USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 96
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113
In 1823 Father Rosati was appointed co- adjutor to Rt. Rev. Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans, and he was consecrated bishop of Tenagre in 1824. Two years later Bishop Dubourg resigned the bishopric of Louisiana and returned to Europe, on account of his
"Rt. Rev. Louis William V. Dubourg was born in San Domingo and was consecrated third bishop of New Orleans- September 24, 1815.
533
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
health. He was made archbishop of Besan- con in 1833. St. Louis was established as a distinct see, and Rt. Rev. Joseph Rosati was appointed as its first bishop, by Pope Leo XII, in 1827. Bishop Rosati was born at Sora, in the Kingdom of Naples, on Jan- uary 30, 1789. To great learning and piety he joined a rare sweetness of character. St. Louis was then an incorporated town of over 4,000 inhabitants, and making rapid strides in material progress. Bishop Rosati was a man of great zeal and judgment. His first thought was to promote the cause of Chris- tion education in his diocese. With this view, he founded an academy there in 1827. under the direction of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart. It was situated in what was called Frenchtown, on a tract of land donated for that purpose by Judge Mullanphy. These noble daughters of France are thus the pio- neers of Catholic education in the West. Great were their hardships and privations in their humble home in St. Charles-living martyrs in a divine cause. The names of these Christian heroines shall go down in the history of the church in America to in- spire future generations with the same mis- sionary zeal. By invitation of Bishop Ro- sati, four Sisters of Charity left Emmetsburg, Maryland, for St. Louis in 1828. Mr. John Mullanphy-a name linked with everything Catholic in the history of that city-donated ground for a hospital. He also gave houses and other property yielding a large yearly revenue. He even defrayed the traveling ex- penses of the Sisters and gave them sufficient money to furnish the hospital. This build- ing. which was on Fourth and Spruce Streets, passed away in 1874, and the noble structure on Grand Avenue takes its place. It was the first Catholic institution of the kind in the United States. The Sisters of Charity were also placed in charge of St. Mary's Or- phan Asylum, in a building near the Cathe- dral. In later years they opened the St. Vin- cent's Insane Asylum, the St. Philomena's Industrial School. the St. Vincent's Semi- nary for Young Ladies, and the St. Anne's Widows' Home. In 1830 Bishop Rosati commenced the erection of the present Cathedral, on Walnut, between Second and Third Streets. in St. Louis. It was then considered a structure of rare architectural beauty. Its dimensions were one hundred and thirty-six by eighty-four feet, fronted
with four Doric columns. The spire rests upon a stone tower, which rises from the foundation to a height of forty feet above the pediment. It was consecrated on the 26th of October, 1834, four bishops-among whom were Bishops Flaget, Purcell and Brute, who went to St. Louis by stage from Cincinnati to be present on the occasion- taking part in the ceremony, and the militia from the government barracks assisting in full uniform. There was an occurrence in 1833 which is worthy of record. In that year Bishop Rosati sent Father St. Cyr to Chi- cago to found a parish there in the humble village consisting of about one hundred Catholic families.
At the invitation of Bishop Rosati, a col- ony of six Sisters of St. Joseph came from Lyons, France. to St. Louis, arriving there March 24. 1836. They at once opened a school in Carondelet, and one in Cahokia, Illinois. The institution in Carondelet con- sisted of an humble log cabin, occupying the site of the present St. Joseph's Academy and Mother House. In August of the next year the village established a irce school. and placed it under the management of the Sis- ters, who continued in charge until the intro- duction of the public school system. The Sisters were given charge of the Male Or- phan Asylum in 1845. The Deaf and Dumb Institute owes its origin to the zeal of these good Sisters. The Sisters of St. Joseph are among the most highly esteemed of our re- ligious communities. They have grown to be the most numerous sisterhood in the dio- cese, being chiefly employed as teachers of very many of our parochial schools in the city. Bishop Rosati had for his auxiliaries a body of able and zealous missionaries, some of whom became distinguished digni- taries of the church in America. Among the priests especially distinguished during this missionary period were the Rev. Fathers Neckere. Dakmen. Pratte, Saulnier. Niel, Deutveligue. Odin, Timon, Parodi. St. Cyr- remembered in the history of the church as the first resident priest in Chicago; Bouillier, Tucker and Donnelly.
