At Elizabethtown (in Indian Creek township), is
one of the pioneer churches of the county, having been formed
February 12, 1833. The organizing members consisted of Thomas
Yates, Benedict Carrico, John Dixon, Joshua B. Carrico, Homer P.
H. McLeod, T. Hagan, J. A. Cummings, J. J. Quinlan, J. Dougherty,
P. Morrissey and others whose names we could not obtain. The
church now has in its membership 200 families. Their house of
worship cost $7,000 and was built in 1876, of brick. Those who
have ministered to the spiritual necessities of this body have
been Peter P. Lefaver, G. H. Ortlangenberg, Thomas Cussick, Dennis
Kennedy, E. Berry, Thomas Ledwith, Edward Hammel, J. J. Hogan and
others.
St. Stephens
in the Early Days
Indian Creek
It
is thought that this building was built sometime between 1890 and
1895. The church today is on the same foundation as this early
one. This early building had a fence around it and a stile block
on which the women and children are standing.
ST.
STEPHENS CATHOLIC CHURCH
History
research in Monroe City would not be complete without a search
into the files of Indian Creek and community. The first recorded
entry for St. Stephen’s parish was made as early as 1833. The
late Thomas Yates, grandfather of Norvin Yates and Mrs. Myrtle
Hagan of Monroe City, told his family that he came to Missouri in
1818 at the age of seven years. They settled in St. Louis and
Callaway counties for a time, but the exact time they arrived in
Monroe County is not determined.
Evidence
of settlers in the territory before 1831 was proved by the fact
that the Rev. Father Hennessey, a Catholic missionary from St.
Louis, visited the community and conducted mission services
before the parish was actually organized.
Indian
Creek, named after the first inhabitants of the land, has been
called Elizabethtown, and later Swinkey. In the early days the
town was notable as a trading post and mail center of a frontier
community, as well as a social and sports center for all sorts of
amusements that ranged from horse-shoe pitching to horse racing on
a straight-away which was a country road. Later, there was
instituted what is called the Swinkey picnic, which is still
observed every year during July. During war years the picnics were
not held, but upon the return of peace, the Swinkey picnic again
became a yearly event.
The
town was first named Elizabethtown in honor of Elizabeth Hardesty
who later married Mr. Swinkey, who operated a store and blacksmith
shop. Later the town was called Swinkey in honor of Mr. Swinkey,
and the name of the town was not changed until a post office was
established and the government changed the name to Indian Creek.
St.
Stephen’s Parish
St.
Stephen’s parish was one of the earliest Catholic parishes
founded in this entire section of Missouri. A number of the first
settlers traced their ancestry ‘back to members of the ‘band
of Catholics who had settled on the eastern shores of this new
land of America with Lord Baltimore over 225 years ago. The first
band of Irish Catholics hewing out their new homes along the banks
of Indian Creek had among their names, Buckman, Hagan, Yates,
Pierceall, Carrico, Hardesty, Miles, Green, Wimsatt. Within a
short time other families came in adding such names as Mudd, Hays,
Montgomery, Spalding, McLeod and many others. Today, after many
years, the community has maintained its racial and religious
solidarity to such an extent the church rolls are largely made up
of the original names.
The
name, St. Stephen’s, was chosen in commemoration of the martyred
St. Stephen. The first church was built of logs and was located on
a site which is now part of the old cemetery. Five acres of ground
were given for this church by Stephen A. Yates. The log structure
was destroyed by fire and a frame building was constructed. This
was also destroyed by fire and the parish then erected a brick
church, 100 feet by 50 feet, with a tower that reared its head 100
feet in the air.
Swinkey
Cyclone
Friday,
March 10, 1878 proved to be a bleak day for the inhabitants of
Indian Creek, and has long ‘been a source of argument for
citizens since that time. To describe the actual events it was
necessary to obtain the March 16, 1876 issue of ‘the Monroe
City News to get a correct description, in part:
“It
is almost impossible to describe the appearance of the cloud as
nearly everyone who saw it has a different idea of it. It seemed
to us ‘to resemble an immense balloon, swaying in the air, with
the neck dragging the ground, while immediately under it the dust
and other articles it carried along resembled the smoke from a
huge fire, being so dense and black that it could not be seen
through.
