USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 44
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Another Universalist church was one of the earliest organizations in Posey township, in the neighborhood of Andersonville, but there are no facts as to it further than that it had an existence a few years, and, like most of this denomination, was unable to survive.
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At Mt. Carmel another Universalist church sprang into existence Sep- tember 15, 1850. M. V. Simonson, an ardent believer in salvation for all mankind, donated a substantial brick edifice which he erected, partly for his own use and partly for church uses, with the understanding that when he was through with the toils and trials of life, the entire property should go to the church of his choice. Rev. Jones and his wife, who is also a minister, have served the church at Mt. Carmel for the past several years.
MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES IN BROOKVILLE.
Few people ever heard of the two Moravian missionaries who passed through Franklin county in the spring of 1801, and camped for a few days on the site of the present town of Brookville. It is true that they left no impress upon the life of the county, and yet their trip up the White Water is not without interest to the students of the county's history.
The two missionaries in question were traveling northward to locate a mission on the banks of White river near the present site of Anderson. They left Cincinnati on April 14, 1801, and, according to the diary which they kept, reached Franklin county about ten days later. The part of their ac- count which falls within the purview of this article begins on April 24, and is as follows :
"In the morning early one of our white people shot a large deer of which we (&) our Indians received a share. When all had breakfasted we started. At noon we passed a large Indian camp ground (&) about 3 P. M. we finally, safely reached the forks. Here our journey by water came to an end & everything was unloaded from the canoes. Mr. Harper & the other white man now bid us a friendly farewell. They wished us God's blessing & hastened home with the canoes. We at once built a hut of bark for our things (&) put them under shelter in this dry place. Then pitching our tent we thanked the Lord that we had come thus far, with his assistance. Now we still had a distance of 100 miles by land before us (&) we did not yet know how we would accomplish it. Our messenger had not yet returned but we trusted the Lord that we would find ways (&) means so that we would at last reach the place of our destination. The White Water creek separates here into two arms, the one from the west & the other from the north. Between these arms or forks we encamped on a stretch of land through which the trail to Woapicamikunk passes, quite near our camp. Quite near there is a fine bottom where our cows find a
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great quantity of grass. We made ourselves as comfortable as possible (&) awaited with anxiety the return of our messenger.
"25th .- A shot was heard early in the morning (&) our Indian breth- ren at once returned it several times. "Soon after a young, painted Indian arrived. He was encamped only a mile from us (&) belongs to the same family as that of our messenger, the head of which had gone for us to Woapicamikunk.
"Sunday 26th .- The entire heathen family today visited us. During the afternoon Br. Kluge held a service, after which our Indians asked us whether they could give some flour to the wife of our messenger because they have had no bread for a whole year ; living in the woods, they have only meat. Not only did we allow this but also gave some of ours, for which they were very thankful.
"27th .- Our Indian brethren went hunting (&) we, white ' people, made use of the fine weather for unpacking our camp clothes. At the same time we anxiously awaited the return of our messenger from Woapicami- kunk. In the evening Br. Joshua told us that this Indian family, of which the head had gone as a messenger, had offered their horse, if during the absence of the messenger, we wished to continue our journey, so as not to remain the whole time at one place. She also offered herself, with her children, to carry anything in order to help our advance. We considered the matter with our Indian brethren. They were all in favor of it so that we could move on. We accepted the voluntary offer of these heathen (&) decided to make a beginning next day.
"28th .-- They brought a horse to our camp (&) just as we were busy packing, a strong bay horse came running, as if by accident, from the woods, without anyone being with it. The Indian brethren recognized it as an Indian horse. Without knowing to whom it belonged we caught it at once (&) loaded it also. In this way we now had two horses, with which we transported a good part of our things for five miles. Late at night the Indian brethren returned with the horses (&) brought us the unpleasant news that the messenger had returned from Woapicamikunk, but had brought no horses for our journey. He had found neither the chiefs nor the Indians at home. The former had gone to Fort Vincent to make a treaty (&) the latter have not yet returned from the hunt. He said further that he had sent our tobacco down the river to the other Indian towns, yet he did not know whether we would receive help, because he thought the Indians were also not at home. This news was very depressing (&) we were not a little worried about our journey, because we were in the woods where
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no help could be found. But as we had begun to move we continued our journey in the hope that our Lord would not forsake us."
