Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 16, 1917 (part 2 of 2)

Located on the land of Alexander Matney in Orange township and only a short distance from the Methodist church erected about 1837 was another church building erected by general subscription and used as a place of worship for all denominations. It is probable that the church was built between 1820 and 1830. Beginning with 1874 the United Brethren congregation, organized by Rev. Alexander Carroll, were the principal users of the edifice. The building is now used by the Christian church and services are held twice each month.

Lutheran Churches

ing was erected and ready for occupancy. A frame Iniikling was erected in 1853 about one-quarter mile south of Lyonsville and was dedicated on October i6, of that year, by the Reverend Riser, of Dayton, Ohio. The congregation has maintained regular services from the time of its organization down to the present time.

The church building was rebuilt during the pastorate of Rev. J. L. Guard. Following is a hst of pastors since 1853: J. B. Oliver, S. Weills, F. W. Keller, M. L. Kunklemon, J. H. Link, Jacob Keller, J. M. Hughes, Daniel Scholl, C. S. Spencer, S. B. Hymen, J. A. West, J. L. Guard, D. P. Heltzer, R. A. Halverstadt, E. P. Young, G. E. Harsh, D. P. Heltzel, W. J. Dentler and H. E. Turney, the present pastor. Reverend Turney has just finished in the church college at Springfield, Ohio, and after acting as the supplv of the church during his preparation has now become the regular pastor. Services are held twice each month. The present membership is sixty-three.

The church maintains an active Sunday school with an average attendance of sixty. Emery A. Scholl is the superintendent. Other auxiliaries are a Luther League with a membership of thirty, a Mission Board of ten members; and a Woman's Home and Foreign ]\Iissionary Society of .fifteen members.

The I'nion E\-angelical church in Jackson townsliip (section 12) was organized in October, 1864. with seven members. As early as 1S33 Rev. J. P>. 01i\er, then pastor of St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church at Lyonsville, began preaching to a few scattered Lutherans in the township and services were continued under his successors, the names of whom may be seen under the history of the St. Paul church. It was during the ministry of F. W. Keller that the church Iniikling was erected in 1864 and the name given to the congregation in accordance with the terms of suliscription. The building was erected liy Charles ^^'. Elliott, the father of R. X. 'Elliott, an attorney of Connersville Tiie most prosperous time of the church's existence seems to have been immediately after the organization, for the records show a gradual decline by deaths and removals from that time on. In 191 7 James G. Smallwood was reported as the only member of the church left. There have been no regular serxices in the churcli for at least a quarter of a century.

The Ireland Uni\-ersalist church, located in the northwestern quarter of section 35, Jackson township, was organized in the Ireland school house in November, 1868, b_v Rev. M. G. Mitchell, of Abington, Indiana. The charter members were the following: Milton Trusler, M. Annie Trusler, Laura J. Trusler, James and Emma Sims, John Rigor, Ada Smith, Thomas and Eli-zabeth Curry, Elnora Taylor, Ebenezer Glenn, James and May Smith. The- first trustees were Milton Trusler, James Smith and Thomas Curry .- Church services were held in the school house and in homes until 1871, when a frame edifice was built, the same being' dedicated on August 13, 1871. Among- the pastors who have served the congregation may be mentioned the following: M. G. Mitchell, J. B. Grandy, rTank Evans, W. S. Bacon, W. C. Brooks. R. N. John, William Tucker, May T. Clark, H. A. Merrell and the Re\-erends Case, Crossly, Cantwell, Biddlecome and McLean. Re\-erend Becker, of Kokomo, now has charge of the church.

Among the leaders of the church for many years was the late Milton 1'rusler, the farmer who has the credit for originating the idea of rural free delixery. It was the custom of Mr. Trusler to invite the entire congregation to take dinner with him on the Sundays when regular church services were held, and it was not uncommon for a large number of the members to accept his hospitality.

.\ very unique feature of the administration of this church was - and is - the fact the minister is paid each Sunday for his services before he leaves the building. This is the only congregation in the county that pays "spot" cash for services rendered, and this fact may account for the fact the church has been able to maintain itself, while so many of the other rural churches in the county are finding themselves unable to continue their services.

Universalist Church At Everton

In about the year 1844 a brick church was erected at Everton by popular subscription, among the contributors being Elisha Cockefair, J. N. Bonham, James Smith, Azariah Beckett, R. N. Taylor, Alexander Cockefair, John Rigor, Mordacai Miller, David Taylor, Ezra Bonham, and William Rigsby. The church was built by all denominations and was used as such during its existence. The doctrine of Universalism was very strong at one time in this section and the adiierents of tliat faith used the ehiuvh more than any utiier. Reverend Tlrooks and l\e\erend Kayinr were amont; the earner ministers of tiie I'niversahst doctrine wlm officiated in this huilchns;-. Tiie church ceased to exist as an organization during- the early nineties. The cliurch fniilding- remained stanchnj;- until 1903.

I.Ongwood L'Niversalist.S.

One of tlie early religious societies in the county was that of the I'niversalists in the vicinity of Long-wood. John Philpott, Jr.. entered land on what later became the John Ludlow farm and built a church house in 1S4J. Although the people were of the I'niversalist faith, the church was dedicated bv a Methodi.st mini'^ter by the name of Stone. Among the pioneer ministers were James Smith. Peter Wiles, Arthur Miller, George Campbell and Jacob Daubenspeck. The church organization has long been dormant and must he classed among the man_\- discontinued churches of the county.

