Huron County Catholic Churches

Introduction

All the Catholic Churches listed were in the Cleveland Diocese until 1922. The Toledo
Diocese was formed in 1910, but Huron County did not become part of the Toledo Diocese until 1922.

When looking for records be sure to take note when the parish was formed and when it might have been a station or a mission of another area. Early baptismal, death, and marriage records may be found in the home parish book of the early priest and not in the parish books of the current parish. Many of the early established parishes may not be located in Huron County, but in other counties such as Erie, Seneca, and Richland.

For the most part the records from these churches are not open to the public, but may be obtained from the church when a secretary has time to look for them.

The following information was compiled with the help from Vol. 4 of a series of books written by Rev. Lawrence Mossing, entitled "History of the Diocese of Toledo", and various parish publications.

Immaculate Conception Church, Bellevue, Ohio
231 East Center Street, Bellevue, OH 44811 Phone: 419-483-3417

Note: There are no burial records prior to 1970, lot owner map since 1850, located at Foos Funeral Home, 311 W. Main St., Bellevue, OH.

Established as a Station from Holy Angeles Church, Sandusky, OH, in 1852 (Erie Co.)

Pastors:

Rev. James Conlan,	1852-1855
Rev. Felix Boff,	1856-1857
Rev. Alexis Caron,	1857-1859
Rev. Dennis Tighe,	1857-1859 (Assistant)

Mission of St. Mary's, Norwalk -

Rev. Ignatius Ponchel,	1859 - 1860 (Sept)
Rev. John Quinn,	Dec. 1860 - April, 1861

(Mass said in a warehouse building from 1859-1884)

Resident Pastor appointed April 1861

Rev. James Monahan,	1861-1866
Rev. Timothy Mahoney,	1866-1871 1867- built first frame school
Rev. Edward Mears,	1871-1874
Rev. J.D. Bowles,	1874-1876
Rev. James Molloy,	1876-1878
Rev. Walter Gibbons,	1878-1885 (2nd church dedicated in 1884)
Rev. Frederick Rupert,	1885 - 1894 1887- second school acquired
Rev. Gustave Rieken,	1894-1895
Rev. J. A. Michenfelder,	1895-1919
Rev. Francis Terwood,	1919-1932 3rd school built
Rev. Joseph Maerder,	1932-1948
Rev. Louis Mayle,	1948-1954
Rev. Albert Bishop,	1954-1969 (3rd and present church built in 1965)
Rev. Robert Lamantia,	1969-1973
Rev. Leo Lehmkuhl,	1973-1981
Rev. Robert Weithman,	1981 -
Rev. Robert Tucceri, present pastor

St. Sebastian Catholic Church, Bismark, Ohio (rural Bellevue)
Location: 552 Bismark Road, Bellevue
Mailing address: 16209 E. County Rd, Bellevue OH 44811 Phone: Cluster Office: 419-483-3231

Records for this church can be found at St. Michael's Catholic Rectory, referred to as Thompson.
St. Sebastian no longer exists. Prior to closing it was a member of a cluster of churches all served by the pastor who lives at the former St. Michael's Catholic Church at the above address. Cluster churches were: St. Sebastian's, St. Michael's, and Reed, Assumption.

The first settlers in this area arrived in 1832 and were associated with the Catholic Settlement at
Thompson about four miles away. Note: the records at Peru and Tiffin make note of baptisms at Thompson by Father Tschenhenss.
It became a Mission in 1846 with a log church constructed & replaced in 1857 by a brick structure
still standing today.

Priests were: Rev. F. S. Brunner, P.A. Capader, M. Meyer, M. Kreusch, S. Ganther (1848- 1852);
A Dambach, E. Glueck, P. Wilhelmi, R. Schuele, V. Haussner (1852-1860);
Rev. J. Ringele only priest attending the mission, 1861-1867
Rev. E. Ruf, A. Laux, Peter Capader, 1867

First resident Pastor: Rev. John Thoma C.PP.S. - July 1868 - July 1869
From July, 1869, until Dec 1869, mission of Thompson with Rev. Erhard Glueck, CPP.S. pastor.