These four days (April 24-28) seemed to have been spent somewhere upon the ridge separating the forks of White Water, but the exact location will never be known. It should be added, in conclusion, that the missionaries finally reached their destination on the banks of White river near Anderson and maintained a mission there for about five years.
ST MICHAEL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.
St. Michael's church, of Brookville, has the largest membership of any church in the county, and the most valuable church property. However, it is not the oldest church in the county. A few Catholics came to Brookville as early as 1838, and were regularly visited by the Rev. Joseph Ferneding, of New Alsace, Indiana. When he left the diocese in 1842, he reported the condition of his missions to the bishop, mentioning Brookville as having fourteen families. but no church. About 1844 Rev. William Engeln began visiting the Catholic families regularly each month, and held divine services in private houses. Michael Schrank and Melchior Witt were among the pioneer members of the church, and services were usually held in the home of the former by the visiting priest. It was in the following year that the church bought its first property. The court records at Brookville show that on January 23. 1845, a lot with a small brick building thereon was purchased for the sum of five hundred dollars. This building was fitted up for the first Catholic church of Brookville. This site is now occupied by the present church building.
From this time the congregation was regularly attended by the priests who resided at St. Peter's, St. Leon and St. Mary's of the Rocks. In 1850 an addition to the church grounds was purchased, and eight years later the present St. Michael's church was erected under the direction of the Rev. Januarius Weisenberger. He was a man of great energy and zeal and had the good will and assistance of his parishioners in this great undertaking. Something of the magnitude of the task which faced him may be understood when it is known that there were then only about forty families in the con- gregation. The original cost of the church was ten thousand dollars, and thus it will be seen that the building of the edifice must have meant great sacrifices for the loyal members of the church. However, the congregation continued to increase and within a comparatively short time the church was enabled to purchase additional ground and make other improvements.
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In 1863 the Rev. G. H. Ostlangenberger became the first resident priest. Previous to his assuming charge the congregation had purchased a frame residence north of the church for a parsonage. As soon as Father Ostlan- genberger was installed he began to hasten the completion of the church building, and within a short time opened a parochial school under the direc- tion of the Venerable Sisters of Oldenburg, who have had charge of the school down to the present time. During his incumbency he purchased a cemetery at the north end of the town.
In 1868 Father Ostlangenberger resigned and took charge of a parish near Covington, Kentucky, where he remained until his death, June 4, 1885. He was succeeded by the Rev. Meinrad Fleischmann, who remained here for twenty-nine years. In the year following his assumption of the charge, he purchased two lots near the church, on which a school building was erected in 1873. Father Fleischmann purchased and installed the beautiful altars and bells in the church and built the brick parsonage at a cost of four thousand dollars. He was a man of wonderful energy and enthusiasm and worked with great success for the welfare of the parish. When he was transferred, in 1897, to a larger field of labor, the congregation, then num- bering about one hundred forty families, was entirely free of debt. During his long pastorate he watched faithfully over his flock and the congregation prospered.
Rev. Anthony Schenk followed Father Fleischmann and, as he was a very zealous man for the work of God, he accomplished great things for his parish. In 1902 he rebuilt St. Michael's church at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. He saw that the growing congregation could no longer be accommodated and, be it said to his zeal and credit, it is the finest church edifice in the county. He assisted generously with his own means in the remodeling of the church. During his pastorate the chapel in St. Michael's cemetery was erected through the munificence of Mrs. Mary A. Benusee. Father Schenk had other plans in view, but death claimed this pious and zeal- ous priest, on March 21, 1910. As he had not provided a monument for him- self the congregation, in greateful remembrance, erected one to his memory.
Rev. Andrew Schaaf, who had been the pastor of the church at Posey- ville, Indiana, for fifteen years, succeeded Father Schenk upon the latter's death. He at once took up the work left by his worthy predecessor and to the best of his ability followed in his worthy footsteps. His first thought was to pay off the remaining debt on the church, which was less than three thousand dollars. In 1912 he rebuilt St. Michael's school, which was made necessary on account of the increasing number of children in the parish. It
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is a modern building in every respect and was erected at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars. He has taken a great interest in the cemetery of the church, and in 1911 purchased from William Smiester four acres, for which he paid two thousand dollars. Another addition was made to the ceme- tery in 1913 at a cost of seven hundred and fifty dollars, so that the ceme- tery now contains a total of nine acres.
