THE IRJSH CATHOLI COMMUNITY OF INDIA APOLIS 1 60-1890 
V. Danielle Wilson 
Subn1itted to the faculty of the University Graduate School 
in partial fulfillment of the requirernents 
for the degree 
Master of Arts 
in the Deparhnent of History, 
Indiana University 
December 2004 
Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University in partial 
fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. 
Master's Thesis 
Committee 
Marianne S. Wokeck Ph.D. 
David G. Vanderstel, Ph.D. 
Erik L. Lindseth, Ph.D. 
11 
To 
Geoffrey Corinne Andrew, and Mad laine 
111 
Acknowl dg m nt 
Sine re thank t n1y th i dir ct r nd 111 nt r Dr. Mariatm W k ck wh 
provided the in ight dir ction and moti ati n £ r m t c mpl t thi th i n tirn 
I also wi h to thank Dr. Erik Lind th for hi con tructi criti i 111 nd Dr. Jam 
Divita ofMaiian College for hi input on atholic thnic gToup in Indianap li 
special thanks to Dr. David Vand r tel who e cla on immigrati n park d m 
intere t in this topic and who e encourag rn nt 
focu ed. 
r the la t four y r h kept m 
Janet Newland of the Archdioce e of Indianapoli Archi wa an n rm u 
help in locating and under tanding document regarding Bi hop hatard and th £ ur 
Catholic parishes under tudy and th taff at th Univ r ity ofNotr Dan1 
Archive made certain 1ny i it wa worthwhil and fficient. Thank y u to th 
entire taff at the Indiana State Library for helping rne navigate new paper 
microfiche and for uncovering mi placed works. The taff at the Indiana Hi tori 
Society Library a u ual w re xtremely h lpful. 
I al o had tremendou upport from n1y urrogate par nt h r in lndianap 1i 
Rae and Randy Wilson a.k.a. 'the in-law ." They pent count! hour baby- ittin 
o that I could attend cia do re earch and write this thesis. Their genera ity ha 
allowed be to con1pl t graduate chool without going into serious financial debt. 
Thank you Gram and Pop ! 
I hold the other t of grandparent Mamaw and Judge re pon ible for n1y 
desire to obtain a graduat d gree. Their pro£ s ionallive are a te tan1ent to the 
JV 
importance of life-long 1 aming and in pir m to c ntinuall a k qu ti n nd k 
out the an wer . I thank n1y Dad fl r h wmg m th t 1 ng a u 1 wh t y u 
do and do what you lo you 11 n r grow ld · and my M n1 fl r haring h r 1 of 
American History and her pa ion fort aching with m . h i truly a r n1arkabl 
woman. 
Finally I wi h to thank my hu band Brad fl r taking thi j urn y with n1 . 
The last five years have been chaotic at be t. on1pl ting graduat 
raising four small children was far n1ore difficult than I had anticipat d. It wa nly 
through his undying patience, outlandi h sen e of humor and unconditi nall that 
I was able to accompli h this goal. 
v 
on tent 
List of Appendi ces .. \ II 
Li t of Abbreviations IX 
Introduction 
Chapter I: Irish Catholi cs in Indianapo li s before l860 10 
Chapter 2: Reli gious and Lay Leadership 22 
Chapter 3: Parishes and Schools 4 
Chapter 4: Ethnic ldentity and 1 ntegration 71 
Conclusion 92 
Appendices 96 
Bibliography 109 
Curriculum Vitae 
VI 
List of Appendices 
1. Photo of the Right Reverend Maurice de St. Palais, Bishop of Vincennes 96 
1848-1877. 
2. Photo of the Right Reverend Francis Silas Chatard, Bishop of 96 
Vincennes 1878-1918. 
3. Photo of the Right Reverend Monsignor August Bessonies Pastor of St. 97 
John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Indianapolis 1857-1890. 
4. Photo of the Reverend Herman J. Alerding, Pastor of St. Josephs 98 
Catholic Church, Indianapolis, 187 4-1900. 
5. Photo of the Reverend Denis O'Donaghue, pastor of St. Patrick' s 99 
Catholic Church, Indianapolis, 1885-1905. 
6. Photo of the Reverend Daniel Curran, pastor of St. Bridget's 100 
Catholic Church, Indianapolis, 1879-1918. 
7. Irish Organizations and Their Leaders in Indianapolis As Reported 101 
in The Western Citizen, 1877-1881. 
8. Map oflndianapolis, 1876. The locations ofHoly Cross Chapel and 103 
the city's first four Catholic churches are shown though St. Bridget's 
and St. Joseph' s do not exist in 1876. 
9. Map of Indianapolis, southwest quadrant, 187 6, showing the location 104 
ofHoly Cross Chapel and St. John' s Catholic Church. 
10. Photo of St. John's Cathedral, 126 West Georgia Street, Indianapolis. 104 
11. Map of Indianapolis, southeast quadrant, 1876, showing the location 105 
of St. Patrick's' Catholic Church. 
12. Photo of St. Patrick Catholic Church 950 Prospect Street, Indianapolis. 105 
13. Map of Indianapolis, northeast quadrant, 1876, showing the future 106 
location of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. 
14. Photo of St. Joseph Catholic Church, southwest comer ofNorth Street 106 
and College A venue, Indianapolis. 
Vll 
15. Map of Indianapolis, northwest quadrant, 187 6, showing the future 1 07 
location of St. Bridget's Catholic Church in relation to Holy Cross 
Chapel. 
16. Photo of St. Bridget's Catholic Church, 801 Dr. Martin Luther 107 
King, Jr. Drive, Indianapolis. 
17. Advertisements from The Western Citizen, June 11 1881. 108 
viii 
Li t of Abbr iation 
Uni er ity of otre Dam Archi 
AUD 
CAVI 
CSCT 
GFCL 
PCLR 
Ern t Audran Pap r 
Dioc of Vincetm (IN) R c rd 
dmond J. Schmitt Pap r 
Franci P. lark ollection 
1ergy and Religiou Print d Mat rial 
1X 
Introducti n 
About four th u and Iri h-b m r id nt li d in Indian p li Indiana 
during th econd half of th nin t nth c ntury. Thi wa the high t numb r in 
hi tory. The lri h repre nt d approxin1at ly thirty-on p rc nt f th city :D r ign-
born population and b can1 th cond larg t thnic group in lndianap li aft r th 
Gem1ans . 1 The va t majority f hi h wa ath lie and their ryday li d 
around the local pari h church. The four atholic churche that rv 
Patrick Jo eph' and Bridg t - were th foundation of piritual cia! 
educational and political growth of th Iri h community. In fact th ath lie 
parishes did uch a thorough job of steering Iri h Catholic to ucc 111 
Indianapoli that after two generation a di tinctly lri h ethnic community wa n 
longer di cernable. 
Yet historian have all but ignored the story of the Indianapol i Iri h 
Catholic po ibly becau e they were a small p rcentage of th 1110 tly Prot tant 
and Anglo-Saxon population con tituting a much maller proporti n than th hi h in 
other Indiana town , e pecially Terre Haute, South Bend Fort Wayne and 
Jeffersonville. Th r fore the focu here i on the thriving In h atholic community 
between 1 60 and 1890 with p cial attention on the role the Irish parish churche 
played in the integration of thi ethnic community into American ociety. 
1 The Encyclopedia oflndianapoli (Bloomington lndiana: Indiana Uni er ity Pre 1994) .v. 
'Irish" by Da id G. Vander tel p. 2 . 
Th hi toriography fin iana lri h immibr nt r fl t tb nati n I patt n1. 
At fir t hi torian imply ibnored th Iri h. ith r th Earl Hi tOJ) of 
India napoli and Centra/Indiana publi h d in 1 97 nor A ntur of Indiana 
publi h d in 1910 make mention of Iri h imn1igrant th ugh Iri h bad b n ttling 
in th area that became Indiana ince th 1700 .2 Julia H nd r n L nng auth r 
of Hi toric Indiana published in 1909 briefly di u d Iri h immigrant and th 1r 
activitie in Indiana but added the ' the don1inant rae th m t r :[! r tn 
[Indiana' J civilization ha remained the Anglo- axon train. h argu d th 
although Indiana did have it hare of Irish Gennan Fr ncb wt and cot h-lri h 
immigrant the ' progre ive citizen hip of Indiana Engli h :[! und r w r abl t 
as in1ilate the foreign groups and maintain the ducated and lf-c ntr 11 d 
population of their English ancestors. 3 
These Indiana hi torie were repre entative of im1nigrati n hi t ry around th 
tun1 of the twentieth century. View of Anglo-Saxon uperi rity pr ail d and 
foreign imn1igration if mentioned at all wa u ually portrayed in an gativ I ight. 
Even 1. B. McMaster Hi tory of the United State the leading hi tory of thi 
period denounced imtnigrant as negativ influenc on everything m rican and 
labeled foreign culture a a threat to all that i Prote tant and Angl - axon. 4 
A the United State began re tricting immigration in the early 1900' 
how r in1migration hi tory reflected an approach that wa more ympathetic 
toward immigrant . Thi hift was n1ost likely due to the perception that with the 
2 
athaniel Bolton Earl Hi t01 y of indianapoli and en/ralindiana (lndianapol i : B n-M rrill 
1 97)· dward E. Moor A entur of indiana (New York: Am rican Book o. 191 0). 
3 Julia Hender on Levering Hi toric indiana (New York: G.P. Putnam on 1909) pp. 449-450. 
4 John Bach McMa ter A Hi t01 y of the People ofth United State 7 ol . (N York: D. ppl ton 
and ompany, I 3-19 J 2). 
2 
re triction immigrant wer no 1 noer a thr at to th Ameri an way f lifl . 
Indiana author wer no xc ption. In 1919 John ln0 1 hart wr t an artid tracing 
the author anc tral root in van ill .5 Although he D cu ed n1ainly on th 
English coloni t in the area Inglehart frequ ntly c n1m nt d on Iri h ttl r 
nearby. He described the McJohn ton and Hillyard farnilie wh ttl d in th 
region in 1818 as people of the am type [a lnglehart Engli h r lati all men 
of high purpose and character. 6 Inglehart later argued that th ttl rn nt f th 
English and Irish, with a few Scotch in the we t w re d t rmined ... t 0 ive c lor 
and tone to the ociety n1a1mers and cu tom of the peopl with whon1 th y 
mingled. "7 Far different than the negative ethnic tereotype of Levering lnglehart 
clearly recognized and acknowledged the positive attributes of the early Iri h in 
Indiana. 
Ten year later in 1929, The Indiana Maaazine of His tor) publi bed a quite 
different article by Robert La Follette. Unlike Inglehart' generally po itive 
treatment of immigrant La Follette expre sed nothing but cont mpt for all but the 
Gern1an i1nmigrants. While he labeled the German peaker a "intelhg nt 
industrious and economical 'and' relatively ea ily assimilated ' h degrad d Iri h 
Catholics and the "new" group of immigrant fron1 South a ten1 Europe by relying 
on in his judgment a noted authority on immigration: '"These people hav no 
history behind them ... to give encouragement. . . . They are beaten men from 
5 John lnglehart, 'The oming of lhe Engli h to lndjana in 1 17 and Their Hoo ier eighbor 
indiana Magazine of Hi IOI) 15 ( 1919) pp. 94-1 11. 
6 Ibid . pp. 95-96. 
7 lbid . p. 109. 
Robert La Follette Foreign r and Their lnfluence in lndjana indiana lvfagazine of Hi tor 25 
(1929) pp. 17-26. 
3 
b aten race r presenting th wor t failur in the truggl :b r e i . 9 La 
Follette aw an immigrant probl m and m nc nizati n a th nly c ptabl 
outcome. 
Nativist attitud tend to corr p nd with th g n ral pr p rity of th nati n. 
As long as the economy is good p ople feel ecure about th tr J b famili and 
way of life. They are more yn1path tic toward immigrant and farm r willing t 
help then1. After the scare of World War I and the real fl ar of G nnany ri ing up 
again nativism hit its peak and anti-Catholic group lik th Ku Klux Klan in d 
their strongholds in the Midwest e pecially in Indiana. Federal! gi lat r al 
began placing literacy and quota re triction on all foreign immigration. 10 
Considering this anti-immigration atmo ph re La Foil tte work i n t urpri ing. 
This perception continued throughout the 1930 ' but chang d dramatically 
when America's economy recovered with the on et of World War II. The 
publications of Marcu Hansen's Pulitzer Priz winning The Atlantic Mi 1 ation and 
Oscar Handlin's critically acclaimed Boston's lmmi rant ignify thi hift in 
in1migration history. 11 Historiographically, these two book are arguably th mo 
significant on lri h imn1igration. Gone were many of the racial and ethnic 
stereotypes so prevalent in earlier hi torie a well a the romanticized i1nag f th 
' \J r tched tired and hungry" i1nmigrant . More importantly the e hi tori 
repre ented an important departure from earlier accounts by attempting to analyze 
9 Ibid., pp. 1 and 26. 
10 Roger Daniels Coming to Ameri a: A Hi tor of immigration and Ethnicity in Ameri an Life ( ew 
York: Harp r olJjn PubJi her 1990) pp. 27 -279. 
11 Marcu Han n The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1 60: A Hi 101y of th Continuing S ttlemenl of the 
United State , Edited with a foreword by Arthur M. Schl inger (Cambridge: Har ard Uni r ity 
Press 1940)· Oscar Handlin Eo ton' immigrant , 1790-1 0: A Stud; in Ac ulturation (Bo ton: 
Harvard Univer ity Pres 1941). 
4 
th pu h and pull factor that contribut d to immigrati n t th Unit d tat . 
Together Han en and Handlin tabli h d immigrati n a p i li z d ub- fi ld f 
Am rican hi tory and in pir d futur hi tori an t d al with qu ti n f n1igration. 
In Indiana Chel ea L. Lawli produc d two articl ab ut th Whit wat r 
Vall y Canal project in Indiana. 12 She examin d G 1man and Iri h i1nn1igrant 
laborers who caine to build the canal and al o Iri h immigrati n a a r ult f th 
Potato Famine in 1848. Lawlis ympathetic approach wa charact ri tic of th n w 
wave of immigration history pioneered by Han en and Handhn. 
American historians in the 1960's and 1970' took a 1nor cultural approach 
to their research interests. This focus lent itself nicely to th tudy f immi 0 rant and 
their stories of truggle and uccess. Unlike th approach to hi tory that r 1i d 
heavily on the gathering of data and their stati tical analy e th int r t of cultural 
historians focus on the immigrant' experience and point of vi w. Two hi tori f 
Indiana reflect thi change. Taking the ca e of the Iri h Emma Lou Th rnbr ugh 
Indiana in the Civil War and Edward A. Leary Jndianapo!i : The Star of a ity 
devote coverage to the Irish beyond their role in building canal and road in 
Indiana. 13 It i impo1iant to remember however that Indiana had relati ly fl w r 
foreign immigrants, especially compared with Illinoi Ohio and K ntucky and 
therefore did not see an enormou increa e in ethnic studies. 
12 
"Pro perity and Hard Time in Whitewater Valley 1 30-1 40 Indiana Ma a_ine of Hi 101 43 
(1947) pp. 363-378·" hange in th Whitewater Vall y 1 40-1 50 Indiana Maoazine of Hi 101 
44 (194 ) pp. 69- 2. 
13 Emma Lou Thornbrough Indiana and the Civil War: I 50- I 0 (lndianapoJi : Indiana Hi t rical 
Bureau & Indiana li torical Soci ty 1965)· Edward A. Leary Indianapoli : Th St01 of a City 
(lndianap li : The Bobb -Merrill Company Inc. 1971 ). 
5 
In Immigrant Milwauk e for exan1pl Kathie n il onz n rgued that 
the achie ment of the elite among the Gem1an community contributed to th 
perception that Milwaukee G nnan were ucce ding in the city. 14 By contra t th 
Irish lacked pron1inent elite and were therefore more often judged a 1 ucc ful 
than their Gennan neighbors in tnaking it in America. Unlik earlier hi nan who 
argued that the uccess of an in1migrant group wa ba ed upon it ability t 
assimilate Conzen den1onstrated that an ethnic group could n1aintain it cultural 
distinctiveness and achieve acceptance by the native-born population a 1 ng a 
outstanding tnembers of the immigrant comn1unity provided persua leader hip 
that reflected well on the group as a whole. 
The halhnark of imn1igration history for the tate of Indiana i Peoplina 
Indiana: The Ethnic Experience published in 1996. 15 Based on the collective 
scholarship of n1any historians this work discusses over thirty ethnic group and th 
imn1igrant experience in Indiana from the early 1700's to 19 6. Wi1lia1n W. Giffin 
is the author of the "Irish" chapter. His account traces their presenc throughout the 
state, including the contribution of the Irish in the political religiou ducational 
economic, and agricultural arena . 
Peopling Indiana is undoubtedly significant in under tanding th hi tory of 
imn1igrant in Indiana but as of yet there is no treatise of the Irish in th tat s 
capital and large t city Indianapolis. The following account exan1ine the Irish 
Catholic community in Indianapolis between 1860 and 1890. In particular it traces 
14 Kathleen eils onzen immigrant Milwaukee, 1 36-1 60: A commodation and ommunity in a 
Frontier City ( ambridge, MA: Harvru·d Uni er ity Press 1976. 
15 Robert M. Taylor, Jr. and onnie A. McBirney eds. People indiana: The Ethnic Experien 
(Indianapoli : Indiana Hi tori cal Society, 1996). 
6 
the tory of their succe fulint grati n into the city at larg and xam1n th role of 
the atholic burch it l ader and in titution in facilitating th tran fom1ati n 
from imo1igraot to full-fledg d Ame1ican citiz n . 
Irish Catholic began arriving in Indiana well before 1 60. Many came to 
work on the interna l improvement project of the 1 30 and 1 40' and n1any more 
immigrated following the hish Potato Famine fron1 1 45 to 1 49. The fir t hapter 
provides a brief overview of the lri h in Indianapoli prior to 1860 and the 
en1ergence of the first Catholic pari h in the city St. John' . By d finition th Iri h 
Protestants in Indianapolis did not participate in the Iri h- atholic community li£ 
although a few did make significant contributions to the city. The Kingan family for 
example, were owners of the largest meat-packing c01npany in Indianapoli and had 
an enormous impact on the city's econ01ny in the late ninet enth century. Thoma 
Taggert, three-time mayor of Indianapoli went on to become a United State 
Senator. The focus of this paper however will be on lri h Catholic . 
From 1860 to 1890 church leader hip wa c1itical. The pope dioce an 
bishops, and parish prie t all influenced the Iri h Catholic community in 
Indianapolis . They set guidelines e tablished agendas and enforced doctline. They 
also laid the basic groundwork upon which Irish itninigrants would build a 
comn1unity. In Chapter Two the Catholic leaders and their policies are examined. 