Rev. John Puetz,	1869-1872
Rev. V. Haussner,	1872-1879
Rev. John Koehn,	1879
Rev. Theodore Litterst,	1879-1908
Rev. Carl Fecht,	1908-1920 new parish school built in 1915
Rev. Karl Brand,	1920-1927
Rev. Nicholas Traunero,	1927-1949 School closed in 1948
Rev. Frederick Mehling,	1949-1951
Rev. John Keller,	1951-1968
Rev. Karl Burger,	1968-1975
Rev. Donald Klaus,	1975-1977
Rev. Edward Dietzer,	1977-1983
Rev. Theodore Miller,	1983-
Rev. William Hoyng, present pastor	-2004

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Monroeville, OH
66 Chapel Street, Monroeville, OH
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 338, Monroeville OH 44847 Phone: 419-465-4142

Prior to 1861 - Catholics in the Monroeville area would have attended St. Alphonsus, Peru, or
perhaps Norwalk, St. Peter's Catholic Church.

Mission of St. Peter's Norwalk with a temporary church set up in Joseph Carabin's Hall from 1861-January, 1863.

Pastors:

Rev. Francis Obermueller,	1861-1863
	Methodist meeting house purchased and converted into a church - 1863.
	First cemetery purchased - Aug 1863
Rev. Anthony Abel,	July 1863-1864 - first resident pastor
Rev. J. M. Puetz,	1864-1885 Built brick church dedicated in 1876
Rev. Nicholas Schmitz -	1885-1915
	New Cemetery - 1895; School built - 1910
Rev. Francis Senner,	1915-1916
Rev. Albert Kistner,	1916-1923
Rev. John Theis,	1923-1931
Rev. Gerhard Schmitz,	1931-1952
Rev. Paul Brissel,	1953-1958
Rev. Frederick Mehling,	1958-1960
Rev. George Schmit,	1960-1967
	(new grade school built- 1961)
Rev. Harvey Keller,	1967-1980
Rev. Benedict Ringholz,	1980 -
Rev. Lawrence Scharf,	present

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, New London, OH
18 Park Avenue, New London, OH 44851 Phone: 419-929-4401

1853 - 1872 Station - served by resident pastors of Elyria

Rev Michael Healy -	1853 - 1859
Rev Robert Sidley -	1859 - 1863

1863 - 1868 Station - served by pastor of Grafton, OH & then became a mission with Mass once a
month, a frame house was used for a place of worship.

Rev. Thomas Halley	1863 -1868
RevRobert A. Sidley	1868 - 1872

1872-1878 Mission of Shelby Settlement

R. John Heiland -	1872 - 1876, sold old property and purchased a new one & used another frame building on this property for a chapel until 1898.
Rev. M. J. Murphy -	1876 - 1877
F. J. Oberle -	1877 - 1878

1876-1878 Mission of Shelby, OH

Rev. M. J. Murphy -	1876 - July 1878
F. J. Oberle -	1877 - July 1878

1878 - 1901 Mission of Wellington, OH - new location for church purchased & frame church built.

Rev. J. L. Calvin -	1878 - 1888
Rev. Vahey -	1888
Rev. N.W. Horst -	1888 - 1893
Rev. J. W. Powers -	1893 - 1896
Rev. S. Weber -	1896 - 1898
Rev. L. Plumanns -	1898 - 1901

Greenwich Station - was served by priest who also served New London

1902 - 1920 Reverends: R. Bettiznes, Joseph O'Connor, Thomas Quinn, J.R. Kenney, John Kelley, (Wakeman), Michael Shannan, (Wellington), Michael Regan, T.C. O'Reilly, Ed. Mooney,( 1910-1911), F. Wilson, ( 1911 -1915), F. I. Burns, (1915-1917) George Koob, (1917-1920). (Note: some of the priests prior to John Kelley may have come from Medina.