“Before
the rain which fell had ceased, and while our people were yet
discussing the probable effects of the storm, a messenger came
from Elizabeth.town, stating that the place was in ruins and
nearly all the inhabitants killed or wounded, and calling for
physicians to go to their relief. Doctors responding to the call
included: Drs. Knox, McNutt, Norman and Mays.
“At
Elizabethtown the scene baffles all attempts at description —
houses, stores, mechanic’s tools, beds, bedding, dry goods and
groceries being scattered about in the wildest confusion, while
scarcely a citizen of the place can be found who is not scratched
or bruised or injured in some manner. It was a small piece,
containing only fifteen or twenty houses, of which but five are
left standing, and some of those are so badly racked by the storm
as to be almost uninhabitable.
“The
residences of Elijah J. Durbin, P. H. Ryan, James Skees, Mss. Eick,
Stephen Champion, Misses Higgins, and the stores of Christian
& Carrico, N. Bick, P. H. Ryan, together with Yates’ wagers
shop, a small store house owned by Dr. Knox, and Higgins’
Blacksmith shop were broken into fragments and scattered over the
country for several hundred yards east of the town site. St.
Stephen’s church, a substantial brick edifice, and the finest
church building in the county, Wes crushed like an eggshell,
nothing remaining but a confused heap of brick and rubbish to mark
the spot. The ‘building was probably worth $12,000 or
$15,000."
Mrs.
H. L. Jarman, the former Jennie Campbell, went through the Swinkey
cyclone at the age of two years.
On
March 19, 1876, to prove the fortitude of the parish members a
circular was issued for the purpose of rebuilding the church. The
Rev. Fr. E. J. Shea, pastor, was in charge of the plan and was
assisted by James E. McLeod, James Spalding, Henry Dooley, Henry
Pollard, George Hagan, Patrick Cusack, J. B. Carrico, W. J. Pike,
T. L. Hagan, Robert P. Buckman, Jonathan Beal, G. B. Lawrence,
William Sullivan, J. P. Mudd, Bernard Finnigan, Benedict Carrico
and many others.
The
church was immediately rebuilt of brick, smaller in structure but
heated by a steam furnace. Once again the hand of destruction
visited the parish. On March 11, 1907, 31 years and one day later
the new church was struck by lightning and partially destroyed.
Previous to this, the high ‘steeple had been struck twice by
lightning. Cyclones, fires and lightning did not discourage the
worshippers at St. Stephen’s, for they immediately engaged
W.
L. Bond of Monroe City to rebuild the church, with the exception
of the high steeple. The church was dedicated in October 1907 and
still stands at the present time.
The Most Rev. J. J. Glennon, archbishop of St. Louis, conducted
the service in accordance with the time honored requirements of
the church. Rev. Fr. Cunningham of Monroe City officiated as the
celebrant and Rev. Fr. Thomas E. Cusack was master of ceremonies.
The archbishop was assisted by Rev. Frs. T. J. Coonoy, Mullin,
Collins, P. F. Cooney and Sullivan. Early mass was celebrated
‘by Rev. Fr. Cusack, a bright and devout young priest, who was
reared in the Indian Creek vicinity. F. H. Hagan and Mrs. John
Williams, the former Miss Annie Elizabeth Carrico, were sponsors
for the bell. Serving as altar boys at the dedication were Ernest
Hagan, Emmet Pierceall, Perry Spalding, Grepory Seward Lco Denuth,
Louis Pike, Joseph Muntgolnery and Harold Hagan. The choir was
composed of Fannie Wimsatt, Mattie Yagos’, Alice Yates, Maggie
Spalding, Maud Williams, Grace Osbouine, Annie Riechoff, James
Yager, George Montgomery, Leslie Osbourne, Albert Adams, Earl
Carrico, Aubrey Spalding, James Wimsatt, Della Wimsatt and Allie
Yager, with Stella Carrico as organist.
During
the pastorate of the late Rev. Fr. Thomas C. Fox, who served from
1914 until 1919, an addition was constructed enlarging the church
and included a study and service room. The Rev. Fr. P. J. Gannon
completed an extensive remodeling of the church in 1945.