Chapter Three focu es on the four Catholic parishes that were predominately 
Irish and details the organizations and ocieties that developed in Indianapolis s Irish 
Catholic community. Betw en 1860 and 1890 St . John Patrick's Jo eph sand 
Bridget' were the centers of veryday life for the Irish Catholics in the city 
7 
pro iding piritual anctuary and r ligi u in tructi n nd guidanc . ually a 
important th y ffer d a plac cially nd p li ti all btain financial 
a i tanc and to c lebrat th lri h r ident thni h ritag In d mg th :D ur 
predominantly lri h pari h f lndianapoli r in£ r ultur 
di tinct Iri hid ntity e pecially in the critical y ar of arly mn1unity forrnati n 
1 · I 6 and accu turat1on. 
lt i imperative to under tand that the only tru national pari h in th 
United States were those de ignated to serve ethnic group wh did n t p ak 
English like the German and Italians . Until the 1960 Ina wa alway 
celebrated in Latin regardles of the ethnic make-up of the pari h. But n1any 
Catholic imn1igrants wanted prie ts who understood their language and cultur and 
who could preach in their native tongue. Thus the national pari h wa b rn. The 
Irish however, already poke nglish and had non d to tabli h a national 
church· th y con idered theJn elves the rightful owner of the atholic hurch in 
America . 17 In thi paper the tenn "national parish" will be u d n1ore loo ly in th 
ethnic sen e to refer to a church composed primarily of peopl wh har a con1m n 
European background be it German or Irish. It doe not nee arily imply a non-
Engli h peaking parish. 
The la t chapter exatnines how well the lri h in Indianapoli adju ted t ]j£ 
in Am rica and the factor which contributed to their integration. Though the Irish 
16 Thi pap r will not include t. Franci de Sales Catholic hurch e tabli hed in J J. Though th 
pari h had a high percentage of lri h many of whom came from neighboring t. Jo ph atholic 
hurch it wa located in Brightwood a rmal suburb on the nOI·thea t ide of lndianapoli and did not 
fall within the city limit . 'Dioce e oflndianapoJi hancery Office Dioce an Archi R port 
1934. opy pro ided by Janet Newland A i tant Archivi tat the Archdioc of Indianapoli 
Archive . 
17 James J. Divita Ph. D. Email to author dated January 27 2003. 
8 
de eloped a di tinct n e of ethnicity which fo t r d c n1munity pirit and growth 
th mo t ignificant rea on forth ea and ucc with which th Iri h adju t d t 
life in Indianapoli wa the role Catholic chool play d in Arnericanizing th 
children of Iri h-born parents. 
9 
Chapter 1 
Irish in Indianapoli befor 1 60 
Irish imtnigrants began aiTiving in North A1nerica during the colonial p ri d 
though the exact numbers are difficult to determine becau e the majority w re poor 
and widely scattered. 1 The greatest wave of Iri h imn1igration to the Unit d Stat 
however occurred during the nineteenth century and totaled clo e to four n1illi n. 2 
Peak immigration years were from 1840-1860 when an e tim at d 1. 7 n1illion Iri h 
came to the United States approximately forty percent of total imn1igrati n for tho 
years and Jnore than forty percent of all Iri h immigration for the ntir nin teenth 
century? Most of them tayed to work in the east rn citie ofNew York Bo ton 
and Philadelphia. Others moved westward toward hicago St. Loui or San 
Francisco following road, canal and railway con truction in hop of acqu iring land 
on the frontier. 4 By the middle of the nineteenth century almo tall Iri h in11nigrant 
were Catholic and thus, in addition to being targets of ethnic di crin1ination in the 
Anglo-Saxon influenced United States they were falling victim to n1uch r ligiou 
prejudice. 
Many of the early nineteenth-century Iti h in1migrant bypa d Indiana. 
Th re wa le ]and available than in other frontier tate there wa no booming 
metropoli in which to find work and there was no cultural community to sustain 
1 Roger Daniel , Coming to America: A Hi tor of immigration and Ethni if) in Am ri an Life ew 
York: Harper ol lin Publi her 1990) p. 6. 
2 
a leu lations by author ba don number found in Daniel Coming to America p. 129 ( Immigrant 
from Ireland 1 20-1924 table). 
3 Ibid. 
4 Carl Wittke The lri h in Ameri a (Baton Rouge: Loui iana Uni er ity- Pre s J 950) pp. 23-24. 
10 
then1. Iri h men and their familie ttled north in hicag incinnati uth 
in Loui ville or west in St. Loui . In th 1 30 h we r Indiana b gan a larg 
· internal in1proven1ent progran1 and acti ely recruited Iri h and rn1an w rk r to 
construct portions of the Erie & Waba h anal. From 1 32 through l 51 th u and 
of Irish responded and n1oved to Indiana hoping to e cape th po erty and anti-
Catholic prejudice of the ea tern citie .5 The lure of high wage e tabli h d 
' kin hip networks, ' and encouragen1ent from ea t coast bene alent ocieti al o 
played a part in migrants deci ion to relocate westward.6 Relative to th ea t coa 
however, few Irish in1migrants actually ettled in Indiana. By 1850 Indianap li 
only had around 550 Irish residents, equaling six percent of the city' population. In 
comparison more than twenty percent of Boston s population in 1 50 was lri h 
totaling approximately 35,287.7 
Though most Irish i1nn1igrants to Indiana worked on canal project to the 
north of Indianapolis a izeable number caine to the city in 1836 to work on th 
Central Canal that ran we t and north of the city' center. Recruitment notice 
called for two thou and worker offering them' $20 a n1onth and 'fare and lodging 
... of the most comfortable character. "9 Most of the Irish canal hand who 
5 Willi am W. Giffin 'Iri h " in Peopling indiana: The Ethnic Experience ed . Robert M. Taylor Jr. 
and Connie A. McBirney (lndianapoli :Indiana Historical Society 1996).p. 249· Peter Way Common 
Labor: Workers and the Digging of orth American Canal 17 0-1860 (Baltimore: The John 
Hopkins Univer ity Pres 1993) p. xiii. 
6 
atherine Tere a Tobin "The Lowly Mu cular Digger: lri h Canal Worker in ineteenth-Century 
America" (Ph. D. di ertation Univ r ity ofNotre Dame 19 7) p. 60. 
7 The Enc; clopedia of Jndianapoli (Bloomington Indiana: Indiana Uni ersity Pre 1994) . . 
'Demography and E thnicity ' by Jame J. Di ita p. 53· Daniel , Coming to America p. 130. 
dward A. Leary Jndianapoli : Th Star of a ity (lndianapoli : The Bobb -Merrill ompany 
Inc. , 1971) p. 35. 
9 Way, Common Labor, p. 102. 
11 
r pond d ath li 111 und r th ao uth an ntr I 
lr land . F nd n1 n p k lti h. I 
on th lndianap li n 1 r diffi ult and 
dangerou r quiring tw 1 to fift n h ur day 1n n th r." M ny I 
died from di a e or ac id nt-r lat d injuri 
All of th land ... wa uninhabit d an 
work r had to cl ar th c nal r ute f tr 
u ed ho el and pick to xca ate th r ut ix fl t d p and ixty 
feet wid . They load d dirt into wag n and haul d itt th 
be u ed for the canal bank and towpath. Tb labor-int n i w rk 
required about 750 tnen by r port 1n tl lri h and rman .... 
Perhap one in ix worker died .. .. Worker in Broad Rippl [ab ut 
four n1ile north of lndianapoli ] w re [paid ab ut 20 p r m nth and] 
compen a ted with e en 1.5 ounce jigger of whi ky p r day hand d 
out at regular interval by th v hi k y bo 1 
Shanty town prang up near the con truction ite and canal w rker quickly arn d 
a reputation for drinking and iolence. lri h and other imn1igrant w n1en work d on 
the canal too er ing a cook laundre e and am tre 
As are ult of the 1 3 7 panic tate funding for the entra l ana l ran ut 
cau ing con truction to stop altogether in the fall of 1 3 . 14 Iri h and Gern1an 
laborer were 1 ft high and dry in a community ill- quipped to ab orb th n1 into it 
limited economy. 15 With no job and no opportuniti the Iri h who re1nain din 
lndianapoli shaped the ter otvpe that made them out to be an unruly lot with 
10 Tobin 'Lowly Digger p . 60. 
11 Way Common Labor, p. IO. 
12 J. Dan·en Bakken, " ow That Tim Ha Had it Sa ' : A HistOIJ of the india napoli Central 
Ca:?a!, 1 35-2002 (B loomington Indiana: 1 1 Book Library 2003) p. 6. 
13 Way Common Labor, p. I4. 
14 Ibid. 
15 Frederick Doyle Ker hner Jr. A ocial and Cultural Hi tory of lndianapoJi 1 60-1914 (Ph.D. 
dissertation Univer ity ofWi con in 1950) pp. 13-14. 
12 
propen ities for fighting and hea y drinking. In fact th t wn organiz d it fir t 
aovernment in 1 38 to deal in part with the b it rou Iri h. 16 
0 
Road construction brought more Iri h lab r r to Indiana. Th ati nal R ad 
(Washington Street) reached Indianapolis in the late 1 30 and ran ju t uth f th 
city ' s center, near n1any of the canal construction ite .17 Con truction of the 
Michigan Road Indiana's main north-south thoroughfare reached Indianapoli 1n 
1839 and crossed Washington Street just east of the canal ar a. 1 Unfortunat ly for 
laborers employed in road building, Pre ident Martin Van Buren veto d all ati nal 
Road bil1s in 1839, in effect su pending construction throughout th Unit d tat 
including Indianapolis. Work did notre ume until 1848 when the C nt:ral Plank 
Road Cmnpany was chartered to make irnproven1ent on the National Road in 
Indiana. 19 Nevertheless, these road projects followed by the railroad developm nt 
that had begun in 1847 brought hundreds more Irish in1migrant to Indianapoli . 
