Ellicottville: The Cradle of St. Bonaventure
By Jim Gill (04/11/2008) PARTS 1 & 2

BISHOP JOHN TIMON	NICHOLAS DEVEREUX	MARY DEVEREUX

The year 2008 will be a memorable year with a host of bicentennial celebrations planned throughout Cattaraugus County, in addition to the bicentennial, there is much to celebrate at St. Bonaventure University as they celebrate their sesquicentennial that commenced on March 31, 2008. The sesquicentennial celebrations will take place over a 15 month period ending in May of 2009. On April 1st, dignitaries from the University along with descendants of the founding friar (Pamphilo da Magliano) from Abruzzi, Italy, convened in Ellicottville where the original friars first settled to celebrate the 150th Anniversary. Addressing this revered group of people, Margaret Carney President of St. Bonaventure commented, “As we honor the legacies of our founders Nicholas and Mary Devereux, Friar Pamphilo da Magliano, and Bishop John Timon, we also must ask all those associated with St. Bonaventure University to consider the legacy they will leave for future generations.”

St. Bonaventure University has come a long way since its humble beginning on October 4, 1858 when the first building of St. Bonaventure College in Allegany, N.Y. was completed and dedicated. Two years later in June of 1860, St. Bonaventure College held its first commencement exercise, graduating a class of 15 students. Almost a century later, St. Bonaventure was named a University by the Board of Regents and today hosts more than 2,700 students. Only a small number of people are cognizant of the fact; Ellicottville played a major roll in the founding of this great institution.

During the early years from 1861 to 1901, St. Bonaventure was the novitiate and clericate where young friars studied for the priesthood and from which, the sons of St. Francis departed on missions of preaching and teaching throughout the eastern part of United States. The idea of a Franciscan school to spread religion was derived from two men, Reverend John Timon and Nicholas Devereux later known as the Bishop and the Layman, the “Fathers of Allegany.”

Back when the Diocese of Buffalo embraced one third of New York State it was ruled by a saintly old missionary bishop, John Timon. He was well known for his hard work and endless rounds of travel by sleigh or carriage, train, horseback and afoot, he became one of the greatest missionaries of his day. He was born in Conewago, P.A. near Harrisburg, on February 12, 1797, the second of ten children. His family prospered with his father’s dry goods store until the financial crisis of 1823 wiped out their considerable fortune. About this time John Timon suffered another serious setback with the death of his young lady to whom he was engaged to be married.

After much soul searching and with a bitter taste in his mouth he decided to give himself to God in the priesthood. He entered The Barrrens – St. Mary of the Barrens – a small seminary the Vincentians had established in Perryville, Missouri. Despite the hardships he applied himself and in 1825 was ordained deacon, then priest, ten years later in 1835 the Superiors of the Congregation in Paris notified Father Timon of his appointment as Visitor, or Provincial, of the American mission.

In 1847, at the age of fifty, Father Timon was notified by the Holy See of his appointment as first bishop of the new diocese of Buffalo. His new diocese encompassed sixteen counties with only sixteen priests to serve the swelling tide of new settlers, more priest were needed. He raised money and traveled abroad to interest the bishops and Catholic laity of Europe in the needs of his struggling diocese only to be told of their own shortages of people to serve. “Priests, send me priests” was the prayer that took him to bed every evening and woke him every morning. His prayers were finally answered when he met the outstanding layman of his day, Nicholas Devereux of Utica.

Nicholas Devereux’s upbringing was more tumultuous than John Timons; he was born at The Leap on June 7, 1791 the youngest son of a family of nine children, 6 boys and 3 girls. Raised near Enniscorthy, County Wexford in Ireland, the Devereux family was by no means poor and lived under better conditions than most until the Irish Rebellion in 1798.

The Society of United Irishmen founded in 1791 embraced Catholics, Protestants, and dissenters with a goal of removing English control from Irish affairs. The rebellion that took the lives of 15-30 thousand people of all ages changed the once peaceful countryside of Wexford and turned it into a bloody battleground, the Devereux family, like all the Irish who took part in it suffered in consequence. Devereux’s father once a wealthy merchant was thrown into prison and died soon after his release, his brother James was killed among a group of men and woman on the green crest of Vinegar Hill with the cry “Erin go bragh” upon their lips.

