The rapid increase of the population about Norwalk and Peru did not escape the observation of Rt. Rev. J.B. Purcell, who since October 13th, 1833, was Bishop of Cincinnati, with the whole state of Ohio for his diocese. He had procured a colony of Redemptorist Fathers, and of these he sent Rev. F.X. Tschenhens and two brothers of the northern portion of Ohio, with instructions to take up their residence at Peru. The exact date of their coming is not known. The only document extant of those early days is the baptismal record. The first entry in this is the baptism of Frank Anthony Haemann, son of Anthony and Margaret Haemann; Nicholas and Maria Burger were the sponsors. This is dated June 1st, 1834, and is signed by Father F.X. Tschenhens. However, the first six leaves of this record are missing, and the evidences are that they were purposely detached and taken away, for they are carefully taken out as closely to the roots as possible without injuring the book. It would seem that the missing pages did not contain any of Father Tschenhens� work, because the left hand
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upper edge of what is now the first page bears the date �1834� and at the right hand corner is the word �pastor,� neither of which was continued on the following pages. It is scarcely probable that Father Henni, who had labored here so much, and Father Haetscher, who made this the center of his labors for about three months, had kept no record of baptisms, and it does seem that some one must have purloined the record of their work; but by whom it was done or for what purpose cannot be divined.
The supposition that Father Tschenhens came here as pastor no earlier than spring of 1834, is corroborated by what the old people, who were then children, remember of the occasion. Father Tschenhens had brought with him about $200, which he used to complete the house, and in supplying much needed furniture for the church. The church itself was finished, and had a small bell the gift of Father Henni, in its cupola. All that was added to the first part of the church by the Redemptorists was a sacristy, pews, altars, and communion railing.
For more than a year Father Tschenhens was the only Priest here. About July 1st, 1835, he was joined by Rev. Simon Saenderl, whose first item on the record is dated July 3rd, 1835, on which day he baptized Anthony Hess, whose parents were John George and Anna Maria Hess, while Anthony Schaeffer and Mary Elizabeth Christoph were the sponsors. About this time Father Haetscher, returning from Green Bay, paid a visit to the pastors of Peru, and the three together celebrated the first solemn high mass in the parish on the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer on the third Sunday of July, 1835. On the 19th day of July Father Haetscher returned to his northern mission.
Father Saenderl remained in Peru about four or five weeks, when he was sent to another field of labor. Father Tschenhens was then again alone in this vast territory until the following September when Rev. Peter Czakert arrived, and immediately girded his lions for missionary work. The exact date of his arrival is a matter of doubt, but his first entry on the baptismal record is dated September 20th, 1835, and notes the baptism of Peter Hermann, son of Frank Jos. and Nothburga Hermann.
Father Czakert was well known in Norwalk, where he soon became a general favorite. He was very active and had no hesitation at going six or seven miles afoot. Mostly he would ride on horseback. He took a particular interest in the welfare of the Catholics at Norwalk, Milan, and Huron. For their benefit and convenience he contemplated building a church in Norwalk, and with this in prospect, organized a �committee of twelve families,� early in 1837, in order to look up an available location, and, if possible, to procure subscriptions towards the erection
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of a suitable church. Father Tschenhens, who was the local superior, was so strongly opposed to this project that it had to be abandoned.
Father Czakert continued his labors on these missions until about the end of August, 1838, when acting on the instructions of Very Rev. Joseph Prost, he went to Indiana. An hundred acres of land had been offered the Redemporists somewhere in Indiana on the sole condition that they settle thereon, and found a house of their order. Father Czakert was sent to inspect the location, and to report to his superior. When he found the place he discovered that there was not a human being for more than twenty miles around, and the land was not accepted. He remained nearly two years among the Catholics of Indiana and then returned to Pittsburgh.
Father Tschenhens and his zealous assistants attended to the spiritual wants of all the Catholics for many miles around. They traversed the country up and down in search of negligent Cathlics and new comers, and celebrated mass at various stations in Seneca, Sandusky, Huron and Erie counties. At first they moved into the log hut on the opposite side of the road, which had been erected for the accommodation of Father Haetscher nearly two years before, but which had never been decently habitable. It was found too small for them all, and Father Tschenhens relinquished it entirely to the brothers, while he took up his abode with one of the Catholic families, mostly with Peter Bauer. In the meantime the work on the new house, which had been begun the winter before, was pushed forward with great energy under the direction of Brother Joseph Reisack, who it appears, was a skilled carpenter. This house stood at the same side of the road that the church was on, and attached to the sacristy in such a manner that the southeast corner of the sacristy, and the northwest corner of the house touched each other for a few feet, affording a passage for the priest to step out of his room directly into the sacristy of the church, without being exposed to the weather, or the gaze of the curious bystanders. This new house was of hewn logs, was one and one-half stories high, and was considered a mansion in those days of one-story, round log huts. In contrast to what the pioneer settlers thought of this house it is interesting to note what Father Prost, who arrived here in July, 1838, says of it in his report: �The Father�s residence is a wretched log cabin, containing only one large room, which is divided off into sleeping compartments. The brothers sleep in the garret, the flooring of which consists of single planks laid side by side over the beams. One has to step carefully from one board to the other. If Brother Aloysius should happen to fall ot of bed some night, he would
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persue his downward career to the lower story, though not, thank God, to the lower regions.� (Life of Rt. Rev. J.N. Neumann, page 231) It is evident from this that Father Prost was not yet insured to the privations of pioneer life in America. This house did services as a pastoral residence for over eighteen years. Father Evrard, who built the present brick parsonage, was the last priest to reside in it.
