Early Notable Laity
When Father Curran came to the colony of
Catholics at the then-fashionable resort of Far Rockaway, he found there
a group of laypeople willing to sacrifice to make the practice of their
faith a reality.
Father Curran celebrated Far Rockaway’s first Mass in William Caffrey’s
Hotel in 1847. Caffrey’s name survives locally as "Caffrey Avenue" (B.
17 St.). Another notable layman was Andrew Brady who in 1851 donated the
plot of land on which the first church of St. Mary was to be built, very
near the current location of St. John’s Hospital. The next generation
raised up another prominent immigrant son of St. Mary’s. William Trist
Bailey was a prominent real estate developed who came from England and
was the developer of Bayswater (1871), which he named after his native
town. He also personally paid for the laying out and paving of Central
Avenue (then Catherine St.) south of Mott Avenue. Bailey is reported to
have built the first brick home in the Rockaways in the early 1880’s.
Other members of St. Mary’s whose names live on in some streets around
here are: Healy (the Justice of the Peace in the 1880’s), Mc Bride,
Meehan, Heyson, Muhlbach, and Roche. Other familiar names of those days
included Mimnaugh, Brandenberg, Coleman, Prendergast and Wynn.
The second pastor of St. Mary’s was the Rev. Michael J. Murphy, born in
1842 and ordained at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary, Niagara, in 1870.
He was first assigned to St. Peter’s in Brooklyn, but seems to have
assisted Father Brunemann in Far Rockaway at times. He became pastor
here upon the death of Father Brunemann in 1874. During his tenure he
oversaw the establishment in 1877 of both St. Mary’s Academy and St.
Mary’s parish school by the Sisters of St. Joseph. He built the first
parish rectory, later remodeled into the first convent for the Josephite
Sisters. He seems to have secured additional property for the parish.
During his pastorate the 40 Hours Devotion seems to have been an
important annual event, and the choir was quite active. He also
delivered a widely reported lecture at the Woodsburgh (Woodmere) Lyceum
regarding Daniel O’Connell, Ireland’s Liberator, reflecting to some
degree the interests of his parishioners, but also a topic in which the
local non-Catholics of the day were apparently interested. Father Murphy
led special services here upon the death of Pope Pius IX in 1878. His
sister Julia married William A. Wynn of a prominent parish family. In
1878 parishioner William Trist Bailey developed the community of
Bayswater. In 1879 Father Murphy was transferred to the pastorate of St.
Anthony’s church in Greenpoint. He died in 1889.