1920 - 1931 Mission of Oberlin, Ohio

Rev. Joseph Lenz -	1920 - 1929
Rev. George Burke -	1929 - 1931
Rev. George Dennule -

1931-1946

Rev. Raymond Atkins -	1931-1932 ( first resident pastor)
Rev. Francis Curtin -	1932 - 1934
Rev. Francis Fate -	1934 - 1940
Rev. Clement Geppert, M.S. C. -	1941 - 1945
Rev. Anthony Wortman, M.S.C. -	1945

1946 -1958

Rev. John Duffy (a national war hero of World War II)

1958 - 1986

Rev. Paul Brissel -	1958 - 1964
Rev. James Southard -	1964 - 1967
Msgr. Raymond Gorman -	1967 - 1972
Rev. Kenneth Hans -	1972 - 1975
Rev. John Sherbno -	1975 - 1977
Rev. Andrew Blasko -	1977 - 1985
Rev. John Schreiner,	1985 -
Rev. Robert Haas, present

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Peru, Ohio
Oldest Church in the Toledo Diocese

St. Alphonsus is located just off of Rt 61, South of Norwalk on Settlement Road, in Bronson Twp.
The parish is now a mission church and is served by the pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church,
38 West League Street, Norwalk, Ohio 44857. Phone: 668-2005

This parish began in the fall of 1828 not by design but because a pioneer's wagon broke down beyond repair. In the fall of 1828, the Joseph Carabin and Peter Bauer families, Clement Baumgartner and Sr. Francisca, an exiled nun, who was a sister to Mr. Bauer and Mrs. Carabin were on their way to Cincinnati when the Carabin wagon broke down beyond repair. They were original heading toward a new life in Cincinnati but decided to settle in this wilderness rather than travel on, since destiny had placed them there. The families were from Lutzelbourg and Phalsbourg in Lorraine, France. They had just arrived in America at the port of New York on 3 October 1828, sailing from LaHavre in France. This area was first known as Vredenbourg, and later as Peru. At first, only missionary priest who traveled the area served these people and it was not until 1833 that they received their first resident pastor.

The first church built in 1831and the school which opened in 1833 were made of logs and were located off of Rt. 61, south of Norwalk. The current church was consecrated on 18 January 1852 at a new location on Settlement Road. The brick school next to the church was built 1878. Between the years of about 1890 and 1920 there was a "west school" that parish children attended. This was to enable them to learn English because the parish school was a German School. The school reopened in 1919, was remodeled in 1953 and closed in 1969.

The cemetery is located to the west of the church. This parish is now a sister parish to St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Monroeville, OH, and served by their pastor.

The following priest have served this parish throughout the years:

1829	Bishop Edward Fenwick
1830	Rev. John Henni, visited five times from Canton, Ohio.
1831-1833	Rev. Frederick Rese - visited at intervals
1832	Rev. Francis Xavier Haetcher - visited a week to ten days
1833-1840	Rev. Francis Xavier Tschenhenss - first pastor
1835	Rev. Simon P. Saender, assisted during June & July for five weeks.
1835-1838	Rev. Peter Czakert, assistant
1838-1839	Rev. Joseph Prost, assistant
1840	Rev. Matthias Wuertz Rev. Henry D. Juncker Rev. Basil Schorb and Rev. Joseph MacNaMee Rev. Joseph Machebeuf
1840-1841	Rev Joseph Freygang (served Oct 1840-March 1841)
1841-1843	Rev. Francis Xavier Tschenhenss
1841	Rev. John Nepomucene Neumann (declared a Saint, 19 June 1977)
1842-1844	Rev. L. Mathias Alig (served Nov 1842 - Jan 1844)
1844-1847	Very Rev. Francis Brunner, Pastor 1844-1847 Rev. John Vondenbroeg Rev. Mathias Kreusch Rev. Peter Anton Capeder Rev. Maria Anton Meyer Rev. Jacob Ringeley Rev. John Wittmer (The above priest were members of the Precious Blood order who came with Rev. Brunner
1847-1850	Rev. Peter Carabin, Pastor
1848-1849	Rev. Jacob Ringley, Assistant
1850-1853	Rev. Charles Evrard, Pastor
1854-1855	Rev. Jacob, Hamene (Jan 1854 - April 1855)
1855-1861	Rev. J.P. Dolweck ( Jan 1855 - Aug 1861)
1861-1862	Rev. F. X. Obermueller
1862-1866	Rev. Andrew Magenhann (Jan 1862-June 1866)
1866	Rev. N. Moes, Assistant, June to August Rev. H.E. Haemers, Assistant, Sept to Dec. Rev. Damback, Assistant
1867-1868	Rev. Ludwig, Pastor (Jan 1867 May 1868)
1868	no pastor from May to August
1868-1873	Rev. Charles Evrard, Pastor (Aug 1868 - Dec 1873) Rev Joseph Fruzzini, Assistant - summer 1870 Rev. Hieber, Assistant - summer 1870 Rev. Huhn, Assistant - summer 1870
1874 - 1888	Rev. Michael Dechant, Pastor (Jan 1874 - Jan 1888) Rev. John P. Putz - Assistant, spring 1884 Rev. Bonaventure Faulhaber - Assistant, spring 1884
1888-1895	Rev. Joseph Blaser, Pastor - Jan 1888 - 8 Mar 1895
1895-1897	Rev. Michael Becker, Pastor - 9 Mar - June 1897
1897 - 1899	Rev. Leon Lentsch, Pastor - June 1897 - Dec 1899
1900	Rev. Rosenberger - Jan - June 1900
1900 - 1909	Rev. Thomas Kolb, Pastor - May 1900 - June 1909
1909 - 1911	Rev. John Bertemes, Pastor - June 1909 - Dec 1911
1912 - 1915	Rev. A. G. Herman, Pastor - June 1912 - Aug 1915
1915 - 1917	Rev. Nicholaus Espen, Pastor - Sept 1915 - spring 1917
1917 - 1921	Rev. Albert J. Aust, Pastor - spring 1917 - Dec 1921
1922 - 1930	Rev. Alexander Hasenberg, Pastor - Jan 1922 - 19 Mar 1930
1930 - 1935	Rev. J. B. Fralick, Pastor - March 1931 - Mar 1935
1935 - 1953	Rev. Marcellus Lambillotte, Pastor - April 1935 - June 1953
1953 - 1970	Rev. Leo. Williams, Pastor - June 1953 - June 1970

