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Guardian Angles Church - Nicholson Run
     The Holy Guardian Angels Church was organized in 1825 and Mass had been held in a home at the Easley Settlement, located near Nicholas Run. This was the custom of many of the area house parishes before the church buildings were erected (Volz). At that time, the celebration of Mass was not something that was available every day or week to the parishioners.
     It would typically occur once a month or on a special occasion when a visiting priest would travel to worship with them (Volz). John F. Easley mentioned Fr. Andrew Arnold Lambing’s comments about a trip like this as such; “traveling alone on horseback, eating cold boiled potatoes while sitting under a tree in a forest, sleeping on the ground and carrying all his belongings; including Eucharistic bread and wine, vestments and other clothing in two saddle bags attached to the horse’s saddle” (4). It was not a short and simple trip by any means.
     The Easley family had a primary role in the building of this church and it all began with Casper W. Easley, Sr. The eldest of eight children, he was born in April 1760 to Magdalen Rooker and Blassius Isele who arrived in this country by the port of Philadelphia, in September 1751 (Hoover). According to Fr. Ed Volz, when their name, Isele, was pronounced to the immigration officers upon their arrival, they in turn spelled it as Easley and it has been that way ever since (Volz).
     As a first generation American born German-Swiss Catholic, Casper Easley Sr. valued his faith and his family. Religious freedom was an important part of the lives of these people, for many who arrived in America, came from places were it did not exist. At the time of Casper’s birth, Pennsylvania was under English rule. This meant that there were anti-Catholic laws in place that had forbidden a Catholic to own property or to vote. After the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, those laws were abolished (Reinsel).
     It was during the Revolutionary War that Casper, Sr. served his newly born country as a soldier in the Cumberland County Militia. As payment for his military service, he received land in western Pennsylvania (1). After the war, he returned home and he married Elizabeth Rufner between 1793 and 1799 (4). According to the history of Armstrong County and the family historian, it is held that Casper moved his young family northwest around 1796 or 1798 (Armstrong). They settled in what would soon become Armstrong County, created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming Counties (Armstrong). Per the “Index to the 1800 Census of Pennsylvania”, Casper W. Easley Sr. is listed as residing in Armstrong County (105). It was here, in North Buffalo Township that Casper established himself as a farmer and around 1805, he built the areas first sawmill located at Nicholson Run (5).
     Casper and Elizabeth had seven children including Casper W. Easley Jr. who was born on February 16, 1804. He married Eleanor Black on January 17, 1830 and together they had eight children and resided on his father’s farm (7). It was the desire of the father and the workings of the son, Casper Jr., who provided the property for the Guardian Angels Catholic Church. As mentioned by the family historian, Casper W. Easley, Sr. intended to set aside a piece of land with the objective of building a church someday (8). According to the property deed, recorded May 29, 1876, and dated June 29, 1876, the land, located in North Buffalo Township, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, consisted of “one acre and eighty-nine and half perches” (Armstrong).   Even though the deed states that the land sold for “one dollar and other valuable considerations”, Casper W. Easley Jr. and his wife, Ellinor (sic), essentially donated the land as per his father’s wishes (8).
     Unfortunately, Casper Sr. died April 16, 1829 before his dream to have a church built near their home was fulfilled (8). According to Armstrong County history, Casper W. Easley’s will dated April 13, and registered May 18, 1829 “. . . bequeathed to Rev. Mr. O’Neil, Roman Catholic priest, $25 for the good of my (his) soul, the greater honor and glory of God and support of his holy church militant on earth (Smith)."
     Casper Sr.’s dream was, in a small part, a result of the hardships they had to endure to attend Mass. Not because Mass was a difficult experience, not in the least, but the time and effort it took to travel there was a different story. By today’s standards, a great distance traveled is a hundred miles or more by car utilizing a vast network of highways with time spent at no more than two hours, give or take. However, in the 1800’s travel was far more difficult and a 15 mile journey took many hours by horseback along single file Indian trails in dense forests. Keep in mind, the closest churches at that time were St. Patrick’s in Sugar Creek, built in 1806, (20 miles), St. Mary’s in Freeport, built in 1826, (10 miles), and St. Mary’s in Kittanning built in 1853 (10 miles[1]). These were fine churches, but not easy for the worshipers of the Easley Settlement to journey. They desired a church near to their homes where they could celebrate their faith.
