Harrison County, West Virginia    Biography of Rev. Patrick H. McDERMOTT, S. T. L.

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 The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II,
Pages 312- 313

   REV. PATRICK H. McDERMOTT, S. T. L., the honored pastor of the
Catholic parish of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the City
of Clarksburg, Harrison County, was born in Wheeling, this state,
January 31, 1863, and is a son of Michael and Catherine McDermott, both
natives of Ireland and both devout communicants of the Catholic Church.
   Father Patrick H. McDermott received his academic or literary
education at St. Charles College, Maryland, and completed his
ecclesiastical course at the Theological Propaganda University, Rome,
Italy, from which great institution of the " Eternal City" he received
his degree of S. T. L.  He was ordained to the priesthood of the great
mother church of Christendom on the 30th of October 1892, at Rome, and
after his return to the United States he gave three years of effective
service as chancellor at St. Joseph's Cathedral in his native city of
Wheeling.  He was then assigned a pastoral charge at Wytheville,
Virginia, where he remained three years.  For nearly thirteen years
thereafter he was pastor of a church at Rowlesburg, West Virginia, and
on the 1st of February, 1912 he entered upon his earnest service in his
present pastorate, that of the important parish of the Church of the
Immaculate Conception, at Clarksburg.  Here he has labored with all of
the consecrated zeal and devotion, and under his regime both the
spiritual and temporal affairs of the parish have been signally advanced
and prospered.  The services of the Catholic Church at Clarksburg were
maintained under mission auspices until 1864, when the present parish
was organized by Rt. Rev. Monsignor Daniel O'Connor, who became the
first pastor and who continued as the revered spiritual and executive
head of the parish until his death, in 1903.  Father O'Connor was a
native of Maryland and was a man of fine intellectual and administration
powers,  Under his vigorous and earnest administration the parish grew
and prospered for nearly forty years, and he was influential also in
general community affairs.  Under his direction was erected the first
church edifice, the first priest's house, the first school building of
the parish, as well as other buildings required to meet the needs of the
growing church organization.  The original church was a brick structure,
erected in 1865, and it served as the parish house of worship until
1921, when the ancient building was razed, in order that the site might
be utilized for the new and modern church edifice which is here to be
erected under the direct supervision of the present pastor, Father
McDermott.  The parochial school was opened 1865 and the educational
work of the church has kept pace with the growth and progress of the
community.  In the two schools now maintained by the parish the
enrollment of pupils numbers almost 450 at the time of this writing, in
the winter of 1921-2.  One school known as St. Joseph's Academy, is
under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the other school
is in charge of the Xaverian Brothers.
   In the year following his assumption of this pastoral charge, Father
McDermott initiated the erection of the present St. Mary's High School
Building, which was completed in 1914 and which, with its equipment,
represents an expenditure of about $83,000.  The present residence of
the Xaverian Brothers of the parish was completed at a cost of about
$14,475.  The parish now has about 1,500 communicants.
   The second pastor of the Church of Immaculate Conception was Rev.
John A. Reynolds, whose earnest service covered a period of about nine
years and continued until his death, January 16, 1912.  His memory is
revered in the community, which benefited greatly by his presence and
loving labors.  Father Reynolds was born at Baltimore, Maryland, and
prior to coming to Clarksburg had been in service as a priest at
Wheeling, West Virginia.
   Father McDermott has manifested a spirit of progressiveness not only
in connection with the work of his parish but also as a liberal and
public-spirited citizen of broad outlook and mature judgment.  He has
gained inviolable place in the confidence and high regard of the people
of Clarksburg and Harrison County.