This church then became of sister parish of St. Mary's Norwalk, OH, and served by the following pastors:

1970 - 1972	Rev. Thomas Reynolds, Pastor Rev. Herman Scherger, Assistant - 1970 - May 1971 Rev. Thomas Ankenbrandt, Assistant - May 1971 - May 1972
1972 - 1977	Rev. Bertrand Shenk, Pastor
1977 - 1983	Rev. J. Norbert Howe, Pastor
1983 - 1987	Rev. Raymond Fisher
1987 - 1988	Rev. Herbert Willman
Present Rev. Nelson Beaver

St. Alphonsus records dating from 1834 to 1984 were microfilmed by Bowling Green State University. Locally they are available at the Norwalk Public Library, 46 West Main St., Norwalk, OH 44857 and the Milan Public Library, 19 East Church St., Milan, OH 44846. The entire set of records are located at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Norwalk, OH and are not open to the public, but inquires can be made by writing to the church.

St. Peter's Catholic Church, Norwalk, OH

This parish church no longer exists. The Fisher Brothers of Detroit fame built a shrine dedicated to their mother on its location, West Main Street, Norwalk, OH. During the summer on Wednesday afternoons, Mass is said by priests from St. Paul's Catholic Church. The original cemetery for the church is located behind the present shrine building.

This church has a very turbulent history. When the Redemptoists came to Peru in 1833, they began to serve the village of Norwalk as a Station. Mass was said in a home on East League Street in Norwalk, by the Rev. F.X. Tschenhenss and Peter Czakert from 1836-1839. As time went on the settlers of Norwalk wanted a church of their own. This was opposed by Father Tschenhenss as it would take Catholics away from the vicinity of Peru.

In 1840, Fr. Joseph Freigang was appointed pastor of Peru. He immediately began planning the organization of a congregation at Norwalk, contrary to the direct order of Bishop Purcell. A hall was rented on Main Street and fitted for divine services with Mass being said every Sunday. The first church was built on West Main Street and completed in 1841. On March 19, 1841, the people of Norwalk came to Peru and took Fr. Freigang to Norwalk and installed him as pastor. This upset the parishioners at St. Alphonsus as they no longer had a pastor. Bishop Purcell arrived on 21 June 1841 and excommunicated Fr. Freigang as a Catholic priest leaving the people of Norwalk to again attend Mass at Peru.

In about 1842, with a request from Fr. Matthias Alig, who came to help Fr. Tschenhenss,
the Norwalk parish was again allowed to exist and the work to enlarge the church proceeded.
A school was opened in the church basement in early spring of 1843. It was said to have sixty to seventy pupils.

