1839 – 1901 (March 2)
Edward Augustine Dailey, son of Carol Dailey and Anne Woods, was born on June 9, 1839, in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He arrived in the United States when he was quite young and received his early education at Saint Augustine School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On September 18, 1858, he entered the novitiate at Villanova, professed simple vows on September 19, 1859, and solemn vows three years later. On December 21, 1862, he was ordained to the priesthood by James Frederic Wood, Archbishop of Philadelphia.
Father Dailey’s first assignment was to Saint Mary’s Parish, Lawrence, Massachusetts, as assistant pastor. In 1863, he succeeded the pastor, Father Mullen, for a two year period, and then was assigned pastor of Saint Patrick Parish, Cambridge, New York. As his Augustinian predecessor had done, Father Daily continued to serve the people of Hoosick Falls, where he built the Church of the Immaculate Conception, had it blessed on December 10, 1871, and became the first resident pastor. In 1873, he was named a delegate to the National Temperance Union, in New York City. He served in other New York State parishes; namely, Saint Augustine, Lansingburgh; Saint John the Baptist, Schaghticoke; Saint Joseph, Greenwich; Saint Paul, Mechanicville; and Saint James, Carthage, where he was appointed pastor and prior.
Father Dailey served as assistant at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, Atlantic City, New Jersey, when he celebrated his silver jubilee on December 21, 1887. The following year he assisted, at Saint Joseph Parish, Greenwich, New York. In 1889, he supervised the planning and construction of Saint Monica Church, Berwyn, Pa. Records indicate that on July 4, 1893, he was the last Augustinian to offer Mass at Saint Monica Church before it was transferred to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Father Dailey then became a member of Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova, followed by an assignment to Saint Denis Parish, Havertown, Pa. From 1893 to 1896 he served as sacristan in Saint Augustine Parish in Philadelphia, before returning once again to Villanova. On December 18, 1898, he was chosen to offer the college retreat at Villanova College.
Father Dailey was the first to die in the “new monastery,” on March 2, 1901, at the age of 60. The Funeral Mass, held in Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, was celebrated by John J. Fedigan, O.S.A., Prior Provincial. Interment was in the Community Cemetery on campus.