While this house was yet in course of construction the pastor announced to his flock that Bishop Purcell would arrive in Peru on his first Episcopal visitation, in order to impart the sacrament of confirmation, and to dedicate their new church to the service of Almighty God. He proposed at the same time that because their present pastor was a member of the order of the Holy Redeemer, founded by St. Alphonsus, the new church ought to be dedicated under the title and invocation of that saint. No one seemed to object, and so the church was called St. Alphonsus.
The exact date of the Bishop�s visit is not known, though it must have been either the latter part of June or early in July, 1834, for it was in that season, which the farmers call �hay harvest.� Besides the pastor, Father Henni, of Canton, O., was present, and addressed the congregation in the German language. His appeal to remain loyal to their church was so eloquent, powerful and touching, that the entire audience was moved to tears; many fell on their knees and remained in that posture until the end of the sermon. The Bishop also addressed the congregation, but as he spoke in English very few could understand him. After mass about twenty-five persons were confirmed.
About one-half of the two acres donated by Mr. Taylor, was set aside for cemetery purposes. This was laying in the rear of the church, and was, later in the day, blessed by the Bishop. The site of the first church and cemetery was about one-quarter of a mile north of the present St. Alphonsus church, on the Norwalk road. The pastoral residence was not yet completed, and the Rt. Rev. Bishop, as also the clergy, were at this visitation the guests of Peter Bauer.
From Peru Bishop Purcell came to Norwalk, where, on invitation of both Catholics and Protestants, he preached a long and powerful sermon in the court house. This is the first Catholic sermon that is known to have been preached in Norwalk. The Bishop remained overnight at the house of John P. McArdle, and before his departure on the following morning baptized a child for him.
One year prior to the dedication of the church, namely in 1833, a round log school house was built by the farmers in the vicinity, and in September of the same year school was opened therein by Sister Francisca. Ten pupils presented themselves that day. Among these
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were Mary Hettel, from whom this information was obtained, and Elizabeth Amend, who was later on married to Sebastian Venus, and became noted for her exemplary charity during the cholera scourge in 1854. This school house stood a short distance away from the church, and was in the winter 1834-5 turned into a barn, whilst the school was kept in the pastoral residence till a better one was built by the Brothers under the supervision of Father Tschenhens. This new school house stood at the southwest corner of the church, and after the enlargement was made, nearly touched the church.
In September, 1834, school was again opened by Sister Francisca with twenty-six pupils in attendance. More than half of these came a distance of four miles; there were several of Norwalk among them. This school reflects much credit upon the pioneer settlers, inasmuch as it evidences their high appreciation of sound Catholic training. In the autumn of 1835 school was begun in the school house that had been erected through the efforts of Father Tschenhens, and the efficient co-operation of the Brothers. This school was placed in charge of one of the Brothers, whose name, however, was is forgotten. Later on Brother Aloysius was employed as teacher, and is said to have retained that position till autumn, 1839. Mr. Joseph Burger, who now resides in Norwalk, was a pupil under Brother Aloysius for several years. Mr. Zahm, a layman, was the next teacher, and held the position, with several interruptions, for about two years. He was succeeded by Mr. Alles, who retained charge of the school till the second departure of Father Tschenhens. Mr. Hellmuth is said to have then taught for a few months, at the arrival of Father Brunner. In the summer of 1844 Father Brunner placed Sister Rosa, who in the company of two novices had come to Peru in the hope of founding a convent here, in charge of the parochial school. She soon discovered that there was no opening for a house of her order in Peru; and in December of the same year she resigned the school and went to New Riegel. In January, 1845, the school was entrusted to Kaspar Hanemannm who taught seven or eight years, and then, they say, �lost his mind.� A certain Mr. Horstmann was the next teacher; and this brings the school to the time of the complete separation of Norwalk from Peru in the appointment of Father Roupp as pastor St. Peter�s, 1853.
