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"Saint Mary Parish is the second parish to be founded in New Hampton. Its beginning is unusual. The school was established and in operation for three years before the first church was built. The German speaking parents in Saint Joseph Parish wanted…

"While Father Patrick Feeley of Charles City visited the Mitchell County pioneers in the 1870s, the New Haven area Catholics decided to build a church that would unite the Irish to the north and the Germans to the south and west. In the spring of…

"For over fifteen years the first Catholics of Butler County in the Parkersburg area west of Cedar Falls were cared for by the missionary priests who ventured beyond parish territory. The first of these, Father John Sheils, pastor of Waverly,…

Historical documents pertaining to St. Joseph parish in Paint Rock, Iowa.

"The sketchy early history states the parish was established in 1888 and that Father D. J. Kelly, pastor of Parkersburg, was given charge of Aplington and New Hartford. The early Catholic directories indicate that the Parkersburg pastor has had…

Historical documents pertaining to Holy Cross parish in Keystone, Iowa.

"From 1898 to 1902 Father Eckhart was pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Gilbert. The church was on the western edge of Story County, about five miles north of Ames and west of the town of Gilbert but call “the Gilbert parish.” In the missionary…

"As early as September 1866, the Catholics west of Dubuque in the Lattnerville area met with Catholics of the Centralia area to build a church. Unable to agree on a suitable location, the Lattnerville people quietly turned to Father Alois Meis of…

"In 1892 Bishop John Hennessy appointed Father Peter D. O’Malley to form a parish at LaMotte, about four miles from his country parish at Saint Theresa’s. Many area Catholics had poor roads and long distances for attending Bellevue, Otter Creek,…

"At first, Saint Patrick’s at Monti was known as the Buffalo Grove parish, and sometimes as The Buffalo or Erin, but the community became known as Monti in 1882, when Charles O’Hagan opened a post office in his store and gave the town a new name. The…