Father Alig left in August of 1843, and for five to six months Father Machebeuf came from Holy Angels Church in Sandusky, to say an occasional Mass, baptize children and attend the sick.

1844 -1851 Pastors: Sanguinist Fathers under the leadership of Fr. Francis de Sales Brunner. The church was dedicated in spring of 1846 and the cemetery blessed. When these priests were relieved of the parish at Peru they continued to serve the Norwalk Mission from Thompson, Ohio, from December 1847, until August, 1851 some 16 miles away, located in Seneca Co. Fr. Mathias Kreusch, C.PP.S and Fr. F.X. Obermueller, C. PP. S. had charge of the Mission during the greater part of the Thompson care.

Pastors:

1851-1853 -	Rev. Charles Evrard
1853-1854 -	Rev. Nicholas Roupp
	In August 1854, cholera struck and an estimated 100 parishioners, adults and children died within a 5 week period. Fr. Jacob Hamene and Fr. John Dolweck
1855-1859 -	Rev. N. Ponchel
1859-1860 -	Rev. A. X. Mauclere
1861-1865 -	Rev. F. X. Obermueller
1865-1867 -	Rev. Amadeus Dambach
1867-1869 -	Rev. Andrew Magenhann

During his tenure, plans for a new church were formed. It was to be located on Hester Street and to replace the original church. But one third refused to go along with the relocation. The new brick church was built in 1868. The school occupied the first floor. Now the town had two German parishes, one-third stayed with the old and two-thirds joined the new.

1869-1871- Rev. John Kuhn was appointed. He divided his time between the two parishes. Land for a new cemetery on North West was purchased in 1870. This was located half way between the two parishes. The people from old St. Peter's refused to pay and demanded a right to bury their dead in the old cemetery. They did this without a priest until a restraint was lifted.

1871-1872 -	Rev. M. Dechant (20 July 1872 - pastor of new St. Peter's parish)
1872-1873 -	Rev. Gustave Drolshagen (20 July 1872 - pastor of old parish)
1873-1875 -	Rev. G. Peters - reopened the old school
1875-1881 -	Rev. P. Kolopp
1882-1883 -	Rev. F.C. Ludwig

With the departure of Rev. Ludwig the old parish became a Mission parish of Monroeville, with Rev. John Puetz their pastor, from 1884-1886.

1886-1891 -	Rev. Amadeus Dambach - last resident pastor.
1891-	the parish was attended from St. Paul Church by pastor in charge. Mass was celebrated on Saturday morning for the convenience of the aged people residing in the vicinity. Refer to St. Paul's Catholic Church article concerning the new St. Peter's church.

The records for this church are preserved at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 91 East Main Street, Norwalk, Ohio. These very old records are not open for public viewing and can be obtained only by writing to the church.

They include:

Baptisms:	Sept 1851 - 1856; 1858 - 1892
Burials:	1859 - 1891
Marriages:	25 July 1853 - 1856; 1859 - 1892
First Communions:	1875 - 1882
Confirmations:	1875 - 1879

When looking for records be sure to know when the various churches got their beginning. People from the Milan area are listed in these records until about 1865 when their parish began.

St. Paul's Catholic Church, Norwalk, Ohio
91 East Main Street, Norwalk, Ohio Phone: 419-668-6044
St. Paul's website

The new St. Peter's Church was not favorable. So, Rev Dechant, on 22 October 1872 purchased two lots on East and Wooster Streets for a new church site. A two-story brick building was built in 1876. The ground floor served as a place of worship and the second floor was the school. The old building on Hester Street was sold to the Board of Education in 1876 and calmly went out of existence after only eight years.

Pastors:

1873 - 1888	Rev. A. Eilert
1888 - 1894	Rev. J.A. Michenfelder
1894	Rev. G. H. Rieken
1894 - 1901	Rev. Frederick Rupert

The present church was started in 1890 and completed in 1893.

