History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 195

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 195

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The first year at Fleurissant was one of great labor and privation. At one time Mother Duchesne wrote : " There was a moment this month when I had in my pocket only six sous and a half, and debts besides." Gradually, however, their condition and prospects im- proved, and in May, 1820, the number of their scholars had reached twenty-one, and the idea of estab-

lishing a novitiate began to be entertained. In the autumn of that year Mother Duchesne was afflicted with a serious illness, and one of the sisters had the misfortune to break her arm. On the 22d of Novem- ber their first postulant, Mary Layton, was received, and on the 19th of March, 1821, Emilie St. Cyr and Mary Ann Sumner took the veil. They were fol- lowed by Eulalie Hamilton on the first Friday in May, and by her sister Mathilda on the 16th of June, 1821. These accessions greatly encouraged the sisters, and when, soon afterward, the offer was made of a house and its furniture at Grand Cotcau, near the Opelousas, it was accepted, and Madame Eugenie Andé, as Superior, and Sister Mary Layton were sent to the place, of which they took possession on the 28th of August, 1821. They were reinforced the same autumn by two nuns from France. Thus was estab- lished the first branch from the mother-house at Fleurissant. In the autumn of 1825 another house, at St. Michael, was established, and in 1827 the house at St. Louis, and in 1828 those at Bayou La Fourche and St. Charles.

From that time to the present houses have multi- plied, till in different portions of the United States, in Canada, and in South America are to be found many flourishing and magnificent institutions of this order, which had its humble origin in this place in 1819. The novitiate here continued till the spring of 1847, when it was abandoned by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

Sisters of Loretto .- June 21, 1847, six Sisters of Loretto, Mother Eleonora Clarke, Superior ; Sister Philomena, directress of studies ; and Sisters Theo- dosia, Vincentia, Ambrosia, and Stanislaus, assistants, took possession of the establishment which the Sisters of the Sacred Heart had abandoned, and which then consisted of a two-story brick house that had been built by Father Dunand, and some old, dilapidated cabins. These, with three acres of land, they at first rented for one year at two hundred dollars. They sub- sequently purchased the buildings and five acres of ground for one thousand dollars.

It is proper here to remark that the order of the Sisters of Loretto was founded by Rev. Charles Nerinckx, in 1812, at Hardin's Creek, Washington Co., Ky. At that place Miss Mary Rhodes, a pious young lady, first gathered a little school of girls in a dilapidated cabin, the abandoned residence of a former tenant. Success crowned her efforts, and she was soon joined by Miss Christina Stuart, and subse- quently by Miss Nancy Havern. The three pursued their self-sacrificing labors for a time, and were joined by two others, Miss Nellie Morgan and Miss Nancy

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Rhodes. A small tract of land was purchased and some rude cabins erected, and soon afterward a sixth young lady, Miss Sally Havern, joined them. They ex- pressed to Father Nerinckx a desire to become nuns and devote themselves to the work of educating young ladies. Their wish met the approbation of Father Nerinckx and the bishop, and they were first made postulants, with a few simple rules for their guidance. On the 25th of April, 1812, the first three postulants -Mary Rhodes, Christina Stuart, and Nancy Havern -took the veil at the Church of St. Charles, near the infant convent, and they were followed on the 29th of June by Ann Rhodes and Sarah Havern. On the same day Sister Ann Rhodes was constituted " Su- perior of the novices, and of the Society of the Friends of Mary at the Foot of the Cross." On the same day also was commenced the ercction of some log build- ings for a convent, school, etc., and when these were completed the place received the name of Loretto, in honor of "Our Lady of Loretto," in Italy. Thus originated the order of the Sisters of Loretto, whose labors have been crowned with such eminent success.

In 1823 application was made by the Rev. Joseph Rosatti for a community of the Sisters of Loretto to establish a boarding-school for girls in Perry County, Mo., ncar the seminary of the Barrens ; and in May of that year five of thesc sisters, under Mother Bene- dicta Fenwick, arrived at that place and soon opencd a school. The sisters of the order subsequently es- tablished schools at Ste. Genevieve, Frederickstown, and Cape Girardeau. They have now several flour- ishing schools in Missouri, and others in many of the Western States and Territories.