In 1842 Very Rev. John Timon, superior general of the Vincentians in the United States, and son of one of the earliest Irish settlers in the United States, pur- chased a site for a seminary near the Soulard Mansion, and on the spot where
534
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
the St. Vincent Insane Asylum stood. Mons. Sonlard was one of the early benefactors of the church in St. Louis. He generously presented a large square of ground to the Vincentian community for the erection of a new Catholic Church, and sold to them on reasonable terms his brick mansion, to be used for a seminary. Bishop Rosati, while in Rome, in 1841, earnestly requested Pope Gregory XVI to appoint the Rev. Peter Richard Kenrick as his coadjutor, with right of succession. Having obtained his wish, he left for America at once, accompanied by the young bishop-elect. They came to Phila- delphia, where the Most Rev. Peter Richard Kenrick received his consecration in the pro-cathedral of that city, on November 30, 1814, Bishop Rosati acting as consecrating prelate, and Rt. Rev. Francis Patrick Ken- rick and Rt. Rev. Peter Paul Lefevre being the assistants. The eloquent Bishop Eng- land, of Charleston, South Carolina, preached the consecration sermon. After the conse- cration of his coadjutor, Bishop Rosati was called to Hayti on a diplomatic mission. From Hayti he proceeded to Rome, to re- port to the Holy See. Ile was commissioned to return to Hayti, but his health having failed, he departed this life on the 25th of September, 1843. When Bishop Rosati ar- rived here in 1818 he found in Upper Loui- siana but seven small wooden churches, four priests, and only seven or eight thousand Catholics. There were neither religious houses, colleges, Catholic schools, nor sem- inaries, and the city of St. Louis had not over three thousand inhabitants. In a memoir, written by Bishop Rosati and published in 1840, we find the following cheerful descrip- tion of the condition of the church at that period: "The diocese of St. Louis, in the United States, was erected in 1826, being detached from that of New Orleans. This diocese, properly speaking, comprises Mis- sonri, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minne- sota, Kansas, Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Ore- gon, Washington, the Indian Territory and two-thirds of Illinois. The total population is about half a million, seventy thousand of which are Catholics. It is peopled by a vast number of savage tribes, some of whom have embraced the Catholic religion, and are at- tended by missionaries from the diocese of St. Louis, and especially by the Jesuit Fathers, who, through the mercy of God.
continue to gain many souls to the faith. At the present time there are seventy-seven priests, twenty-five of whom belong to the congregation of the mission, twenty-three are Jesuits, and the rest secular clergymen of different nations, French, Italians, Ger- mans, Belgians and Irish. There are like- wise twenty-one clerical students, two of the mission and nineteen Jesuits. The priests of the mission have a college for the educa- tion of secular students, a seminary for the diocese, a novitiate, and five houses or mis- sions. The Jesuits have a college, a novi- tiate, five residences or missions, and three missions among the Indians. Besides this, there are in the diocese of St. Louis twelve houses for religious females, in which re- side about one hundred and twenty nuns. Of these twelve houses, three belong to the Order of the Sacred Heart, two to the Sis- ters of Charity, two to the nuns of Loretto, two to the nuns of St. Joseph, and one is a Convent of the Visitation. All these are devoted to the education of girls, and, in their houses there are two hundred and forty-one boarders, seventy orphans, three hundred and seventy-nine day scholars-in all six hundred and ninety girls. In the col- leges and schools for boys there are two hundred and forty-five students, sixty-nine orphans and two hundred and twenty-six day scholars, making a total of five hundred and forty-the whole number of boys and girls receiving education being one thousand two hundred and thirty. We have also an orphan asylum and a hospital, kept by the Sisters of Charity ; nearly twelve hundred patients are received there annually. There is also a school for deaf and dumb female children. In the course of the year 1839 two hundred and eighty-nine Protestants embraced the Catholic religion at St. Louis, and during the following years the number must have been still more considerable. There are now in the diocese of St. Louis fifty-five churches and twenty in course of construction, and twenty more would be commenced if the requisite funds were at hand."