     Built with the help of Fr. Lambing, the great-great grandson of Blassius Easley[2] and the parish priest for St. Mary’s in Kittanning since April 1870 (8); the laying of the cornerstone for Guardian Angels Church occurred on June 16, 1872, with dedication of the church taking place on October 2, 1878, the Feast of the Guardian Angels (Brinker). With the church completed, it seated 200 people and had dimensions of 32 feet in width and 57 feet in length (8). Initially the church did not have a bell tower. That addition came later, with the help of Fr. Benno Haggermiller, a Capuchin-Franciscan Friar from St. Fidelis Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania, located about 15 miles from Guardian Angels Church (14). Fr. Benno was instrumental in the building of St. Lawrence Church as well. At various times throughout the Guardian Angel’s history, diocesan priests took care of the church whether they were assigned to it as a parish priest or the church was classified as a mission church, with the exception of when the Franciscans Friars were assigned to service the parish. Currently the church is assigned to the care of St. Lawrence Church, with the excellent guidance of the Pauline Fathers.
The church history according the Diocese of Greensburg is as follows (Brinker):
1. Cornerstone laid June 16, 1872
2. October 2, 1878 – the church was dedicated
3. 1917 – the church was joined to St. Lawrence Church, Cadogan
4. 1930 – Joined St. Mary’s Church, Kittanning as a mission
5. 1940 – Returned to St. Lawrence’s as a mission
6. April 10, 1994 Guardian Angel, Nicholson Run became Chapel of St. Lawrence located in Nicholson Run.[3]
     Over the years, the little red brick church has seen a fair share of needed repairs according to letters from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Fr. Ed and an article in the Leader Times. The Diocesan Office for Research and Planning noted in 1973, that the church desperately needed a new roof, with lumber and roof-sheeting boards being the unknown cost factor determined by rot. The principal planner also noted a need to repair cracking plaster, painting and some minor foundation settling issues that were not of great concern (Odato). According to a picture that is dated c. 1910, there are two guardian angels standing on each side of the alter, near the ceiling, one to the left, and the other to the right, painted on the interior wall of the church. What is unknown is when the removal of these angels took place (Volz).
     A letter, dated October 8, 1991, sent to John Easley, the family historian, Fr. Ed advised him of the physical condition of the church as such: “The Guardian Angels church itself is in fair condition – it still holds to its original state - the roof was replaced in 1978, and in the near future the electrical system will be renovated” (Volz). These repairs were undertaken because of the historical significance of the church to the parish and the community. Yet, someone in the community responded in a negative way. In a newspaper article, titled, “Vandals break windows in area landmark church”, dated October 15, 1992, it said that a dozen windows were broken (Churchill). These windows were installed in 1872, when the church was built and most of them were replaced but the historical significance could never be restored. Rocks were found in the interior of the bell tower, along with the broken windows there, and as Fr. Ed said in the article, “It would have had to be a strong person who really wanted to break a window in the church.”(Churchill).
     Over time, the church and the accompanying cemetery have undergone renovations and restorations, with the cemetery receiving a donation of additional land in 1971 (Armstrong). This church would not have received all that it has in the way of support, monetarily as well as physical labor, if it was not treasured. From the time the cornerstone was laid, to today, the importance of this church is relevant. It is about faith.

[1] The miles indicated are by today’s highways and roads, per < www.mapquest.com>.

[2] Isele was the correct spelling of this German last name, however upon arrival into the colonies it was changed to Easley.

[3] There seems to be a discrepancy concerning the last entry for the history information from the Diocese of Greensburg and that is the name of the church. According to sources and a church calendar, the little red brick church is still referred to as Guardian Angels Chapel.

Christ Prince of Peace & St Lawrence

Partner Parishes of the Diocese of Greensburg Pennsylvania Charitable Trusts

History

Guardian Angles Church - Nicholson Run