• Founding of Pennsylvania Religious Tolerance and Freedom
• Catholic Faith in Western Pennsylvania
• First Parishes in Southwestern Pennsylvania
• The Location
• Parish Beginnings
• Saints Among Us

The Charter Establishing Pennsylvania

King Charles of England owed William Penn £16,000, money which Admiral Penn had lent the king. Seeking a haven in the new world for persecuted Friends (Quakers), Penn asked the King to grant him the land between Lord Baltimore's province of Maryland and the Duke of York's province of New York. The King signed the charter of Pennsylvania on March 4, 1681. It was to include the land between the 39th and 42nd degrees of north latitude and from the Delaware river westward for five degrees of longitude. It was and still holds the record as the largest land grant ever given to a commoner. William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania -Penn's Woods, in October of 1682 on the ship Welcome. He visited Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love, just laid out as the capital city, created the three original counties and summoned a General Assembly in December. On December 7th, 1682 the first assembly adopted the "Great Law" a humanitarian code that became the fundamental basis of Pennsylvania law and which guaranteed liberty of conscience. Although Penn was granted all the land in Pennsylvania, he and his heirs chose not to grant or settle any part of it without first buying the claims of the Indians who lived their. In this manner, all of Pennsylvania except for the northwestern third was purchased by 1768. The Commonwealth bought the remaining lands in 1784-85, and 1789.

The First Settlers

English Quakers were the dominant element along with English Anglicans. Philadelphia became the metropolis of the British colonies and a center of intellectual and commercial life. Thousands of Germans were also attracted to the region and by the time of the Revolution, comprised a third of the population. The Germans populated the interior central counties. The first wave of Scotch-Irish came from about 1717 until the Revolution. Fleeing the hardships of the old-world, they were primarily the frontiersmen who ventured into the far central and western regions of Pennsylvania. The first Catholic congregation was organized in Philadelphia in 1720, and the first Catholic Church erected in 1733. Despite Quaker opposition to slavery, about 4,000 slaves were brought to Pennsylvania by 1730. The 1790 census showed that the number of slaves had increased to 10,000 of whom about 6,300 had received their freedom. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 was the first emancipation statute in the United States.

The Colonial Wars

Western Pennsylvania was a hard and challenging place to live during these times. In the 1700's, what was to become Pittsburgh was the western frontier of a vast continent.  The area was inhabited by Shawnee, Delaware, and Seneca tribes of Native Americans. European kingdoms coveted control of the land as a strategic point for further western exploration and trade. The territory claimed by New France included western Pennsylvania. The French efforts in 1753-1754 to establish control over the upper Ohio Valley led to the last and conclusive colonial war, the French and Indian war (1754-1763). French forts at Eire (Fort Presque Isle), Waterford (Fort LeBoeuf), Pittsburgh (Fort Duquesne), and Franklin (Fort Machault) threatened the British middle colonies. 

In 1753 young Major George Washington was sent to survey the area of western Pennsylvania and warn the French against further encroachment on territory claimed by Britain. Washington failed. In 1754 Washington, now a 22 year old lieutenant colonel led British troops to take the "Point" at the forks of the Ohio.

With the French advancing toward him, Washington quickly built fortifications known as "Fort Necessity". In a skirmish, the French Commander Monsieur de Jumonville was killed. Washington drew back to Fort Necessity and there the British forces were overwhelmed on July 3 by the French in an all day battle. Washington surrendered and was permitted to march his troops back to Williamsburg under the terms of his surrender.  Washington volunteered to join General Braddock's expedition against the French and their Indian allies. In the ensuing war, General Braddock's British and colonial army was slaughtered on the Monongahela River in 1755, near present day town of Braddock. Washington urged Braddock to adopt frontier style fighting but the traditional European style was continued with disastrous results for Braddock.

Despite the debacle, Washington was promoted to colonel. Washington later accompanied the campaign of General John Forbes (the Forbes Road) and the British recaptured the site of Pittsburgh in 1758 and the place was named Fort Pitt after William Pitt the Elder, Prime Minister of England.  After the French and Indian war, the Indians rose up against the British colonies in Pontiac's war, but in August of 1763, Colonel Henry Bouquet defeated them at Bushy Run, forever ending the threat to the frontier in this region. The Indians migrated westward, gradually leaving Pennsylvania.