Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-28
SELLING A CHURCH.
81. Patrick's ConEre9ation Buying the
Fourth U. p. Church-An Old Mortgage
CIouding the Title.

81. Patrick's CongreRation Buying the
Fourth U. p. Church-An Old Mortgage
CIouding the Title.
In the near future the Fourth United
Presbyterian Church, corner of Seventeenth
street and Penn avenue, will change hands.
The congregation of st. Patrick's Roman
Catholic Church, situated at the rear of the
United Presbyterian Church, has bought it,
and are waiting until some legal business is
completed before they tear down the ugly
structure that has disfgured Penn avenue
in that neighborhood for SO many years.
The Catholics have paid bonus on the
property of 800 to hold the place, tor which
they agree to pay $1,000. After the legal
difficulty has been overcome, it is the inten-
tion of st. Patrick s people to erect hand
some pile of buildings for parochial school.
The sale can't be closed now because an old
mortgage, which has been illegally satisfied,
clouds the title.
Some 26 years ago the present q. P. con-
gregation bought the lot and gave a mort
gage of $4,000 for part of the purchase
money. The property was bought from
Boyle Irwin. Two years after the church
had bought the property the estate, which
covered considerable ground in that part of
city, reverted to the heirs of Judge Wallace.
About % years since the s., 500 was paid in
full to one of the Wallace heirs. After the
lapse of few years it was discovered that
the lady to whom the mortgage money was
paid only had claim on the interest accru-
ing from the principal. Since that time
some of the Wallace heirs have died and
the others, after the property had
been sold to the Roman Catholics,
notified the st. Patrick's people
that the title was not clear. The U. P.
Church contested the matter i n the courts,
and won their case. The Wallace heirs
were allowed two years to appeal to the
Supreme Court. This period has almost ex-
pired, and it looks now as if the church will
be torn down and parochial school built
Rev. j. d. Turner, pastor of the Fourth
q. P. Church, in speaking about the mat
ter yesterday to DISPATCH reporter, said:
"This question has been agitating our
people for years. We have passed through
considerable anxiety in disposing of our
property, but believe we have reached the
end of the lane. Our next anxiety is to
erect a church in a central locality. We
have membership of 450, who come from
long distances, some of them from ALE
gheny, others live out the West Penn
road, but the great bulk live between
the forks of the road and Bloomfield.
We have definitely arranged to build
in Bloomfield. The church we will
erect will not be elaborate. The architec-
ture will be Romanesque, and it will be
neatly fitted up. No great attention will
be paid 10 internal establishment. 1 can
not say defnitively whether we will have
an organ or not. rather think not, but
this remains for the congregation to decide.
The general tendency OF our body opposes
anything of an ornate character. We Sc
lected Bloomfield because at present there
are g. families who worship with us at
Seventeenth street. There are also num-
Der of the United Presbyterians residing in
the vicinity who would join our church if
we built there.