Like the working conditions when digging the canal life on road and railway 
construction sites was precarious at best. Irish imrnigrant laborer e tabli h d ca1np 
along South Street in close proximity to both the National Road and the railway 
fanning a sn1all Irish shantytown. It wa most likely very similar to th one harl 
Dickens described for Lebanon Pe1msylvania, while touring the United tate in th 
early 1840 
"With mean at hand of building decent cabins it was wonderful 
to ee how clumsy rough and wretched its hovel were. The best 
16 Ibid . 
17 lri h worker on the ational Road m ad approximat ly $ -$12 per month. Leary StOJ) of a C it 
p. 35. 
1 Ransom Plac Archeology Field chool 2001 web ite: w w.iupui .edu/-anthpm/f: 200l.btml 
19 Irma Bachman ocial Condition in lndjanapoli before 1 50 (M.A. The i Columbia 
Univer ity 1933) p. 117. 
13 
were poor protection from the weather· the worst let in the wind and 
rain .... Women ... pigs dogs men children babies pots kettle 
dunghills vile refuse rank straw, and tanding water all wallowing 
together in an inseparable heap composed the fun1iture of 
every dark and dirty hut. '20 
Though Dickens ' s complete account betrays his anti-Irish bias his description is 
probably not that far from the truth. The temporary settlements built by 
Indianapolis ' s Irish immigrant laborers were typical of those elsewhere in 
America- unsanitary, overcrowded, and male-dominated. They were hastily 
constructed and not well-organized, and lasted only as long as the project itself. Few 
Irish ren1ained in Indianapolis once the National Road and railways were c01npleted 
choosing instead to follow the path of employment. This pattern was also 
characteristic of Irish canal laborers: they "descended on an area when a job opened 
did the work, and moved on."2 1 
Though there are no known records of the imn1igrants who worked on 
Indianapolis ' s road and railway construction, it is probable that these n1en shared 
similar characteristics with the canal hands. They were mostly men under the age of 
thirty-five. Max Robinson Hyman c01nments on the laborers ' character in his 1897 
Handbook of Indianapolis. Although he does not specifically mention Irish, one can 
assume that many of these men had roots in Ireland. 
20 
The building of the National Road and the other improvements 
carried on by the state had brought into the town a large number of 
wild, reckless and dangerous men. Not all of them were wholly 
vicious, but when filled with whiskey they were reckless and 
oftentimes dangerous. . . . The roughs were organized into a band and 
were commonly known as " the chain gang." ... They were loafers 
and generally idle, doing odd jobs, occasionally of digging cellars and 
Way, Common Labor p. 144. 
21 Ibid. , p. 104. 
14 
well and moving hou e recei ing th refor [ ic] money no ugh to 
keep th n1 el well upplied with whi key. 22 
Logan s City Directory for 1867-1 68 al o comment on th in1n1igrant who 
worked the National Road calling then1 men of bad character and habit. 2 
To further complicate the work of hi torians trying to docun1ent the Irish in 
Indianapolis many of the Irish who came to Indiana for work on construction 
projects had already lost their accents, having been in the United States or anada 
for considerable lengths of time.24 Their Irish background sometimes w nt 
unnoticed. But because the majority were Catholic and occasionally n1ade use of the 
services of a priest, historians are able to find info1mation on the city' early Iri h 
residents through the history of the Catholic Church in Indiana. 
Though no fotmal parish existed in Indianapolis before 183 7, historian know 
that Indianapolis Catholics, both Irish and Gern1an, were being administered to by 
several itinerant priests stationed in Vincennes or Terre Haute by the mid-1830's. 
"It can be set down as fact testified to by several old residents yet 
living (1883) that the Holy Sacrifice of Mass was offered in the city 
of Indianapolis as early as the year 1835 . It took place at Powers' 
tavern ... Among those present in the room were: James Feniter a 
well-known contractor; Douglas O'Reilly, who served at the altar· 
Thomas K. Barrett . .. "25 
In 183 7, there were enough Irish and German Catholics in Indianapolis for Bishop 
Simon Brute of the Diocese of Vincennes to appoint Father Vincent Bacque1in to 
22 Handbook of india napoli :An Outline Historyand Description of the Capital of indiana 
(indianapolis: M.R. Hyman Co., 1897) p. 4 7. 
23 
"Logan's City Directory, 1 67-1868 lndianapoli p. 35. 
24 Emma Lou Thornbrough indiana and the Civil War, 1850-1880 vol. 3 (indianapolis: indiana 
Hi torical Bureau and lndiana Historical Society, 1965) p. 552. 
25 Sister Rose Angela Horan The St01y of Old St. John's: A Parish Rooted in Indianapolis 
(indianapolis: Litho Press, Inc., 1971) p. 20. · 
15 
begin a parish in the city.26 It i probable Father Bacquelin had b n rv1ng 
Indianapolis Catholics for everal years prior to hi appointment along with ther 
pioneer priests in the state, like Father Stephen Bad nand Simon Lalumier .-7 Th 
register of St. Vincent's parish of which Indianapolis wa a part until a church 
building could be constructed, shows fifty-two baptism , fourteen maniage and two 
deaths for Marion County/Indianapolis between 183 7-1843 including pecific 
references to Irish residents: 
January 30, 1838 " ... baptized Thomas McGinty son ofTh01na 
McGinty and Mrs. McGinty his wife at Indianapolis." 
Godfather is listed as John McMahon. 
"July 26, 1839: Died at Indianapolis John O'Neal a native of 
Ireland." 
"1842-August the 201h died at Indianapolis Mary Conway a native of 
Ireland, wife of John Conway." 28 
By 1840, the Irish and German Catholic populations in Indianapolis had 
grown large enough to wanant a church building.29 Holy Cross Chapel wa 
constructed just west of Indianapolis's town square, approximately on the corner of 
California and Washington Streets, near the canal consh·uction site where n1any Iri h 
laborers had erected homes. 30 The first trustees and choir In embers of th new pari h 
26 Jeanne Sheehan, "Timeline for Development of the Catholic Church in lndianapoli , 
www.geocities .com, p. 1. 
27 Horan Old St. John's p. 19. William Robeson Holloway also mention a Father Francoi and a 
Father Theodore Badin a ha ing erved in Indianapoli in the 1830' . indianapolis; A Hi torica/ and 
Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City, a Chronicle of its Social, Municipal, Commercial, and 
Manufacturing Progress, with Full Stati tical Tables (Indianapolis : Indianapolis Journal Print 1870) 
p. 239. 
2 Horan Old St. John 's pp. 24-25 . 
29 The lri hand German population in lndjanapolis in 1840 are not known. Based on stati tic 
showing Irish immigration to the United States in 1840 and 1850 and assumjng Indianapolis followed 
the national pattern one can estimate India napoli lri h population in 1840 at 110 and the German's 
around 375. Of these the percentage who were Catholic would be close to the arne among the Irish 
but con iderably le among the Geiman . Immigration tatistic found in Daniel Coming to 
America p. 129. 
30 There i ome di pute a to the exact location of Holy Cros hapel. After looking at early histories 
of Indianapolis that give it location as Lot 5 in Out-lot 147 "ju t across West Street in the Donation ' 
16 
reflected a mix of Irish and Gennan surnan1es: Douglas O 'Reilly, Valentine Butsch, 
a "Mr. Beck," Andrew Cramer, Ja1nes Winchell, and Thomas K. Barret. 31 It is also 
probable that Joseph Laux, Michael Shea and John O 'C01mor were prominent 
n1embers of Holy Cross. Mass had been held in the homes of these 1nen prior to the 
building of the chapel.32 The baptisms of Francis Oreilly son of Douglas and Ann 
and Marc Car, son of Marc and Mary (godfather John Car) were recorded for Holy 
Cross in 1839 and 1840, in addition to the death of "John O 'Neal, native of Ireland' 
and the marriage of John Conner and Sarah Hinsley (Michael Shea, witness) .33 
Holy Cross soon became a place where Irish in1n1igrants could gather for not 
only religious worship, but for social interaction and political networking.34 At a 
time when foreigners faced prejudice and discrin1ination, this sn1all Catholic parish 
offered a safe environment for Irish and Germans to celebrate their shared faith. In 
essence, then, Holy Cross, later renan1ed St. John the Evangelist, was also 
Indianapolis ' s first national parish- one created for and intended to serve the Irish 
and German con1munities. 
Although the first pastor of St. John's , Father Bacquelin, was a native of 
France, three of the next four priests were of Irish descent. Father John McDem1ott, 
native of County Rosecommon, Ireland, was only at St. John's for four n1onths 
following Father Bacquelin's death in 1847. Possibly he served as an interim pastor 
until a permanent one could be found. Father Patrick Joseph R. Murphy, also born in 
Horan concludes it was probably on the north side of the 500 block of West Washington. Old St. 
John 's pp. 25 and 3 J -32. 
31 Horan, Old St. John 's, p. 29. 
32 Ibid ., p. 30; Holloway, Historical Sketch, p. 239. 
33 Horan, Old St. John 's, Ibid. 
34 The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis , s.v. "Irish," by David G. Vanderstel , p. 828. 
17 
Ireland took over St. John sin late 1847 serving a pa tor£ r t n month until th 
middle of 1848. The baptism recorded under hi term £ r St. J lm pari h in lud 
such llish surnames a Fi1m 0 Callaghan McSween y K lly Bradl y nnor 
O'Reilly, O ' Shiel, and McAuly.35 Father Murphy wa ucc eded by Fath r J hn 
Gueguen a Frenchn1an who remained at St. John until 1 53. He wa follow d by 
another Irishmen, Father Daniel Moloney.36 
Under Father Gueguen, Holy Cross expanded rapidly. In order to 
accommodate his parish's growing number of fan1ilies Father Gueguen order d th 
construction of a new church building on Lot 8, square 74 on Georgia Street 
between Illinois and Tennessee Streets and officially changed the pari h nam 
St. John's in 1850. The original trustees charged with the task ofrai ing n1oney for a 
church building were Captain Jason McHugh, Jason V. McKernan Jan1 Renihan 
John O'Hare, T.J. Hamilton D.J. Sullivan and John Hunt- allrnen with di tinctly 
Irish sw·names.37 The move to Georgia Street kept St. John's acce sible to lri h 
families .3 Though the parish was now farther from the canal settl rn nt , it wa till 
close to those Irish comn1unities that had ari en as a result of the National Road and 
Michigan Road construction, and was very accessible to the hundred of people 
traveling through Indianapolis on these streets.39 Father Gueguen took up re idenc 
35 Horan Old St. John 's pp. 45-47. 
36 The fact that Bishop St. Palais (Bi bop of the Dioce e ofVincenne 1 48-187 ) placed three Irish 
prie t at St. John' i intere tin g. Did the Dioce e recognize the need for St. John' predominantly 
Irish pari hioner to be able to' connect with their piritualleader or was the placement of three lr1 b 
prie ts due to the fact that the Catholic Church in America at this time wa dominated by lrishm n? 
37 Michael W. arr A Hi tmy ofCatho/icit and Catholic institutions in Jndianapoli (lndianapoli : 
Carlon & Hollenbeck 1 7) p. 32 . 
38 Marriage r corded Lmder Father Gueguen included the lri b urname a erly Dugan Landers 
Cain Cowan and McSweeney. Horan Old St. John 's p. 73. 
39 G orgia Street is two blocks south of the National Road called Wa hington treet within the 
Indianapolis city limits. Horan Old St. John ' p. 67 . 
18 
n xt door to the new church [in] a mall four-room frame dw lling in which li d 
an Iri h family with a number of children. 0 
AI o during Father Gueguen' tenure the Iri htn n of St. John b gan 
actively participating in local and state politic . On March 2 1 52 th State Journal 
publi bed a resolution wtitten by member of St. John' that oppo ed th i it to 
Indiana of Louis Kossuth, a Hungarian nationali t ad ocating revolution in Hungary. 
The letter's ignatures included the names James P. Ryan Patrick Barret P. Cahill 
M. Fogarty Michael Shea and James Conners.41 
There is little information available on Fathers John McDermott and Patrick 
Joseph Murphy, possibly because they were not at St. John's very long.42 Ther i 
more information available on St. John's third Irish pastor, Father Daniel Moloney a 
native ofTrumery, Queens County Ireland, who served fron1 January of 1853 until 
1857.43 An eloquent speaker and zealous missionary Father Maloney increa ed 
membership at St. John's steadily among the city's Irish, but in the proces 
ostracized Indianapolis's German Catholic comn1unity.44 
During the 1840's, a significant number of German Catholics had al o been 
arriving in Indianapolis. After the failed 1848 revolutions in Germany their 
numbers soared in the Midwest, including Indianapolis becau e of the pro p ct of 
free land.45 Many began attending mass at St. John but because it was 
40 Ibid. p. 57. Later in 186 after the earlier church had been demolished a rectory wa built on the 
arne block ju tea t of St. John' at 126 We t Georgia. 
41 Ibid. p. 63. 
42 Ibid. pp. 45-54. 
43 The d ath ntri for St. John under Father Moloney are fi lled with Iri h umam : 'Patrick 
ahill nati e of ounty Tipperary 1 53· 'Jame Sulli an nati e of County Kerry- Jame Mary 
Connell · "Thoma Minnehan- "John riffin. Ibid. pp. 7 -79. 
44 Ibid. , p. 72. 
45 Daniel , Coming to America p. 146. 
19 
predominantly lri h the G rman oft n £ It no conn ction to th pari h. In th 
atholic burch unlik mo t Prote tant churche th pati h do n t ha c ntr 
o er the election of it prie t . Pa tor appointn1ent and pri t a ignm nt ar at 
the discretion of the bi hop which creates the potential for t n ion betw en 
parishners and the prie t.46 Such was the case with Father Moloney at St. John 
When he took o er the situation with German n1ember deteriorat d quickly. 
Unlike the pre iou pastors, Father Moloney spoke absolutely no German nor did he 
attempt to understand it. As a result many of the Gern1ans attending St. John 
simply quit going to mas .47 To remedy the situation Father Leonard Brandt a 
native of Germany began offering mass for the German member once a week. Th 
service was held at St. John ' s but at a different time than the regular rna .4 
Attendance among German resutned.49 Shortly thereafter in 1857 Bi hop St. Palai 
approved a plan to start a separate parish specifically for the German i1nn1igrant 
population and named Father Simon Siegtist, a native of Alsace, Gennany as it fir t 
pastor. 50 
The new parish was called St. Mary ' s, and oon became known a the 
Catholic Church for Germans. 51 Located on the comer of East Maryland and 
Delaware treets, about four blocks from St. John's "the parish was a national 
church d ign d to app al to G rman Catholics by conducting service in German 
ometime recalled or rea igned to cburche with greater need . 
47 Pari h lndianapoli Indiana bookle t June 1979 p. 2 . 
II Ma r a id in Latin. Father Brandt d li ered the homily and cripture reading 
in G rman. 
49 t. Mary pp. 1-2 . 
50 Ibid. p. 2. I ace wa part of France until 1 70 when it v a reunited itb Germany . E en a part 
of France th region had a trong German pre ence. 
51 t. Mary was origina l! ca lled Immaculate Conception. Horan Old St. John p . 74. 
20 
and retaining Old World Traditions. ' 52 Indianapolis now had two Catholic parishe 
each serving a different ethnic con1munity. 
Father Moloney was reassigned in 1857 to Lafayette, possibly as a result of 
his inability to n1aintain relationships with his Gern1an parishioners or, more likely 
because he declined Bishop St. Palais ' s order to build a parish school. 53 With the 
succession of their next pastor, however, the Irish Catholic population in 
Indianapolis would soon enter a period of enonnous growth. Father August 
Bessonies, a Frenchman, was appointed on November 5, 1857, and served as pastor 
of St. John ' s for nearly thirty-five years. 54 
The Irish Catholic community that e1nerged between 1830 and 1860 in 
Indianapolis had at its roots the young men who had come for the construction of the 
Central Canal, the National Road, and the railways, and who unlike most of their 
fellow laborers, had chosen to stay in the city. They formed St. John's parish to 
celebrate their Catholic faith, thereby laying the foundation upon which the Irish 
Catholics of Indianapolis, over the next three decades, would build a strong 
community. An integral part of that succe s was the exceptional religious and lay 
leadership that the Irish Catholics experienced at the local and diocesan levels. 
52 Horan , Old St. John 's, pp. 74-75; "St. Mary 's" p. 2. 
53 Horan , Old St. John ' , p. 80. It is unclear why Father Moloney ignored the bishop 's request to 
build a school. Horan speculates that funds were very low and, as Father Moloney was already in his 
fifties , perhaps he did not have the energy to undertake such an enormous project. 
54 Ibid. 
21 
Chapter 2 
Religious and Lay L ader hip 
In nineteenth-century America church hierarchy re ulted in Catholic ha ing 
a four-tiered systen1 of leadership. At the top wa the pope followed by th dioc an 
bishop. The local parish priests came next, with the fourth tier of leader hip being 
the religious men and women who taught at parish school . The Irish of Indianapoli 
were no exception to this Catholic leadership n1odel. Like Irish Catholics in other 
cities, they lived according to Catholic doctrine and followed the direction of their 
religious leaders. Between 1860 and 1890, papal rulings the bishop of Vine nne 
parish priests, and religious teachers guided this small ethnic community spiritually 
and, along with their lay counterparts, also influenced the Indianapolis Iri h 
politically and socially. 
It is essential to explore the relationship between Irish-American Catholic 
and the Catholic Church before one can truly understand the sub tantial power 
Catholic hierarchy held over their parishioners. First and foremo t "to be Iri h wa 
to be Catholic," particularly in the second half of the nineteenth century when the 
Irish constituted 1.6 million of the 2.2 million members of the American Catholic 
Church. 1 burch hierarchy reflected a similar makeup with thirty-five of the ninety-
ix bi hops in 1886 being Irish.2 Irish-American did not separate their ethnicity 
fron1 their faith, and neither did American Protestants· the two facets were intricately 
1 Jo eph P. 0 Grady Ho..,... the Jri h Became Americans. (New York: Twayne PubJi hers 1973) pp. 
109-1 j 0. 
2 Ibid . The Germans made up the second largest group of bishop with fifteen. · 
22 
wo en together so as to be one in the arne. atholic doctrin a th lli h way of 
life and that reality tran cended the Atlantic Ocean from Ir land to Unit d tat . 
From saying n1ealtime prayers to attending parochial chool th atholic burch 
was ever-present in the lives of lrish-Ame1ican . A church lead r 
particularly the parish priests, held significant power over the lri h in Indianap li . 
Fro1n a religious standpoint, theologians would argue that the n1o t 
significant leader among Roman Catholics is the pope and to a certain extent that i 
true . Catholics believe that the pope is the direct link between then1 elve and God 
and that he has the final say in all spiritual and political i sues. He decide which 
path the Church will take, be it conservative or liberal· appoints bi hops archbi hop 
and cardinals· and interprets Church doctrine as it relates to the modern world. In 
reality, however, and especially in the United States the pope i merely a symbolic 
leader whon1 most Catholics only dream of meeting at some point in th ir live . He 
seen1s to have little to do with the day-to-day activities of the average lay Catholic. 
A brief synopsis of papal rule and its effect on the Catholic Church in United Stat 
between the years 1860 and 1890 is sufficient to establish the context in which 
Indianapolis ' s Irish-Americans and their parish priests operated. 
