Rev. James J. McDonald (1866-1902) from Ballyfacey, Glenmore to Clontarf, Minnesota
On 30 September 2024 we posted information on the McDonald family of Ballyfacey, Glenmore. James J. McDonald was born at Ballyfacey on 2 June 1866 to Thomas McDonald (c. 1808-1889) and his second wife, Anastatia O’Neill (c. 1837-1902?). Today we are going to feature the work that James was sent to do in Minnesota and his premature death due to TB.
Education
The Irish Standard newspaper published the following information in 1902 concerning Fr. James J. McDonald. Rev. James J. McDonald was born in 1867 (sic), at Glenmore, in the county of Kilkenny and the ancient diocese of Ossory, Ireland. He was educated in the national schools [Ballyfacey], and at the classical schools of Kilmacow and Waterford. In 1887 he entered the diocesan seminary at Kilkenny [St. Kieran’s], and took up his ecclesiastical studies at that institution from which he was graduated in 1894 (Irish Standard, Sat. 12 April 1902, p. 8). He was described by Fr. Michael Mernagh in Glenmore Times: Millennium Memories ((2000), p. 41) as an outstanding athlete.
Fr. McDonald was ordained on 1 July 1894 at the age of 28 by the Bishop of Ossory, Abraham Brownrigg (1836-1928). While a seminarian at St. Kieran’s College, Fr. McDonald was sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota. After his ordination Fr. McDonald “set out for the field of his labours” the Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota. In September, 1894, he was appointed curate of the Immaculate Conception church of Faribault. He remained there until March 1898, when he was appointed pastor of Clontarf, Minn. This appointment he held until his death (Irish Standard, Sat. 12 April 1902, p. 8).
For any readers not familiar with Minnesota it is situated in the north of the US. Its eastern boundaries bounce Lake Superior and Wisconsin and to the north is Ontario and Manitoba, Canada. North and South Dakota lie to its west and Iowa to its south. It is known for its extreme winters.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul
One of the more unusual facts discovered regarding where Fr. McDonald was going to serve concerns the fact that St. Paul was originally a small settlement called “Pig’s Eye.” For a concise and interesting history of the work of the Church gentrifying Pig’s Eye see the “History of the Cathedral of St. Paul.” St. Paul is located on the south eastern side of the state. When Fr. McDonald arrived in the Archdiocese of St. Paul on 19 September 1894 another Kilkenny man was the Bishop.
Archbishop John Ireland (1838-1918)
Archbishop John Ireland was born in Burnchurch, Co. Kilkenny in 1838. He emigrated to the US as a child with his family and ultimately, they settled in Minnesota. For a brief biography of Archbishop Ireland see, The Minnesota Historical Society (2012) or Historic Kilkenny. In 1876, Archbishop Ireland established the Catholic Colonization Bureau in southern Minnesota to act as an agent for the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad to sell 117,000 acres of unsold land grants. The Bureau sought Irish immigrant families toiling in the cities along the east coast of the U.S. to come to Minnesota to farm and set up Catholic communities.
In early 1879 it was reported in the Drogheda Argus & Leinster Journal (Ireland), that Archbishop Ireland’s Catholic colonies in Minnesota were proving a popular success. In Swift County 12,000 acres were settled. Although Big Stone County colony was being established in 1879 it already had 175 families. In Nobles County 70,000 acres were procured and 52,000 acres in Murray County. One of the reasons that Archbishop Ireland’s colonization plan was a success, was that he sent a priest first to the place earmarked for a colony. This provided assurance from the start that the spiritual affairs of settlers would be attended to (Sat. 1 Feb. 1879, p. 3).
For further information on the Catholic colonies of Minnesota, see Eileen R. McCormack “Holy Alliance: How a Bishop and a Railroad Teamed Up to Form Clontarf, MN” (2015)(Minnesota Historical Society).
Fr. McDonald’s Assignments
Faribault, Minnesota
According to a brief biography on Find-a-Grave (assumed to be from the St. Paul Diocese Records) Fr. McDonald arrived in the Archdiocese of St. Paul on 19 September 1894. He was first assigned as an Assistant, at Immaculate Conception, Faribault, Rice County, Minnesota. He served in this capacity from 1894 to 1898.
Faribault, Minnesota is named after fur trader Alexander Faribault who came to the area in 1826. In 1835 he established a trading post, and in 1852 he founded the town.
Clontarf, Minnesota
In 1898, Fr. McDonald was transferred to Clontarf, Swift County, Minnesota as Pastor, of St. Malachy. He served in this capacity from 1898-1901. It is said that at Clontarf “he laboured zealously to build up the parish. The many improvements made during his administration bear ample testimony to his zeal and devotion to his work (Swift County Monitor, Fri. 28 March 1902). He is credited with building the new St. Malachy church.
It is obvious from the names of the assigned churches that Fr. McDonald was serving in the Catholic Colony areas. Fortunately, excerpts from some contemporary letters of one of his parishioners concerning Fr. McDonald survive and have been published on the Clontarf History webpage (26 June 2012, “Noble Patriot and Irishmen”). It is wonderful to read how the parishioner felt about the young Fr. McDonald and give us nuggets of information. Fr. McDonald liked to play checkers and did not like to lose.
Clontarf became well known for its hay. With the railroad in the town the hay was shipped to cities and the Chicago Fire Department fed it to its horses. For some old photos of St. Malachy, see Clontarf History webpage.
