July 1984 was the 200th Anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of St. John's and all parishes within the archdiocese were urged to set up special committees, which, among other things, would “undertake to draw up a history of their local churches.” In Freshwater, the 200th Anniversary Committee of Holy Rosary Parish, under the guidance of Father Peter Golden, produced a booklet about the history of the parish.

Unfortunately — and despite the availability of so many records — the booklet was littered with a considerable amount of erroneous information. Since there was so much misinformation, including misspellings and grammatical errors, we will be addressing only the major errors — a baker's dozen — in this section of Misconceptions and Fabrications Pertaining to Argentia's History.

Erroneous claim 1

The initial heading read “MOST HOLY ROSARY PARISH.”

Correction

The official name of the parish was, and is, Holy Rosary Parish. Father McDermott Penney was the only one who referred to the parish as “Most Holy Rosary Parish” because, in his conceit and arrogance, he considered his parish to be better than all the rest in the archdiocese. Although “Most Holy Rosary Parish” appeared on all parish documents between 1954 and 1969, Father Penney did not have the name officially changed. It reverted to the original name after his departure from Freshwater and the appointment of Father Daniel (Dan) Murphy of St. John's.

Erroneous claim 2

“Bishop O'Donel had six Priests in his diocese, so he divided the area into six districts and assigned one Priest to each District. Little Placentia (Argentia) was given a Priest. The area covered was roughly what the Deanery of Placentia - St. Mary's is now.”

Correction

The preceding statement was completely erroneous. James Louis O'Donel was sent to Newfoundland in 1784 to “deal with the presence of unlicensed and unruly priests on the island.” He was appointed as “Prefect Apostolic,” not “bishop” of Newfoundland. Right Reverend Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F., Vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland from 1830 to 1847 was the first man to bear the title “Bishop of Newfoundland.” His term of office as bishop extended from the elevation of his area of responsibility to “diocese” in 1847 until his death on July 14, 1850.

During the summer of 1830, the people of Little Placentia decided to do something about having a parish established in their community. Several people got together and took up a petition asking the new Vicar Apostolic at St. John's to send a priest to Little Placentia. Refer to the section Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website to read the entire history of Holy Rosary Parish as it existed in Argentia and Freshwater.

Erroneous claim 3

“In 1904, Father St. John had Little Placentia renamed Argentia.”

Correction

Father John St. John unofficially changed the name of Little Placentia to “Argentia” in 1895. He then applied to the government and had the name change made official on January 1, 1901.

It is rather astounding that the date of such an important event in Argentia's history continues to be misrepresented by so many people after it was first distorted by Eileen Houlihan of Freshwater. See details in section Misconceptions and Fabrications of Eileen Houlihan.

Erroneous claim 4

“The corner stone was laid in 1916.”

Correction

The year is accurate, but not very specific. Since the booklet was presenting a history of the parish, why were the specifics of such an important date omitted? The corner stone of Holy Rosary Parish Church was laid on Friday, October 7, 1916 … the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, for whom the parish was named. Surely that would be a very important date in the history of any church and worth recording!

Erroneous claim 5

Mount Rosary [Cemetery] was across the road in front of the Church. It began to be used in the mid twenties”

Correction

The first body to be buried at Holy Rosary Cemetery on Mount Rosary was Cornelius Smith. He died in 1920, but only the phrase “Died 1920” was recorded on the cross-shaped grave marker. The name of the burial site was not “ Mount Rosary Cemetery,” but Holy Rosary Cemetery. It was located on Mount Rosary.

Erroneous claim 6

“Father Adrian John Dee became Parish Priest in 1922...”

Correction

Firstly, Father Dee's middle name was Joyce, not John. See details in the sections Misconceptions and Fabrications of Brother Francis Foran and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website. While Father Dee was appointed parish priest of Holy Rosary Parish on January 1, 1922, he did not arrive in Argentia and take up the position untill Thursday, January 12, 1922.

Erroneous claim 7

“There were 500 people living in 114 buildings.”

Correction

There were 833 people (380 adults and 453 children in 165 families) living at Argentia in 1941. There were 770 buildings and/or other structures in Argentia at the time of expropriation and 160 of them were occupied houses.

Erroneous claim 8

“Father Dee was attempting to attend to the religious life of his parishioners, both in Argentia and in their temporary homes, and he was taking on the new responsibility of the Catholic American Marines on the Base.”

Correction

Father Dee was the acting chaplain for all Roman Catholic American servicemen in 1941, not just the U.S. Marines.

Erroneous claim 9

“In the 1920's [sic] , Mr. Bill Murphy returned to Argentia and found the railway terminal built on his homestead. Below are the third and seventh stanzas of a seven-stanza [sic] poem he wrote on the occasion.

Correction

William Murphy's poem had 14 verses and many people crammed them together to make seven. He called the poem “Memory of Home” while some former Argentia residents incorrectly refer to it as “Argentia Revisited.” The four verses, put together as “two” in the Holy Rosary Parish booklet contained no less than seven words that were different from what Murphy had written on Sunday, July 23, 1922.

Erroneous claim 10

“Compensation for expropriation of church property at Argentia and Marquise amounted to $94,628.88.”

Correction

The R.C. Episcopal Corporation was given a total of $136,610.00 as compensation for loss of its property at Argentia … $128,660.00 for its property on the north side of the community and $7,950.00 for its property on the south side of the community.

Erroneous claim 11

“Holy Rosary Parish: 1835 to 1985. Time To Celebrate?”

Correction

That statement was a contradiction of the partially correct information that appeared in another part of the booklet, which stated “Holy Rosary Parish was started by Father Nowlan in May 1931.” The year 1931 was correct but the month was not May. Holy Rosary Parish was established on Wednesday, August 17, 1831. Refer to section Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website to read the entire history of Holy Rosary Parish as it existed in Argentia and Freshwater.

Erroneous claim 12

“There was also the Churching of women after childbirth. The new mother would go to the altar rail after Mass to be prayed over by the Priest in thanksgiving for her new born child and for all her family. During the blessing, she carried a blessed candle.”

Correction

Actually, the mother of a newborn had to be “Churched,” not “in thanksgiving for her new born child,” but to “cleanse” her. The Roman Catholic Church — in its state of self-righteousness and archaic Victorian attitudes — used to teach that pregnancy was “unclean.” Women were forbidden to enter a church when they began to “show.” There was nothing “blessed” about “Churching;” it was a demonstration of male prejudice against women to help keep them in a subservient position.

Erroneous claim 13

“The Freshwater Volunteer Fire Department was formed on April 5, 1967, at a meeting chaired by Mayor Wilfred Bartlett and attended by Rev. Father Penney and seventy men from the town.”

Correction

The Freshwater Volunteer Fire Department was formally established on Tuesday, April 18, 1967.