USA > Indiana > History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume I > Part 47
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TERRE COUPEE, ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
St. Stanislaus School .- This congregation is small, composed mainly of poor people. The want of means prevents the erection of a school-house. Knowing, however, the value of Christian edu- cation, the pastor, Rev. George Kolesinski, employs a lay teacher and pro tempore has the children taught in the parish church. The children pay a monthly tuition fee. The school is attended by fifty children, thirty boys and twenty girls. The pastor hopes that it may not be many years before the means may be obtained to erect a proper structure that may accommodate the little ones of this rural district.
TIPTON, TIPTON COUNTY.
St. John's School, erected in 1885 at a cost of $4, 500, is a two-story brick edifice, and consists of a main portion, 65 x 35 feet, and a wing, 34 x 24 feet, extending to the rear. It contains three class-rooms and a hall, 65 x 35 feet. The school has a seating capacity for 200 children, and the present number of pupils in attendance is 168, and these are under the instruction of six Sis- ters of St. Joseph. Many of these children live in the vicinity of
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the school, but some attend from a distance of five miles. The rate of tuition is sixty-five cents a month. The present value of the school-ground, including play-ground is $7,000, and of the school, with its appurtenances $5,500. At present the reverend director of the school is Rev. A. J. Kroeger.
TURKEY CREEK, LOTTAVILLE P. O., LAKE COUNTY.
This parish has not a school of its own. The children in the vicinity are all Catholic and a Catholic lay teacher is employed. The pastor manages to teach Christian doctrine by calling it Ger- man or Bible reading. The teacher must use the public-school books, and follow the public-school program and system in teach- ing. There are at present forty-six children, twenty-six boys and twenty girls, attending this school. The pastor greatly regrets this deplorable condition, but cannot carry on an entire Catholic school with only forty families, as long as other larger parishes are satisfied with such schools. Rev. Charles V. Stetter, D. D., is the present reverend director.
UNION CITY, RANDOLPH COUNTY.
St. Mary's School was erected, in 1875, by Rev. J. H. Quin- lan, at a cost of $3,000. It is a two-story brick structure, 70 x 40 feet, with two class-rooms which have a seating capacity for 170 children. In addition to other appurtenances, the school is in possession of a valuable library of 400 volumes, which the pupils may use as books of reference or supplementary reading. The school has been in charge of Sisters of the Holy Cross since its establishment, and at present three of these religie ises are occupied there in teaching ninety-two pupils, of whom forty-one are boys. The annual expense per pupil is about $7.70. At present the chief source of income for the school is an endowment of $5,000, which yields a yearly interest of $400; the balance required to complete the amount of expenditure is taken from the church funds, the school being free.
The present value of the school-ground, including a spacious play-ground, is about $1,000. The value of the school building, with its appurtenances, is $4,000; and the value of the teachers'
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residence, erected by the congregation, is $1,200. Rev. F. A. King is the present reverend director of the school.
VALPARAISO, PORTER COUNTY.
St. Paul's School was erected in 1864 or 1865, by Rev. M. O'Reilly, at a cost of about $3,000. It is a two-story brick build- ing, 40x60 feet, and when first opened was taught by Mrs. K. Harrold and Prof. Murphy. They were succeeded by Miss E. A. Collins and Mr. Noll, afterwards Rev. Father Noll, who died in 1880, pastor of St. Mary's church, LaFayette.
In 1872 the school for girls and the primary class of boys were placed in charge of the Sisters of Providence. For a number of years the boys' grammar school was taught by Prof. Sullivan, but within the past few years the entire charge of the school has been transferred to the Sisters.
The building contains four class-rooms, and has seating capacity for 200 children. Owing to the removal of families from Valparaiso, the number of pupils attending the school is not so large as formerly. The present enrolment is forty-five boys and eighty-five girls, taught by five Sisters of Providence. The expenses are derived from tuition fees from the pupils, at an average rate of fifty cents a month, from those who can pay. The present value of the school-ground, including play-ground, is $1,800, and of the school-building, with appurtenances, $3,600. The house occupied by the Sisters belongs to them. The present reverend director of the school is Very Rev. Louis A. Moench.
WANATAH, LAPORTE COUNTY.
