Hughes, Thomas, John and Mary (O'Brien) .Harrington, William and Anna (Stanton) Joyce, Patrick and Honora (Stanton) Joyce, Thomas and Lea (Visna) Kieley, John and Margaret (Shea) Kelly, Dennis Kelly, Conrad J. and Honora (Kelley) Kelly, Michael and Mary (Savage) Riernan, John and Mary (Cullin) Kouthoffer, Thomas and Euen (Gallagher) Keys, Richard and Catherine (Hurley) Kilmurry, Michael and Mary (McAlister) McGrath. Thomas and Catherine (Coleman) Murphy, Patrick and Mary (McCoory) McOy, John and Mary Ann (Murphy) McCafferty, Patrick and Mary (Lockhart) McGuire, Tony Murray, Patrick Madden, John P. and Ellen (Brennan) O'Donnell, Michael and Bridget (Murphy) O'Laughlin, John and Mary (Crowe) O'Neill, John and Bridget (Kerrigan) Reddy, Mary Reilly, Timothy and Julia (Corkle) Scannell, Henry and Mary (McHale) Stanton, Florence (Flurry) Sullivan, Thomas Welsh, Eugene and Mary (Compt) Whitney> John Welsh, Martin and Peggy (Stanton) Welch. The parish was organized and there was still trouble with the ownership of the land because Father Bedard had the papers when he died. The first land owner of the church property was Allen W. Carey who had been granted eighty acres of land April 1, 1875, by President Ulysses S. Grant. He in turn sold it to Patrick Fahy and his wife Sarah and it was registered and filed in Cass County, Nebraska because Holt County was not yet organized. Patrick Fahy in turn gave the land to Father Peter James Bedard on October 16, 1875 and it was filed in Lancaster County, Nebraska the following November 5, 1875. The deed was not really found until Father Bedard's will was settled in Mission County in Dakota Territory on April 30, 1879 when it was turned over to Father John T. Smith. Father Smith then filed the deed in Holt County on May 5, 1880 when it was thus deeded to James O'Connor, the Bishop of the Vicariate of the State of Nebraska. A lesson was learned and Father Smith told his flock often to register their lands with the county officials. But the new parish was soon to receive bad news.

General O'Neill, the founder of the colony, having contracted a fatal disease in the winter of 1877-79, died in Omaha, having received the final rites of Mother Church, and was buried in Omaha. The colonists sadly deplored the loss of the general, and keenly felt the sorrowful bereavement.

During the year 1879, the first parochial residence in the parish was built by Father Smith. It was a frame-building, eighteen feet by thirty feet, one-and-a-half stories high, and cost $1,400.00. It was erected on block four in the city of O'Neill, a little west of and adjacent to the church building. Much land was still public domain and the virgin prairies, unbroken and unclaimed, lay invitingly awaiting the approach of the homesteader who soon came in, entered claims, and established homes so that Father Smith soon found his ever increasing congregation outgrew the seating capacity of his eighteen feet by thirty-six feet church. Meanwhile Mr. Patrick Fahy was selling lots which were scattered throughout the townsite and converted these into funds and the proceeds were applied toward the building of the new church. Also certain blocks of the Hagerty Addition were given to the city of O'Neill which were to be used for a Catholic cemetery.

Father Smith started to collect money to build a new and larger church but his people were as short of funds as his church was of seating capacity and he finally succeeded in raising the money and the first church was moved away to make room for the new and handsome Romanesque structure about to take its place and in all probability destined to become a cathedral at some future day.

Photo caption: The second St. Joseph's (St. Patrick's) Church and interior, built by Father Smith

It was an arduous task that the good Father Smith set before himself as it seemed that sometimes there were other "powers" working against the dream as one disaster after another followed each other in rapid succession.

First grasshoppers, followed by electric storms, and protracted droughts. The first money collected for the new church, which was built by Father Smith, came from a bequest of John Hughes, a bachelor, who died here and willed his property to St. Joseph's Church - several thousand dollars in notes, on parties in Iowa, but for various causes. Father Smith realized only seven or eight hundred dollars on them.

Bishop O'Connor visited the parish for the first time and administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to a class of ninety-one persons. The confirmation took place in the old church which had been moved to the east of the church being built and was sold to the O'Neill School District Number Seven. O'Neill's first church building became O'Neill's first public school building and continued as such until 1884 when School District Number Seven built its brick school building. O'Neill's second church was a frame building forty feet by one hundred feet with brick and stone basement heated with a hot air furnace, but had neither tower nor bell, at the cost of $6,000.00 and was finished in 1882. It had a seating capacity of four hundred.

During the progress of construction, a violent storm occurred which razed the building to the ground, partially destroyed the work which had been accomplished and inflicted considerable damage generally. A short time after its completion, it was again wrenched and twisted from its foundation, during the visit of another furious tornado.

Father Smith had help during his administration from Father Thomas Cullen and Father Patrick Brophy who helped him part of the time in general work as regular assistants and resided with him at the rectory. In July of 1886, Father Smith received word that he was being transferred to Cheyenne, Wyoming. After being there for a few years, Father John Smith was assigned then to Saint Patrick's Church in Omaha and he built present church.

He died there on February 2, 1915 at the age of 65. He died on his 65th birthday and is buried in Omaha. At the termination of Father Smith's pastorate the parish was in flourishing condition. The parish possessed a large commodious church building, a handsome parochial residence, a fine organ for church services had been purchased and paid for, and an excellent choir, which had been organized among the members of the parish, had been in existence for a considerable time. The parish was entirely out of debt, in fact, had a balance of $430.00 to its credit in the treasury. There were one-hundred and sixty-five families enrolled upon the parish register, and a large Sunday School was organized and in 'good working order, showing a good average attendance of pupils.