Butte County
Biographies
REV. JAMES BERNARD DERMODY
REV. JAMES BERNARD DERMODY.—Among the most devoted and,
therefore, the most proficient of all the professional classes that have
labored long and assiduously to lay broad and deep the foundations of the
California commonwealth, none have been more successful than the
self-sacrificing Christian ministry. A splendid representative of these devoted
men is the Reverend James Bernard Dermody, an Irish
gentleman who came to the Coast in the middle nineties, when he was fresh for
the work of the harvest field. He was born, like many others of his
distinguished countrymen, in County Kilkenny, at Ballyhale, Ireland, the son of Patrick Dermody,
a native of that section, who was for many years an official under the English
government. Patrick Dermody was a large, stalwart,
fine-looking man who always commanded respect. He became clerk of the Thomastown division of the county, and in that high office
he continued to serve with ability and marked integrity until his death. His
wife, who was Mary Costello before her marriage, died at the same home-place at
which her husband had peacefully passed away. She was the mother of five boys
and a girl. One of these progressive sons is the Reverend Thomas F. Dermody, now pastor of the Catholic Church at Lovelocks,
Humboldt County, Nev. James Dermody, the second
eldest in this promising family, was reared in his home town, where he attended
the national schools; and at the age of seventeen, having duly completed all
the courses he was destined to pursue, he matriculated at St. Kierans College in the city of Kilkenny,
and finally was graduated as a fit candidate for the priesthood. The same year,
in 1894, he was ordained in the Kilkenny Cathedral by
Bishop Brownrigg, for the diocese of Sacramento, Cal.
Crossing the ocean to America, Father Dermody came to the Golden State, arriving at Sacramento on
August 17, 1894, in the up-hill days when the diocese was so ably presided over
by Bishop Monogue. Father Dermody
was at once appointed to the assistant pastorate in Virginia City, where a very
pleasant experience awaited him; for he found there a genteel, agreeable body
of parishioners and people, to whom he became very much attached. Later, being
transferred, he became pastor pro tem. of the Reno
parish, and there he resided a year. Then he moved to Nevada City, Cal., as
assistant pastor at St. Canice’s Church; and after
another year he was again transferred, to Downieville,
Sierra County, as pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. There he
labored over five years, when he was transferred to Sutter Creek, Amador
County.
Having finished very successfully another
year of pastoral work, Father Dermody in 1903 was
transferred to Goldfield, Nev. This was at the beginning of the Goldfield rush,
and consequently he was the first pastor there. He organized the Catholic
congregation, and built the first church erected in the Goldfield district.
This was of historic interest, since the first Catholic Church bell was the
first bell to reach that town. Aside from its use for church purposes, this
bell was used for a time to summon the pupils to the public school. As the
district grew, the church became too small, and the congregation then built a
new, large and fine church, modern in every respect and adorned with beautiful
paintings.
Father Dermody
also erected the large parochial school, conducted so ably and conscientiously
by the Sisters of Humility of Mary. These self-sacrificing Sisters also
conducted the only hospital in the district, outside of the County Hospital,
and there the unfortunates among the three thousand or more miners in the
region were promptly and skilfully (sic) treated. The
Sisters are still managing the institution, and have long ago earned the
unbounded gratitude of the community. The congregation grew and grew, and Father
Dermody was exceedingly busy.
During the early days of Goldfield, as
well as during his whole residence there, Father Dermody took a strong and
fearless stand for law and order, and also for higher morals, and served on
committees that finally brought order out of chaos. He thus performed, besides
his clerical duties, civic improvement work of the greatest value.
In October, 1917, Father Dermody was transferred to Chico, as the pastor of St. John
the Baptist’s Catholic Church, a charge of real importance, as may be seen from
the fact that the congregation numbers two thousand souls. With every
additional month of his work there, he has become more and more popular and
beloved, and therefore more influential for good in every field; and he is
never more acceptable than when he officiates as chaplain of the Knights of
Columbus. He is also among the most esteemed members of the
B. P. O. Elks, belonging to Goldfield Lodge, No. 1072.
Longing again to visit dear old Erin,
Father Dermody in 1907 made a trip back to his native
land. He revisited his old home and found his sainted mother still living; and
afterwards he traveled through Ireland, England and Scotland, and over the
Continent to Rome. Concluding an eight months’ trip abroad,
he returned to his adopted home-land on the Pacific Coast, delighted to get
back and more than ever appreciative of the unrivaled advantages here.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
06 July 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
1204-1206, Historic
Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies