History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume II, Part 51

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Logansport, Ind., A. W. Bowen & co.
Number of Pages: 1476

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P ATRICK KEOUGH, deceased, was for over thirty-five years, prior to his death, a well-known and highly esteemed resident of Bainbridge, Putnam county, Ind., and a faithful Catholic from birth to death. He was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, in 1818, and at the age of twenty-seven years came to America, landing in Quebec, Canada, but shortly afterward came direct to Indiana, which state was ever afterward his home. He was mar- ried in Crawfordsville, in 1851, to Miss Catherine Shanghnessy, a native of county Clare, Ireland, and went to housekeeping in Roachville, where Mr. Keough was employed in railroad con- struction until 1861, when he brought his family to Bainbridge, where he lost his devoted wife February 10, 1891, and where his (818)

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

own death took place January 4, 1896. He was very domestic in his habits, was strictly moral, and was a useful and public-spirited citizen. He had been well educated, was a constant reader, had a most retentive memory, and kept himself well posted in ancient and modern history and the standard literature, sacred and pro- fane, of his day.

The marriage of Patrick and Catherine Keough was blessed with two daughters-Mary and Kate-both of whom are now engaged in school-teaching and retain their residence on the old homestead. They are highly accomplished young ladies and are much esteemed in the community in which they live. They were filial and affectionate in their home relations, and gave their parents the most tender attention in their latter days, and these amiable traits of character were especially marked during the declining days of their father, who was an invalid for some time prior to his death, which was a source of sorrow to a large circle of sincerely attached friends. In him the church lost a pious and faithful devotee, and the daughters a kind, loving father, whose demise they can never cease to deplore. As were the parents, the daughters are devout Catholics.

JOHN KERVAN, deceased, was one of the early Catholic set- J tlers near Indianapolis and one of those who formed the nucleus of the Catholic societies or congregations as they were gradually formed and developed in this now magnificent city. He was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, June 29, 1822, and came to America when a young man, leaving his parents behind. He was married in Gloucester, N. J., October 9, 1853. by Rev. Father Finnegan, to Miss Mary Colbert, who was also born in county Tipperary, Ire- land, and had been his playmate in childhood. The parents of Mrs. Kervan never came to America, but an elder brother, Patrick Colbert, preceded her to this country and is now a resident of Indianapolis, but, on her arrival in America, was a resident of New Jersey.

May 31, 1854, Mr. and Mrs. Kervan came to Indiana and

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

located on a farm near Valley Mills, in the township of Decatur, Marion county, where their children were born, and where the father died July 8, 1888, at the age of sixty-six years. During the many years the family resided at Valley Mills, they usually attended St. John's church in the city of Indianapolis, although there was a mission near at hand, to which he had donated the land on which to erect a church building; but he had been interested in the forma- tion of St. John's congregation and clung to it to the last.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kervan was blessed with six children, all of whom were baptized in St. John's church, Indian- apolis. Of this family there now survive the mother and four chil- dren-Mary, John, James and Margaret. Of the two deceased children, Thomas died at the age of six years and Ellen at the age of thirty-three. Mrs. Kervan and three of her children, Mary, John and Margaret, reside at No. 815 Dougherty street, Indianapolis, while James, the youngest son, operates the homestead farm. The family, like the husband and father, are all devout Catholics, are liberal in their contributions to the support of the church and. maintain a high position in the esteem of all who know them; either in town or country.

C H. KESSING, jeweler, of Oldenburg, Franklin county, is a son of J. H. and Mary E. (Holterhenrich) Kessing, of Ger- many. The father was born January 6, 1796, and died March 24, 1877. C. H. Kessing was born January 20, 1845, and was one of six children, of whom four are living. Mr. Kessing was reared in Germany, attended the common schools, and came to the United States in May, 1861, landing in Baltimore. He went to Cincin- nati in 1865, remained a short time, then moved to Morris City, Ripley county, Ind., and remained for one and one-half years on a farm. He then returned to Cincinnati as a salesman in the cloth- ing business, which he continued for one year. Then he learned the jewelry business at Cincinnati, and in 1869 came to Oldenburg city, and has worked at his trade ever since, owning his own store and carrying a stock valued at $800.

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CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

He was married November 23, 1875, to a Miss Philomena Lamping, a daughter of Fredricka Lamping, of Germany. She was born May 3, 1851, and died November 13, 1890. One child was born to this union, Matilda, who is at home with her father. Mr. Kessing is one of the principal business men of Oldenburg, is a sincere Catholic, and is highly respected as a citizen.

JOHN KIEFER, ex-sheriff of Tipton county and lumber mer- chant of Tipton city, was born in Brookville, Franklin county, Ind., February 28, 1847, and is a son of Dominick and Caroline (Witt) Kiefer, both of whom were born at Oldsbach, near Stras- burg, Germany, but came to America when young and were reared and married in Brookville, Ind. The maternal grandmother also came to the United States and died in Cincinnati, Ohio. The father was also accompanied to this country by one brother, John, and a sister, Fronica, who was married to John Pfonder, who died in Brookville, Ind., and whose remains were the first to be interred in the old Catholic cemetery, of that place.

Dominick Kiefer was a tailor by trade and carried on his busi- ness in Brookville, being also engaged in farming during his later years. His death took place in Brookville, in 1873, at the age of sixty-eight years, but his wife still survives and resides with her children in Colorado. Of the family of nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kiefer, John, the subject of this memoir, is the eldest; Leopold is a farmer of Tipton; Valentine is a fruit-grower in Col- orado; Amelia is the wife of Michael Bath, of Tipton; Joseph is a miller in Colorado; Frank is in the same state; Rosa is the wife of Thomas O'Tool, of Kokomo, Ind. ; Caroline lives in Brookville, Ind .; and Benjamin in Colorado.

John Kiefer, whose name opens this biography, was educated in the public schools of Brookville, and was reared a farmer. He was married at St. Peter's, Franklin county, August 24, 1871, to Miss Anna Mary Schmitt, a native of Germany, who, in 1862, came to America with her parents, John and Clara Schmitt. In 1882, Mr. Kiefer came to Tipton county and purchased a farm of 120 acres,

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

two miles east of the city of Tipton, and was employed in agri- culture until 1888. In politics he has always been an active dem- ocrat, has served as delegate to district and county conventions, and has held several township offices with credit to himself. In 1888 he was elected sheriff of Tipton county, being the first Cath- olic ever elected to a county office in Tipton. He performed the duties of this position with such 'satisfaction to his constituents that he was re-elected, thus serving two terms. Since the expira- tion of his second term, Mr. Kiefer has been in the lumber trade in connection with Mr. Fralich, of Tipton. In religion he is a true Catholic and has served as trustee of St. John the Baptist church, to which his wife and six children-Charles C., Michael, Dora, Amelia, John and Mary-also belong, and was trustee at the time of the erection of the parochial school-building. Mr. Kiefer has ever been an industrious and useful citizen, and resides in his own neat residence in Tipton, where he enjoys a large acquaintance and the esteem of all his neighbors.

R EV. ROGER KEXEL, late assistant pastor of St. Joseph's parish, Terre Haute, was born in Nassua, Germany, August 17, 1864. When six years of age, he was brought by his parents to the United States, the family locating at Albany. N. Y., in which city Father Kexel was reared and obtained his early educa- tion. In 1879 he entered St. Francis college, Syracuse, N. Y., where he remained one year, going thence to Trenton, N. J., where he pursued his studies until 1885, in which year he went to Rome and entered the Propaganda. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Holy City in 1888 by Archbishop Leuto, vice- gerent to the pope, and the same year returned to America and became assistant pastor of St. Joseph's church, Hoboken, N. J., in which capacity he continued one and a half years. During the four years succeeding his work in Hoboken, Father Kexel served as Catholic chaplain of the New Jersey state prison, Trenton, and, in addition to his clerical duties, taught canon law and liturgy in St. Francis college, located at the state capital. From Trenton,

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CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

Father Kexel was transferred to Camden, N. J., as assistant pastor of the church of Sts. Peter and Paul's. During the summer season, from 1890 to 1896, he had charge of the Catholic congregation at Point Pleasant, N. J., a well-known watering place. In October, 1896, Father Kexel came to Terre Haute as assistant pastor of St. Joseph's church, and here his untimely and lamented decease took place August 3, 1897. Father Kexel was a faithful and untiring worker in the interests of the holy church, and his labors were abundantly blessed in leading many from the paths of sin to the higher life of holiness and peace. He accomplished much good in his different fields of labor and had before him a field of still greater usefulness had it not been the will of a Higher Power to place him among the saints departed.

TI THOMAS B. KIDWELL, who resides with his family at No. 1634 Hoyt avenue, Indianapolis, is a native of Johnson county, this state, and is a son of Napoleon B. and Sarah Kidwell, the latter of whom is deceased. When a boy he learned the cooper trade in Indianapolis, and later was engineer in cotton mills. He next went to the northwest. He was not of Catholic parentage, but was converted to the faith at Winona, Minn., in 1885, where he was married, February 10, 1886, to Mary J. Degnan, a native of Winona county, Minn., and this union has been blessed with five children, viz: Roy Bernard, Mary Ellen, Thomas George, Charles Leo and Cornelius Joseph. The father of Mrs. Kidwell, Michael Degnan, was an early settler of Winona county, Minn., where his death occurred in July, 1891, and where his widow still makes her home with her three children, she having borne her husband four in all, viz: George, Charles, Mrs. Kidwell and John.

Mr. Kidweli is a stationary engineer, and as such has been in the employ of Tucker & Dorsey since March, 1887. He is indus- trious and frugal, but is liberal in his contributions to the support of the church and its charities, as well as its other good work, and Mrs. Kidwell is also a true daughter of Catholicity. In politics Mr. Kidwell is a democrat, but has never been an office seeker.

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

His dwelling is the abode of hospitality and cheerfulness, and he and wife enjoy the esteem of a wide circle of warm friends, both within and without the pale of the Catholic church.

THOMAS KILFOIL, a well-known business man of Vincennes, Ind., and an influential member of St. Francis Xavier cathe dral, was born in county Clare, Ireland, May 1, 1859, the son of Thomas and Mary (Rodgers) Kilfoil. He received a fair educa- tion in his youth, and when he was about twenty years of age he came to this country, being attracted hither by the reports written by his brother John, who had been an American citizen for some years previous. He reached our shores in December, 1878, and came directly to Vincennes, where his brother was residing. His first employment was with the O. & M. (now the B. & O.) railway company, being engaged as a car inspector in the Vincennes yards for three years. For four years he was next employed as a loco- motive fireman, and in May, 1891, abandoned railway employment and engaged in the retail liquor business, in which he has been suc- cessfully occupied since, at No. 21 First street.

Mr. Kilfoil is a young man of excellent personal habits, and has a large personal following of friends in the city. He is a member of branch No. 253, C. K. of A., and is a liberal contrib- utor to the good works of St. Francis Xavier cathedral. Politically he is a democrat though not a seeker after office. He possesses business qualifications of an excellent order and does a good trade.

The Kilfoil family consisted of five sons and three daughters, as follows: John (deceased); Patrick, who was a farmer in his native country, and who died some years ago, leaving a family; James, now a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y .; Thomas, our subject, and Mary, Bridget and Catherine, the two former married and living in Ireland, and the latter deceased.

John Kilfoil, brother of Thomas, the subject of this review, came to this country some years prior to the arrival of our subject and was for several years employed on the O. & M. railroad. He later opened a place of business on Second street, which he oper- (824)

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

ated successfully until his death, which occurred in August, 1893. He left a wife (née Bridget Murphy) and two children, Thomas, a tinner employed at Indianapolis, and John, a student in the public schools of Vincennes. Three other children of this union are deceased. He left considerable property to his family, and his brother, our subject, was appointed guardian of the interests of the same until they attain their majority. John Kilfoil had been married twice, his first wife, Mary Coleman, dying childless.

R EV. E. B. KILROY, D. D. (deceased). - Father Edmund Burke Kilroy was assigned to LaFayette in 1859, and remained until 1861. He was a man held in very high esteem in every relation of life, and among all classes of citizens. Born in Ireland on the 24th of November, 1830, he came to America in early boyhood. A student in the university of Notre Dame, he joined in 1848, the congregation of the Holy Cross. Ordained a priest, he became first professor at Notre Dame, and afterward, for two years, president of the college of St. Mary's of the Lake, at Chicago. Separating himself from his colleagues at Notre Dame and St. Mary's of the Lake, he became a member of the diocesan clergy, and his first parishes were Laporte and LaFayette.

At the call to arms in the Civil war, he accepted an appoint- ment as one of the special agents of the state of Indiana to see to the sanitary condition of the army, and especially to the wounded. After the close of the war he was induced by friends and relatives in Ontario, Canada, to cast his lot with them, and took a parish at Sarnia, and was later on sent to other places in the dominion.

R EV. FRANCIS A. KING, pastor of the Roman Catholic church at Union City, was born af Delphi, Ind., March 25, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Berry) King. The father was a native of New York, was a farmer, settled at Delphi when twenty-one years of age, and was killed by a runaway team;

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

the mother was of Irish birth and came to America when a child. Francis A. received his preparatory education at Delphi, and at the age of fifteen was sent to St. Mary's seminary, Cincinnati, for three years; he next attended St. Francis' seminary at Milwaukee, Wis., for seven years, finishing there a philosophical and theologi- cal course. In 1885 he was ordained priest by Archbishop Heiss, of Milwaukee, and for a time was first assistant at Fort Wayne, Ind., and was next parish priest at Covington, Ind., for five years. In June, 1890, he was sent to Union City to build a new church, and inside of three years he succeeded in erecting an edifice at a cost of $25,000, in the Gothic style of architecture, with a seating capacity of 600.

Father King has been untiring in his labors for the improve- ment of his parish in all respects as well as the advancement of the general interests of the mother church, and his life of nearly ten years in Union City has been pregnant with most excellent results. His people adore him for his piety with as great fervor as they manifest gratitude for the great good he has accomplished in their behalf, and many persons in the city, outside the church, feel honored in being called his friend.

A NDREW RAYMOND, deceased, was born in Shelby county, Ind., September 26, 1845, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Laws) Raymond, who were natives, respectively, of Switzerland. and Kentucky, the father being a farmer.

Andrew Raymond, the subject of this memoir, was an attend- ant at the Sisters' Orphans' Home school in Vincennes, Ind., until about 1856. In 1859 he went to Missouri with his widowed mother, and they there resided about three months, when his mother was called away, in the faith of the Roman Catholic church, aged fifty years. Andrew resided in Missouri till 1863, then went to Illinois, and in May, 1864, enlisted at Alton, for 100 days, and at the close of his term of enlistment lived with a farmer in Illinois till 1866; he then came to Shelbyville, Ind., and here learned the cabinet- maker's trade, at which he worked until 1874, and then engaged (826)

ANDREW RAYMOND. (DECEASED.)

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

in huckstering for two years; he next conducted a retal confection- ery until 1888, and then embarked in the wholesale liquor trade, in which he was still engaged at the time of his death, January 27, 1897, in the faith of the Catholic church, his remains being interred in the new cemetery of St. Joseph's. He had been a very indus- trious and active business man, and although he began life as a poor orphan boy. died the owner of his residence, as well as a business building, and a stock of goods of considerable value; also was the owner of bank and building and loan association stocks, and carried, beside, a life insurance policy of $2,000. He for years had been a trustee of St. Joseph's church, to which he was a generous con- tributor; was a member of St. Joseph's Benevolent society, and a citizen of undisputed integrity, honored by all who knew him.

Mr. Raymond was united in matrimony, in Shelbyville, Novem- ber 27, 1882, with Miss Alice O'Connor, a native of this city, born March 28, 1857, a daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (McGinn). O'Connor, natives of Ireland-Mr. O'Connor having been for many years a merchant tailor in Shelbyville, and later a wholesale dealer in liquors. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond were born five children, viz: Charles A. S., deceased; Mary E., George H. J., Paul C. and Louisa A. Mrs. Raymond, with her surviving children, is a member of St. Joseph's church, Mrs. Raymond being also a member of St. Ann's sodality. She is a highly intelligent lady and is greatly respected in society, both within and without church circles.

"HOMAS W. KINSER, a prominent citizen of Terre Haute and one of the leading contractors of Indiana, is a native of Ohio, born in the city of Circleville on the 2nd day of March, 1851. His parents, John and Mary (Six) Kinser, were both born in Ohio; the former died in 1883, at the age of sixty-seven; the mother is still living, making her home at this time in Terre Haute, Ind. There were four sons and one daughter born to John and Mary Kinser, the daughter being the only child of the family deceased.

Thomas W. Kinser was reared on his father's farm in Ohio until 1859, when the family went to Illinois, in which state he

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

followed agricultural pursuits until the removal of the family to Terre Haute some years later.