Father Schaaf has also made extensive improvements to the church. The fact that the congregation, after having raised twenty-five thousand dollars or the rebuilding of St. Michael's church in less than ten years, from 1902-1912, has since then raised an additional fifteen thousand dollars for improvements above the regular current expenses, speaks well for the gen- erosity of the parishioners of St. Michael's church. The membership in 1915 embraced two hundred and seventy families of eleven hundred and seventy souls. There were one hundred and eighty-seven pupils in the parochial school during the year 1914-15. Tuition is free in the St. Michael's school for all Catholic children, as all expenses for its maintenance are paid out of the church treasury.
CATHOLIC SOCIETIES OF ST. MICHAEL'S PARISH.
The Catholic church provides a number of societies for the benefit of her members. There are societies for the children, separate organizations for the young people, societies for the married as well as the unmarried women and societies for men of different ages. Practically all of the mem- bership of St. Michael's is found in one or the other of the several societies under the auspices of the church.
GUARDIAN ANGEL SOCIETY.
All children of the parish under the age of twelve are included in the Guardian Angel Society. This includes the children of both sexes and at the time of their solemn communion the girls become eligible to membership in the Young Ladies' Sodality, while the boys may join the Young Men's Sodality.
YOUNG LADIES' SODALITY.
The membership of the Young Ladies' Sodality includes the young un- married ladies of the parish. They receive holy communion in a body on the second Sunday of each month. The membership now includes one hun-
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ST. MICHAEL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, SCHOOL AND PRIEST'S RESIDENCE,
FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BROOKVILLE.
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dred and sixteen girls. The officers for the current year are as follow : Ella Dudley, president; Edith Peters, vice-president; Hilda Koehler, secre- tary; Mary Ritzi, treasurer; Pauline Fehlinger and Antonetta Weber, coun- cillors.
YOUNG MEN'S SODALITY.
The Young Men's Sodality society includes the young men of the parish and now has a membership of ninety. They receive holy communion on the fourth Sunday of each month. The officers for the current year are as fol- low: David Senefeld, president; Edwin Baker, vice-president; John Ritzi, secretary-treasurer ; Leo Selm and Herbert Geis, councillors.
THE HOLY ROSARY SOCIETY.
The Society of the Holy Rosary includes the married ladies of the parish and now has a membership of one hundred and forty-three. They receive holy communion on the first Sunday of each month and hold con- ference after vespers on the same day. The present officers are as follow : Mrs. Albert Ferris, president; Mrs. F. J. Baker, vice-president, and Mrs. William Baudenditle, secretary-treasurer.
ST. MICHAEL'S SOCIETY.
The membership of the St. Michael's Society includes the men of the parish. They receive holy communion on the third Sunday of each month and hold meeting after high mass of the same day. They now have fifty- two members. The officers for the current year are as follow: M. A. Jacobs, president ; Michael Gartner, vice-president; Henry Gagle, secretary ; William Burkhart, treasurer.
ST. PETER'S BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
The St. Peter's Benevolent Society (incorporated) is made up of the men of the parish and holds a regular meeting on the second Sunday of each month. The society now has a membership of one hundred and fifteen. The present officers are as follows: Frank Geis, Sr., president; Otto Roth, vice-president; Henry Gagle and Louis Aulbach, secretaries, and William Burkhart, treasurer.
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THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS.