By the year 1806 conditions in Ireland were tragic, a blanket of sorrow embraced the remaining members of the Devereux family. At his brother John’s suggestion and at the young age of fifteen he left his mother’s side in Enniscorthy to join John in The Land of Promise, America. Upon his arrival one of his first acts was to seek a place of worship, at Sunday Mass he placed one gold sovereign, (one third of his small capital) onto a collection basket as an act of gratitude and to obtain for himself a share in the promises of the most high.

Through his brother John’s influence he obtained a job with a merchant in Albany and during the War of 1812, he joined his brother John in his Utica general store, there he began his phenomenal rise. In 1816 the business became known as Nicholas Devereux and Company. Within the space of five years through their ability, and reputation for honesty they were grossing a hundred thousand dollars a year.
Devereux became intimately acquainted with Cattaraugus, Genesee and Allegany, lands of unsurpassed beauty and in 1835 along with 14 other investors from New York he purchased 417 thousand acres from the Holland Land Company. From the north a canal was being dug to transport goods from the east to markets in Ohio and Mississippi, from the east tracks were being laid to join the Hudson river with the shores of Lake Erie, both projects would go right through the heart of Devereux lands. This was also the beginning of Franciscan history and Devereux’s plans for a refuge for his countrymen whom were coming to America in ever increasing numbers.

Devereux dreamed of a great metropolis called “Allegany City” a point where the Genesee Valley Canal would meet the Allegany River and the new railway would pass through. Unfortunately, the canal never reached the Allegany and the rail lines passed outside the limits of his “city,” the project became known as “The City That Never Was.”

One of his other plans was starting to materialize as his lands were filling up with settlers and the new railway would bring hundreds more to the area. In 1843 the Devereux Land Company set up an office in Ellicottville, the center of Cattaraugus County with his oldest son John as the company agent.

In 1847 the newly appointed, Bishop Timon came to Buffalo with a goal of uniting the scattered Catholics and revive their religious spirit, Devereux shared the same dream and eventually the Missionary Bishop and the Missionary Layman met in Ellicottville. Soon after with Father McEvoy, Bishop Timon became a frequent visitor and enjoyed the hospitality of John Devereux in Ellicottville.

In Ireland, the year 1847 became known as “Black Forty Seven” due to the potato blight that began in 1845 and took the lives of thousands of people in the “Green Isle.” Thousand more fled Ireland to come to The Land of Promise anxious to join the sons of St. Francis whom had settled in the Cattaraugus hills, devotion to the brown habit also drew people from other parts of New York.

The spiritual care for the newcomers was a major concern, Bishop Timon and Nicholas Devereux often conferred to the point Devereux offered what was known as the Devereux farm and five thousand dollars to any religious congregation that would undertake the spiritual care of the growing Catholic population in Cattaraugus County. Failing to receive a timely response Nicholas Devereux took it upon himself to travel to Rome in the winter of 1853-54. During his audience with Father Peter Hanrahan he pled his case asking for seven friars to return with him, only to be told “there were scarcely enough friars to handle their own needs, perhaps in several years.”

Upon his return to America at his first opportunity he told the bishop about the meeting. This was not acceptable to the bishop; he wanted priests now before too many souls were lost, thus on October 18, 1854 Bishop Timon set sail for Rome. Following his report to Pope Pius 1X on the condition of his diocese and gaining approval on his plan, a meeting was arranged in the Temple of Juno Moneta, in the oldest part of the city with the Most Reverend Venantius a Celeno, head of the Friars Minor.

Fearing that someday, due to the current oppressing of the friars in the Piedmont, the enemies of the Church would drive the Provinces of the Order in Italy to other lands. In order to pursue their vocation, he explained to the Bishop “your timing is providential; you have come at a most opportune time. It seems we will have as much need of America as a haven from persecution as you have for us as missionaries, give me but an hour, I think I have the man who will solve your problem and mine.”

When the bishop returned to the parlor, he found the Minister General in earnest conversation with a tall friar whose piercing dark eyes were alive with excitement and whose intellectual face glowed. “Monsignor,” said the Minister General, “this is Father Pamfilo who is eager to begin. We will now establish that American Province of the Order. It has already been too long delayed.”

For the old bishop this was a moment of destiny, not only did it provide new missionaries for the Diocese of Buffalo it created a worthy outlet for the charity of Nicholas Devereux. The bishop and the layman’s prayers had been answered.