Holy Guardian Angel School is a two-story frame school- house, 20x 24 feet, and was erected, in 1890, by Rev. Dominic Shunk, C. PP. S., at a cost of $1,000. Although small, it is a neat building, of two rooms, with seating capacity for sixty chil- dren. At present but one room is in use, as the number of pupils does not exceed forty-equally divided, twenty boys and twenty girls-under the tuition of one Sister of the Most Precious Blood.
A remarkable feature of this school is that, when it was first opened, it was attended mostly by non-Catholic children, who
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have since embraced our holy faith with an ardor that promises a pious Catholic life in later years. After first holy communion the pupils are not retained, as there are no boarding accommodations for them in the building, and many of the children drive to school every day from a distance of eight miles. The average annual outlay for this school is about $500, which amount is taken from the funds of the church, the school being free to the children of pew holders; others are charged a tuition fee of fifty cents a month. The average expense per pupil is $12.50 a year. The present value of the ground, one acre, used for school purposes, is $2,000, and the value of the building, with its appurtenances, is $3,000. The house occupied by the Sisters belongs to the congregation, and is worth $600. Rev. Adam Buchheit is the present reverend director of the school.
WHITING, LAKE COUNTY.
St. Michael's School is conducted under the auspices of the church of the Sacred Heart, of which Rev. M. J. Bryne was the pastor. Two years ago a residence was built for Sisters, including one large class-room for advanced scholars at a cost of $2,000. Fire having destroyed the old frame school-building April, 1897, a a new two-story brick structure, 72 x 38, was erected, at a cost of $3,500. On the first floor this building contains three large class- rooms and corridor, furnished with all modern improvements. A large exhibition hall on the second floor is used for entertainments at present, but will be converted into class-rooms as soon as needed. Five teachers of the order of the Sisters of Providence daily impart knowledge to 204 pupils, 103 boys and 101 girls. The school is in admirable working order, and while not quite self- supporting is nearly so. Support is raised by a monthly tuition fee. Father M. J. Byrne was the reverend director until trans- ferred to the cathedral last August (1898), when he was replaced by Rev. Charles H. Thiele.
WINAMAC, PULASKI COUNTY.
St. Peter's School is a one-story frame building, 40 x 28 feet. It was built in 1872 by Rev. T. Wittmer, C. PP. S., and contains (534)
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but one school-room, with a seating capaicty of sixty children, although at present its enrolment numbers seventy-two. Sisters of the Most Precious Blood have had charge of the school since its organization in 1872, and at present two Sisters are engaged in the class-room.
The annual outlay for the school, including the salary of its teachers, is $450, which amount is furnished by the congregation, the school being free; and the average annual expense for each pupil is $5.50. The present value of the school-ground is $200 and of the building, $800. The house occupied by the teachers is their own property. The present reverend director of the school is Rev. J. Uphaus.
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CHAPTER XV.
THE HIGHER ORDER OF CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIANA-ACADEMIES-COLLEGES-UNIVERSITIES, ETC.
N order to preserve the typographical consistency of this work on Catholicity in Indiana, the higher class of Catholic educa- tional institutions in Indiana are arranged here in the same manner in which are arranged the parochial schools in the preceding chapter.
INDIANAPOLIS, MARION COUNTY.
St. Mary's Academy, at Indianapolis, Ind., is situated on East Maryland street, No. 113, between Pennsylvania and Delaware streets, about three squares from the Union depot. This location makes it convenient of access, and is still so far removed from the business part of the city as to possess the quiet requisite for a placa of its kind. The building is new and commodious, and well adapted for educational purposes. It is also spacious and affords ample accommodations for fifty boarders and 300 day scholars.
The utmost care and attention are devoted to health and com- fort. In case of sickness, parents or guardians are immediately informed, a physician is summoned, and every alleviation which kindness can suggest bestowed.
