USA > Indiana > History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
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The cost of the church-building, as improved in 1886, reached $8,000; the pastoral residence, $2,000; the school-building, com- pleted in 1888, cost $10,000, and the Sisters' residence, finished in 1890, $2,000. The societies attached to SS. Peter and Paul's church are the Catholic Knights, with a membership of thirty-two; the Catholic Benevolent league, thirty-two; the St. Joseph School society, ninety-four; the Ladies' Altar society, 115, and the Blessed Virgin sodality, 116.
Rev. August Young, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's church, was born in Alsace, Germany, March 29, 1842, was educated in Strassburg, and, after coming to the United States, finished his studies at St. Vincent's abbey, Westmoreland, Pa. He was ordained, January 1, 1868, by the Right Rev. Bishop Rapp for the diocese of Fort Wayne, and said his first mass at Sandusky City,
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Ohio, January 12, 1868. He was then assigned to Huntington, Ind., as assistant to the late Father Steiner, where he remained until August 16, 1869, when he was located, as chaplain, at the orphans' asylum of Rensselaer. Ind .; October 28, 1871, he was oppointed assistant at St. Mary's, Fort Wayne, and August 5, 1872, was assigned to Auburn, where he organized the following- named parishes, as missions: Auburn, in 1872; Garrett, in 1875, and Summit, in 1880. He attended Garrett as a mission until 1886 and then came here as resident pastor, since which time his labors have been untiring in promoting the welfare of his people and the glory of the church.
FULTON COUNTY.
St. Ann's Church is located about two miles northeast from. Grass Creek station, and the parish came into existence under the following circumstances: In 1858 the Catholic families who had settled near Grass Creek were visited by Rev. Francis X. Nigg, who administered to their spiritual needs until the time rolled round when, under his advice, steps were taken for the erection of a house of worship, and a small frame building was the result. St. Ann's, as a mission, was then attended by the Rev. John G. McMahon until 1868, the Rev. B. J. Force succeeding him. At the death of the latter, Rev. Charles Joseph Maugin, of Craw- fordsville, was appointed the first resident pastor, and officiated until 1870, when he was succeeded by Rev. James O'Brien, and after him there followed pastors in the order here named: In 1873, Rev. John Dempsey: in 1878, Rev. Thomas M. Cahill, and, in the same year, Rev. P. J. Crosson; in 1881, Rev. M. Joy; in 1884, Rev. M. F. Kelly; in 1886, Rev. D. J. Mulcahy, during whose stay of five years the present church was erected; in 1891, Rev. Rudolph Denk, and in October of the same year he was replaced by the Rev. F. C. Wiechmann; in 1893. came Rev. F. W. Schae- per; in December, 1893, Rev. G. M. Kelly; in 1894, Rev. John Cook, who officiated until January, 1896, when the parish was attended by the Fathers of the Holy Cross until September, 1896, when Rev. Gregory A. Zern was appointed, and this worthy min- ister of God has since devoted his pious care, not only to the cure
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of souls in St. Ann's parish, but to that of those in the mission of St. Elizabeth, in Harrison township, Cass county.
The congregation of St. Ann's is entirely of Irish nationality and has been able to keep itself out of debt, a fact in which it is almost as equally blessed as having for its pastor the Rev. Gregory A. Zern
GOSHEN, ELKHART COUNTY.
St. John's Church, at Goshen, was built in 1860. Prior to this date, the wants of the few Catholic families in Goshen and vicinity were attended to by the priests who occasionally came from Fort Wayne, or from the university of Notre Dame, and who held services either in the old court house or in some private dwelling. Rev. Alexis Granger, C. S. C. (now deceased), once stated to Rev. S. M. Yenn, the present worthy pastor of St. John's, that he had often made the trip from Notre Dame to Goshen on horseback, through the dense forests, without meeting a living soul on the way. The distance between the two points is now about twenty- five miles by rail, but it would be difficult to estimate how many miles the Rev. Granger was compelled to travel through the woods when there were no roads, no guides, and the way beset with many obstructions. Besides the Rev. Alexis Granger, the Very Rev. Edward Sorin, C. S. C., the saintly founder of Notre Dame, was also an occasional visitor at Goshen, as was also Rev. Father Schaefer.