During this tin1e period, the world saw two popes: Piu IX led the atholic 
burch from 1846-1878 and Leo XIII from 1878-1903.3 Pope Pius IX spent much 
of hi pontificate focu ing on political issues as Catholicism was coming under 
attack in many European countries. He is ren1embered as a conservative pope who 
publicly condemned such ideologies as socialisn1, communism and naturalism and 
who establi hed the Immaculate Conception of Mary (1854) and papal infallibility 
3 The Catholic En y lopedia, Volume Xll (Online Edition K. Knight 2003) s.v .. "The Li t of Pope . 
23 
(1870) a Catholic dogn1a. He establi h d n1or than thirty-five dioce e in th 
United States during his t nure including th Dioce e of ort Wayne in I 57. Thi 
act wa in direct respon e to the enormou growth of the Catholic population in 
Indiana which warranted two diocese .4 
Pope Leo XIII was elected in 1878 upon the death of Pope Pius IX. Hi main 
contribution to the Church in the United States was providing papal backing to both 
the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884 and the founding of the Catholic 
University of America in 1892. Like Pius IX Leo XIII had more pre ing European 
political issues to contend with, and for the most part stayed out of Church affair in 
the United States. He was a fierce anti-socialist and a strong supporter of religiou 
orders.5 
With both Pius IX and Leo XIII focusing their attention on European i u 
the governance of the Church in America was left to their deputies. Most lay 
Catholics had little knowledge or concern about the affairs of the Vatican and were 
much more influenced by their bishops and parish priests. Bishops in particular were 
important because they served as liaisons between the Vatican and local religiou 
leadership. 
During the pontificates of Pius IX and Leo XIII, two bishops served the 
Dioce e ofVincenne which included Indianapolis: The Right Rev. Jacques 
Maurice de St. Palais served as the diocese ' s fourth bishop from 1848 to 1878 and 
4 The Catholi Enc clopedia, Vo lume Xll (OnJjne Edjbon K. Knjght, 2003) .v. 'Pope Pius IX " by 
Michael Ott. 
5 The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX (Online Edition , K. Knight 2003) .v. "Pope Leo Xlll ' by 
U. Benigni. 
24 
the Right Rev. Franci Sila Chatard from 1 7 to 191 . Both n1 n w r influential 
in the live of the Irish in Indianapoli . 
Bishop St. Palais was born in La Sa1vetat ranee on No mber 15 1 11. 
Though his family was quite wealthy the young St. Palai ga e up an a y life of 
luxury to follow a zealous missionary prie t by the name of Simon Gabriel Brute 
who later becan1e the first Bishop ofVincennes.6 After graduating from the 
seminary at St. Sulpice, France St. Palais moved to Indiana to begin serving under 
Bishop Brute and ministering to Catholics throughout the tate. Upon the d ath of 
the third Bishop of Vincennes the Right Rev. John Stephen Bazin in April of 184 
St. Palais, who was already serving as the Diocese Admini trator wa rai ed to 
bishop.7 
He in1mediately set upon the task of establishing orphanages for the children 
of Indiana, a pursuit that became his passion and earned him the nickname 'Father 
Bishop."8 There are numerous pastorals and letters from the bishop asking pari hes 
to keep the orphans in their prayers and contribute to th special collection held 
annually for the orphan asylums. In a circular to dioce e's pastor , dated Decen1ber 
8, 1873, Bishop St. Palais wrote: "These dear children have to be taught, to be 
clothed, to be fed, and you may easily imagine without being told, how n1uch it must 
co t to ke p uch institutions. Do then r mind the Faithful committed to your 
charge, of their duty in that regard."9 Father Augu te Bessonies of St. John's Church 
in Indianapolis described Bishop St. Palais as a man who sacrificed much to build 
6 Catholi ]', legraph ( incinnati) July 5 1 77. 
7 A Yl (Box 2 folder 5), Un iversity of Notre Dame Archi e . 
8 Catholic Telegraph July 5 1877. 
9 St. Palai Paper (Box A-3 folder 11), Archdioce e of Indianapolis Archives. 
25 
' two Orphan A ylum second to none in theW t which will b Ia ting m nutn nt 
of hi lov for the fatherle . . . . 10 
St. Palais al o worked hard to increa e the numb r of pri ervinb th 
Dioce e of Vincenne . 11 His 'principal work wa a an organiz r and in thi h wa 
greatly skilled ." 12 Indeed for at the time of hi death in 187 Bi h p St. Palai had 
not only increased the number of priests in Indiana from 35 to 117 but h had al o 
established St. Meinrad Seminary in the southern part of the tate for the training of 
Catholic priests and brought numerous religious orders to Indiana including th 
Franciscan Fathers the Ursuline Sisters and the Sisters of St. Franci . He wa al o 
responsible for bringing the Brothers of Sacred Heart, the Si ter of Good Sh ph rd 
the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul to 
Indianapolis. 13 During his tenure, the number of Catholic in Indiana increa d o 
drastically, that a second diocese was created in 1857 to better serve th northern part 
of the state. Once the Diocese of Fort Wayne had been established Pope Piu IX 
offered the archiepiscopal ee in Toulouse France to Bishop St. Palai in 
recognition of his accomplishments. He declined and continued on a bi hop of the 
Diocese of Vincennes until his death on June 28, 1877. 14 
10 Pri ate Lett r no date. AUD (Box 2 folder 13) University of otre Dame Archi e . 
11 Catholic Telegraph July 5 1 77. 
12 i bid. 
13 The atholi Encyclopedia, Volume VJJ (Online Edition K. Knight 2003) .v. 'lndianapoli by 
Thoma F. Meehan; Humbert P. Pagani 200 Year ofCatholici min indiana,· An Authenti Hi t01y of 
the Dioce e oflndianapoli Former/ the Dioce e of Vincennes. (lndianapoli :Humber P. Pagani 
1 934) p.26. Palai also helped the Brothers of the Sacred Heart organized a novitiate in lndianapoli 
to train teachers. In 1 70, the chool contained twenty students and three preceptor . William 
Robe on Holloway Jndianapoli : A Hi torical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad ity, a 
hronic/e of it ocial, Municipal, Commercial, and Manufacturing Progre , with Full Stali tical 
Tab/ (Indianapolis: lndianapoli Journal Print 1870), p. 1 2. 
14 N w York Freeman' Journal January 24 1874 PCLR (Box 7 folder 17) Uni er ity of otre 
Dame Archive · William Frederick Stineman Catholic Clergy in indiana: A ecrology of Those 
26 
In addition to his support for religious orders Bishop St. Palais felt 
passionately about Catholic schools. In a pastoral letter dated February 2 1872 he 
preached the evils of public schools and the importance of endowing children with a 
Catholic education: 
We object to those schools because the teaching of religion is 
excluded from them, and such exclusion will inevitably produce 
religious indifference, if not infidelity ... . We therefore entreat you 
dearly beloved Brethren, to think seriously of the duty incumbent on 
you to raise your children in the fear and love of God and to send 
them to schools in which the science of religion is taught, for religion 
is the highest branch of education, and the only one essential to attain 
the end for which we were created. 15 
Bishop St. Palais recognized, however, that many Catholics in the Diocese of 
Vincennes did not have access to parochial schools; either their parish could not 
afford to build and operate a school or the family lived too far away to make 
attendance practical on a daily basis. In a personal letter to priests in Indiana dated 
October 8, 1873, he amended his previous staten1ent by saying "if children live three 
to four tniles from their church, I would not object to their going to a school in their 
neighborhood if it is properly conducted .... " 16 It is unclear as to what the Bishop 
meant by "properly conducted;" perhaps he was refening to a Protestant school 
where at least some form of Christianity was taught. He certainly would not have 
approved of Catholics attending "Common Schools," precursors of today ' s public 
schools. Clearly Bishop St. Palais felt strongly that Catholics should work hard to 
build parish schools and make them available to all children in the church. He 
Who Served in the Archdiocese of indianapolis, Formerly the Diocese of Vincennes. (Indianapolis: 
Saint John the Evangelist Church 1992). 
15 CA VI (Box 3, folder 4), University of Notre Dame Archives; St. Palais Papers (Box A-1 , folder 8), 
Archdiocese of Indianapolis Archives. 
16 St. Palais Papers (Box A-3 , Folder 11), Archdiocese of Indianapolis Archives. · 
27 
became a staunch upporter of th ofPro id nc 
who provided teacher at little or no co t to many f th ath lie cho l in Indiana 
including Indianapolis. 
In it obituary the Catholic Telegraph de crib d ath r Bi hop a a 
"pioneer missionary who sowed the eed of faith amid unt ld labor and acrific 1n 
the wild trackless prairies of the west ... meek and humbl and adon1ed with th 
shining virtues of the episcopacy." He "was loved by Prate tant a w 11 a idoliz d 
by Catholics .... ' 17 He made great strides in Catholic education and mini try and 
worked tirelessly for Indiana's orphans. For the Irish Catholic in Indianapoli 
Bishop St. Palais s leadership role was no doubt ignificant: the community open d 
its first Catholic schools under St. Palais and benefited fron1 the increa e in prie t 
serving Indianapolis Catholics. But because Bishop St. Palais resided in Vine nne 
Indiana about 130 miles southwest of Indianapolis, hen ver achieved the arne 1 vel 
of influence on the Iri h Catholic of Indianapoli a hi uccessor. 
In the spring of 1878, Francis Silas Chatard wa appointed the fifth bi hop of 
the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana. Unhke his predece or how ver hatard 
established his residence in Indianapoli as it had becom one of the large t citie In 
the state and was more centrally located in the Dioce e. 1 Hi an-ivai lat r that 
ummer prompted a huge celebration among Indianapolis Catholics and city and 
tate officials including Mayor John Caven and Governor James D. Williams. 19 
Pron1ptly at 4 o clock the several Catholic societies assembled at 
the comer of Delaware and Maryland treet , and formed in 
17 Catholic Telegraph July 5 1 77. 
18 Chatard officially tran ferred the see to lndianapoli in 1 9 and changed the name to the Dioce e 
of Indianapolis. 
