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Holy Cross Church, Williamsville, Elk County, PA
Submitted by Paula
Pompeii, great great great granddaughter of Adam Wank, Photo
courtesy of Linda Bauman
The original Holy Cross Church built in 1855. The church was located
across the road from where the present Holy Cross church is located. Adam
Wank was one of the men who helped build the church.
History of the church:
The parcel of land was purchased of William A. Irvine
by John March Meyers by deed dated December 18,
1854 as recorded in Elk County Deed Book No. "E" at page 360. It
will be noted that the deed transaction occurred nearly three months after the
church had been built and dedicated. The land however was deeded at a
later date but was in accord with a prior verbal agreement.
On Dec 12, 1858, John March Meyers and Mary Weidert
Meyers executed a deed for the church property to Joseph
M. Young, Bishop of the Erie Diocese, in trust for the parishioners of
Holy Cross Church at Williamsville, Elk County dated Dec 8, 1858, as recorded
deed No "H" at page 180. The apparent delay in completing this
transaction can be attributed to the fact that Bishop
Young had not as yet organized all the various matters incident to the
establishment of his new diocese.
All the men of the different families helped in building the church. Among
the workers were Henry Gutterman, Casper Roper, George
Markert, Adam Wank, George Pistner, Francis Bonnert, Valentine Miller, John
Kleisath, Henry Kranking, George Brechtel, Michael Dill, Christopher Dill,
and others.
The initial church structure was about sixteen feet by twenty feet in size
and made of hewed logs with the cracks filled with clay mixed with cut straw.
There were two pews inside, one on each side of the room. Most of the
people attending the services knelt on the wooden floor. A little
later the exterior of the building was covered with clapboard.
The church was dedicated by Father Roman Ottilo,
of the order of St. Benedict, who was the supervisor of the building
construction, on Sept 14, 1855, the Feast of the Holy Cross, in honor of which
the church was so named. Sunday masses were then celebrated regularly by the
Benedictine priests stationed in St. Marys and the choir under the leadership of
Francis Bonnert, sang German hymns, without musical
accompaniment. Mrs. Elizabeth Pistner would
continue leading when Mr. Bonnert would be seized
with his occasional spell of coughing. George
Markert was much in demand as a singer at various functions because he
could carry tunes very well. Other good singers were Michael
, John, and William Weidert and their sisters.
The first recorded Baptism was in 1855, Mary Rosina Wank,
daughter of Ferdinand and Margaret (Groll of St. Marys)
Wank, born Feb 7, 1855, later in adulthood she became Mrs.
Michael Stoltz of Erie.
The first recorded wedding was on Oct 13, 1856, being a double wedding of the
brothers, John and Peter Weidert; John married Helena
Kleisath, daughter of Francis and Theresia Klesiath;
Peter married Margaret , the daughter of George
Pistner. The grooms were sons of Bernard and
Mary Budevin Weidert.
The first corpse interred in Holy Cross Cemetery was that of Andreas
Verbeck in 1856. He had been fifteen years on age and was drowned
in the Wilcox sawmill pond. The body was
first buried in the Verbeck field, opposite the F.
J. Brechtel farm, and later removed to the new Holy Cross Cemetery.
His parents were former residents of the abandoned Belgium settlement of
New Flanders, near present Glen Hazel.
The first recorded funeral was that of Christopher Wilhelm
Wank, six months old, son of Ferdinand and Margaret
Groll Wank who died Dec 6, 1856.
About 1860, there was built to the east end of the church an addition which
afforded a sanctuary, sacristy and a confessional. The exact site of this
addition was designated and marked with the aid of a common grub hoe by Father
Gregoriuos, O.S.B. Up to this time, the priests while changing into
their sacerdotal vestments, repaired to the privacy of a small building located
near the rear of the church; also in the rear of the church was a barn where the
Reverend Fathers could stable their horses. At this same time the
interior of the church was beautified by the placing of finished ceiling boards
all around including the walls.
In 1870 an addition was erected to the west end of the church that provided a
gallery for the choir and gave more room for pews downstairs. A respectable
steeple was also built on the front or west end and the entire exterior was
covered with siding and painted.
It is not know definitely by whom the first alter was built, but there seems to
be a strong supposition at this late date that Father
Wendelin Myer, O.S.B. had John Pistner build
the altar and tabernacle.
Information from a scrapbook at the Elk County
Historical Society in Ridgway, PA.
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