Born: June 9, 1791
Died: Dec. 29, 1855
Birthplace: "The Leap" near Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Nicholas
Devereux was born the youngest of
nine children. His life changed during the Irish Rebellion of 1798
when his father, Thomas, was thrown into
prison and died shortly after he was released. Nicholas' oldest brother,
Walter, fled to the island Martinique in the West Indies. His brother James
was killed at
Vinegar Hill and his third brother, John, lived in France until he left for
America in 1796.
Nicholas came to the United States in 1806 and lived in Albany, working at William James and Company. He then moved to Utica, where he began working for his brother John.
Eventually, the business prospered and became Nicholas Devereux and Company. On November 28, 1817, he married Mary Dolbear Butler. He became involved with the Utica Water Works, and other businesses, where he earned enough money to purchase territory from the Holland Land Company.
The Devereux Company purchased 417,967 acres of land in Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties at 90 cents an acre.
Devereux planned to establish a thriving metropolis in the middle of all this land and call it Allegany City where, among other things, he would build a Franciscan school. One of the first things his family and Bishop Timon did was to create a Missionary, Scientific, Charitable Benevolent Society, which they named the 'St. Francis Missionary and Benevolent Society.'
When the Friars arrived in 1855, Nicholas Devereux' dream of starting a Franciscan institution began to come true. In 1856 the cornerstone of the monastery was laid.
In 2006, a letter was found in the attic of a home in Buffalo, NY. The letter was from John Devereux inviting attorney Asher Tyler of Elmira to come to the laying of the cornerstone of the Franciscan College on August 20, 1856.
Bibliography
Angelo, Mark V, O.F.M., Ph. D. The History of St. Bonaventure University.
Saint
Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1961.
Hammon, Walter,
O.F.M.
The First Bonaventure
Men. St. Bonaventure: St. Anthony
Guild Press, 1958.
Herscher, Irenaeus, O.F.M. The History of St. Bonaventure University. St. Bonaventure: The Franciscan Institute, 1951.
Pictures: Saint Bonaventure University Archives
This site was created by
Cathy Lapp for History 419, Fall 2006.
For more information please contact the
St.
Bonaventure University Archives
Last edited: 03/26/2007 08:32:45 AM