The academy being under the charge of the Sisters of St. Francis, the moral and religious training of the youthful minds confided to them is of paramount importance. Difference of creed forms no obstacle of admission, but, to maintain order, all the pupils are required to be present at the public religious exercises. The religious opinions of non-Catholic pupils are not interfered with; their normal training alone is taken into consideration. The discipline is mild, but vigilant and energetic, and every effort is (536)
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made to qualify the pupil to occupy, in after life, the respective stations assigned them by the Divine Controller of human destinies in such a manner as to secure personal happiness and the comfort of those by whom they are surrounded, and above all, to win the approbation of the Omnipotent Judge and Rewarder. General deportment is the subject of unremitting care. The pupils are taught to avoid all that is rude, and if found insubordinate, un- truthful and disrespectful to teachers, and remain incorrigible after due admonition, become liable to expulsion from the academy. The course of study is thorough, comprehensive and practical, embracing all the branches of a solid and accomplished education. All who enter the academy are expected to take the regular aca- demic, business, musical or artistic course, unless for cogent rea- sons the partial course, consisting of special studies, be desired. The classes are so arranged that pupils advanced in some, but deficient in other branches, may perfect themselves in whatever they are defective without losing their rank in the grade to which their general scholarship entitles them.
St. Mary's is certainly well deserving of the patronage of the public, Catholic and non-Catholic, and parents and guardians can rest assured that all pupils placed in this institution will be gradu- ated pure in spirit and fitted for the practical duties of life, as well as for the adornment of society.
LAFAYETTE, TIPPECANOE COUNTY.
St. Ignatius Academy. - This is a beautiful three-story brick structure adjoining St. Mary's church on the west. It occupies a commanding situation in tastefully laid out grounds, and has all the latest improvements for the successful prosecution of educa- tional work. Besides an academy for advanced grades, it also contains the classes of the parochial school for girls. To sum- marize:
Grades, eleven; pupils, 135; average daily attendance, 115; teachers, Sisters of Providence; time of school, ten months in the year; terms in year, four; free days (exclusive of Saturdays and holy days of obligation), Thanksgiving day, Washington's birth- day, St. Patrick's day and Decoration day; course of instruction:
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Christian doctrine, sacred history, singing, penmanship, spelling, reading, geography, United States history, grammar, bookkeeping, church history, physiology, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, ancient history, modern history, physical geography, natural philosophy. The volumes in the library number 165.
LOGANSPORT, CASS COUNTY.
In 1863 Rev. George Hamilton, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul's church, Logansport, applied to the mother-house of the Sisters of Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Ind., for Sisters to open a boarding and day school in a large brick building, situated on the corner of Market and Second streets.
The first Sisters who came here were Sister Alphonsus, supe- rior, accompanied by Sisters Mildred, Colette and Felicity. They opened with a good school, boys and girls being taught in the same building. They were not here long until the parents of the children began to appreciate the good work that was being accom- plished in the minds and souls of the little ones, and their grate- ful hearts went out in sympathy to pastor and teachers.
In 1871 the Sisters purchased a beautiful building on the cor- ner of Ninth street and Broadway; said building was the begin- ning of the Holy Angels' academy, which opened September 4, 1871. This institution comprises four departments, primary, junior, preparatory and senior.
The course of study combines the solidity of the scientific and literary pursuits, with those light and more graceful accom- plishments which throw a charm over domestic life and contribute so essentially to elevate the form of society at large.
Many of the Sisters who came to Logansport in the 'sixties have passed to their eternal reward, but the good work they began goes nobly on, and Holy Angels' academy sends forth from her secluded halls young ladies of every denomination, whose talents and virtues speaks volumes for their alma mater, and for the suc- cessful efforts of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who were the pio- neer teachers and prime movers in educational matters in northern Indiana, beginning far back in the 'forties, and to-day Holy Angels' academy holds the position of being one of the leading
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academies in the state - teaching within her halls everything taught in the best high schools.
NOTRE DAME, ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
The University of Notre Dame du Lac in St. Joseph county, Ind., is so vast in its scope as an institution of learning, both in its curriculum and its architectural adjuncts and adornments, that but a meager description can be offered to the reader in so compend- ious a work as the History of Catholicity in Indiana, and, there- fore, the following paragraphs will consist of matter statistical and chronological rather than descriptive or didactic.