During the thirty-six years of its existence the establishment at Florissant has steadily increased in usefulness and importance, and additions have from time to time been made to the buildings as such addi- tions have become necessary, and now the community here numbers thirty-five sisters. As its school has increased better facilities for instruction have been added, till in 1880 it was deemed advisable to erect a new school building. Accordingly, on the 1st of August in that year, the erection of a new academy was commenced, under the supervision of Mother Ann Joseph, then Superior of the convent, but in August, 1882, elected Superior of the order.

The building was completed in 1882, and dedicated on the 8th of September in that year. It is of brick, and covers an area of one hundred and twenty by eighty feet. It is five stories in height, including the basement. The latter has the refectory, the cul- inary department, a recreation-room for junior scholars, and the heating and lighting apparatus. It, as well

as all the other stories, is traversed each way centrally by corridors ·ten and twelve feet in width. On the first floor, above the basement, are the study halls, class-rooms, and music-rooms. On the second arc the dormitories, oratory, library, and music-rooms. On the third arc the exhibition-room, the studio, and the infirmary. On the fourth are the young ladies' ward- robe, the museum, and the astronomical and philo- sophical apparatus, and on the top is an astronomical observatory. The house is heated by steam, lighted by gas, has water distributed to all parts of it, and, in short, is furnished with all the improvements which modern ingenuity, guided by long experience, has been able to suggest. Two features are particularly noteworthy : the excellent ventilation and the facili- ties for egress in case of fire. The sisters of the in- stitution planned the building, and its construction was under their supervision. The architect was Mr. Lowery, of St. Louis.

The present Superior is Mother Dafrose.

Novitiate of St. Stanislaus .- As early as 1818 Bishop Dubourg requested the provincial of the Jes- uits in Maryland to send some of the order to this part of his diocese, for the purpose of establishing a col- lege and taking charge of and conducting missionary work among the Indians. Circumstances prevented a compliance with his request at that time, but in 1823 it was, at the suggestion of John C. Calhoun, then Secretary of War, renewed and favorably con- sidered. Indeed, at this time the provincial was de- liberating about the removal of the novices to another locality, and he readily accepted the offer of Bishop Dubourg to donate a farm near Florissant. Rev. Charles Van Quickenborne, master of novices at the establishment in Maryland, was appointed Superior, Rev. Peter J. Timmermans assistant, and seven novices, six of whom were Belgians, who had come to America with the view of joining the Jesuits and engaging in missionary work among the Indians, were designated to come here. Their names were F. J. Van Assche, P. J. De Smet, J. A. Elet, F. L. Verreydt, P. J. Verhaegen, J. B. Smedts, and J. De Maillet. These, with three lay brothers and some negro ser- vants, started on the 11th of April, 1823. They journeyed overland to Wheeling, sleeping in dwellings or outhouses, and generally cooking their own mcals. After a brief delay they embarked on two flat-boats and descended the Ohio River to Shawncetown, a short distance below the mouth of the Wabash. Thence they sent their heavy luggage by steamboat to St. Louis, and crossed the prairics of Southern Illinois with a light wagon, the young men performing the journey on foot. This severe part of their trip was

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accomplished in seven days. They arrived at St. Louis May 31st, six weeks from the time of starting. On the 3d of June the last of the party reached their destination at Florissant, and were temporarily the guests of the. Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who were already established there.

Rev. Walter H. Hill, S.J., in his " History of St. Louis University," gives the following description of the Florissant valley at this time, and of the home to which these Jesuit Fathers and the noviees came :

"Florissant, or St. Ferdinand township, was first settled shortly after St. Louis was founded. At the heginning of this century the fields around the village supplied nearly all the grain purchased in the St. Louis market. Florissant valley was famous from the beginning for its beauty and fertility.

"When this region was under the government of Spain, or before the end of the last century, and till a short time be- fore it was transferred to the United States, Florissant was for a time the home of the Spanish Intendant or Governor. His dwelling, which was construeted of cedar logs planted upright on sleepers, into which they were firmly mortised, was torn down only a few years ago, its timbers being still perfeetly sound. Its position was nearly in front of the present ehureli at Florissant, and distant from it little more than a hundred and fifty yards. This house was oeeupied by the Trappist monks in 1809, who had that year closed their two houses in Kentucky, one in Nelson County, the other in Casey County, and removed to Missouri. In 1810 these monks again moved, this time to Looking-Glass Prairie, on Cahokia Creek, Ill., and settled upon a mound six miles from the present bridge at St. Louis, on the Collinsville plank-road, this mound still bearing the name of ' Monks' Mound.' Siekness and loss hy death, to- gether with misfortune eaused hy fire, compelled the survivors to abandon this malarial distriet in the spring of 1813, and they then returned to France, whenee they had originally come in 1804. Their prior, Rev. Joseph M. Dunand, remained seven years longer in America, or till 1820, residing most of this time at Florissant.

