St.Mary Catholic Church, Carlyle, Illinois-History

Images from the Past

                          St. Mary Parish Brief History
Introduction:
      Illinois became the 21st state in 1818. May 6, 1834, Pope Gregory XVI divided Illinois between the Dioceses of Vincennes and St. Louis, and Bishop Dubourg of St. Louis was asked to care for the Catholics on the east side of the Mississippi.

People and Events That Shaped St. Mary's:

1838 - The Catholic Church History of Clinton County, Illinois, begins with the establishment of the first church erected by the Germans of Hanover (Germantown, 111.). It was known as St. Henry's Parish until 1867 when the name was changed to St. Boniface.

1853 - The St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception congregation of Carlyle had its beginning as the second oldest parish in Clinton County. Prior to this time, the Catholic families residing in Carlyle and surrounding territory attended divine services at Germantown.

       -The first holy Mass in St. Mary's parish was said by Father Francis Joseph Fischer of St. Mary's, Jasper County, at the Mound Farm, situated a little north of Carlyle; then owned by Mr.Tighe, and last owned by the August Krebs family.

       -Fr. Fischer and 17 Catholic families in and about the present town of Carlyle wanted to build a church. The honorable Sidney Breese, for many years Justice of the Supreme Court, donated the block of ground on which the church was built. In 1853, Bishop Van De Velde of Chicago laid the cornerstone of a brick church. Contract for the new church was given to Messrs. Moses Richard and D.W. Norris. The funds needed to erect and complete the building were collected by Mr. Tighe and Peter Murphy. They ran out of money when the church was almost completed (needed a floor). Collections were made in St. Louis.

1855 - The new church was dedicated. At this time, Carlyle was still attended for a while by Fr. Fischer, and then by the Jesuit Fathers Joseph Patschowski and Arnold Damen from St. Louis.

         -The first pastor appointed to Carlyle was Fr. Roderick Heimerling, who, however, did not reside here, but merely visited the Carlyle mission from Galena, Illinois at regular intervals. Sick calls, etc. were attended by Fr. August Reineke of Breese.

1858 - The first baptism at St. Mary's was of Henry Gerhard.

Nov 1858 - The Franciscan Fathers, Capistran and Servetius, came from Teutopolis in Nov 1858 to conduct missions
.
Dec 26, 1858-Apr 1859 - Fr. Jacob Aegidius Marshall (or Moeschall) was St. Mary's Pastor. Fr. Marshall remained but one year in Carlyle and was succeeded by Fr. Clemens von Sieghardt. Fr. Sieghardt was also in charge of the missions at Lebanon, Centralia, Odin, Salem and Vandalia.

       -In the beginning, Fr. Sieghardt labored under trying circumstances, there being no school and no rectory. He stayed in a house close to church owned by Christopher Guithues, the County Clerk, paying $4 a month. But the Congregation grew rapidly and it was not long before the energetic pastor had both a school and a rectory built.

Apr 9, 1860 - Sidney and Mrs. Breese sold some of the land to the Church for a Catholic graveyard through the trustees Christopher H. Guithues and Anthony Hubert. These men signed it over to the Bishop, Henry D. Junker, on July 14, 1864. In 1862, the Jesuits were requested by the Ladies' Association for the Improvement of the Carlyle Cemetery for 5 or 6 acres of Mound Farm. In reply, on August 25, 1862, the Jesuits agreed to sell the acres at $40 each, but, "in order that this graveyard may be put on a level with the Catholic graveyard...one acre of it is to be a free gift." The deed was recorded Jan 6, 1863.

June 10, 1860 - Bishop Van De Velde confirmed 28 at St. Mary's. The Confirmandi class consisted of: Henry Kuhn, Lucas Krebs, Henry Adam, Gabriel Ackerman, Stephen Giefers, Bartholomew Krebs, John Adam, Gottfried Haverkamp, Polycarp Sesten, Stanislaus Hoyer, Casimir Stolz, Cornelius Stolz, Michael Durbin, Carl O'Neil, and Anthony Conkle. Also, Mary Conkle, Catherine Burnside, Agatha Ansinger, Catherine Baquet, Anna Adam, Friederica Hoyer, Sophia Ollier, Theresa Ackerman, Anna Rohr, Louise Schmidt, Mary Adam, Barbara Schaefer, and Mary Durbin.

1867 - Railroad building and sales of railroad lands brought pioneers into Clinton County. St. Mary's grew from 17 to 150 families. The first St. Mary's Church was too small to accommodate the parishioners, so Fr.

Continued

return to history top of page