Since
the time the church was organized in 1833, three of the priests
who served as pastors have been elevated to the status of bishops,
three of the communicants have entered the priesthood and several
young women have consecrated their lives in various sisterhoods of
the Catholic church. The Very Rev. Thomas E. Cu-sack, H. D., now
the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Cu-sack of Quincy, who delivered the
centennial anniversary sermon, celebrated his first mass in the
church of his boyhood in 1895. His uncle, the late Rev. Thomas
Cusack was ordained in 1842 and served St. Stephen’s parish as
pastor from 1842 until 1851. The late Rev. Fr. Hagan was the other
communicant from St. Stephen’s who entered priesthood.
5,500
Baptisms
There
have been over 5,500 baptisms and over 800 marriages in St.
Stephens since the church was founded. The first marriage recorded
was in 1835 between Thomas Yates and Elizabeth Pierceall. The
first entry in the records of the parish notes the baptism of Mary
Ann Green, infant, in 1833. The oldest date recorded on the stones
in the cemetery is the birthdate of John G. Nolen,
great-grandfather of Miss Berta Lee Nolen and Mrs. H. Milstead
Noel of Monroe City. This date is August 6, 1794. His death
occurred in 1869. The first death recorded is that of Benedict J.
Buckman. in 1837.
Priests
who have served the parish and the years of their pastorates were:
Rev. Peter P. Lefevere 1833-1840; Rev. H. Tucker 1840; Rev. G. H.
Langenberg 1841; Rev. B. Rollands, 1841-1842; Rev. Thomas Cusack
1842-1851; Rev. D. Kennedy 1851-1852; Rev. D. F. Lihlis 1852-1856;
Rev. E. Berry 1856-1859; Rev. John Hennessey 1859-1861; Rev. T.
Ledwith 1861-1863; Rev. D. S.
Phelan 1863-1866; Rev. John Cummnins 1866-1870; Rev. John Quinlan
1870-1871; Rev. Thomas Bonicum 1871-1873; Rev. Thomas Conneys
1873-1874; Rev. John Doherty 1874-1875; Rev. E. J. Shea 1875-1879;
Rev. P. Morrisey 1879-1889; Rev. J. J.
Mahon 1889-1893; Rev. E. T. Gallaher 1893-1899; Rev. C. E.
Kane 1899-1900; Rev. John Lyons 1900-1904; Rev. P. P. Cooney
1904-1914; Rev. T. C. Fox 1914-1919; Rev. J.
J. Mienhardt 1919-1926; Rev. E. McEvoy 1926-1930; Rev. S.
‘Carew 1930-1931; Rev. J. Kiernan 1931-1940; R’ev. P. J.
Cannon, 1940-1956, and the present pastor, the Rev. Glen Scobee.
St.
Stephen’s parochial school was established in 1914 by the late
Rev. Fr. T. C. Fox. It is under the guidance of the Sisters of the
Benedictine Order, who come from the mother house at Atchison,
Kan. On November 20, 1956 the two-story parish house was destroyed
by fire. It is being replaced by a one-story Structure and
will be completed this year. The Rev. Fr. Glen Scobee, who served
as pastor of the Catholic churches at Kahoka and Wayland for eight
years is pastor of the St. Stephen Church at Indian Creek and St.
Frances Cabrini church at Paris. He entered upon his duties
Sunday. June 24, 1956, replacing the Rev. Fr. P. J. Cannon, who
was assigned to St. Patrice. church at St. Joseph. The Rev. Fr.
Scobee is a son of the late Chester Scobee and Mrs. Ethel Scobee
Kelly of Hannibal. He was born in Stoutsville in 1911, and moved
from that community more than 24 years ago. He attended Kenrick
Seminary of St. Louis and Conception College and was ordained to
the priesthood May 22, 1937. He celebrated his first Mass in St.
Joseph church in Palmyra.
The
Rev. Scobee’s first appointment was assistant priest at the
Moberly Catholic church, later serving seven years as assistant at
Immaculate Conception church in Hannibal. For the past eight years
he has served as priest of the Kahoka and Wayland churches.
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