The Seventh-Day Adventist church at Connersville, the first and only one of that denomination in the county, began its formal existence on September I, 1900, with the following charter members: W. W. Hunt, Allie R. Hunt, Isabelle C. Hunt, Amanda Foster, L. A. McDaniel, Anna M. Kessler, Dollie Deaton. Anna M. Hunt. Lola M. Gray, Nellie Sparks, Anna D. Sparks, Blanch Gray and Leota Burke. The year following the organization a modern church building was erected on the corner of Thirteenth street and Indiana a\enue. The elders of the church from the beginning include the following: R. H. Sparks, George R. L'nderwood, W. W. Hunt, J. H. Neihaus, W. ^^'. ^^'orster, Benjamin F. Harrison and 1'. Z. Kinne. The pastors of the church are itinerant. The congregation has nearly doubled since its organization, the membership at the present time being twenty-four.

There appears to have been a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Glenwootl at one time, but the organization was abandoned several years ago and it has been impossible to get any definite records concerning its career.

Poplar Ridge Friends Church

One of the many churclies of tlie county which disappeared before the Civil War was organized by the .Society of Friends in the eastern part of Jackson township about j8i8 or 1819. Tiieir first and only building was a log' structure which stood about two miles east of Everton in section 2t,. Owing to the complete absence of all records of the church as well as the death of all the members it has been impossible to secure definite information concerning the church. The building itself seems to have been moved from its first site some time before the Civil War to a new location not far from the Cockefair woolen mill and repaired for use as a dwelling, but it had not been used as a house of worship for some years prior to that time. Mr. Cockefair inten.ded to preserve it for future generations as a relic, as he expressed to his friends, but he died (October 25, 1912,) before he put his plan into execution. Since that time the building has gradually fallen into decay and now only a few logs are left of the once humble house of worship.

The old site will be forever marked because of a large granite boulder which stands a few hundred yards north of the church. This interesting reminder of the glacial age bears on one site the following inscription:

W'ho these five men were, what they did to cause someone to raise such a stone to their memory, whether they are all buried beneath it: these are questions that the historian has not been able to unravel. It is even possible that they were not members of the church, but it is generally supposed that the\- were. The stone itself is as silent and uncommunicative as the ancient sphinx ami the historian leaA-es it to the writer of romance as a fitting subject for his imagination.

The church was organized at first as both an "established" and a "preparati\e" meeting-. Among the early ministers were Susannah Hollingswortli, \\'illiam Haughton and Rebecca and Sylvanus Talbert. The names of the members of this church have disappeared along with the log church

Services were commenced in Trinity Episcopal parisii at Connersville under the charge of Rev. William Miller. November 3. 1850, the town hall being used for the purpose. The organization of the parish was accomplished on May 24, 1852. A chapel building, forty by twenty-two feet, was erected in 1855 and the first services in it were conducted by Bishop Upfold on April 15, 1855.

On November 17. 1856, the cornerstone of the new edifice, situated on the southeast comer of Eastern avenue and Sixth street, was laid by Bishop Upfold with appropriate religious exercises, the stone being laid in the name of the Holy Trinity. L'pon the site of the building the bishop and clergy read the one hundred and twenty-second Psalm and a number of articles enclosed in a leaden box were placed in the cornerstone by the rector. The 'edifice was completed and consecrated on November i, 1859, by Rt. Rev. George Uphold. This church was built mainly through the untiring efforts of Mrs. Mary S. Helm. Reverend Miller continued his ser\ices with the congregation for about a year and was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Stewart who served for a period of about six years, closing his work in 1861. The advent of the Ci\il War meant a great loss to the parish and from i860 to 1867, the church was closed most of the time and no records are at hand to show the condition of affairs during that period. However, it is known that missionaries came from Indianapolis and Richmond during the period mentioned and held ser\-ices with more or less regularity. In 1867 regular services were resumed and up to 1890 fourteen clergymen ser\-ed the ])arish, their respective terms of serxice varying from three months tt) one year. Among the pastors who were connected with the parish during that period were J. W. Hibben. J. S. Harri.son, Jesse R. Bicknell. J. Clausen and T. Test. In 1890. Re\-. Willis D. Engle was a])]3ointed deacon in charge and served the parish until in June, 1894, he being succeeded liy Re\-. V. J. Collins, through whose influence a beautiful font, a lectern and a ])ulpit of nuartered-oak were received from a church in Chicago. Reverend Collins remained only a few months and was succeeded by the following in the order mentioned: Rev. J. Sanders, Rev. James Stafford. Dr. .\. Kinney Hall. Rev. William Crossman Otte. Rev. E. C. Bradlev. Rev. B. R. Butler,

Rev. Rush Sloaiie, Kev. \V. R. Plunimer, Doctor Guilligin and Rev. W. D. Engle, tlie present pastor, a resident of Indianapolis, who preaches to the congregation on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. The membership of the parish includes thirty communicants.

From an architectural point of \'ie\v Trinity church is second to none in the diocese. In the church are many memorials of more than usual iiTterest, donated by members and friends, many of whom are now dead, among these memorials being an antique altar in memory of Alice Evans, a brass altar cross in memory of Daniel and Sarah Hawkins, a polished candelabra in memory of Alice H. Seradino and C. Huber, and a beautiful processional cross presented in memory of the Batamans, whose marriage was the first Episcopal wedding in Connersville. The first marriage in the church was that of Dr. Thomas Hall McCorkee and Susanna Rowan Enyart on October 6, 1874.

The first meeting held by adherents of the Christian Science faith was at the home of Charles Bucher on Eastern avenue, January 26, 1902. The first public service was held in the rooms now occupied in the Odd Fellows, July 6, 1902, and was attended by the following: A. T. Todd, Mrs. A. T. Todd, Omole Todd, Olin Todd, Charles P. Bucher, Mrs. Charles P. Bucher, Gertrude R. Bucher, Charles Brown, Mrs. Anna Brown, Norman Brown and Susan Conwell. Services were held there until March 4, 1903, when, on account of reduced numbers due to natural causes, the little band retired to the home of Charles P. Bucher. At that time the membership was composed of Charles P. Bucher and wife, Gertrude Bucher, Susan Conwell and Mrs. Anna Brown. Due to the persistent efforts of Mrs. Charles P. Bucher the spirit of the society was kept alive and in due season she was to be rewarded by seeing the society grow into a permanent organization. Services were held in the front room of the Bucher home until the quarters became so crowded that a 'public ]5lace had to be acffuired. This circumstance led to a ])ermanent church organization effected in the rooms of the Odd Fellow building. May 5, 1914.