The congregation of the Holy Cross had its origin in the city of Mans, France, and was founded by the Abbe Moreau, who soon afterward absorbed the society known as the Brothers of St. Joseph, which had been founded by Father Dujarier, a survivor of the French revolution. Father Edward Sorin, who was born near Laval, France, February 6, 1814, became one of the earliest mem- bers of the new congregation of the Holy Cross (C. S. C.); he had listened to the burning words of the sainted Brute, later the first bishop of Vincennes, when that divine was on a visit to France, appealing for missionary aid for the wilds of Indiana, and, accord- ingly, when Bishop Hailandiere, the successor of Bishop Brute, made an application to Father Moreau for volunteers for the Indi- ana missions, Father Sorin at once offered himself. With him four professed Brothers and two novices also volunteered. This band of seven left the mother house at Mans, August 5, 1841; on the 8th left Havre, as steerage passengers, to practice evangelical poverty and to save money for the new mission, and September 13 entered the bay of New York. The venerable Bishop Dubois, of New York, received the little band with fatherly affection, and after it had rested three days it started for Vincennes, and, after a journey of twenty-five days, reached its destination on the second Sunday in October. For over a year the community was located at St. Peter's, about twenty-seven miles from Vincennes, in Daviess county, and within this time eight accessions were made to the order. It had been in contemplation to erect a college at this point, but, as there was already a Catholic college at Vincennes,
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the bishop demurred and offered the community a tract of land he owned on the St. Joseph river, provided a college should be erected thereon within two years. After due consideration of the proposal the Brothers decided to accept, and November 16, 1842, Father Sorin, with seven of the Brothers, set out for the new location; after traveling through the wilderness, in bitterly cold weather, they stood on the ice-bound shore of lake St. Mary, November 26, enchanted with the marvelous beauties of the scene of their future labors. The ground was historic. Here had labored a Badin, a Deseille, a Petit; and over 200 years prior to the arrival of Father Sorin hundreds of Indians had been converted to the Catholic faith, and of the descendants of these Christianized aborigines hundreds were found still living in the St. Joseph region at the time of the arrival of Father Sorin.
The total amount of money at the command of the young community, on its arrival at the lakes, was $1,500. A plan had been prepared, under Bishop de la Hailandiere, for the erection of a brick building, 40 x 160 feet, in shape like the letter H, and 60, - 000 feet of lumber, 250,000 brick, and the necessary lime, were ordered, to be on the spot in the spring; but the urgent need was a building for immediate use. Accordingly, material and labor were volunteered and a log structure, 24 x 46 feet, was erected, in December, but was not blessed until St. Joseph's day, March 19, 1843. But this building was needed for other purposes than a chapel, and a second story was added as a dormitory for the Sisters, who were expected to arrive from France the same spring, to take charge of the domestic department of the university, and a little Indian chapel, erected by Father Badin about 1830, was utilized as a dormitory for the Brothers-but these improvements depleted the exchequer of the community to the extent of $200. The winter of 1842 was the most severe that had ever been experienced in the United States, and the succeeding building season was allowed to pass away by the architect without his attempting to fulfill his contract. The outlay for material, and the expenses for the support of the com- munity, had now completely exhausted the exchequer, but it was determined upon that the erection of some kind of a brick building must be made, and the result was a square house, now known as (544).
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the Farm house, at the edge of the lake. This served for collegi- ate purposes for nearly a year, the first pupil being Alexis Coquil- lard, afterward the wealthy wagonmaker of South Bend. The terms per quarter for students were fixed at $18, for tuition, board, washing and mending.
The second colony of the Congregation of the Holy Cross sailed from France June 6, 1843, under the charge of Rev. Francis Cointet, and with him Fathers Marivault and Gouesse, and one Brother and four Sisters. The time of Father Cointet was about equally divided between his classes and his labors with the Indians, and as an illustration of the simple manners and the poverty of the Fathers in that day, it may be mentioned that Fathers Sorin and Cointet had but one hat and one pair of boots between them. But their souls were in the work, and their constancy never weakened. Father Cointet, however, perished in the cholera epi- demic of 1854.
August 24, 1843, the architect and two workmen arrived from Vincennes, but, as funds had been exhausted, the question of com- mencing work on the college-building proper was a question of serious debate. However, Father Marivault offered to draw for $1, 200 due him from his family in France; Samuel Byerley, a mer- chant at South Bend, offered a credit of $2,000 at his store, beside a loan of $500 in cash, and, thus encouraged, the work was begun. August 28, 1843, the corner-stone was laid, and by December 20 the walls were up and the building under cover. The next season the interior work was finished. This building was the cross-mark in the ground-plan of the letter H, or the handle of a "double headed hammer, " was four stories high, 80 x 36 feet, and was all the community could afford to build from the original design. To this new edifice the students were at once removed from the structure on the lake shore, and in August following (1844) the closing exercises of the first year took place. In Jan- uary, 1844, Hon. John D. Defrees, member of the legislature from St. Joseph county, secured a charter for the university, enabling it to confer the usual degrees upon its graduates, and thus the uni- versity of Notre Dame, now one of the most famous institutions of learning in the Union, became a legal entity.