"Father Van Quiekenborne and companions took possession of their farm in June, 1823, Mr. O'Neil, magistrate of Floris- sant, having mnoved from it for the purpose, kindly eeding his right to retain it longer, although his lease had not expired. The land lying northwest from Florissant slopes gently upward from Cold Water Creek, near the village, till it reaches the highest table of the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, two and a half miles away. Commencing at the upland, a mile from the river, and deelining southeast towards St. Louis, lay the pretty little farm now to he their home, and on one of the highest and most lovely spots of all this scene of rich prairie and rolling woodland stood the humble eahin that was to shelter them. The prospect from this elevated position is hotlı exten- sive and heautiful, reaching far over the eharmning valley in which the village is einbosomned to the town of St. Charles, on the hanks of the Missouri, seven miles distant, and to the white line of rolling eliffs, erowned with trees, that streteh from Alton along the Mississippi River. Throughout this entire Florissant valley the soil is of inexhaustible fertility, rewarding even moderate eare and industry with plentiful erops of eorn, wheat, timothy, and every variety of garden vegetables suited to the elimate. Moreover, it is not only a pleasant distriet to live in, but it is very healthy, as the numerous instances of longevity among the people there spending their long lives conclusively show.

" The dwelling given up to thein by Squire O'Neil was a log eabin, containing one roomn, which was sixteen by eighteen feet in dimensions, and over it was a loft, but not high enough for a man to stand ereet in it, except when directly under the eomb of the roof. This poorly-lighted and ill-ventilated loft or garret was made the dormitory of the seven novices, their beds consisting of panels spread upon the floor. The room below was divided into two by a eurtain, one part being used as a chapel and the other serving as a bedroom for Fathers Van Quieken- borne and Timmermans. This main room of the cabin had a door on the southeast side or front, a large window on the north- west side, without sash or glass, but elosed with a heavy board shutter ; on the southwest side it had a small window with a few panes of glass, and, finally, on the northeast side was a notahle chimney, with a fireplace having a capacity for logs of eight feet in length. At the distance of about eighty feet to the northeast of this dwelling were two smaller cahins, some eight feet apart, one of which was made to serve both as study hall for the novices and as common dining-room for the community ; the other was used as kitchen and for lodging the negroes. These rude structures were covered with rough boards held in place by weight-poles ; the floors were 'puncheons,' and the doors were of riven slabs, and their wooden latehes were lifted with strings hanging outside."

A portion only of the farm was then under eulti- vation, though in front of the house there was a bear- ing orehard. They at onee commeneed the work of enlarging and adding to their house, performing the labor with their own hands. The timber for these additions and enlargements was cut on an island in the Mississippi River, a short distance above the Charbonnière.

Rev. Father Van Quiekenborne became the spiritual director of the community of the Sacred Heart, and the church at Florissant, which was not then finished, was relinquished to him by Rev. Father Delacroix, who had laid the corner-stone on the 19th of Febru- ary, 1821.

By the withdrawal of two of the lay brothers and the death of Father Timmermans, which occurred in 1824, the number of the community was reduced to nine ; but in 1825, Rev. Father De Theux and Mr. O'Connor, from Maryland, were added, and in 1827, . James A. Yates and George Miles, of Kentucky, were admitted as noviees.

In 1825 a school for Indian boys was opened, under the charge of the novices, and one for girls, in charge of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. These, in 1827, came to number about fourteen ehildren each.

Of the novices who first came to Florissant, J. B. Smedts and P. J. Verhaegen were ordained priests in 1825, and P. J. De Smet, J. F. Van Assche, J. A. Elet, and F. L. Verreydt in 1827.