On the death of Bishop Rosati, Rt. Rev. Peter Richard Kenrick became bishop of St. Louis. Peter Richard Kenrick was born of pious parents, in Dublin, Ireland, on the 18th day of August, 1806. He made his theolog- ical studies in St. Patrick's College, May- nooth, and was ordained on March 6, 1832,
5:5
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
by Archbishop Murray, of Dublin. After exercising the ministry for one year in his native city, he accepted the invitation of his right reverend brother to come to Phila- delphia, arriving there in October, 1833. Ile was appointed president of the diocesan sem- inary, rector of the Cathedral, and vicar general of the diocese. During a visit to Rome, in 1840, he met Bishop Rosati, who was much impressed by the young Irish clergyman, for Father Kenrick had even then a reputation for learning and piety. Bishop Rosati having before endeavored to procure a coadjutor, again asked the Holy See, naming Father Kenrick as his choice. He was a man of great strength of charac- ter, a deep student of the sciences, sacred and profane, a polemical writer of note, and a most convincing and persuasive preacher. He was especially a paleistic scholar, proba- bly the greatest in the American church. He was a linguist of no ordinary ability. Be- sides possessing a knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin, he could write and con- verse not only in the copious English, but in the French, German and Italian. When he entered upon his duties as Bishop of St. Louis the population of the city was about twenty-five thousand, chiefly French and Irish. Though Catholic in the main, there then arose a spirit of Protestant propa- gandism which tended to awaken a strong anti-Catholic feeling. The young bishop was alive to the religious needs of the hour. lle began the publication of the "Catholic Cab- inet," a monthly magazine of great prom- ise, and preached often on the fundamental doctrines of the church. The establishment of the Visitation Nuns in this city, in 1844. was a memorable event. After a residence in Kaskaskia for a term of fourteen years, a flood arose in that locality which threat- ened their destruction. Bishop Kenrick and Very Rev. J. Timon risked their lives in go- ing to the rescue. A steamboat was chartered to bring the Sisters and their effects to St. Louis, where a house was prepared for their reception. Their convent in St. Louis was near St. Vincent's Church, but. in 1856, they removed to their more commodious build- ing. on Cass Avenue. In 1893 they entered their grand convent in Cabanne Place-one of the finest educational establishments in the country. A very notable event in the history of St. Louis was the laying of the cor-
ner stone of St. Vincent's Church, on the 17th of March, 18.1.4. The Irish Montgom ery Guards, the Hibernian Benevolent Soci- ety, with the children of the various Catholic schools, in grand array, with bands of music, banners and badges displayed, marched to the site, accompanied by a vast concours of people.
In 1847 St. Louis was created into an archdiocese, and Bishop Kenrick thus be- came its first archbishop. To meet the wants of the poor in a methodical way, and to cul- tivate among the people the spirit of practi- cal charity. Archbishop Kenrick established the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He received much aid in this great work from Judge Mul- lanphy, then mayor of St. Louis, who was rarely absent from its meetings. This lay apostle of charity, with other respectable cit- izens of St. Louis, founded the Irish Emi- grant Society, to aid and direct the sick and poor among the emigrants from famine- stricken Ireland. True to this ruling charac- ter of his life, Mr. Mullanphy bequeathed a vast fortune to be exclusively employed in the continuance of this noble work of char- ity. However, when Frish emigration ceased this fund has been expended in aid of all poor emigrants indiscriminately. the broad- minded testator not wishing to exclude any nation or people from receiving benefits of a fund based upon Christian charity.