The first resident priest at Goshen was the Rev. Father Holz, who officiated from 1861 until 1866, after which date, for about six months, Goshen was a mission and was attended by the Rev. A. B. Oechtering from Avilla. Goshen was then again furnished with a resident pastor in the person of the Rev. Father Storr, who was succeeded by the Rev. H. Meissner towards the end of 1868, after Rev. D. Duehmig, of Avilla, had attended the parish for almost a year. Father Meissner remained until 1871, when Goshen again became a mission of Avilla, and Father Duehmig once more the visiting priest in charge; but the same year it was transferred as a mission to the care of the pastor at Elkhart, and was attended by Revs. J. H. Quinlan and M. F. Noll, successively.
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In 1878, Goshen again obtained a resident pastor in the person of Rev. H. A. Boeckelmann, who, in 1880, was succeeded by Rev. A. J. Kroeger, who remained seven years. In the fall of 1887 Rev. Adam Buchheit was appointed pastor, Father Kroeger being transferred to LaGro. In July, 1889, the present able young pastor, S. M. Yenn, was placed in charge, and has since labored well and faithfully, doing much to maintain the excellent state of affairs established by his predecessor, Father Kroeger, who left the parish in a good financial as well as spiritual condition.
The missions at Ligonier and Millersburg had, prior to Sep- tember, 1897, been in the care of the pastor of Goshen, but, at the date mentioned, were detached, and Ligonier was granted a resident pastor-the Rev. J. G. Lauer.
The first Catholic school-house in Goshen was erected in 1867 by Rev. Henry Meissner, at a cost of $500. Until 1881, it was € taught successively by Messrs. Duehmig (brother of Rev. D. Dueh- mig), Laly, Wagner, Tidner and Miss Catherine Smith. In 1881 Father Kroeger built a very neat brick school-house, at a cost of $1, 100, giving up his own frame residence to the Sisters, who then became the teachers. Then, while boarding with a private family, Father Kroeger erected a handsome parsonage, also of brick, and then, by hard work, succeeded in liquidating the entire debt of the congregation. The present school-building is 30 x40 feet, one and one-half stories high, is situated on the corner of Third and Monroe streets, about sixty-five feet west of the church, with the main entrance on Third street. The two well-ventilated and nicely furnished class-rooms have a seating capacity for 130 children, but the present attendance does not exceed fifty-seven, equally divided as to the sexes. These are in charge of two Sisters of the Holy Cross, and the annual outlay for the school, including the salary of the teachers, is about $450. The sources of income for the school are the tuition fees, at fifty cents per month for each pupil; col- lections and sums derived from socials and membership fees of St. Joseph's society, which was organized November 13, 1892. The average expense per pupil, annually, is about $8. The present value of the school-ground, including the play-ground, is $800, and that of the school-building, with its appurtenances, about $1,400. The
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reverend director is the Rev. S. M. Yenn, of whom a brief sketch is given in Vol. II of this work.
GREENCASTLE, PUTNAM COUNTY.
The history of the church of St. Paul the Apostle dates back to 1848, when Rev. Simon Lalumiere, of St. Joseph's church, Terre Haute, here read the first mass in an old log school-house, the property of Clinton Walls. The early Catholics of Greencastle and vicinity, but few of whom are now living, were generally employed in the construction of the Vandalia and the New Albany railroads, and for a considerable period of time religious services. were held in private houses. Other priests, beside the reverend father men- tioned, attended to the spiritual needs of this mission in those early days, among whom was the Rev. Daniel Maloney, from Indianap- olis. Rev. William Doyle was appointed by Bishop Maurice de St. Palais the first pastor of this congregation, and it was through Father Doyle's efforts that the Catholics of Greencastle came into possession of their first church property. This consisted of an old cooper-shop, located in the upper part of the town, which they purchased and converted into a temporary house of worship. The prejudices of the non-Catholic residents of the place were at that time very bitter, as was proven by the fact that the owner of the cooperage refused to sell the property to Father Doyle or to any Catholic, and the sale was finally made to Judge D. R. Echols, a non-Catholic, but devoid of religious prejudice, and by him the property was turned over to the devoted priest.
Rev. Edward O'Flaherty, of Crawfordsville, Ind., succeeded Father Doyle, and ministered at Greencastle and adjacent mis- sions until the division or partition of the diocese of Vincennes brought changes, which resulted in the appointment of Rev. Pat- rick Highland to Greencastle, as the first pastor after said division had been effected. He remained from 1856 until 1860, but, being quite an elderly person, was forced by ill-health to resign, after much hard labor and the accomplishment of a vast amount of good for the mission. He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph O'Reilly, under whose administration many improvements were made. The church was furnished with the necessary appliances and means for
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the proper exercise of church rites and decent worship, the walls were plastered, the altar erected, proper vestments secured, the outside of the building painted, the fence built, the steeple erected and the cross adjusted-all adding to the exterior and interior beauty of the chapel and the conveniences of clergyman and wor- shipers.