The missionary work among the Indians, which these men had come hither to engage in, was then entered on with energy, but a few years sufficed to

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demonstrate the fact that the good thus accomplished did not meet the expectations of those who had hoped to be able to Christianize and civilize these indolent savages, and although missionary labor was continued, attention was directed to the promotion of education among the white population of the country.

The following history of the novitiate from 1830 to the present time was written for this work by Rev. Walter H. Hill, S.J., who was a novice at the insti- tution :

"Rev. Charles Van Quickenborne was Superior of the mission and of the novitiate from his arrival in 1823 till Feb. 4, 1831. Rev. Theodore Dc Theux suc- ceeded him, and was Superior till March 24, 1836. At this last date Father P. J. Verhaegen became Superior, but resided at the St. Louis University, ex- cept from the summer of 1837 to the spring of 1838, when he was master of novices at the novitiate. Father De Theux was master of novices de facto from 1827 to 1831, and de jure from Feb. 4, 1831, till the summer of 1837. Father Judocus F. Van Assche occupied the position from 1838 till 1839, when Father De Vos was made master of novices, filling the office till Oct. 3, 1843. Father De Vos was followed by Rev. J. B. Smedts, who remained in office till July 23, 1849, when he was succeeded by Rev. John Gleizel, who remained till July 3, 1857. Then followed Rev. Isidor Boudreaux, who filled the office till Jan. 17, 1880, when he was succeeded by Rev. Leopold Bushart. July 9, 1882, Rev. Fred- erick Hageman became master of novices, and he still fills the office, Father Bushart having been made provincial. The master of novices is appointed by the general of the society, and is removable by him, though he is usually not removed before filling a term of three years.

" The farm on which the novitiate is situated was given to Father Van Quickenborne and companions in 1823, and it contained two hundred and thirty acres. Adjoining lands were subsequently purchascd, so that it now contains six hundred and fifty-five acres, and besides the institution owns another farm of one hun- dred and twenty-eight acres two miles distant from it. The land extends from Cold Water Crcek to the Mis- souri River, just above the Charbonnière, a distance of more than two miles. More than half of this land is under cultivation ; it is naturally fertile, is well cared for, and is, perhaps, the best farm in the Florissant valley.

" The original cabins werc occupied till the summer of 1849, when all except the " Indian Seminary" were demolished. The Indian Seminary, a frame building, forty fcet by thirty feet, was moved on

rollers about eighty feet to the northeast of its former site, and it still stands.

" In 1844 the foundation for a three and a half story stone building was dug; the stones for it were quar- ried by the lay brothers at Musick's Ferry, seven miles down the Missouri River. This building was not finished till the summer of 1849. I found its walls built to the top of the basement when I reached the novitiate, Feb. 3, 1847. In the spring of 1848 the Creolcs of Florissant and the surrounding farms were invited to give one day with their wagons and teams to haul the stone for the building from the quarry ; they did so with kindness and hilarity, and a large portion of the stone was placed on the spot in one day.

" The present little mound in the garden at the novitiate, in which the dead are buried, was origi- nally covered with forest-trees. It was cleared and perfected in shape for its present purpose in 1839, when the remains of the few who had previously died were transferred to that spot. There are now eighty- eight graves, -thirty-seven priests, thirty-two lay brothers, and nineteen scholastics. Among the dead there buried are Father Van Quickenborne, founder of the mission ; his companions, Fathers De Smet, Verhaegen, Van Assche, etc .; also Father Meurin, who died at Prairie du Rocher in February, 1777 ; of Bizhop Van de Velde, who died in Natchez, Nov. 13, 1855, etc.

" The ' Indian Seminary,' founded by Father Van Quickenborne in 1825, was finally closed in 1830, or the year after the opening of the new college in St. Louis, the St. Louis University. The Indian school had not proved a success, the Indian boys preferring the liberty of a wild life in the woods to the restraints of civilized society ; they would make their escape and join their tribes roving over the prairies. When the cholera was at its worst in 1832, the students of the St. Louis University were removed for a time to the Indian Seminary at the novitiate.

" The first novices received at St. Stanislaus Noviti- ate were William Yates and George Miles, both natives of Kentucky. They entered in 1827. Brother Miles still survives, and is residing at St. Charles, Mo. The first scholastic novices were sent for their probation to the novitiate at White Marsh, Prince George's Co., Md. Those received in 1835 and thenceforth were at the St. Stanislaus Novitiate. The novices received during the first twenty years after the commencement of the novitiate were, with few exceptions, Belgians and Hollanders, many of them being drawn to the United States by the influence of the illustrious mis- sionary, Father De Smet.