1901 - 1913	Rev. John A. Schaffeld
1913 - 1917	Rev. Joseph Hopp
1917 - 1942	Rev. George A. Forst 12 grade school was built through the generosity of the Fisher Bros. in 1921. Associate Pastors: Rev. Paul Bissell - 1927-1930 Francis Curtin, 1930-1932 A.L. Sattler, 1932-1937 George Jaeger, 1937-1938 William Friemoth, 1938-1950 Rev. Lawrence Mossing, 1940-1942
1942-1946	Pastor -Rev. Albert Pessefall Associates: James Nett, 1942-1945 Eugene Arnoldi, 1945-1951
1946-1959	Pastor - Rev. Hilary Weger New elementary school addition 1954 & new elementary school, built - 1958 Associates: Leo Lehmkuhl, 1950-1956 Virgil Riedlinger, 1951-1953 Arthur Badger, 1953-1960 Michael Ricker, 1956-1961 Herbert Willman, 1957-1959
1959-1961	Pastor - Rev. George Jaeger Associate: Rev. James Steinle, 1960-1964
1961-1968	Pastor - Rev. Karl Burger Associates: Rev. William Bodart, 1961-197_ Rev. Robert Wilhelm, 1961-1964 Rev. John Laudick, 1965-1968; Rev. Martin Donnelly, 1965-1968
1968-1974	Pastor - Rev. Gerald Stein
1974-1977	Pastor - Rev. John Lehmkuhl
1977-1982	Pastor - Rev. Robert Thomas Rev. Harvey Keller in residence -1980-2001 Associates: Revs. Robert Dendinger, Kenneth Kehres, Stephen Stanbery
1982-1986	Pastor - Rev. Frank Nieset
1986-1988	Pastor - Rev. David Sartorius Associates: Revs. Gary Walters; Rev. Nicholas Cunningham
1988 - 2000	Pastor - Rev. Herbert Willman Associates: Revs. Daniel Hesko, Johnathan Wight, Ronald Brickner, George Wagner, Thomas McQuillan, Christopher Kardzis
2000 to present:	Pastor - Rev. Frank Kehres Associates: Revs. David Reinhart, William Pifher

St. Paul Catholic Church records are not open for public viewing - they include:
Baptisms - 1871 to present
Burials, Marriages, First Communions - 1894 to present
Confirmations - 1896 to present

St. Mary's Catholic Church, Norwalk, Ohio
38 West League Street, Norwalk, Ohio 44857. Phone: 668-2005
Great source of info on St. Mary's:
St. Mary's website

The railroad brought a great influx of Irish people in Norwalk in the early 1850's. Most of them settled in the northwest section of town. They attended Mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church on West Main Street. Rev. Ponchell, pastor of St. Peter's, conducted separate services in English and German for the two nationalities attending the church.

In the summer of 1856 the English speaking Catholics built a brick church at the corner of Milan Ave. and St. Mary's Street. Father Ponchell did not see the completion of the church as he died in 1860 .

Rev. John Quinn was the next pastor from 1860 - 1864 and completed the church in 1861.

Rev. Thomas P. Thorpe was appointed pastor in 1864 - 1968. In the year 1865, he built a school at the rear of the church. There were eighty students at the start of the school year.

Rev. Thomas Halley, served as pastor from 1868 - 1885. The church was becoming too small so land was purchased at the corner of League and St. Streets, Norwalk. A two-story brick school was built on this land. Services were still held on Milan Ave.

Rev. Charles V. Chevraux succeeded Fr. Halley in 1885. At this time it was decided the church was too small and not near the school so the present church was planned. The cornerstone was layed in 1889 and the church was dedicated in 1894.

Rev. James Quinn served as pastor from 1897 - 1900

Rev. Francis Malloy served the parish from 1900 - 1904.

Rev. P. J. Quinn served as pastor from 1904 - 1910, and built a new pastoral residence which later became the Sister's home.

Rev. Joseph O'Keefe became pastor in 1910. In 1913, the two story brick school was condemned and torn down and the students attended the public schools.

Rev. P. J. Clancy, pastor 1914-1917.

Rev. Charles Gardener became pastor in 1917. A two room wooden school was built in 1919 with the Sr. of St. Dominic in charge.

In 1935, Rev. Henry Foran served as pastor. Sisters of Notre Dame took charge of the school in 1935.

Rev. Thomas Quinlan served the parish from 1936 - 1953.

Rev. Thomas E. Reynolds became pastor in 1953 and had a heart attack in 1956.

Rev. Norbert Howe was appointed assistant pastor in 1956. The old wooden school became too small and in 1957 a new school was built and gymnasium added to the school in 1963, with an addition to the school in 1970.