19 Western Citizen ovember 9, 187 . 
28 
paocession [sic] . . . the Irish oc1et1e in the fir t and th Gennan 
ocieties in the second divi ion. Between the two di i ion w r 
Bishop Chatard and other clergyn1 n in can·iag . The proce ion 
was nearly a mile in length and made a fine app arance. The 
sidewalks on the line of the march were den ely crowded with 
spectators. The procession halted on Tenne ee treet in front of th 
cathedral. The crowd here numbered not less that 4 000.-0 
Following the parade, Bishop Chatard aid High Mass at St. John affording th 
Irish in attendance their first contact with the new bishop: 
The sermon was delivered in an earnest manner which 
completely won the hearts of his hearers. Bishops Chatard's voice 
was scarcely strong enough to be heard by the vast crowd but it i full 
of sweetness and well modulated. His jestures [sic] are perfect 
pictures of graceful motion. His personal appearance would 
command respect everywhere. 21 
This first impression foreshadowed the kind of relationship Cbatard would 
have with the Irish of Indianapolis. His intelligence and regal appearance in pir d 
awe but his sense of entitlement and somewhat arrogant attitude prevented 1110 t 
Irish Catholics from connecting with Chatard on a personal level. He wa an 
academic frmn a wealthy farnily who spent the years prior to becon1ing bi hop 
interacting with the medical and religious elite, while the majority of Iri h atholic 
in Indianapolis were blue-collar workers with little or no education ju t trying to 
keep food on their tables. Nevertheless, Chatard cho e St. John's a hi home and 
thus could not help but become a leader a1nong the Iri h con1munity in Indianapolis. 
Francis Silas Marean Chatard was born on December 13, 1834 in Baltimore, 
Maryland to Ferdinand E. Chatard and Eliza Anne Marean. Both his father and 
grandfather were prominent physicians, and in 1853 Chatard decided to pursue 
medicine a well. After receiving his M.D. from the Univer ity of Maryland 
20 Ibid. Augu t 24 1878. 
21 Ibid. 
29 
hatard b gan practicing in the Balti1nore area oft n pro iding m dical car for the 
poor and hotnele at th city helt r . After only two y ar how r an1id t th 
ri e of the Know- othing party and n·ong anti- atholic ntiment thr ubhout th 
United State hatard felt a calling toward the prie thood. 
He left Baltimore and entered the Urban College of the Propaganda in Rome 
in 1857 where he studied theology and philosophy. He wa ordain don June 14 
1862 and awarded a doctorate of divinity in 1863. Shortly thereaft r hatard began 
working at the North American College in Rome first as vice-rector from 1 63 to 
1868 and then as rector from 1868 until 1878. In addition to working vigorou ly a 
a fundrai er at the American College Chatard also erved a papal chamberlain to 
Pius IX and witnessed firsthand the Vatican Council of 1870? 2 
During his twenty years abroad, Chatard ren1ained acutely aware of political 
developments in the United States. As papal chamberlain he alone was in charge of 
organizing all vi itations Pope Pius IX granted American visitors. Con equ ntly 
Chatard wa able to n1eet many state officials and dignitarie including Generals 
Uly es S. Gant, George Sherman, and Phillip Sheridan in addition to American 
1. . 1 d 23 re 1g10u ea ers. 
In 1878, Chatard left Rome on a fund-raising tour for the American oll g 
and u ed hi conn ctions in the State to obtain sufficient financial support to retire 
the college d bt and to e tablish an endowment. Upon his return in May of that 
year he learned of hi appointment to the Bishopric of Vincennes and immediately 
made preparation to move to Indiana. 
22 Dictionmy of Ameri an Biograph; 195 ed. .v. 'Chatard Sila Francis · The Catholic 
Enc; clopedia lndianapoli . 
23 Dictionary of American Biography. 
30 
Almost a year had passed ince Bishop St. Palais had died during which time 
Irish Catholics in Indianapolis peculated on who would be the next bi hop of 
Vincennes: 
Extraordinary interest has been manifested from the beginning as 
who would succeed the late worthy Bishop of Vincennes .... Many 
candidates have been rumored as probable successors. Though one 
only could become the bishop of the prosperous and promising 
diocese, the selection for that very reason would appear to indicate a 
man of some ability as the future bishop.24 
Chatard was not mentioned in the article as a possible candidate, probably 
because he had been living in Rome for many years and was unknown to n1ost lay 
Catholics in Indiana, and initially, when news arrived of his appointment the 
Indianapolis Catholics seetned disappointed: "The person chosen was not Father 
Bessonies [the pastor at St. John's Catholic Church and the interim diocesan 
adn1inistrator ], the one who would have been the unanimous choice of the Catholics 
of this diocese had their wishes been consulted in the matter. ... "25 Nevertheless, 
the article goes on to state that Chatard ' will doubtless be acceptable as he is a tnan 
of eminent attainments as a scholar, and of high repute in the church." 
Over the summer, word of Chatard 's attributes and accomplishments reached 
Indianapolis, smoothing over any "ruffled feathers" that had arisen over the 
appointment of an outsider as bishop. Chatard set the tone by issuing his first 
Pastoral Letter even before he left Rome, emphasizing the importance of Catholic 
education and evangelizing to non-Catholics: 
How is the faith to be preserved for them, save by Catholic 
education? If you wish your children to be truly Catholic you must 
24 We tern Citizen, March 9 187 . 
25 Ibid .; "History of the Diocese," Diocese of Evansville website www.evansville­
diocese.org/chancellor/history.htm 
31 
neglect nothing that may guard th m again t th p tifl r u pirit of 
unbelief and the contagion of bad xampl uch b in 0 th a 
Dearly Beloved we have in con qu nee a two-fold duty: a duty f 
pre erving the faith for our el e and tho und r ur char0 and a 
duty of preading thi faith among tho wh ar ut id th unity f 
the Church. 26 
Heal o warned against inter-faith maniage ecret oc1 tie Sunday acti iti and 
'ex cur ion at night ' and "prohibit[ ed] ball and dancing partie of any kind for 
church purpo e or for any need atholic societie ha e. 27 Bi hop hatard nded 
his letter with a discussion of the relationship between Church hierarchy and 
Catholic laity etnpha izing his belief that' the authoritie ... of the hurch ar tho e 
who command and the laity are to obey." His me age to atholic in Indiana 
tneant that he detnanded respect and obedience. 
Following his anival in Indianapolis and the large celebration that welcon1 d 
hitn Bi hop Chatard took up residence at St. John's Catholic Church where he 
would remain until his death in 1918. Unlike the bi hops before him who had lived 
in Vincenne , Chatard immediately became a prominent figure in Indianapoli and a 
common ight at Irish gatherings. 
As a bishop, Chatard affected many aspects of Catholic life. From the 
schoolyard to alter from tithing to dancing, Chatard made certain that Catholic m 
the Diocese ofVincenne and particularly tho e in lndianapoli walk d a straight 
line. H wa adamant about hi flock following the tenets of Pope Leo XIII 
particularly with regard to maniage and education. He trictly enforced the ban on 
marriages out ide of the church and trongly discouraged inter-faith marriage 
26 Rt. R v. Fran i Si la hatard D.D. "FiJ t Pastoral Letter 1 7 . Reprinted in The atholic 
Regi fer A Yl (Box 3 folder 4 item 7) Unjver ity ofNotr Dame Archives. 
27 Ibid. 
32 
aying that both would lead to a decline in faith. In addition to mandating that all 
Catholic children in the Diocese of Vincenn att nd atholic hool hatard 
himself chose the textbook to be u ed in tho e chool .2 Heal or c gniz d th 
Catholic Church s need for money and drawing on hi experi nee in Rom 
organized numerous special collections throughout the dioce e for orphan r tir d 
clergy, and the construction of church building and parish chool . In a pa toral 
letter dated December 18, 1886 Chatard reminded Catholics of their tithing 
responsibilities, encouraging parishioners to rent pews and make donation during 
special collections. "This aid must be given Dearly Beloved Brethren not a alm 
not as a donation, but as a duty .... " 29 Chatard even required pari h ptie t tor port 
to the Diocese those heads of families who refused this obligation.30 
In another circular sent to various organizations in Indianapoli dated 
February 8, 1879, he warned against social gatherings: "Certain partie connected 
with the Catholic Societies of this city are devising means of evading the prohibition 
.. . by having balls or dancing partie under an a sutned nan1e or as private 
entertainment. ... " Chatard argued that these events were both di obedient and 
disrespectful toward himself and the Catholic Church. 31 
As for the Irish in the diocese Chatard seemed to have a p cial affinity for 
them and not ju t becaus hi maternal grandmother was lrish.32 In a letter to the 
clergy and laity of the diocese dated November 27 1879, he asked all parishes to 
28 Memo from hatard to Rev. Denis 0 Donaghue. PCLR (Box 5 fo lder 14) Univer ity ofNotre 
Dam Archi es. 
29 CA VI (Box 3 fold r 4 item 14) Univer ity of Notre Dame Archives. 
30 hatard Paper (Box A-4 folder 26) Archdioce e of Indianapolis Archives. 
31 Chatard Paper (Box A-1 J, folder 17) University ofNotre Dame Archive . 
32 Dictionary of American Biography. 
33 
take up a special collection on December 71h to aid the poor in lr land. T a gr at 
extent they [the Irish] have been the herald of the faith to u h re· ti th y wh 1n 
great part, have built up our churches, chool and charitable in titution · th y bar 
with us alike the happiness of our faith and the tiial of our religion. -' hatard 
clearly recognized the contributions of the Irish to the American Catholic hurch. 