Returned Home?
Local newspapers to Glenmore did not carry articles regarding Fr. McDonald. However, we did locate on 1899 article in the Munster Express.
The members of the Mullinavat Choir went on their annual excursion on Tuesday the 27th of June. For 1899 they selected Dunmore as their destination. They chartered a “wagonette and an outside car”. They left Mullinavat at 10 a.m. and arrived at Dunmore at about 12:30. Father Mullins, C.C. and Father McDonald, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul, Minnesota, accompanied the excursion party (Munster Express, Sat. 8 July 1899, p. 7).
A railway station was located in Mullinavat. We believe the choir took the train to Waterford and from there travelled by the horse drawn vehicles to Dunmore. Without first names it is difficult to identify the two priests, However, we believe that Fr. McDonald was Fr. James J. McDonald of Ballyfacey, and we believe that Fr. Mullins was John Mullins (1868-1911) of Flemingstown, Glenmore. Fr. John Mullins also attended Ballyfacey National School and St. Kieran’s College. He entered the seminary in 1886 and was ordained for the Diocese of Ossory. He was appointed curate of Mullinavat and later Cullohill (by Fr. Michael Mernagh in Glenmore Times: Millenneum Memories (2000), p. 41). Like Fr. McDonald he too died young from TB.
The 1900 census for Clontarf, Minnesota provides that Rev. James McDonald was back at work in Clontarf and his younger brother Patrick McDonald (1868-1952) was visiting. The record provides that Patrick entered the USA in 1899. Did Patrick travel to the US with his brother James? We know Patrick was back in Ballyfacey by 1904 when he married.
Death of Rev. James J. McDonald
In September 1901 Fr. McDonald was compelled to give up his parish duties at Clontarf due to ill health. He went to the Arizona Territory for the autumn and winter, but the change in climate did not improve his health. Two weeks before his death on 25 March 1902 he returned to St. Paul to die among friends. He died of TB at St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Paul, aged 35 years, 9 months, and 23 days. Fr. McDonald was buried in the priests’ section of Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul.
The original headstone had Fr. McDonald’s correct name and other information. Sometime around 2012 a new headstone replaced the original stone that was quite weathered and unfortunately Fr. McDonald’s first name is provided on the new stone as “Joseph” instead of “James.” See, Find a Grave.
Obituaries
Several newspapers published death notices and/or obituaries such as The Saint Paul Globe (Fri. 28 March 1902, p. 2) and The Irish Standard (Sat. 29 March 1902, p. 5).
Below are some excerpts. The Minneapolis Journal (26 March 1902) described Fr. McDonald as “widely known as an earnest, kindly man, and faithful priest” who died of consumption after a years’ illness with it.
The Irish Standard (Sat. 19 April 1902, p. 4) outlined in an article how his former parishioners and friends at Faribault celebrated Fr. McDonald’s life.
“Faribault, Minn.—A solemn high mass of requiem for the repose of the soul of the late Rev. J.J. McDonald was celebrated Monday morning of last week, at 9 o’clock, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. A large audience of the former parishioners and friends of the late priest were present, and the children of the “Hill School” attended in a body, Rev. F. Elshorst, pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence, was the celebrant, with Rev. J.J. Slevin as deacon and Rev. E. Monge as sub-deacon. Rev. Chas. Cavanagh, of St. Paul, was master of ceremonies, and Rev. John Walsh delivered the eulogy. Taking for his text the words, “Blessed are they who die in the Lord,” Father Walsh preached a most instructive and effective sermon on the life of his deceased friend, eulogizing his many virtues and exhorting his hearers to follow the precepts of his teaching and the many good examples of his exemplary life.”
The Swift County Monitor (Fri. 28 March 1902) wrote that “It is with feelings of deepest regret that we announce the death of Rev. J.J. McDonald, lately of Clontarf, who departed this life on Tuesday at St. Joseph’s hospital, St. Paul. His many friends in Clontarf and Swift County will deplore the loss of so gentle and true hearted a friend…”
“He had the special faculty of making friends and all who came in contact with him deeply loved him. He loved his people and was beloved by them in return. They will mourn his loss, but must be satisfied with God’s will. It is sad to have a young man cut down in the midst of a career full of hope and bright prospects for the future, but wonderful are the ways of God and it is His will, not ours, that must be done.”
“The funeral took place on Thursday from the cathedral, St. Paul, and his remains were laid to rest in Calgary Cemetery. He is gone from us forever, and while we mourn his loss, let us not forget to pray for him. His many friends will be shocked when they read of his death, but they must be reconciled to God’s Will and say ‘Peace to his ashes and rest to his soul.’”
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Please send any corrections, additional information or photos etc. to glenmore.history@gmail.com .
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The photo of Fr. McDonald was taken by R.E. Brandmo, of Benson, Minnesota. Benson is the County Seat of Swift County, Minnesota. Thus it is likely the photo was taken between 1898 and 1901.
The photo of the original headstone was taken by FJE on 25 June 2012.
The featured colour photo is of St. Malachy Catholic Church of Clontarf, Minnesota and is courtesy of the St. Isadore the Farmer Area Faith Community website.
The obituary from the Swift County Monitor was added to Find-a-Grave by Joseph Gallatin on 19 Sept. 2023.