During the time the society was first meeting in the Odd Fellow building A. T. Todd was first reader, Mrs. Charles P. Bucher, second reader, and Charles P. Bucher, secretary-treasurer. After retiring to the Bucher home William E. Lowe became first reader and Mrs. Charles P. Bucher, second reader. At the present time Charles P. Bucher is president; William E. Lowe, first reader; Mrs. Milton Shade, second reader. The first instance

Services are held regularly c\cry Sunda\- and Wednesday evening in tiie roouis that have always been occupied in the CXld h'cllow liuilding. .\s the Sunday school is limited (inl\' to the children, it is neccssariU- small. The membership of the congregation numliers ahcnit twenty-eight and the prospects for the future are bright.

The Pentecostal church of the Xazarene at Connersxille began its existence on April 15, igon. with a membership of twenty-hve. Rev. Ora A. Overhol.ser was the first pastor and served one year. He was succeeded by B. B. Sapp. who ser\-ed the congregation for a period of four years. He in turn was followed by Rev. R. R. Still and the latter by the Re\-. O. E. Enos, each of whom was in charge of the congregation for one year. Re\'. K. C. AlcCollum is the present pastor and has under his care a congregation composed of fifty members. The congregation occupies the church built by the congregation of the Christian church in 1S72, but which was purchased by the Nazarene church in 1909. This church hears the distinction of being the only one of its kind in the county.

Colored Baptists

The -Mt. Ziou Bajnist church (colored), located on West Fifteenth street, was organized on March Jd. [(SS8, with the following charter members: Eliza Johnson, Julia Harris, Jacol) Collins, Joel Cassman, Alice West, Mame Marshall and \\'illiam Huey. The society was organized at a meeting held in the city hall and continued to meet there periodically during the next three )ears. In 1891 the congregation erected an edifice at a cost of two thousand fixe hundred flollars. Ten pastors ha\-e served the congregation. i\e\ . 1\. 1). Leonard is the i)resent ])astor. The membership is quite active and growing and at the lieginning of Kjij numbered one hundred and thirty.

African Methodist Ki'Iscoi' Ai. Church

About 1844 oi' i<^4.T the c(jlored people of tiie Methodist faith began to meet quite often in whatever quarters could be obtained for religious worship. In subsequent years an organization was perfected and a small frame church was erected which was occupied until 1872, when the brick house of worsliip was purchased from the Cliristian congregation for two thousand five hundred dollars. This was the property of the regular Methodists.

In comparatively recent years a number of the congregation of the regular colored Methodist Episcopal church organized the African Methodist Episcopal church and maintain a church house on Water street, near the parent organization. .Among the first members of the church were Mrs. Margaret Turner, George Mitchell, Mrs. Dolly Wilson, James Freeman and wife, James Franklin and wife and Mrs. Powell. Some of the first ministers who preached to the congregation were Reverend Davis, Reverend Woodfork, Rev. Daniel Winslow, Rev. John Myers, Rev. John Payne and Rev. Charles Jones. Regular services are conducted and several au.xiliaries serve the church.

That event will be noted in detail later on, but there is a prelude that is not without interest, to which first a few lines should be devoted. It has to do with primitive times. Of the first pioneers, a limited number were evidently of Catholic antecedents. This fact is shown by traces of character and their family connections. Their names, U^calities whence thev came, certain little preferences of which they were known to be possessed are all lesser parts of the general grouping of tradition, which, in the aggregate, has an assembly of derelict faith worth noting'.

French traders traversed this neighborhood for several years, and no doubt lost something of their civilization and perhaps most of their religion during their tra\'els. Their immediate successor, and previously their companion and brother in the craft of woodsmanship - John Conner - received his schooling, without doubt, at the hands of Catholic priests, at Detroit. His parents lie in graves marked with a cross, the .symbol of the resurrection. And as a brother lived in the faith, and bestowed it upon his family, the connection with the olden faith, e\-en in the case of John Conner, is not remote. Thomas Hinkston entered land here in 181 1 and again in 1814, upon which he lived till his death in 1850. He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1773. \\'hatever turn his religious practices took at times, it is well known that, with his accustomed brogue, he fondly sang the praises of his nati\e land, from which he derived a superior education and which brought him distinction amid his rustic surroundings. He was one of the first land sur\-eyors of I-'ayette county. As to the Irisli .sclioohnaster, he was very much in evidence. Cliarles Donavan was among the first of Connersville's teachers. Thomas O' Brian had a similar standing in the Everton neighborliood : and the famous school teacher of the Waterloo neighborhood is enshrined in tradition as "an Irishman by the name of Gray." At Bentonville it is "Kelly", and Harrisburg does nearly as well by having William McKemmy. There are eleven names which are unmistakably Irish in the land entries prior to 1815 and perhaps an equal number which are identified in other ways with Fayette county's history during the few years next following. Although facts are meager which establish for them any connection with the Catholic faith, yet, considered as subjects for missionary efifort, the kind to which reference was made when the Shepherd is spoken of as leaving the ninety-nine sheep to go look for the one which is lost, it is hard to belie\e tliat a priest's visit among them would have failed to find a working basis and latent faith.