In May, 1864, Father O'Reilly was transferred to Cambridge, Ind., and Rev. Charles Joseph Maugin appointed to the charge at Greencastle by the bishop of Vincennes. Father Maugin entered upon his duties with vigorous energy, and in April, 1866, purchased the Old School Presbyterian church-building for the sum of $3, 000, remodeled it, and on June Ioth, of the same year, the building was blessed by the Right Rev. Maurice de St. Palais and conse- crated to St. Paul the Apostle.
December 26, 1867, Father Maugin was succeeded by Rev. J. Clement, who erected a new addition to the church-edifice, but was called to the home of the blest in 1871, and was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. Peter Bischof, and he by Rev. Dennis O'Donovan, who was pastor from 1874 to 1877, and then exchanged charges with Rev. Thomas Logan, who remained from February, 1877, until August, 1880. 'Rev. Michael Power became the next pastor and held the charge from September, 1880, until 1885, when Father Logan again assumed the pastorate, and in 1888 was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Macke, who, in 1889, was followed by the present pious and devoted pastor, Rev. Thomas A. McLoughlin.
From a mere mission, St. Paul the Apostle parish has a posi- tion of no small importance in the diocese of Vincennes. Its property has greatly increased in quantity and value, and the pres- ent church-edifice, school-house and pastor's residence give evi- dence of the zeal of the different clergymen under whose. charge it has been placed and of the earnestness of its constantly increas- ing congregation. The school, which is in excellent condition, has been under the care of the Sisters of Providence since 1886. Although no additional property has been purchased since Rev. Father McLoughlin came here, the beautiful appearance of the church and its environments is due to his careful attention.
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GREENSBURG, DECATUR COUNTY.
St. Mary's Church. - The Rev. E. Martinovic visited the Catholics of Greensburg and held divine service in private houses until 1855, when the present (brick) church was built. The first resident pastor was the Rev. John P. Gillig, who labored here with great zeal from 1863 until 1871. In March or April he was succeeded by the Rev. J. L. Brassart, who had charge during nearly three years.
In the fall of 1874, the Rev. Daniel Curran became pastor. New life began to quicken the congregation during his time. He built a priest's house of brick and secured a dwelling for the teach- er's residence. He also built a brick school-house of two large rooms, with a seating capacity of seventy-five each. The school was given in charge to the Sisters of St. Francis, who at present have an average attendance of eighty children.
On August 2, 1877, the Rev. Henry Kessing succeeded Father Curran. Father Kessing was born April II, 1845, and was ordained priest on September 22, 1868. Bloomington, with its numerous missions, was his first charge, and Greensburg the second and last, and there he paid off the balance of indebtedness on the church property. He died November 20, 1882, and was buried at St. Maurice, Decatur county. Rev. Father George Steigerwald built the present church and parish-house. He was pastor of this congregation for fourteen years. Rev. Lawrence Fichter is the present pastor.
HAMBURG, FRANKLIN COUNTY.
St. Ann's Church is a daughter, so to speak, of the Holy Family church at Oldenburg, and has been attended from the beginning up to the present date by the Franciscan Fathers exclu- sively. Many years prior to the building of the church a log house was erected in the present village, which served as a school-house, and was considered a branch of the parochial schools at Olden- burg.
The school suggested a church and congregation. About 1868, Wesley Martin, who owned a large farm in Ray and Salt
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Creek townships, of Franklin county, laid out the present village of Hamburg, and offered to donate five acres of land, provided a church was at once built. The Catholic farmers of the neighbor- hood at the time numbered about thirty-five families. They met and accepted Mr. Martin's offer, Bishop de St. Palais gladly con- senting to the building of a church. The Franciscan Fathers of Oldenburg directed the work. In the spring of 1869 the corner- stone was laid, and in the same year, on the 19th day of October, the church was blessed. The church is of brick, measuring on the interior 83 x 53 feet, with a height of thirty-three feet in the clear. The old log school-house was abandoned in 1873, and one of brick built, 50 x 30 feet. From 1869 to 1876 the congregation had mass and vespers on all Sundays and feasts of obligation, and mass also on all Thursdays of the year. In September, 1876, a commodious two-story brick parsonage was ready for occupancy, and since then Hamburg has had a resident pastor.