About September, 1834, Father Tschenhens and the Brothers moved into the new house, which was now so far completed that it could be used. He would now have been comparatively happy, had he not been constantly hampered by a want of means, with which to support himself and his noble band of assistants. The building of house and school had absorbed all the funds that he had brought with him. The maintenance
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of church and school was a source of great anxiety to him. There were soon more than one hundred families in the parish, but they paid so little that the entire income of the parish was less than $300 per annum, and Father Tschenhens was obliged to give missions away from in order to procure alms with which to defray the expenses of the parish. This neglect on the part of the people to support church, school and pastor caused annoyance and irritation to both sides.
However, in those days money was scarce in Peru. The people, although they possessed large tracts of land, had no income. Dense forests covered the land, and the work for clearing for cultivation was slow and laborious. They were all new beginners and were struggling hard to clear land enough to raise crops to support their families. There was no sale for timber, but all had to be burned on the spot where it had grown. There was no transportation, and therefore only a poor market for produce. Flour might be $40 per barrel in Green Bay, but there was no means of taking it there, not even a wagon load. The only market was at Milan, and there wheat usually averaged, in those days, no more than 25c to 30c per bushel, and that only in trade, such as coffee, sugar, calico, home-spun and farming implements. Many settlers having large farms, did not handle three dollars in money during an entire year, and hence could pay but little toward church and school when the demands were to be met with cash. It was also one of the worst period of American history, when for several years there was a money panic over all the western country lasting from 1836 to 1840.
However, the farmers were quite liberal in furnishing the pastor with produce and horse feed, except in spring time of the year, when there was generally a dearth in these commodities as well as of money.
So rapid was the inflow of Catholics to these regions that the new church was soon found to be inadequate even one-half of those, who, in fair weather, sought admission at the Sunday mass. Only two years after the dedication, namely, in 1836, an enlargement about equal in size to the original building was contemplated. During the winter of 1836-7, the timbers were gotten ready, and in the summer of 1837 the addition was put under roof, and in this half finished condition was, for want of means to complete it, used for divine service till Father Prost came to Peru, who brought $900 with him, which he liberally expended in the completion of this new part, as well as in repairing the older part. The new structure was of logs, hewn flat on two sides, and trimmed on the upper and lower edges so as to match well together. It was attached to the rear, or west end, of the first church, was of equal width and height with it. The entrance was put in the middle of the west end; it contained, when finished, a large gallery for
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choir and other purposes, and had an enlarged belfry on the extreme west gable end. This addition was by many, who saw it in later years, mistaken for the first part of the church, for the simple reason that it was of logs. It was afterwards weather boarded with tough boards similar to the first building, but never painted.
The inferiority in material and workmanship in the addition is thus accounted for: Father Tschenhens contemplated laying the foundation of a house of his order in Peru. Their rules oblige them to the community life. It was, therefore, necessary to organize a parish that would give employment to several priests residing in the same house. His plan was to erect a large, substantial brick church in Peru in the near future, and to form a parish there of all the Catholics within a circuit of eight miles. This plan was approved, some say ordered, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop. As this elaborate plan was soon to be put in execution, he did not want to waste money on a temporary structure, which must in a few years give way to its elegant successor. He announced his plan to the people in church, and made strenuous efforts to fuse them into a homogenous mass, but in vain. His unabated endeavors to consolidate an unwilling body of men caused the disaffection that wrought so much mischief to religion. The people of Norwalk saw that the time was rapidly approaching when they must have a church of their own; those in �Sau-wald� made common cause with the Norwalk Catholics, stating that their reason for doing this so was, that Norwalk, besides being the natural centre, was for them much easier to access than Peru. In 1836, therefore, began the strife which finally culminated in the erection of St. Peter�s four years later.
There is a census extant, purporting to be of the year 1838, which gives the Catholic families attending mass at Peru to be 110. It is evident, however, from reliable sources that this census did not include the Catholics at Norwalk, but only those who constituted the parish of St. Alphonsus in a conservative sense. Norwalk was since 1837 on the point of forming its own parish, and only wanted the co-operation of a pastor to accomplish its purpose.
The baptismal record would argue in favor of a much larger number of families than is given in the census; it also gives us an idea of the rapid growth of the parish. A record of marriages was likewise kept, but there is no corresponding record of burials. For the last seven months of the year 1834, there were recorded 12 baptisms, 7 marriages; the year 1835 there were recorded 24 baptisms, 13 marriages; for the year 1836 there were recorded 56 baptisms, 18 marriages; for the year 1837 there were recorded 69 baptisms, 25 marriages. The same ratio is maintained till the rupture of the two parishes took place, when in the
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last four months that they were united under Father Freygang there were 42 baptisms and 22 marriages, which would aggregate a total of 126 baptisms and 66 marriages for the year, if the records were complete, but there were several interruptions in them.