On January 4, 1855, an agreement was drawn up, signed and on May 10, 1855 Father Pamfilo, Father Sixtus da Gagliano, Samuele da Prezza and Brother Salvatore da Manarola left for New York City. Father Pamfilo at age 31 was the oldest member of the group and the only one who spoke English. Upon their arrival on June 20, they were met by a jubilant Nicholas Devereux and the long journey to their mission field based in Ellicottville began. Upon their arrival, John Devereux, warm hearted like his father soon made the tired travelers feel at home. The spacious home of John McMahon was made available for the pioneer friars; here they resided for three months as they became acclimated to the area. During their first night Father Pamfilo gathered the friars into his room and said with a smile of deep content; “Well brothers, here we are at last in our mission field. Let us kneel down and thank God and His Blessed Mother, and say a little prayer that everything will go all right. Tomorrow Mr. Devereux will take us to Buffalo to meet the bishop. Very soon we will be down to work.”

A second house that had been located on East Washington Street and eventually referred to as “The Cradle of St. Bonaventure College” served as the friar’s monastery, church and school from 1885 through 1859. The two-story house had been purchased in 1851 by Devereux for that purpose, blessed by Bishop Timon on December 17, 1851 the Catholic Directory called it the Church of St. Philip Neri.

Being fluent in the English language Father Pamfilo immediately took over the spiritual care of the surrounding territory and began to say mass and preach in Ellicottville, Allegany, Olean, Cuba, Randolph and Jamestown. Soon after Father Sixtus and Father Samuel were able to join him thanks to their excellent host Mary Devereux. John’s wife was an accomplished linguist and musician whom seemed tireless in teaching the friars the intricacies of English. Mary Devereux wrote the sermons (presumably translated from the friars) for the Italian speaking friars and would rehearse with them until they were letter perfect. However, when people heard the sermons, they thought she had composed them.

Unfortunately, on December 29, 1855, Nicholas Devereux, the man who first dreamed of a Franciscan college on the banks of the Allegheny passed away. The funeral held in Utica was attended by Protestant and Catholic, the old and young, rich and poor, all mourned together. Six hundred of his country men bore his remains to his last resting place, relieving each other along the way. They would not allow a hearse to be used, loving hearts and willing hands vied with each other in carrying his precious remains.

To the small band of Franciscans struggling to get established it was a temporary loss as Mrs. Devereux and the executors of the estate faithfully complied with his every wish, and carried out every promise he had made. Three months later in Ellicottville a meeting of the St. Francis Missionary and Benevolent Society was held. John Timon was elected president, Thomas Devereux secretary; John C. Devereux, treasurer and it was unanimously decided Father Pamfilo da Magliano should fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Nicholas Devereux.

Three months later the members of the Society met in Allegany to devise plans for the building of the college and, on August 20, 1856 an estimated two thousand people attended an impressive ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone. Amid pouring rain the enthusiastic crowd stood by as Bishop Timon proceeded to bless the site and the stone, inserting in it the usual documents, coins and newspapers. The prayers and dreams of two great men, the Bishop and the Layman had now become a reality; a great Franciscan institution was born.

In Ireland, the year 1847 became known as “Black Forty Seven” due to the potato blight that began in 1845 and took the lives of thousands of people in the “Green Isle.” Thousand more fled Ireland to come to The Land of Promise anxious to join the sons of St. Francis whom had settled in the Cattaraugus hills, devotion to the brown habit also drew people from other parts of New York.

The spiritual care for the newcomers was a major concern, Bishop Timon and Nicholas Devereux often conferred to the point Devereux offered what was known as the Devereux farm and five thousand dollars to any religious congregation that would undertake the spiritual care of the growing Catholic population in Cattaraugus County. Failing to receive a timely response Nicholas Devereux took it upon himself to travel to Rome in the winter of 1853-54. During his audience with Father Peter Hanrahan he pled his case asking for seven friars to return with him, only to be told “there were scarcely enough friars to handle their own needs, perhaps in several years.”

Upon his return to America at his first opportunity he told the bishop about the meeting. This was not acceptable to the bishop; he wanted priests now before too many souls were lost, thus on October 18, 1854 Bishop Timon set sail for Rome. Following his report to Pope Pius IX on the condition of his diocese and gaining approval on his plan, a meeting was arranged in the Temple of Juno Moneta, in the oldest part of the city with the Most Reverend Venantius a Celeno, head of the Friars Minor.