Two secular teachers had charge of the shcool up to 1878, when the Sisters of St. Francis bought a residence in Hamburg, and took charge of the schools. The average attendance at school is over 100. The congregation numbers about ninety families. The church has three beautiful altars, pulpit and decorations, costing $1,500; $12,000 in money was laid out on the church property; but counting labor and building material donated, $20,000 is not too high an estimate of the value of the entire church property. At present Rev. Joseph Neuhoffer is the pastor.
HAMMOND, LAKE COUNTY.
St. Joseph's Church, of which Rev. H. M. Plaster is the pastor and Rev. Henry Kappel the assistant, is the oldest and largest in this thriving little city of over 7,000 inhabitants, and its parochial school is the largest, in all probability, of any in the county, inasmuch as it is attended by about 168 boys and 195 girls, who are under the instruction of eleven Sisters of Providence.
St. Casimir's (Polish) Church, under the pastoral charge of Rev. K. Kobylinski, is in a very flourishing condition, and main- tains a school attended by forty boys and thirty-seven girls, is (292)
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instructed by one teacher only, under the reverend director, the pastor, of whom more may be read in Vol. II of this work.
All Saints' Church is fully mentioned in the personal sketch of its pastor, Rev. Edward F. Barrett, in Vol. II.
HANOVER CENTER, LAKE COUNTY.
St. Martin's Church, at Hanover Center, was organized about 1857, by Rev. Father Neigh, with some eighteen or twenty Ger- man families as its constituents, among whom were the following heads: Matthias Geisen, John Scherer, John Kretz, Peter Heizer, Peter Klein, Jacob Leinen, M. Lauermann, J. J. Klein, U. Hoeltzle, John Eberle, J. Roethgen, G. Emerling, M. Schriver, M. Einsle, J. Rhein, M. Russell, P. Buckley and John Drizkel. But the spirit of Catholicity imbued many others in the vicinity, and the little congregation was soon augmented by the faithfulness of the neighborhood.
Meetings were first held in private dwellings, but the members of the congregation had been taught from infancy that the worship of God should be observed in a sacred temple dedicated for that purpose only. Therefore they started a subscription list with the view of raising funds to be applied to the erection of a church edi- fice, the result being that a frame structure was begun in 1858 and completed in 1859, at a cost of $800, the interior being quite tastefully finished. This building was used as a place of worship until 1867, when, by some accident, it was destroyed by fire- supposedly originated by the ignition of kindling-wood that had been left too close to an overheated stove.
Steps were immediately taken by the not-at-all discouraged congregation for the building of a new frame edifice, and this was completed at a cost of $2,000, the outside presenting a pleas- ing appearance, and the interior decoration comparing very favor- ably with that of any other church in northern Indiana." In 1882 the congregation numbered sixty families, but this number has increased to seventy-five, and the school attendance numbers about fifty-two pupils. The church real estate comprises five acres, on which are located the church building, parsonage and teachers' residence, and the cemetery. The successors of Father
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Neigh at St. Martin's have been Revs. Ranson, Wehrle, F. Siegel- ack, F. X. Deimel (1873), William Berg (1876) and Charles Steurer (1882). October 1, 1889, the Rev. Matthias Zumbuelte, the present pious and efficient pastor, was placed in charge.
HARTFORD CITY, BLACKFORD COUNTY.
St. John the Evangelist Congregation at Hartford City are now the owners of their own church-edifice' and minister to the spiritual needs of St. John the Evangelist congregation at Mont- pelier and also a mission at Dunkirk, in Jay county. The Hart- ford congregation was attended as a mission for thirty years, or until 1894, the number of families at its organization consisting of about sixty. In 1894 Rev. Charles Dhe was appointed resident pastor, and, by 1897, through his strenuous exertions, there was completed the present beautiful church-edifice, which is in the Gothic style of architecture, is of brick, 105 x 50 feet ground plan, and cost $10,000. It was dedicated April 24, 1898, and has now a large and prosperous congregation, composed chiefly of Irish fam- ilies, intermixed with Belgian and French.