Rev. Bertrand Shenk served as pastor from 1972 to 1977.

Rev. J. Norbert Howe served as pastor from 1977 - July 1983

Rev. Raymond Fisher became new pastor 1983, followed by Rev. Herbert Willman and Nelson Beaver. Father Beaver left the parish in Jul 2004 and is now in Lexington. The current priest is Father Francis Speier who took over for Father Beaver in July of 2004.

St. Mary's records dating from 1863 - 1948 were microfilmed by Bowling Green State University. Locally they are available at the Norwalk Public Library 46 West Main St., Norwalk, OH 44857.

St. Mary's Catholic Church, Wakeman, Huron Co., OH
46 East Main Street, Wakeman, OH Phone: 440-839-2023

Station:

1853-1863	Station of Elyria, Lorain Co., OH
1853 - 1859	Rev. Michael Healy These priests visited occasional
1859 - 1863	Rev. Robert Sidley

Station:

1864 -	St. Mary's, Norwalk, Huron Co., OH
1863 - 1864	Rev. John Quinn Mass said in private homes
1864 - 1868	Rev. T. P. Thorpe
1868 - 1875	Rev. Thomas Halley

Church built in 1872

Pastors:

1875 - 1878	Rev. F.X. Nunan First permanent pastor
1878 - 1885	Rev. John Quinn
1886 - 1889	Rev. A. Suavadet
1889 - 1890	Rev. John Hannan
1890 - 1891	Rev. A. Suavadet
1891 - 1893	Rev. James Quinn
1893 - 1902	Rev. Patrick Shea
1902 - 1905	Rev. M. H. Casey
1905	Rev. Leonard Lentsch
1905 - 1922	Rev. J. Kelly
1922 - 1923	Rev. Francis J. Stanton
1923 - 1926	Rev. Joseph Williams
1926 - 1942	Rev. Edward McLaughlin
1942 - 1959	Rev. Karl Burger
1959 - 1965	Rev. Donald Klaus
1965 - 1968	Rev. John Sherbno
1968 - 1969	Rev. Paul Rust, O.M.I
1969 - 1970	Msgr. Urban Wurm
1970	Rev. Frederick Schill
1970 - 1971	Rev. Richard Dunn
1971 - 1972	Rev. Frederick Mehling - last permanent pastor
1972 - 1978	parish assigned to St. Paul's Norwalk, OH
1978 - 1984	parish assigned to St. Anthony, Milan, OH
1984 -	parish assigned to Vermilion, OH, later to Norwalk, St. Paul, and currently New London.

This parish has an Pastoral Administrator.

Follow this link for a little more information from the Wakeman site.

St. Francis Xavier Church
Willard, Ohio (In early days called Chicago Junction)
21 West Perry Street, Willard, OH Phone: 419-935-1149

1875 - 1877 Station of Monroeville - Rev. John Martin Puetz, pastor (offered Mass in people's homes)

1877- 1898 Mission of Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish, Shelby, OH. Pastors -

Rev. Francis Oberle,	1877-1881 Framed chapel built - 1879
Rev. Frederick Rupert,	1881-1882
Rev. A. Huthmacher,	1882-1888
Rev. P. McDonald,	1888-1889
Rev. J. F. Smith,	1889-1894
Rev. J. P. Michaelis,	1894-1898 Brick church built 1897

1898 - 1921 Resident pastor also had missions in Plymouth and Republic , OH
Pastors

Rev. John Herr,	1898 first resident pastor
Rev. D. B. Kirby,	1898-1905
Rev. Bernard Mueller,	1905
Rev. M.J. Coan,	1905-1921
Rev. Edward Spitzig,	1921
Rev. Thomas Lynch,	1921-1923
Rev. Henry J. Foran,	1923-1935
Rev. J.B. Fralick,	1935-1951
Rev. Frederick Mehling,	1951-1958
Rev. Carmen Nardecchia,	1958-1965 Present church built - 1962
Rev. Donald Klaus,	1865-1970
Rev. James Risacher,	1970-1976
Rev. Richard Markus,	1976-1981
Rev. James Peiffer,	1981-1986
Rev. Carl Recker,	1986-1988
Rev. Paul Perry,	1989-1997
Rev. Melvin Verhoff,	1998-present

Transcribed by Mary Carabin

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