The Third Order of St. Francis is restricted to the unmarried women of the parish. They receive holy communion on the third Sunday of each month. They now have a membership of twenty-five.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
Brookville Council No. 1010, Knights of Columbus, was organized May 14, 1905, with a class of forty-four candidates, namely: Lewis J. Ariens, Anthony J. Biltz, Frank J. Baker, John F. Burdick, Robert Clauter, Ray J. Dudley, Joseph F. Dudley, Joseph C. Dudley, John L. Dietz, Valen- tine Eckerle, Henry Eckerle, Frederick Eckerle, Harry Fries, Joseph A. Fries, Jr., Carl Gagle, George A. Geis, William M. Geis, Frank J. Geis, Alexander M. Hall, William Haubold, August Hackman, Joseph Hannan, John Haman, Michael A. Jacob, Frank L. Klotz, Henry J. Meyer, Matthew Phelan, Albert Riedman, Frederick J. Riedman, Otto J. Roth, Charles G. Reifel, Rev. Anthony Schenk, Jacob J. Schuck, Anthony J. Suhre, Joseph P. Samoniel, John Stenger, Albert R. Stenger, Edward F. Stenger, Francis J. Tulley, Martin Weber, Ferdinand Werst and Michael Williams. The first degree was conferred by the Connersville Council, the second by the Cincinnati Council and the third by the Richmond Council. There were sev- eral hundred visiting members of the Knights in Brookville on that Sunday, including the Rushville Council, which attended in a body. At the close of the installation a banquet was given in the town hall for the new members and their visiting brothers. Doctor Averdick, of Covington, Kentucky, acted as toastmaster. During the banquet Anna Mollaun sang "I Wait for Thee," Mrs. George Geis sang "Sing Me to Sleep," and Mrs. F. J. Geis fur- nished the piano music.
The first officers of the local council were as follow: Frank Tulley, grand knight; Mathew Phelan, deputy grand knight; Frank J. Baker, chan- cellor ; Harry Fries, recording secretary; John Burdick, financial secretary ; Frank J. Geis, treasurer; William Haubold, lecturer; Edward Stenger, ad- vocate; Joseph C. Dudley, warden; Albert Riedman, inside guard; Ray J. Dudley, outside guard ; Rev. A. A. Schenk, chaplain ; trustees, Otto Roth, one year, Joseph F. Dudley, two years, and William Geis, three years. The officers for the current year are as follow: Harry Fogel, grand knight; Otto Roth, deputy grand knight; Thomas H. Feltz, recorder; Joseph P. Samoniel, financial secretary ; Frank Geis, Jr., treasurer ; Joseph F. Dudley,
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Pius C. Selm and Hugo Tettenborn, trustees. The council meets the second and fourth Thursdays of each month in their hall in the Carter building.
ST. MARY'S OF THE ROCKS, ST. MARY'S.
By far the greater majority of the farmers of Butler township are mem- bers of the Catholic church, for the most part descendants of Germans who emigrated to this country in the early forties of the last century. The original settlers, not a few of whom are still living, realizing their spiritual needs, begin at once to erect a suitable house of worship.
In 1844 the original Catholic community, numbering but fourteen fam- ilies, built a log church on a hill overlooking the picturesque valley of Pipe creek. The congregation was at that time in charge of Rev. William Engeln, who resided at St. Peter's. The church was dedicated the same year under the title of St. Mary's of the Rocks, and twelve years later received its first resident pastor in the person of the Rev. Januarius Weissenberger.
In the year 1859 Father Weissenberger, seeing that the small log church could no longer accommodate the growing congregation, began the erection of the present large brick church. In December of the same year he was succeeded by the Rev. John P. Gillig, under whose pastorate the new church was completed. It was blessed by Bishop de St. Palais on September 8, 1862. Father Gillig departed in June, 1863, and was followed by the Rev. Leo Osredkar, O. S. F., residing at St. Peter's. The next resident priest was the Rev. Joseph Kaufmann, who was stationed here from 1866 till 1868. He was succeeded by the Rev. A. Nonnenmacher, 1868 till 1871, who built the present priest's residence of eight rooms. The Rev. Joseph Roesch was the pastor from 1871 to 1873 and the Rev. John M. Gabriel from January to August, 1874. The Rev. I. H. Girolt's pastorate extended from 1874 to 1888; his successor, the Rev. Martin Andres, was pastor from 1888 to 1902. He was followed by the Rev. C. P. Baron, 1902 to 1906. In May, 1906, the church was destroyed by fire of unknown origin, nothing but the walls remaining. His successor, Father E. J. Zirkelbach, in the same year began the rebuilding of the church and, thanks to his energy and zeal, succeeded in completing the new church, after spending more than twenty thousand dollars in its construction. The new church is the pride of the people of the parish, now numbering seventy-five families, who may well point to it as a monument of their self-sacrificing charity and perseverance in erecting so beautiful a temple of worship.