St. John the Evangelist church at Montpelier was built by Bishop Luers sometime in the 'sixties, and for many years was mainly supported by the McCaffrey and Mesbaum families, the original number of families at the organization of the congrega- tion being quite limited and at the present time not exceeding twenty-five. For twenty years the congregation was ministered to by Father Schmidt, but in December, 1894, it became a mission of the church of the same name at Hartford City. In 1896 a neat Gothic church, of brick, was erected at a cost of $5, 500, and this was dedicated in March of the same year by Bishop Rade- macher. The Dunkirk, Jay county, mission of St. John the Evangelist church of Hartford City is known as St. Mary's, but the congregation is quite small and consists of about twenty-five fami- lies. Prior to the discovery of natural gas at Dunkirk there were hardly any Catholics who resided in the neighborhood, but at length a congregation was organized, and for some time religious services were held at the residence of John Hays, the earlier cler- gymen being Fathers Lameau, of Union City, Baker, of Portland, (294)
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and J. Quinlan, of Union City. Father Dhe then ministered to the congregation from 1894 until 1896, in the parochial house, when, in the latter year, the present church was erected at a cost of $5,500, and was dedicated July 4, by Bishop Rademacher --- Rev. Charles Dhe continuing as the pastor.
HAUBSTADT, GIBSON COUNTY.
Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, at Haubstadt, was erected under the auspices of the Rev. Joseph Merckl in 1877, Rev. George T. Widerin assisting the former, then pastor of St. James, which church was too small for the accommodation of its growing con- gregation. This fact led to the erection of the present church building at Haubstadt, which at first, was attended by but few families, but in a short time the attendance increased, until at present the congregation comprises at least 100 good practical Catholics, who are under the charge of Rev. Bernard Ewers, of whoni a biographical sketch will be found in its proper place in this work.
HENRYVILLE, DUBOIS COUNTY.
St. Francis Xavier Church, at Henryville, was organized in 1862 by Rev. Chrysostome Foffa, O. S. B. The church is located midway between Ferdinand and Mariahill. In 1862 the congre- gation numbered twenty-five families, who built a stone church. From 1863 to 1871 the Rev. Benedict Brunet, O. S. B., visited the mission from St. Meinrad. He added a sacristy in 1870. From 1871 to November, 1878, the Benedictine Fathers regularly visited Henryville, either from St. Meinrad or Mariahill. From November, 1878, to August, 1879, the Rev. B. H. Kintrup, resid- ing at Huntingburg, had charge. He laid the foundation of the parsonage. Rev. Pius Bohm, O. S. B., attended the place from September, 1879, to January, 1880, when he was appointed the first resident pastor of Henryville church. He improved the ceme- tery, and furnished the church with sets of vestment, a new pulpit, railing, organ, etc., so that it was complete in all its details. In the autumn of 1881 the Benedictine Sisters were introduced. They lived in a rented house until September, 1882, when they
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took possession of a new house, built for them. Their school has flourished from the beginning.
Rev. William A. Jochum served as pastor from June, 1897, until March 4, 1898, and was then transferred to St. Bernard's parish, at Rockport, Spencer county.
HESSE CASSEL, ALLEN COUNTY.
St. Joseph's Church .-- Services were held at Hesse Cassel as early as 1835, and in 1836 a log church was erected. The first resident priest was the Rev. Father Mueller, who was followed in order by Fathers Benoit, Hamion, Rudolph Munseheim, Carins, Faller, Schultes, Weutz, Fora, Schneider and Meyer, the last named of whom erected the present brick church, 80 x 40 feet, in 1868. Rev. Martin Kink next officiated and was followed by Rev. J. Wemhoff, and in 1869 came Father Nusbaum, who remained until 1879, when he was succeeded by Rev. William Geers, and he, a short time afterward, by Father Hueser, who remained until January, 1880. Rev. John A. Mark was next appointed pastor, and per- formed arduous labor in behalf of the flock until October 16, 1897, when he was succeeded by Rev. Max Benzinger, the present beloved and zealous pastor. The congregation comprises seventy- two families, mostly Germans, and the parish is in good financial condition. The school-building is of brick, and the pupils, fifty in number, are in charge of three Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, from Joliet, Ill.
HOBART, LAKE COUNTY.
St. Bridget's congregation at Hobart is attended from Turkey Creek. It was started soon after the close of the late Civil war, by quite a number of Irish families, conjoined with a few German families, who had settled in or near the village. Prior to organi- zation, these families attended divine services, to a great extent, at Lake Station, but sometimes services were held at the homes of the faithful by the priest of Valparaiso. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Luers at that time visited Hobart, and encouraged the Catholics to remain faithful and to be of good cheer, and under this exhorta- tion they lived and worked faithfully. together until 1874, when the (296)
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