Mr. Kinser is essentially a self-made man. He began life for himself at the age of eighteen, taking contracts on a limited scale for the excavation of cellars and other similar work, and from a small beginning continued to enlarge his operations from year to year until his contracts for sewers, streets, and railroading extended from his own to a number of other states. Heconstructedtwelve miles of the Danville & Olney railroad, put in mains for the new water system of Vincennes, put in twenty-five miles of sewer in Muncie, the same number of miles in Anderson, five miles of sewer and a like number of miles of streets in Hammond, and filled various other contracts of a similar character in different parts of the state. He also laid the South Sixth and Main street pavements in Terre Haute, which, with other work alluded to, have stood the test of time and bear evidence of the thorough and systematic way in which all of his contracts have been executed.

In February, 1896, Mr. Kinser secured the contract for con- structing the water works for the city of Cambridge, Mass., by far his largest and most expensive undertaking, the contract price being in excess of $300,000. As an evidence of the magnitude of his work, it is only sufficient to state that Mr. Kinser's plant for doing the work cost him the sum of $30,000.

Associated with him in the business of contracting are his two sons, William J. and Harvey L., both young men of more than average ability, and the firm for some time has been known as Kinser & Sons. As already stated, the firm has much more than a local reputation, and the three members rank among the most progressive and responsible business men of Terre Haute.

On the third day of May, 1871, in St. Patrick's church, Terre Haute, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kinser and Margaret Powers, Father Shassa officiating. Mrs. Kinser was born in the city of Waterford, Ireland, August 3, 1851, the daughter of Will- iam and Johanna Powers, and was brought by her parents to the United States in 1854, the family locating first in Syracuse, N. Y .. thence, in 1856, moving to Terre Haute, Ind. William and Johanna Powers passed the rest of their lives in Terre Haute, the (830)

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF INDIANA.

former dying in 1878 and the latter in 1892; they had a family of nine children, only three of whom are now living, and were devout members of St. Joseph parish. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Kin- ser consists of two children, the sons above referred to; William J., was born May 6, 1872, and Harvey, February 7, 1875. Will- iam J. was married, January 10, 1893, in the church of the Holy Angels, Chicago, to Miss Hannah Guise, of Baltimore, Md. Mr. and Mrs. Kinser and sons belong to St. Patrick's parish, Terre Haute.

A LBERT PETER KIVITS, member of St. Joseph's parish, Terre Haute, is a native of Holland, where his birth occurred on the 28th day of September, 1847. His parents, Peter and M. (Stowacke) Kivits, both natives of Holland, with their seven chil dren, came to the United States in 1848 and settled in St. Louis, Mo., where, the following year, the father, one son and one daugh- ter died of cholera, which was then raging in various parts of the country. The mother is still living in St. Louis, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-nine years.

Albert P. Kivits received a practical education in the schools of St. Louis, and early began the battle of life upon his own responsibility, accepting employment in a tobacco factory when only twelve years of age. Later he worked for some time in a bakery, making what is known as "hard tack " for the army, and at the age of seventeen accepted a position as salesman in a boot and shoe house in St. Louis, where he was employed until his removal, in 1879, to Terre Haute, Ind. On locating in the latter place Mr. Kivits embarked in the boot and shoe trade for himself, at his present place, No. 328 Main street, where he has since con- ducted with success and financial profit an extensive business. He is one of the leading business men of the city and also one of its most highly esteemed and progressive citizens.

Mr. Kivits was united in marriage, at St. Louis, in 1872, to Miss Theresa Crancer, a native of that city, the fruits of which union are the following children; William H., born 1875; Mary Agnes, born in the year 1879-died in 1881; Gertrude, born in

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THE CLERGY AND CONGREGATIONS,

1883, and Edward Francis, whose birth occurred in the year 1888, and who departed this life in 1892. As above stated, Mr. Kivits belongs to St. Joseph church, as do also his wife and family, all of whom have ever been loyal to the religion which they profess. Mr. Kivits is a member of branch No. 630, Catholic Knights of America.

JOSEPH KLEIN, foreman for the Jasper Furniture company,

is a son of Frederick and Anna (Filinger) Klein, both from Germany, where Joseph was born February 28, 1849, whence he was brought to the United States by his parents when he was six years of age, and was reared in Ohio. After coming to Dubois county, Ind., he was employed in a saw-mill for twelve years at Jasper and was then made foreman by the directors.

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History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume II, Part 51

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Logansport, Ind., A. W. Bowen & co. Number of Pages: 1476

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Logansport, Ind., A. W. Bowen & co.
Number of Pages: 1476