Very Rev. Father Prost came to Peru for the purpose of making a visitation, and also for the purpose of securing a promising location at which the house of his order could be founded. It was about the middle of July, 1838, when he arrived here, and he remained till the second Sunday after Easter, or about the middle of April, 1839. He seldom visited Norwalk, and consequently was little known to the people at this place. He was, nevertheless, active in other directions of the vast territory constituting the Peru parish, as is apparent from the baptismal record in which his signature frequently occurs. Father Prost was a man of prudence and forethought. When he discovered that the income of the parish was less than $300 per year, and that a debt of $94 had already been contracted for flour and victuals, he threatened to take the fathers away unless better contributions were made towards their support. His words remained unheeded.
Father Prost had brought with him from Rochester, N.Y., $900, which he had received from the Leopold Society of Vienna, Austria. A part of this money he expended in paying out-standing bills, and in buying much needed clothing for the priests, the balance he used for the church. The new part of the church was finished; the old log seats were thrown out and suitable pews were procured; a neat sacristy was built and vestments purchased with the money which he had brought. Before the winter set in he had floors and partitions put into the pastoral residence, and had it otherwise improved to make it comfortable, so that his money was nearly exhausted on improvements for the parish.
The next question that he took under consideration was that of locating a house of his Order at Peru. After long consultation with the pastor and assistants here, the opinion prevailed that Peru offered bright prospects for the future, and would in all respects be a very desirable place, if only the impending schism could be averted. Father Prost alone dissented. Ever since 1836 there were two factions in the so-called parish, the one was known as the �Town People,� the other as the �Settlement.� The former were agitating the feasibility of erecting a church in town, and in this they were ably seconded by the Catholics of Monroeville, Milan, and the �Sau-wald.� The other party desired to retain the old location because it was more convenient for them, and was hallowed by many early reminiscences. When, therefore, the foundation of a house of the Holy Redeemer at Peru was finally determined on, Father Tschenhens, thinking that peace, harmony and
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co-operation could be restored by a compromise, bought ten acres of land about one mile nearer the town than the old location was, and expected soon to be able to begin the erection of the prospective brick church. These ten acres comprised the south-west corner of the Norwalk road and the �Deutsche Gasse.� This purchase was made while Father Prost was here, in the Autumn of 1838, and proved unsatisfactory to both parties. Quite a number of each faction refused to pay their assessment for this land. The confusion and animosity increased daily, and the Redemptorists, having abandoned the idea of founding a Monastery there, resolved to withdraw to more congenial fields of labor.
In January, 1839, an agreement was made between Father Prost and the councilmen, by which the latter obligated themselves to pay $400, per year for pastor�s services. Before the councilmen had time to demonstrate their ability to comply with the agreement Father Prost departed. An invitation has been extended to him to assume the pastorship of St. Philomena�s Church in Pittsburgh, and the invitation was accepted. On the second Sunday after Easter, about April 15th, 1839, he bade the parish farewell and the next day departed for his new destination. That the people may not be entirely deprived of the consolation of their religion, Father Tschenhens remained some time longer to enable the Bishop to supply the place with a pastor. On January 2nd, 1840, however, Father Tschenhens also departed, though there was as yet no pastor in prospect.
Much indignation against the Fathers Prost and Tschenhens, for thus abandoning the German Catholics of Northern Ohio, was aroused, not only among laity, but also among the neighboring clergy, as is evidenced by the manner which they expressed themselves in the pulpit, while attending the place during the interim.
The ten acres of land mentioned above were sold by Father Evrard in 1852, and the proceeds used in building the present brick parsonage at Peru. The wrangling, however, caused by them, was continued with a great deal of acerbity for a long number of years, and was exceedingly injurious to Catholicity in Norwalk. A considerable number of families left the church never again to return. The evil effects are felt to this day and bid fair to live out the present generation.
After the departure of the Redemptorist Fathers the parish was left for ten months without a regular pastor, but was attended by the neighboring clergy, each of whom remained here a few weeks in turn. The first to come was Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf, - afterwards first Bishop of Denver, Col., - from February 2nd, to May 1st: Rev. Matthias Wuertz from May 1st to May 10th; Rev. Henry D. Juncker, - later on first Bishop, of Alton, Ill., - from May 15th to June 1st; Rev.
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Joseph P. Machebeuf again from June 10th to July 1st; Rev. Joseph McNamee from August 2nd to August 25th; Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf, a third time, from August 30th to November 1st; Rev. Basil Schorb from November 10th to November 25th, on which day Rev. Joseph Freygang arrived in Peru, showed his credentials, and immediately set to work in great earnestness.