Early Catholic Influences

In 1819 Owen .McCarty. from Hagerstow'n. Maryland, settled with liis wife in land a few miles south of Connersville. A son, Otho McCarty, with a widowed mother, lived long enough to participate in the passing of several phases of St. Gabriel's history, and consequently they are well known as early Catholic settlers. John B. Tate came to Connersville about 1830 and was early identified with the village activities. He was connected in a variety of ways with its business life, and was employed for clerical work at the court house. In 1843 he was one of the teachers at the seminary, the present Fifth street school, and in 1856 held the postmastership of Connersville. In the period of 1830 to 1840, John B. Tate would be quickly pointed out as a Catholic to anyone inquiring for such. The reason is that his profession of faith was open and frank. In consequence of this fact many villagers of those days noted their acquaintance with him as that of the first Catholic 'within the circle of their associates.

By the time the forties of the last century came into being, two events transpired which had an important bearing upon the progress of Catholicity. The first was the creating of Vincennes, Indiana, into a Catholic bishopric, in 1836, which resulted in missionary priests finding their way to the neighborhood ; and the second event was the influx of laborers who came with the building of the canal. Although the scenes were shifting, thev still are to be (29) recognized as making an epoch wherein a something can be found which previously did not exist. New Hfe was in the making in those days of improvements and many .potent factors were added to the sum of Fayette county's , forces of material and spiritual progress; and naturally in the .summing-up, Catholics appear. in their wonted proportion. How glad the first visit of a priest made them, can be fancied, but for want of definite, data cannot be described in these pages.

The follo\\ing is a complete list .of Catholic priests, who, from their nearby locations, may have touched Connersville and vicinity during their travels and. ministrations : -

The full- story of known facts and local traditions of these priests would expand these pages unduly, and a start for the beginning of St. Gabriel's parish can be fittingly made with the acquisition in the month of August, 1850, of a lot upon which to build a church. Father Doyle counted Richmond his. home, but his visits promised now to be made with some degree of regularity and a decisive step had been made in acquiring the church site. The location of the site seemed far removed from Connersville's busmess section. It was the generous aid of A. B. Conwell that made its possession possible and the wisdom of the selection later became e\'ident, although for years going to St. Galjriel's seemed like a long distance to go to church. The old site .is north of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western tracks, on Eastern avenue, and though the survey of the new railroad was possibly known, still, it was quite a few years subsequent to 1850 before Connersville as a town built itself that far north. .

The strength of Connersville's Cathohcs was augmented somewhat- by this time, for several years had elapsed since they beganto meet for services at private homes. John Burke was a contractor of some im]:)ortance for those days. He lived during the years preceding 1850 in the building on

Eastern aAenue, which was the Claypool inn of an earher period. Here he kept in readiness a room for C'allioHc services and hospital)ly received Father Ryan, of Richmond, upon the occasion of the latter's several visits between 1846 and 1848.

When I'^ather Doyle, of Richmond, began his visits in 1850 he found quarters with Anthony Apert, where again a room was set aside for Catholic services, and priest and layman knew a welcome awaited them. The arrangements at the Apert home, the large frame house on the eastern side of Eastern avenue, between Fourth and Third streets, which still stands on a line with the sidewalk, were somewhat elaborate for the times and their use destined to cover a period of seven or eight years before supersedefl liy a permanent church home.

Late in the fall of 1850 a lay Catholic came to Conners\ille who promptlv became identified with the church work in hand. It was his nature to act resolutely, and his two years of American experience in New York, Connecticut and Ohio was preceded by a European business career. Consequently he had traits of character and qualifications that became useful in the working out of results. A counting of heads re\ealed fourteen separate family groups upon whom reliance could be placed, and although George Heinemann was the last to arrive, he was in the front ranks of those who pressed the project of building a church to completion. There is a set of account books in existence, in his handwriting, showing the progress of the work. It is an epitome of the strain under which Catholics of that day labored to raise the funds needed to build a house for God's worship. The first entry in these books is under the date of July 16, 1851, and represents an expenditure of fifty cents paid to William Ervin for surveying and staking off the lot. A series of settlements made in October, 185 1, seem to indicate the period of the cornerstone-laying festivities. These events over, the books show that bricks were the next subject of concern. Under date of January 26, 1852, one hundred and twenty-three thousand bricks were settled for at six dollars a thousand. During the spring and summer of 1852 various small pa}-ments to the contractors who erected the building are recorded, which seem to indicate rather slow progress of the work, a final settlement being shown only in the month of March, 1853. In this settlement one-half of the sum due on the work was paid in cash and for the remaining half the trustees signed "orders on ourselves," due on December 25, 1853. The trustees were Anthony Apert, Valentine Michael. Daniel Cobine and George Heinemann.

When the church was first ptit to use, in the spring of 1853, there was no interior finish. The bare, unplastered walls and roof girders met the gaze of worshippers. A rough altar, made from boards left on the premises by the contractors, was used, and the primitive method of kneeling and standing during divine services was observed because of the absence of seats. But the church was under roof and enclosed. This was much indeed, though, truth to tell, the faithful's available store of resources also seemed to have reached a state of depletion by this time. For some reason Father Doyle's visits were irregular and in a few months his pastorate in this neighborhood was to end. In August, 1853, he was called to Terre Haute. His withdrawal closes the mission period of St. Gabriel's.

First Resident Pastor

With the arrival of Rev. Henry Peters in the late summer of 1853, a new experience was in store for the Catholics within a radius of traveling distance from Connersville. Father Peters made this place his home, and undertook to visit regularly Liberty, Rushville, Cambridge and Laurel and look after the whole intermediate territory. Consequently Connersville Catholics then had a resident pastor, that is, they had one at such times when he was not traveling the uncertain roads of his outlying districts. The extent and diversity of his labors in this field can be judged by his building record, which is as follows:

It would be a mistake to infer that Father Peters allowed himself to become a stranger to his home flock at Connersville. This was his home in a genuine sense during the whole of his eventful career, and all people here learned to know and to love him. A sympathetic touch with human nature impelled in him a due regard for the purity of other people's motives, and in practice he sought to influence human conduct by leading people to do riglit. A profound faith that God ordains all things well, is seen as the beacon light of his greatest trials ; and a placid mind is ever in control of his commonest everyday acts. It is not surprising-, consequently, that he made friends of all who came his way. It explains also the demonstration of popularity on the occasion of a voting contest, in the spring of 1871, at a church fair of the leading Protestant denomination, which had lately come into possession of the Claypool Opera House for their future place of worship, and at which place a gentleman's lounging coat was voted to the most popular minister of the town. Although their own minister's chances were impaired, no doubt, by the demands of courtesy, still, it would have been easy under the general conditions of the times for the prizes to go to some one other than a Catholic priest, except for the universal respect in which Father Peters was held in the community. His was indeed a well-known figure, one with no harsh reputations to mar his kindly ways, and consequently the award- met with universal approval.