The present pastor, Rev. L. Weishaar, under whose guidance the des-
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tinies of the parish have been directed since October 12, 1907, has added a number of needed improvements to the church, school and residence from time to time. In 1910 a new school building was erected, at a cost of more than four thousand dollars. The building is large and spacious and ample for the accommodation of the children.
Father Weishaar was born in the city of Chicago, March 13, 1876, and is the second youngest of a family of fifteen children. He was educated in the parochial schools of Chicago and at the age of thirteen entered the Jesuit College of that city. He also spent three years in a college near Kirkwood, Missouri, and completed his theological training in the seminary at St. Mein- rad, Spencer county, Indiana, where he was ordained in 1904. His first charge was in St. Patrick's church, Terre Haute, Indiana, where he remained as assistant pastor for eighteen months. Ill health necessitated a change of climate, and in the fall of 1905 he went to southern California, where he re- mained for nearly a year, doing missionary work among the Indians and Mexicans. Upon his return to Indiana in 1906, he took charge of St. Mark's and missions in Perry county, in the southern part of the state. He remained there until 1907, when he became pastor of St. Mary's of the Rocks.
ST. PHILOMENA CHURCH, OAK FOREST.
There have been two churches of this name in Franklin county, the first one being located in Brookville township, on Wolf creek, about three miles southwest of the town of Brookville. The first St. Philomena was organ- ized in the early forties and by 1844 the congregation was worshipping in a log church. The church was attended by the priest from Brookville, and as the years went by the membership increased to such numbers that it was deemed advisable to build a new church.
This was about 1870 and it was at this time that the second Philomena came into existence. The desire for a new building was communicated to the Bishop at Vincennes, and after carefully examining the situation, he finally selected a new site, the one now occupied by St. Philomena at Oak Forest. The Bishop felt that the location in Butler township was for the best interest of the church and its subsequent history has revealed the wisdom of his choice. The church at the new site was, of course, called St. Philomena, since the Bishop ordered that the members who had attended the little log church in Brookville township must ally themselves with the church to be established at Oak Forest. There were, unfortunately, some who were not resigned to the wish of the Bishop and, at the same time the church was
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being erected at Oak Forest, started to build a large brick church on the old site on Wolf creek. Of the fifty-seven families who composed the old congregation in Brookville township, forty decided to build a new church on the old site, despite the orders of the Bishop.
Seventeen families composed the little congregation which erected the first building at Oak Forest. The bell in the church was dedicated and blessed January 15, 1871, and high mass was read at that time by Father Nonnemacher. The church was not quite completed at the time, but was finished during the summer of 1871. The congregation has increased and now embraces about forty families. The church has never had a resident pastor, but has always been attached to the church at St. Mary's of the Rocks. In 1908 Rev. L. Weishaar remodeled the church, spending about four thousand dollars in beautifying it. In 1913 a splendid pipe organ was installed and the church is now second to none of its size in the state in beauty and complete equipment.
ST. PHILOMENA CHURCH, BROOKVILLE TOWNSHIP.
In the early forties a number of Catholic families in the vicinity of section I, township 9, range 3, organized a church on the banks of Wolf creek, about three miles southwest of Brookville. A log church was erected and services were held there continuously until 1874. While Rev. Janaurius Weisenberger was pastor of the church definite steps were taken toward the acquisition of a lot on which to erect a new building. On December 8, 1858, the trustees of St. Philomena, as the church was called from the beginning, bought a tract of land on the site above mentioned and there they erected a log building. A school building was erected just south of the church. The trustees in charge of the church and school were John Senefeld, Conrad Honecker and Conrad Huth.
By the first part of the seventies the congregation had so increased in membership and material prosperity that they felt justified in erecting a new church. Owing to the proximity of St. Michael's church at Brookville and St. Mary's church at Haymond, there was some opposition to the erection of the proposed church at the old site. The Bishop refused to give his per- mission for the erection of the church on the old site, yet despite his refusal forty families resolved to go ahead and build on the old site. Plans for the building were drawn up by Michael A. Jacob, who is still living in Brook- ville. When the building was completed, in 1874, the Bishop, of course, refused to dedicate it inasmuch as it had been erected without his consent.
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