Historic house is tied to Utah's Catholic community

Intermountain Catholic

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All of the owners of the historic Hatfield-Lynch home, built in 1899, have been Catholic and members of the Cathedral of the Madeleine Parish. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — As the Catholic Church celebrates All Souls Day Nov. 2, Sean and Brooke Clark will remember the faithful departed and the living who have spent time in their home at 1167 E. South Temple in Salt Lake City.

The Clarks live in the Hatfield-Lynch home, which is registered with the Utah State Historical Society. All its owners have been Catholic and associated with the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Sean and Brooke were married in the cathedral in 2004; Sean’s parents, Mary and Pat Clark, were married in the cathedral and had their reception at the Hatfield-Lynch home, where Mary grew up. Mary’s father, Lawrence Brennan, was the home’s third owner. He was born on Aug. 15, 1909, the same day the Cathedral of the Madeleine was dedicated, and he was named after the first bishop of the diocese, the Right Rev. Lawrence Scanlan.

The home was constructed in 1899. William Hatfield was the original owner; John C. Lynch acquired it in 1905. Brennan purchased the home in 1958. The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross purchased it in 1973, followed by Dr. Julietta Gabiolla and her husband, Dr. Kevin Finnigan. They sold it to a business that didn’t last, and the home went into foreclosure. It was on the market for two years before the Clarks purchased it. They knew it was meant to be after seeing on the Transfer of Title that the Lynches closed on Sept. 14, 1904 and they closed on Sept. 14, 2010.

The Lynches were active members of the Catholic Church; in 1904 John Lynch was selected to serve on an executive construction committee for the new Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Lynch’s granddaughter, Genean Rich, a member of Saint Ambrose Parish, lived in the home with her three siblings after her father died. "It was a happy house," she said. "There was always a lot of visitors and room for everybody. We loved that house."

Mary Clark and her sister Jenifer Gibbons remember visiting Mrs. Lynch; they lived three doors up the street. When the girls were 10 and 14, respectively, they moved into the Hatfield-Lynch home.

"Our mother loved the house," said Mary Clark.

Gibbons has detailed memories of moving from one house to the other. "Daddy got a big dolly and took the legs off our grand piano and rolled it down South Temple; they rolled everything down South Temple," she said. "It was in the summer on a Sunday because there wasn’t much traffic."

"It was an open house to anybody who needed a place to stay," said Mary Clark. "Daddy was in the cathedral choir and would invite clergy, newcomers, the lonely and the poor for dinner. Relatives and friends lived with us and we would often spend the night on the sleeping porch."

"The parties and dinners couldn’t have happened without our mother, who did all the work behind the scenes," said Mary Clark. "She painted the house, rewired lamps, did the roofing and breathed all the life into the house."

For the Sisters of the Holy Cross the residence was a house of prayer. Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan, now director of Holy Cross Ministries, lived there from 1984 to 1987. "The ambiance was one for reflection," she said. "We had a chapel and we would pray together every morning. It was also a great place to have celebrations. It was especially beautiful when we would decorate for Christmas."

The house was a place of healing for Dr. Gabiolla, who lived there for 16 years after the Holy Cross Sisters, said Mary Clark.

"Her husband died of cancer at an early age and she raised her children there," Clark said. "Her children graduated from Judge Memorial (Catholic High School). She also did a lot of work with the Madeleine Choir School."

Before buying the home, Sean and Brooke Clark looked at it out of curiosity upon Mary Clark’s suggestion, but fell in love with it immediately even though it needed a lot of work.

"It looked like an old haunted house, but it was unique and Sean’s grandfather’s name is on the plaque," said Brooke Clark. "It has always been a gathering place for family, neighbors and friends, and that is our style."

"We enjoy having friends and relatives come and visit to talk about the memories they’ve had in this house," said Sean. "We feel so connected to the people who used to live here and we want to create new memories."