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In May, 1844, the corner-stone of the Chapel of the Novitiate on the "Island " was laid and blessed, and at its completion was consecrated December 8, and on the same day the Arch Confra- ternity, the oldest religious society at Notre Dame, was solemnly established. The chapel served as the sanctuary of the commu- nity until 1848, when a new brick church was consecrated. In Sep- tember, 1844, the annual course of study in the college proper may be said to have begun, and August 1, 1845, at the commence- ment, a poor orphan boy, of Philadelphia, named Haquin, carried off first honors, thus showing the impartiality of the faculty, who gave no consideration to the financial standing of the students, but rewarded merit alone. The faculty comprised Father Sorin, presi- dent; Father Alexis Granger, vice-president; Father Cointet, pro- fessor of ancient languages; Father Gouesse, music; Brother Gatien, mathematics; Rev. E. Shawe, rhetoric; Gardner Jones, English composition; Denis O'Leary, Brother Basil, Father Shortis, Prof. Girac and Prof. Burns, general tutors. The first catalogue of students was issued in 1848, and the commencement took place July 4. Among the premiums awarded on that occa- sion was one to Thomas Lafontaine, of Huntington, Ind., a son of the chief of the Miamis, and among the students were the names of attendants from Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. At the commencement of 1849 was graduated the first bachelor of arts -- Neal H. Gillespie, who was ordained priest in 1856. The second catalogue was printed in 1850, at South Bend, and bore on its title-page the imprint of S. Colfax-the Schuyler Colfax who afterward became speaker of the national house of representatives and later vice-president of the United States.
The manual labor school of the college was also chartered by the legislature in 1844, and was secured through the kindly offices of Representative Defrees, and in this were and are given lessons in carpentry, cabinetmaking, blacksmithing, shoemaking, tailoring, bricklaying, gardening, farming and various other industries. The dense forest within the grounds of the original college tract has been cleared away by the Brothers, save on the margin of the lakes, where the native groves are preserved, the cleared space
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being now devoted to agriculture and ornamented pleasure grounds. In the meadow between the lakes rises the island, of early days, now called Mount St. Vincent, and here stands the hospital and the normal school for the Brothers of the community, on the site of the former novitiate. A continuous native grove embraces both lakes, with the meadow and Mount St. Vincent between, and within this grove is nestled Holy Cross seminary.
In 1851, the Lake Shore railroad was completed to South Bend, and soon afterward to Chicago, and to-day no less than five trunk lines connect, via South Bend, the university with the out- side world, facilitating the coming and going of the constantly increasing number of students at this now classical university. In 1851, also, Notre Dame was given a post-office through the kind interposition of the then great statesinan, Henry Clay.
In 1853, the number of students had so increased that it became necessary to complete the two wings of the "double ham- mer," as planned by the original Vincennes architect. These, it was thought, with the connecting college building, would be com- modious enough for a generation to come. But about this time, cholera devastated many parts of the west, and in the summer of 1854 many of the community were attacked by the fell disease, and among the first to succumb was the holy priest, Father Coin- tet. He was followed to the grave by Father Curley, who had been ordained only the year previous, and by about twenty of the community. In September, when the absent students returned from their vacation, the surviving professors had not recovered from their prostration, and, as the college had been used as a hos- pital, it had to be renovated from top to bottom and disinfected, and this work had to be done by the weakened Brothers, who were, in fact, convalescent only. But at last all difficulties were over- come. A strip of land between the lakes and the river, through which the outlets of the lake found their way, and was consequently marshy and malarious and the cause of much sickness, was now purchased by the Brothers from the man who had heretofore refused to sell on better terms, and this strip was drained, the lakes lowered, and the site of the university made one of the most healthy and beautiful in the world.
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