Father Peters was a friend and counsellor to many persons in his day. He was a builder of temples and a creator, seemingly, of the means to do so; and yet, with all this to his credit, it will be found in the end that his most lasting monument is something even greater, namely : his life demonstrated anew that the Christian ideal is a practically possible ideal. It is not given to the church to annihilate e\il, but it is her mission to furnish a counterpoise to it. And the living subject of these remarks stands in the recollection of not a few people as a human agency employed by God for that purpose. His career was an active leaven for good. He was a priest, humbly striving for God's kingdom on earth, a spiritual father to the extent of every atom of his being, but always with an overshadowing sense that to be a priest and a Christian, in greatest perfection, was in harmony with the simpler duties of life, to be ever kind and considerate and to be neighborly and helpful to all men.

During his pastorship Father Peters had the pleasure for a short period to have his younger brother at his side as assistant. Rev. William Peters was ordained at Vincennes on April 11, 1861. He read his first mass at St. Gabriel's and decided to give here a senice commensurate with his strength ; but impaired health made it plain that this service would be brief. In the spring of the next year it became evident that life's thread was weakening, and August 9, 1862. witnessed his demise. His remains were taken to Aladison, Indiana, for burial in the Catholic cemetery.

There were plenty of duties to engage the efforts of St. Gabriel's pastor during the next ten years - important years - for they were eventful ones for our country. And Connersville of course felt the thrill of the national life. In fact the history of this particular period is keyed throughout to the shrill note of martial times rather than to the S3'mphonies of peace and religion; and doubtless the inattention paid to many of Father Peter's appeals for the interests of the church at this time can be explained by the fact that the Civil War was on with all of its engrossing terrors. At least thirty or forty names of the enlistment from this neighborhood clearly belonged to Catholic manhood. Some returned, some fell, but all created excitement when going, and a gap while absent. In at least one instance was the church the parting scene, an incident which resulted eventually in a small legacy. Frantz Eierund was a German youth of late arrival, making his home with George Heinemann, and he attached himself to the regiment of General Weilich which took part in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, where Eierund fell. The morning of the day of departure, he received the sacraments from Father Peters and left the residue of his European funds, about fifty dollars, with tlie friends where he was domiciled to be applied to the church if he failed to return. The sum was used subsequently in the purchase of a St. Joseph statue which long adorned the old church. Father Peters labored steadily through the trying times of the sixties, and brought into unison every available element to build up a parish. He was ever mindful also of the younger memliers of his tlock. A school for children was frecjuently the task which engaged his best efforts. With varying- success was this work put to a practical trial by conducting school in the basement of the church. After several such efforts, the practical eye of Father Peters saw in the situation an opportunity of doing a lasting good b}- establishing permanency. To do this suitable quarters were needed, and the placing of the burden of teaching into the hands of a teaching sisterhood. The conviction once reached, action soon followed, As early as 1868 the first steps were taken for a new school. These plans were ripened during the next few years and the fall of 1873 saw the present school building opened to the children of St. Gabriel's.

It was Father Peters' last achievement. His health declined rapidly and the Christmas Day services were his last public appearance. His death occurred on January 31, 1874, he then being in the forty-seventh year of his age and in the twentx'-tirst year of liis residence in Connersvillc. To the hurial at Madison, Indiana, 1)y \\a}' of Cincinnati, a few persons followed from here, but a vastly greater number who could not go mourned the loss of a benefactor - St. Gabriel's first resident pastor.

In the year of 1874 several priests from nearby stations loaned their services to Connersville Catholics, .\mong them were Re\-. J. L. Brassart, of Indianapolis, and Rev. H. Alerding. then of Cambridge, but later bishop of the Ft. ^\'ayne diocese, and Re\-. Peter Bischof who remained in charge of the parish till the summer of 1876.

Rev. J. B. H. Seepe came here in .Vugust, 1S76, and remained pastor at Connersville till the month of May, 1881. He brought into his work from the start the ideas of a strict disciplinarian and the efiforts of an uncompromising foe of deviations, however slight, from Christianity's loftiest ideals. These ideas found expression also in the management of the temporal afifairs of the parish. The debts still standing against the school buildingwere considerably reduced, under the working of his plans ; and when he left Connersville complete order had been restored to the afifairs of the parish. He became pastor of St. Mary's, Madison, Indiana, where he died on July 16, 191 3.

Good Work Of Father Rudolf

An important chapter opens at this point in St. Gabriel's history. Rev. Francis Joseph Rudolf came to Connersville on May 4, 1881. An eventful pastorate ended with his death on July 10, 1906. Twenty-five years of unstinted service, when broken, brought sorrow to the whole community. Father Rudolf's circle of acc[uaintances was the very widest. Everybody felt at home in his presence. There was a well-trodden path to his door ,and the travelers thereof truly were of all classes. Open of countenance, frank in demeanor, generous and helpful were the qualities of mind and heart which people soon learned to consider a part of the nature of St. Gabriel's new pastor.