In 1848 the seminary was transferred to Carondelet, and given to other professors. The archbishop invited the Rev. Anthony O'Reagan-his fellow student in Maynooth - to accept the presidency of the seminary, and he accordingly arrived there in 1849. and filled the position until his consecration as bishop of Chicago in the St. Louis Cathe- dral. 1854. The Jesuits were then established on Ninth and Washington Avenue, near their little chapel of St. Moysius. Father Van de Velde, who was president of the St. Louis University, was appointed to the bishopric of Chicago, and was consecrated by Arch- bishop Kenrick in the old College Church, in February, 1849. The Brothers of the Chris- tian Schools were introduced into the diocese in 1840. It is unnecessary to speak of the events of that noble community of Christian
* St. Patrick's Day had been regarded for many ve its as une of special devotion and ceremonial 'n st 1.001- Fach icturn of the feast was attended with public rejoicing nd dem metra tions As early as ph20 there was a puldie procession on this day. in which the Erin Benevolent Society was the most je mi nent figure.
536
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
teachers. Their fame as educators is world- wide. In the year 1850 Archbishop Ken- rick held his first Diocesan Synod. Of the fifty-four priests who were present at the Synod only one survives-Rev. F. X. Weis, the venerable pastor of Ste. Genevieve. About a month after the close of the Synod, St. Louis received a distinguished visitor in the person of Father Mathew-the Irish apos- tle of temperance. He remained the guest of the archbishop. During his stay he re- ceived visits from the most distinguished members of society. The man who was hon- ored at the nation's capital was no ordinary personage. The most lasting result of Father Mathew's visit was the establishment of a Catholic Total Abstinence Society, which later developed into the present grand or- ganization known as the Knights of Father Mathew.
From the beginning of his administration Archbishop Kenrick displayed a rare busi- ness ability. Foreseeing the greatness of the city, he invested largely in real estate. Hundreds of depositors trusted him with their money, rather than risk it in wild- cat banks. Besides, he received many large bequests, the greatest being that of Mr. Thornton. He was aided also by many munificent offerings or charitable donations from Mesdames Hunt, Biddle, Patterson and Hudson. One of his most judicious invest- ments was his purchase of the Clay farm, in 1853, which was converted into one of the finest cemeteries in the country-the well known Calvary Cemetery.
The first Provincial Council held in St. Louis was in 1855, and a second in 1858. In the meantime, the archbishop made applica- tion for a coadjutor. His vicar general, Very Rev. James Duggan, being chosen for that dignity, was consecrated by Archbishop Kenrick, in the St. Louis Cathedral, on the 3d of May, 1857. After a year Bishop Dug- gan assumed the administratorship of the diocese of Chicago. This he held until 1859. when he was promoted to that see. He re- tired through ill health in 1869. The arch- bishop resumed the full duties of his office, and continued to perform the most arduous tasks throughout the diocese until the weight of years began to tell upon him. And when the question of selecting another coad- jutor was raised, all eyes turned toward the eminent priest and pulpit orator, Very Rev.
P. J. Ryan. Rome respected the archbish- op's choice, and appointed him coadjutor bishop to the archbishop of St. Louis, with the right of succession. Bishop Ryan is a man of charming manners and cultivated mind. A vacancy occurring in the archie- piscopal sec of Philadelphia, Bishop Ryan was appointed to that important see, in 1884. Archbishop Kenrick was again re- quired to bear the burden of the day, and the heat of episcopal duties. His agility and endurance were remarkable in one bordering then upon his eightieth year. Finally, the archbishops, bishops of the country and clergy of the diocese turned their attention to the pressing need of a coadjutor to the aged archbishop. Their choice fell upon the Rt. Rev. John Joseph Kain, bishop of Wheeling, West Virginia, who was appointed coadjutor archbishop of St. Louis in 1893. Two years later he was created archbishop of St. Louis.