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" In July, 1834, however, four novices were called to Missouri from White Marsh, in order to begin a novitiate at St. Stanislaus. They were Revs. John Schoenmakers and Cornelius Wathis, who were priests, and Revs. J. B. Druyts and J. B. Duerinck, not yet ordained priests; they were all Belgians. Rev. Mr. Schoenmakers, aged seventy-six years, still survives, and he lives at the Osage Mission, Kan., which he founded in 1847. At a later period, and especially after the death of Father De Smet, which took place May 23, 1873, most of the novices were sons of German and Irish parents, but born in the United States. Among the novices was one who was the descendant of a distinguished Delaware chief, the eloquent Father Bushart, now of San Francisco. A small number of Anglo-Americans from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, etc., were novices here at different periods.

" The novitiate has no endowment, and no source of regular income cxcept its excellent farm. It has rc- ceived donations of money from Belgium. Mainly through the influence of Father De Smet, a gift of thirty thousand dollars in 1869 enabled the institu- tion to erect a large three-story brick building, the foundation of which was dug in 1871, but the corner- stone of which was not laid till July 31, 1873. This additional building was finished in 1874, and the novices moved into it July 2d of that year. It is parallel to the stone building, about sixty feet from it, and the two are connected by a covered bridgeway which stands on pillars and joins the second stories.

" The novitiate was incorporated in accordance with a general law in 1870, under the name and title of ' the St. Stanislaus Seminary.' It is subject to the provincial of 'the Missouri province,' as are all the institutions and residences of the same province. The provincial resides ordinarily at the St. Louis Univer- sity, and the Missouri province includes institutions in Missouri, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukec, and in the States of Kansas and Nebraska. There are in the Missouri province seven colleges for supe- rior education, having not less than fifteen hundred students in actual attendance. The novitiate is the mother-house of all these establishments, but by a misnomer the St. Louis University is often styled the mother-house, because the provincial resides there."

Town of Bridgeton.1-Bridgeton is a small town fifteen miles northwest from the court-house in the city of St. Louis. It was incorporated as a town by an act of the Legislature in 1843. The present board of trustees consists of Walter B. Morris, John L.

Martin, Patrick O'Malley, George H. W. Heidorn, Thomas J. Baber, and David V. Baber. W. B. Mor- ris, chairman ; David V. Baber, secretary ; and George H. W. Heidorn, treasurer. John A. Martin, not a member of the board, is collector of revenue.

The town has four churches,-a Catholic, a Metho- dist Episcopal Church South, a Colored Methodist, and a Colored Baptist. There is also the Bridgeton Academy, the board of trustees .of which consists of nine members, six chosen from the town and three from the commons, both town and commons being embraced in the district. There is also a colored school, which is a branch of the academy and is under the control of the board of trustees. There are also in the town one general store, one grocery- store, one saloon, one blacksmith-shop, one wagon- shop, and one hotel. The population of the town was in 1880 one hundred and sixty-seven.

Bridgeton is an old place. It was settled at about the same time St. Louis was founded, and was first peopled by French and Spanish settlers. For defense against the Indians there was here in early times a fort, of which William Owens was the commanding officer, and from him the place was called Owens' Station till the time of its incorporation. Among the French of this region it was known in early times as " Ville de Roberts," and as " Marais des Léards," from a marsh in its vicinity. The original survey of the town was made in 1786 by a Frenchman named St. Germain.

The commons of Bridgeton consist of one thou- sand acres, granted to the town by the Spanish gov- ernment, and confirmed by the act of Congress of 1812. In 1852 these were leased to individuals for the term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, at rents varying from ten to twenty-five cents per acre.

BRIDGETON ACADEMY .- In 1864 the Bridgeton Academy was incorporated by an act of the Legisla- ture. The district of this institution includes the town and the commons, the revenucs from which are appropriated to the support of the school, which is free to all scholars residing within the district. The first school-house was a church building, erected by the Episcopalians, and sold by them to the board of trustees. This was exchanged for the house of wor- ship of the Methodist Episcopal Society, which is now the academy. A colored school is kept as a branch of this academy.

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 195

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358