Father Rudolf came here from Shelby county, where he had built a new church at St. Vincent's, and previous to that he had been a short time at Lancaster, Ohio. He was ordained on May 4, 1867, at Mount St. Mary's, Cincinnati, and, consequently had been fifteen years in the priesthood when he entered on his new charge at Connersville. As his experience had been varied by this time, he possessed a practical knowledge of afifairs which became a useful asset to the Connersville parish. The tradition of ihs uncle.

the Father Rudolf of Oldenburg of an earlier period, added to his prestige, of course, with all who knew of the relationship; but the individuaHty of Connersville's new shepherd itself was sterling in its every trait and it quickly impressed itself upon the surroundings into which it was cast.

It had come to be accepted as a fact at this time, that a new church was needed. The old one was too small, and its location was unsuited on account of the closeness of the railroad. Nearly ten years before, a new site was opened when the present school building was put up; and the history of several years had been woven about the thought that a new church should be built. The panic years of the seventies, when the school was built, had left a debt of about seven hundred dollars still unpaid. What the members had grown into the habit of asking themselves continued to remain a C[uestion only : What is to be done ?

Here is the starting point for the new pastor who came upon the ground in 1881 and where he showed his mastery. With little commotion, plans were obtained and a start made. To the general public it soon was a "cathedral" that was building. This title is often met with in the press of that day. Catholics smiled, yet, truth to tell, themselves knew not how or when they would pay for it. But there the picture was, for whomsoever would see. How grand, how large! was the common comment.

To understand the relative importance of the new project to build the present St. Gabriel's, a brief retrospect of Connersville's public buildings will be illuminating. None of the present large buildings were in existence in 1881. The court house, built in 1849, held the distinction of pre-eminence. Another building from the same period of time, and which contains traces of art in its makeup, existed then as it does even yet - although now used for many years as a residence. It was built originally as the main office of the White Water Canal Company, and afterwards was used for banking purposes. This bit of architectural art of classic expression, on Fourth street east from Central avenue, is indeed left behind as a reminder of the few isolated specimens of good art in house building in the early days. There was one narrow bank building with sandstone front on Central avenue. Trinity church is in good style, though of moderate size, which puts it into a dififerent class. Two or three private residences existed that were rare productions for our community in those days, but this is the limit that the year of 188 1 sets to the exhibitions of art applied to the construction of large-sized buildings. In the other specimens to be viewed, the population of those days was accustomed to utility and mechanical dictation for dominant traits. The seminary building, at Fifth street, was prominent indeed, but merely as a large square-built structure of imposing dimensions, but otherwise unattractive. Two factory buildings had lately been erected, which made them notable for their purpose; but beyond this listing none of our present graceful edifices had existence when St. Gabriel's pastor brought out plans for a new church. As a first step, the unplatted ground north of the school house on Ninth street to the railroad embankment and west to the Milton road, was bought in August, 1881. This permitted an ample site for the proposed "cathedral" and eliminated the possibility of any crowded appearance for so large a building, as everybody admitted. The purchase of the new ground answered the question finally where to build. As to the matter of money, for the building of the church, this was next in order.

Successful Outcome Of Project

Father Rudolf's plan of finding out what relationship existed between possession and generosity - to have and hold, and to give - was truly characteristic. He put down his name at the head of the list for five hundred dollars. Anthony Apert, though aged, was still on the scene. His close attachment and early habits of helpfulness in behalf of the church moved him to apply his signature for a like amount. Otho McCarty, whose birth in Fayette county in 1819 placed him in a historic premiership - he was the oldest-born member - drew on his belongings for a like amount. Maurice Connell, a prosperous farmer, did the same. Austin Ready, at this time looked up to as one of the active and public-spirited citizens of the community, quickly furnished another name. And the goodness of heart of Anthony Kehl would endure no interference, no holding back, for himself in entering into the plans and the work of first class contributors. The last named persons, Austin Ready and Anthony Kehl, in the sequel, furnished in addition to their donations of money, the largest amount of personal service in the endless details belonging to an extensive canvass for aid, closing their connections with the effort only with the time of occupancy of the completed structure.

In the study of names, to be found in the itemized statement of the money raised for the purpose of building the new church, it is evident that many members strained their ability to the utmost; and if sacrifice be truly an essential quality for a monument intended to praise God's name, then.

among the secondary contributors, can be found easily those who rank on this account with the first. This self-sacrificing spirit explains also the successful outcome of the popular entertainments given and public fairs. At these meetings personal service and handicraft and home products were given with lavish hands. An aggregate of mites by those who could not give more, when added to the dollars of those who had them to bestow, resulted in the phenomenal profits shown in the statements of these efforts. But, withal, the difference between the total of the income and that of the expenditure left a sum of indebtedness which was considerable for the time. It is much honor to the disposition of the local bankers that during this time of the building, the name of F. J. Rudolf at their counters was sufficient for temporary accommodations. Austin Ready's well-known trait to respond to a demand to do a good turn for somebody else was a silent asset perhaps, but, in fact, his endorsement was used a very few times only, the pastor of St. Gabriel's himself conducted the finances for the whole period as a personal account.

The building had made enough progress in the early spring of 1884 to warrant fixing the date of June 15, 1884, for the ceremony of dedication. That this event was looked forward to with interest by neighboring communities is shown by the generous response to the invitations sent out to participate in the festivities. The local press speak of five thousand people being present. The special train from the west, starting at Indianapolis, brought twelve coaches of excursionists; and that from Cincinnati, ten coaches well filled. The train from the north, six coaches and from the south, five. No previous function had ever brought this number to our town before, for a purely Catholic event.

New Epoch For Connersville Catholics

With the new church in use, a new spirit is noticed in all forms of church activity; in reality an epoch opens for Connersville Catholics. The extent of the growth and development in parish work, soon called for a new parsonage, which was buih in 1890. This brought the pastor's home to the new location on Ninth street, and completed the cycle, except that taking care of a new expression in parish activity produced Library Hall in 1891, and finally the Sister's home, a commodious brick building, in 1905.