The following is a list of the churches crected in the city of St. Louis, with the date of their erection :
St. Louis' Church, a log edifice, 1770; St. Louis Cathedral, a brick structure, 1818; St. Mary and Joseph's, then named Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. 1824; St. Louis Cathedral, present structure, 1834 ; St. Francis Xavier's, abandoned in 1888, 1839: St. Mary of Victo- ries, German, 1843; St. Vincent's, 1844: St. Patrick's, 1845: St. Joseph's. German, 1845; St. John, the Apostle and Evangelist, 1847; Sts. Peter and Paul, German, 1848; Holy Trinity, German, 1849; St. Michael's, 1849; St. Bridget's. 1853: The Immaculate Con- ception, abandoned in 1874, 1853; St. John Nepomuk. Bohemian. 1854: St. Lawrence O'Toole, 1855: St. Liborius, German, 1855; St. Malachy, 1858; The Annunciation, 1859; St. Boniface, German, 1860: St. James', 1860; The Assumption, 186 -; Holy Cross, German, 1863; St. Anthony. German, 1863: St. Te- resa's, 1865; St. Nicholas', German, 1866; The Holy Angels, 1866; St. Francis de Sales, German, 1867: The Sacred Heart, 1871 ; St. Agatha's, German, 1871 ; St. Bon- aventure's, abandoned in 1883, 1871; St. Co- lumbkille's, 1872; Our Lady of Mt. Car- mel, 1872; St. Elizabeth's, colored, 1873; Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, German, 1873 ; The Immaculate Conception, 1874: St. Au- gustine's, German, 1874; St. Bernard's, German, 1874; St. Kevin's, 1876; The Holy
537
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Name, 1876; St. Cronan's, 1879; The Holy Ghost, German, 1879; The Visitation, 1881 ; St. Stanislaus', Polish, 1882; St. Thomas of Aquinas, 1882: St. Rose's. 1882: St. Francis Xavier, commenced, ISS4; St. Henry's, Ger- man, 1885: St. Leo's, 1888; St. Casimir's. Polish, 1889: St. Engelbert's, German, 1891 ; Holy Rosary, 1891; St. Agnes, ISot: St. Paul, the Apostle, abandoned in 1897, 1897 ; St. Aloysius', German, 1802: St. Matthews', 1893; St. Mark's, 1893; St. Edward's, 1893; St. Barbara's, German, 1893; The Holy In- nocents', 1893: Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1894: St. Wenceslaus', Bohemian, 1894; New Cathedral Chapel, 1896; St. Anne's, 1897; The Holy Family, 1898; St. Margaret's, Parish founded, 1898.
The following institutions are in charge of religious orders of men :
The Kenrick Seminary, founded in 1818, and transferred from Cape Girardeau in 1893, and opened for studies September 14th of that year.
St. Louis University, founded in 1829.
Franciscan Monastery, introduced into the diocese in 1862.
St. Alphonsus Convent of Redemptionist Fathers, introduced into the diocese in 1866.
The Christian Brothers' College, estab- lished in 1849.
The Alexian Brothers' Monastery, intro- duced into the diocese in 1869.
The Passionist Monastery, introduced into the diocese in 1884.
The following institutions are in charge of religious orders of women :
Academy of the Sacred Heart. Maryville, introduced into the diocese in 1818.
Academy of the Sacred Heart and Mullan- phy Orphan Asylum.
St. Joseph's Academy, Mother House and Novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, intro- duced into the diocese in 1836.
Convent and Academy of the Visitation, Cabanne Place, established in St. Louis in 1844.
St. De Chautal Academy of the Visitation. St. Vincent's Seminary.
Loretto Academy. introduced into the diocese in 1847.
Ursuline Convent and Academy. estab- lished in St. Louis in 1849.
Convent of the Good Shepherd, established in St. Louis in 1848.
Carmelite Convent.
Convent of the Franciscan Sisters, Mother House and Novitiate, established in St. Louis in 1872.
Little Sisters of the Poor, Home for the Aged, established in St. Louis in 1809.
Deaf and Dumb Institute, Sisters of St. Joseph.