Fearing that someday, due to the current oppressing of the friars in the Piedmont, the enemies of the Church would drive the Provinces of the Order in Italy to other lands. In order to pursue their vocation, he explained to the Bishop “your timing is providential; you have come at a most opportune time. It seems we will have as much need of America as a haven from persecution as you have for us as missionaries, give me but an hour, I think I have the man who will solve your problem and mine.”

When the bishop returned to the parlor, he found the Minister General in earnest conversation with a tall friar whose piercing dark eyes were alive with excitement and whose intellectual face glowed. “Monsignor,” said the Minister General, “this is Father Pamfilo who is eager to begin. We will now establish that American Province of the Order. It has already been too long delayed.”

For the old bishop this was a moment of destiny, not only did it provide new missionaries for the Diocese of Buffalo it created a worthy outlet for the charity of Nicholas Devereux. The bishop and the layman’s prayers had been answered.

On January 4, 1855, an agreement was drawn up, signed and on May 10, 1855 Father Pamfilo, Father Sixtus da Gagliano, Samuele da Prezza and Brother Salvatore da Manarola left for New York City. Father Pamfilo at age 31 was the oldest member of the group and the only one who spoke English. Upon their arrival on June 20, they were met by a jubilant Nicholas Devereux and the long journey to their mission field based in Ellicottville began. Upon their arrival, John Devereux, warm hearted like his father soon made the tired travelers feel at home. The spacious home of John McMahon was made available for the pioneer friars; here they resided for three months as they became acclimated to the area. During their first night Father Pamfilo gathered the friars into his room and said with a smile of deep content; “Well brothers, here we are at last in our mission field. Let us kneel down and thank God and His Blessed Mother, and say a little prayer that everything will go all right. Tomorrow Mr. Devereux will take us to Buffalo to meet the bishop. Very soon we will be down to work.”

A second house that had been located on East Washington Street and eventually referred to as “The Cradle of St. Bonaventure College” served as the friar’s monastery, church and school from 1885 through 1859. The two-story house had been purchased in 1851 by Devereux for that purpose, blessed by Bishop Timon on December 17, 1851 the Catholic Directory called it the Church of St. Philip Neri.

Being fluent in the English language Father Pamfilo immediately took over the spiritual care of the surrounding territory and began to say mass and preach in Ellicottville, Allegany, Olean, Cuba, Randolph and Jamestown. Soon after Father Sixtus and Father Samuel were able to join him thanks to their excellent host Mary Devereux. John’s wife was an accomplished linguist and musician whom seemed tireless in teaching the friars the intricacies of English. Mary Devereux wrote the sermons (presumably translated from the friars) for the Italian speaking friars and would rehearse with them until they were letter perfect. However, when people heard the sermons, they thought she had composed them.

Unfortunately, on December 29, 1855, Nicholas Devereux, the man who first dreamed of a Franciscan college on the banks of the Allegheny passed away. The funeral held in Utica was attended by Protestant and Catholic, the old and young, rich and poor, all mourned together. Six hundred of his country men bore his remains to his last resting place, relieving each other along the way. They would not allow a hearse to be used, loving hearts and willing hands vied with each other in carrying his precious remains.

To the small band of Franciscans struggling to get established it was a temporary loss as Mrs. Devereux and the executors of the estate faithfully complied with his every wish, and carried out every promise he had made. Three months later in Ellicottville a meeting of the St. Francis Missionary and Benevolent Society was held. John Timon was elected president, Thomas Devereux secretary; John C. Devereux, treasurer and it was unanimously decided Father Pamfilo da Magliano should fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Nicholas Devereux.

Three months later the members of the Society met in Allegany to devise plans for the building of the college and, on August 20, 1856 an estimated two thousand people attended an impressive ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone. Amid pouring rain the enthusiastic crowd stood by as Bishop Timon proceeded to bless the site and the stone, inserting in it the usual documents, coins and newspapers. The prayers and dreams of two great men, the Bishop and the Layman had now become a reality; a great Franciscan institution was born.

Information for this article obtained from:
The First Bonaventure Men; by Walter Hammon, O.F.M.