It would be a mistake to infer that Father Rudolf only knew about rearing material buildings. The depth of his sincerity and unaffected piety and self-effacement in the work of shepherding Christ's sheep were soul- inspiring from their very simplicity. He knew of the conventional ways of good society, of course - the many natural virtues that go towards making life pleasant - but they were duly surbordinated in his estimate of things that were worth while. \\'hat counted in his balancing of the scales was the motive behind human conduct. The trustful look of his countenance with a mild but sure and incisive discernment, left little room for human perversity to hide itself in his presence. In consequence, that God's claims upon men were imperative was very plainly a lesson taught. In another way, . and for other purposes, there was ever present in his personal and intellectual makeup an insistent persuasiveness that was well nigh irresistible. Without argument, his oi>en. honest and sympathetic opinion would usually be accepted in the end. because it was Father Rudolf's. There was always a moral stimulus in store for whoever talked to him even casually, since his trustfulness in the final good of life was as inexhaustible as it was infectious. It is not surprising, consequently, with these traits, that the fundamental principles of religion, as the true philosophy of life, were given a wide diffusion during his long term of service. It explains also, the extent of his efforts to bring the members of his flock into a proper appreciation of the better things of the mind, instead of spending themselves on questionable social diversions. Library Hall was a result of this program to train young people in habits of mental activity rather than social ones - strong drink, dancing and the score or more of attendant misgrowths, all received a curtailment because of his leadership. That the community was benefited thereby, is writ in large characters in the careers of those who were placed, in their youths, under his influence,

A parish event that called out large response, was the observance of the silver jubilee, in May, 1906, of Father Rudolf's labors in Connersville. It took the form of a strictly religious exercise, a Forty-Hours' Devotion, and it proved to be the last opportunity for a manifestation of love for this valiant friend and true pastor. Death came only a few months later. It found Francis Joseph Rudolf at his post of duty. The tolling of the church bell was the first annoimcement to the public : and it created universal sorrow. The interment of his remains took place at Oldenburg", near his parents, and the home of his brothers and sisters and the scenes of his first days in America, near the church where he read his first mass after ordination.

It will doubtless be found notable in many relations. It is full of hope and promise at this moment, and can only be contemplated as a something of bright hues.

In many ways, it was a new period that opened for CathoHcity in Fayette county even in the closing years of the last century. Although the developments of the business life of the locality had always been constant and population showed a steady increase by new arrivals from other localities, still, the time which gave occasion for a new pastor of St. Gabriel's in 1906, also stands for a time which brought an added impulse to this tendency. In a business way Connersville was feeling the stir of new life. New industries were installing themselves and old ones all taking firmer roots. In addition to the general business conditions favoring the growth of Connersville, it was a noticeable fact that young farmers of German parentage from neighborhoods to the south, were now taking over the management and even ownership of Fayette county agriculture lands in increasing numbers, and were proportionately adding new names to the church records.

St. Gabriel's new pastor came to a growing community in 1906. How much he contributed to the healthy development of all the elements of his charge, will be a matter for superlative terms when its history comes to be written. For it is a patent fact that all interests covering the multitudinous duties due such a growing and vigorous church family are safely guarded and directed with consummate wisdom. Three hundred families is approximately the number who receive his ministrations..

Rev. Theodore S. Mesker, who became St. Gabriel's pastor in 1906, is still in charge of the church. He was born at Evansville, Indiana, March 20, 1862, and received his early education in St. Mary's parochial schools in his home city. In 1874 he attended the commercial college at St. Meinrad, Indiana, and after a two-year course began the study of the classics, continuing his studies at St. Francis Salesianum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. JThen he re-entered St. Meinrad, where he completed a course in philosophy and theology. He was ordained to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Francis Silas Chatard at St. Meinrad on May 30, 1885. His first appointment was as assistant to the pastor of St.' Mary's at Indianapolis. A year later he was made pastor of St. Bernard's church at Rockport, Indiana. At his own request he was relieved of this charge after a year of service and was appointed pastor of St. John's church, in Warrick county, serving the church from Evansville, where he resided, and at the same time looking after missions at Boonville and Newburg. On August 15, 1888, he was appointed pastor of the Guardian Angel church at Cedar Grove, Franklin county, and there he labored for eighteen years. He erected a substantial brick church, one hundred by forty-eight feet, furnished the new church with altars, pews and a splendid pipe organ. He converted the former church into a school building. The Cedar Grove church is one of the most beautiful country churches in the diocese. From this place, after a successful pastorate of eighteen years, he was appointed to St. Gabriel's, taking charge of the church on July 26, 1906.

Father Mesker found the parish utilities ample for the time and in good working order; the last one of them however, the new Sister's home, though finished, had a debt which nearly corresponded to its full cost. The many new services needed for the influx of new members soon called for a number of minor improvements, but all of these have been looked after with ability bv the pastor, and the current movements of the parish seem to be unhampered by debt. In a counting up of results, it will likely be found that the greatest showing for the past decade of years consists in the excellent order brought into the parish's routine touching every detail of church work. There must surely be some great work before it under the plans of divine Providence, for, seemingly such perfect order in the affairs of a parish cannot do otherwise than produce fruits in abundance. The numerous lives brought into conformity with Christianity is the ordinary result; the prime purpose, in fact, for its being, still, some other and special or material evidence of it must be maturing, and cannot perhaps be long now in the coming. Will it be a new school building, is a question many people are asking themselves.

The question is a reminder that while the future does not enter into the scope of this sketch of St. Gabriel's, yet the sketch would be incomplete without a reference to the parish schools of the past.