St. Joseph's Institute for Deaf Mutes, Sis- ters of St. Joseph.
St. Joseph's Male Orphan Asyhim, Sisters of St. Joseph.
St. Mary's Female Orphan Asylum, Sis- ters of Charity, introduced into the diocese in 1828.
St. Louis Mullanphy Hospital, Sisters of Charity.
St. Philomena's Industrial School, Sisters of Charity.
St. Anne's Widows' Home, Sisters of Charity.
St. Vincent's German Male and Female Orphan Asylum.
Sancta Maria in Ripa, Mother House of the St. Louis Province of the School, Sis- ters of Notre Dame. Sisters introduced in St. Louis in 1858.
House of the Guardian Angel, Sisters of Charity.
Oblate Sisters of Providence, established in St. Louis in 1880.
St. Vincent's Institute for the Insane, Sis- ters of Charity.
Missouri Pacific Railway Hospital, Sis- ters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.
St. Antony's Hospital, Franciscan Sis- ters.
St. Elizabeth's Institute, Sisters of the Precious Blood, established in St. Louis in 1882.
St. Mary's Infirmary, Mother House of the Sisters of St. Mary, established in St. Louis in 1872.
St. John's Hospital, Sisters of Mercy, es- tablished in 1856.
The following recapitulation will serve to show the present status of the church in the diocese :
Archbishop. t: Diocesan Priests, 234; Priests of Religious Orders, 145: Churches and Chapels in Diocese, 280; Stations with- out Churches, 30: Seminary for Diocesan Clergy, 1; Seminaries for Religious Orders, 5: Students, 262: Colleges and Academies for Boys. 4: Students, 927: Academies for Young Ladies, 13: Other Institutions of
538
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN KANSAS CITY.
Higher Education for Females, 5: Females Educated in Higher Branches, 1,800; Paro- chial Schools, 138; Pupils, 24.464; Orphan Asylums, 6: Orphans, 674: House of Good Shepherd, 1; Preservation Class, 196; Deaf Mute Asylums, 2; Pupils, 60; Industrial Schools, 3: Pupils, 150: Asylums, 4; Hos- pitals and Infirmaries, 13; Patients during the year, 6,000, and Catholic population of Diocese. 300,000.
DAVID S. PHIELAN.
The first religious service on the ground where the city of St. Joseph now stands was held by a traveling Jesuit priest in the year 1838. There was a trading post on the spot, and it was called Blacksnake Hills. A few per- sons lived near by, the most prominent among them being Joseph Robidoux, now known as the founder of St. Joseph. Robi- doux was a Catholic, and the service was held in his dwelling, a simple log house, a number of Indians forming part of the con- gregation, and looking with wonder at a cer- emonial worship of the Great Spirit such as they had never witnessed before. In 1840 another priest, Father Vogel, visited the place. The Catholic population rapidly in- creased, and in 1847 a brick church was built on a lot given by Joseph Robidoux, and dedicated by Bishop Kenrick, of St. Louis, whose diocese then included St. Joseph. The Catholic population of the parish now con- sisted of about twenty-five families, chiefly Canadian French, with a few Irish. When the church was dedicated Rev. Thomas Scan- lan was made the first pastor, and in a lit- tle while there were three hundred com- nicants. In 1868 the diocese of St. Joseph was erected, with Rt. Rev. John Hogan for the first bishop, and under his wise adminis- tration the new diocese greatly prospered. In 1868 the Cathedral, a large and impos- ing edifice, was built, at a cost of $70.000, followed shortly after by the Church of the Immaculate Conception, costing $10,000; St. Patrick's Church, costing $20,000, and the German Church of the Immaculate Concep- tion. In 1871 the church of St. John the Baptist was erected, at a cost of $50,000. by the widow of John Corby as a memorial to her husband, who had been one of the wealthiest and most enterprising citizens of St Joseph. In the State, the Catholic Church has been from the first a conspicuous power for good, subduing the rude and lawless ele-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.