The fall of 1854 sees the first parish school assembled in the basement of the new building erected as a church the year previous. A teacher was found at Oldenburg in the person of' a Mr. Koogler, who' conducted the school till the early summer of the next year. In 1855 F. H. Browning took over the work of school teacher, and continued in this capacity till 1858. In 1861-62, George J. Held, who came here from Canton, Ohio, was teacher, being followed by Joseph Peters, a younger brother of the pastor, who conducted school for several years. In 1867-68, a Mr. Staufer taught the school for one year and was retained also because he was an organist. The need of an organist that 3'ear arose from the fact that the congregation had bought a pipe organ in the summer of 1867, and when installed it became the means of collecting a choir notable for those days. Some of its members had fair musical talent and even semi-professional training from Europe. This organ was probably the first pipe organ brought to Fayette county. The next teacher for the school in the basement of old St. Gabriel's was Joseph Ernst, who was in charge in 1868-69, and still later, a Miss Mitchell, for a few months in the latter part of the year.

These several attempts to maintain a school represents a large amount of individual sacrifice on the part of the few families who could support it, and the culmination of which is found in the marked success attending their efforts to do even better in the future. In 1868 a movement was started under the name of the St. Philip Neri School Society for the purpose of improving the work by putting up a separate building for school purposes.

Why this desire exists for Catholic schools must be plain to whoever knows Catholic faith and sentiment. The root idea of it all is the intimate binding of the individual with God. God is man's Maker, and his final end and reward. This primal fact of existence is so deep and all pervading that it overshadows the whole range of being, and alone furnishes a key to the problem of life. The efiforts of the handful of faithful in the sixties of the last century to keep up a Catholic school in Connersville is an illustration of the bravery with which the church has always faced this issue, which makes God a supreme factor in every stage of human life. When the child learns the opening lines of the catechism and grasps the great truth that he is God's creature, made to know his Maker^to love and serve Him - he has acquired a working philosophy of life which will be as a compass on its stormy sea ; and which will insure real progress when others perish for want of this knowledge of the nature and purpose of human existence. A distinctive feature of the school on this account, is the large place it assigns to character building. It proceeds on the theory that the value of education lies in the development of an illumined mind possessed of self-cOntrol and supporting enlarged sympathies and wide views. Knowledge, right conscience, firm will, these are its desiderata; and it undertakes to make them companionable by developing them together. The merest acquaintance with the routine of the school will show the commingling of them at CA^ery point. By this means, the home, the church, the school, in childhood's estimate of things, are kept in unison. Every asset of niin<l and- heart is made to do service in the effort to-know God and to serve Hi^m. by. doing good and avoiding evil, which, after all is the sum of all .wisdom. . - Consequentlyi lookiaig at life as it has Ijeen lived, no small portion of local history is to be found in the painstaking labors of Catholics to maintain a school, where God and conscience are given full recognition during the period of the unfolding of childhood.

It is not surprising then, with these principles in mind, that the inconveniences of erecting and maintaining schools, have been gladly borne by the Catholics of Connersville from the beginning. The }ears of 1868 and onward till 1871 were anything but propitious for their new undertaking; but by one means and another, they managed to bring it to completion even in the face of the financial strains of the panic of the early seventies. The lot for the new school building, the present St. Gabriel's school on Ninth street, was bought in 1871, and the building was finished in the summer of 1873. ^^ ^'^tle enthusiasm was manifested by both parents and pupils at the prospects of the work to be done by the Sisters, who had arrived late in August, 1873. The local papers speak of it as an item of note, saying that one hundred children constitute the enrollment. The school thus inaugurated has been continuously open since that date for ten months each year, in charge of the Sisters of Providence, whose mother home is at St. Mary's of the Woods, near Terre Haute, Indiana. The enrollment for the current year is two hundred and eighteen pupils, who are trained in courses from the primary to the completion of the eighth-year grades. In addition to this ordinary school work the Sisters have special music classes, numbering between forty and fifty children.

There is a local interest attaching to the self-sacrificing labors of this sisterhood, who now conduct schools as far east as Boston, because of the fact that of the number <if St. Gabriel's members who have entered religious orders, all but three ha\-e chosen the work of the Sisters of Providence for their vocation, the complete list being as follows: Honora Walsh, 1862, Sister Mary Stephens, St. Alary's of the Woods; Bridget Kane, 1863, Sister Mary Ettienne, St. Mary's of the Woods; Katherine Ready, 1874, Sister Mary Edmond, St. Mary's of the Woods; Mary Nevin, 1S77, Sister Mary Bertha, St. Mary's of the Woods; Mary Balle, 1&78, Sister Mary of the Annunciation, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Ohio; Mary Heinemann, 1880, Sister Mary .\lexandrina, St. Mary's of the Woods; Mary Agnes Walsh, 1885. Sister Mary Berchmans. Omaha, Nebraska; Anna McCarthy, -1888, Sister Patricia, Oldenburg, Indiana; Mary Meyer, 1889, Sister Mary Josepha, St. Mary's of the Woods; Rosa Carrol, 1902, Sister St. Ro.se Clare, St.

Mary's of the W'oods; Josephine Lnking, 1906, Sister Mary Gratia, St. Mary's of the Woods; Mazie Carlos, 1907, Sister Regina Clare. St. Mary's of the Woods; Dorothea Ready, 1915, novice, Poor Clare Monastery, Evansville, Indiana.

Looking Hopefully To The Future

In the final re\'ie\v of the history of Catholicity in Fayette county, only a few words are needed. For many years now, Fayette county's population has had a Catholic element. In the beginning only scattered individuals were known to be Catholics, but nearly seventy years ago, the time from which dates the organization of the parish of St. Gabriel's in Connersville, fourteen Catholic families were to be found living and loving and laboring, as others did, for their future home. At the present time they number three hundred. Through the early pioneer days and through the later industrial struggles. Catholics were interested participators; they shared the work and witnessed the progress. Consequently, now, with others they prize inestimably the glories of our common home. To the future they look hopefully ; and, for whatever new responsibilities arise, they have stout hearts and willing hands.