Throughout his time as bishop of Vincennes Chatard wa an ever-pre ent 
ever-watchful force that kept the hish community in Indianapolis at a short I a h 
religiously and socially. In a letter to a Mr. F. Farman of lndianapoli hatard 
explained that because Mr. Fannan had tried to divorce his wife and 1narry another 
Catholic won1an, he was returning the $2600 that Mr. Farman had donated to St. 
John's. Chatard chastised the n1an for his open defiance of Church doctrine. 34 In 
another letter to various Catholic organizations in Indianapolis Chatard warned that 
he would consider any society "devising means of evading the prohibition ... by 
having balls or dancing parties under an assumed na1ne or as p1ivate 
entertai1m1ent ... " as both disobedient and disrespectful and in danger of losing 
Church sponsorship.35 Having Bishop Chatard living in lndianapoli brought 
prestige to the city, but it also meant that the Irish Catholics living there had to be 
particularly dutiful in their adherence to Catholic doctrine and its interpretation by 
the re iding bishop. 
33 AUD (Box 7 folder 13) Univer ity ofNotre Dame Archive . 
34 April 23 1 0, Chatard Paper (Box A-12 folder 2), Arcbclioce e of Indianapolis Archive . 
35 February 8, 1879, hatard Papers (A-ll , folder 17) Arcbdioce e oflndianapolis Archives. 
34 
In th late 1 00 Europe b came a hotbed for political oc1 ti that ought 
to undermine the power of the Catholic burch. 6 A a r ult a papal ban wa 
placed on all a-called ecret ocietie ' and Catholic organization wer r quired to 
have a priest present at all meetings and functions. 37 Thi diet allowed hatard to 
become involved with numerous political and social organization in Indianapoli 
serving as a board member or the religious liaison. Though the e a sociation dr w 
hi1n into close personal contact with members of the Iri h community Chatard 
continually expressed his belief that superiors deserved unwave1ing obedienc and 
unconditional respect. In 1901 following the assassination of President McKinl y 
Chatard wrote a letter that spelled out precisely how he felt about tho e who 
dishonored their leaders: 
The Catholics of this country ... will always ren1ember that it i 
the cotnmand of God to obey authority and honor hin1 who exerci e 
it as the representative of God .... The man who defies authority­
till more, the man who raises his hand to smite the duly appointed 
minister of that authority, is guilty of the greatest crime against 
society against the very order established by God him elf.3 
These con1n1ents mirrored the sentiments Chatard had expre sed in hi book 
Christian Truths: Lectures published in 1881. A collection of ermon given at St. 
John's Church and essays written in Ron1e, Christian Truths i a philo ophical 
exa1nination of such topics as faith the sacratnents and the exi tence of God. 
hatard d ote two chapter to a di cu ion of the concept of infallibility as it 
6 The atholic En clop dia "Pope Pius IX" and' Pope Leo Xlll. The mo t pre alent ecr t 
oic ti in Europe during the nineteenth century were the Freema on and the Carbonari. 
37 Letter to dioce e igned hatard dated February 1 79· The atholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV 
( nline Edition K. Knight 2003) .v. 'Secret Societies, by William H.W. Fanning. 
38 Chatard Paper Archdiocese of Indianapolis Archives. 
35 
relate to the pope and his ultimate auth rity in t aching the atholic aith. 9 
Chatard argued that though a pope may in or be a inful p r on h would n r 
and could nev r lie about faith· the pope will alway teach infallibly. 40 In oth r 
word because the pope is God repre entative on Earth and the duly-appointed 
leader of the Catholic Church he will alway teach the truth in theological matter . 
As such Catholics mu t obey the pope s decree without que tion as tho deere 
are the divine truth. This is yet another example of Chatard s extreme under tanding 
of authority and his expectation that all Catholics, both religious and lay would live 
their lives according to their place on the Catholic Church ladder, helping tho 
individuals below them, but more importantly respecting and obeying those on 
higher rungs. These sentiment are not urprising considering Chatard' exp ri nee 
in Europe put him at the heart of Vatican Council's discussions on papal infallibility. 
He, more so than many bishops was con cious of its implications for church 
hierarchy and lay Catholics. 
On January 12 1899 Bishop Chatard suffered a stroke and though initially 
the prognosis was good he never fully recovered.4 1 On February 13, 1900 Pope 
Leo XIII appointed Father Denis O'Donaghue pa tor of St. Patrick's Church 
Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis, to assist Chatard in his official duties. When 
0 Donaghu b came Bi hop of Loui ville in 1910 Rome appointed Father J o eph 
39 Papal infallibility had only recently become dogma during the fir t Vatican Council called by Pope 
Piu IX in 1 69. hatard experience in Europe auld ha e put him at the heart of the di cuss ion 
that n ued thu making him more consciou of it implication for church hierarchy. 
4° Chri tian Truth : Lecture ( ew York: atholic Publications Society 18 1), p. 172. 
41 L tter to clergy igned Deni 0 Donaghue dated February 8 1899· Letter to clergy igned 
"Administrator Dioce e ofYincenne dated August 2 1 99. CSCT (Box 4 folder ) Univer ity of 
otre Dame Archive . 
36 
Chartrand a coadjutor.42 Chatard remained bi hop f Indianapoli until hi death on 
Sept mber 7 191 and wa int rred in th crypt und r th ry cath dral h had 
helped build Saints Peter and Paul Cath dral. Hi r n1ain n w li in the 
Mau oleum Chapel at Calvary Cetnetery on lndianapoli outh id .4 
During his forty years as bishop first of Vincenne then of lndianapoli 
(after the see was officially renamed in 1 98) Chatard contribution to th city of 
Indianapolis were ignificant though typical of the trend among A1nerican bi hop at 
the turn of the century to erect as many churches chool and convent a po ible.44 
Chatard's legacy to Indianapolis includes Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral fourte n 
parishes St. Vincent's Hospital and a Catholic convent. Chatard al o e tabli hed 
Indiana's first diocesan school board and under his tenure witne ed an increa 1n 
the state's number of Catholics by sixty-five percent.45 In the His tor of the Catholic 
Church in Indiana, published the year before his troke, Bi hop Chatard wa 
described as a nineteenth-century Renaissance man: 
A doctor in divinity as well as in medicine; a philosopher and a 
cientist of no mean attainments· a student of human nature and a 
rna ter in sacred science· a fluent speaker a profound thinker a 
linguist of note and a wtiter of elegance and force he combine 
grandeur of soul with superiority of intellect. ... Firmne , force of 
character, great executive ability, rare cultur refinement and charm 
of manner are elements so notable in the per onality of Dr. hatard 
that even those who know him best find it difficult to ay which on i 
42 Di tionar of American Biograph)· tineman atholic Clergy in Indiana. 
43 In 1976 Chatard remain were mo ed to Calvary Cemetery. According to Janet ewland 
i tant Archi i t for the Archdioce e of Indianapoli the mo t likely rea on for the tran fer wa to 
pr ide easier ace for atholic wanting to pay their respect . Th remain of Bi hop harlrand 
hatard ucce or wer also mo ed at thi time. hatard Paper (Box A-4 folder 19). 
44 Marianne Wokeck Ph.D. onver ation with author September 2004. 
45 In 1900 Indiana had approximately 0,000 atholic . By 191 that number had increa ed to 
130 000. DictionGiy of American Biography. 
37 
1nost pron1inent. The fact is each is superlative when occasion 
calls.46 
By all accounts this description is accurate and arguably Chatard was the most 
prolific bishop in Indiana history. And though Chatard was an important leader to 
the Indianapolis Irish comtnunity, his elitism prevented him from being a leader 
among them. The true leaders of the Indianapolis Irish were the parish pastors. 
Parish priests were indeed the most influential of both religious and lay 
leaders among Irish-American comn1unities. In the eyes of Irish Catholics, the 
priesthood was a highly-respected profession. Many Irish tnothers pushed their sons 
and daughters toward the priesthood or a religious order, not only to ensure salvation 
for themselves and their children, but to bring respect and prestige to the fan1ily. 47 
"In that atmosphere, the [Irish] young grew up under the spell of enormous awe of 
the local priest. He had the keys to heaven. That sense of authority canied into 
homes .... "48 The Irish Catholics of Indianapolis were no exception, and 
consequently, the priests who led Sts. John's , Patrick's, Joseph's, and Bridget's 
exerted enormous influence over their parishioners. 
Many priests ministered to the Indianapolis Irish Catholics between the years 
1860 and 1890; St. John ' s alone had over twenty-five.49 Most served as assistants 
for one to five years, and then moved on to other cities within the diocese. Four 
priests, however, served as pastors in Indianapolis for significant lengths of time: 
Father Auguste Bessonies lead St. John's for thirty-four years, Father Denis 
46 Col. Charles Blanchard, History of the Catholic Church in indiana, Volume 1 (Logansport, Indiana: 
A W Bowden & Co. , 1898), p. 108. 
47 O ' Grady, Ho w irish Became, p. 111. 
48 Ibid. 
49 William Frederick Stineman Saint John the Evangelist Church: A Photographic Essay of the 
Oldest Catholic Church in indianapolis and Marion County (Indianapolis: St. John the Evangelist 
Church, 1986), pp. 40-41. 
38 
0 Donaghue was at St. Patrick for over tw nty y ar Fath r Herman J. AI rding 
wa pa tor of St. Jo eph for tw nty- ix year and Fath r Dani urran 
St. Bridget's for thirty-nine year . Unlike Bi hop hatard how r who al o d 
Indianapolis Catholics for a long time the e men tabli bed ery p r onal 
relationships with the n1en1bers of their congregation . When one con id r that 
each of these pastors could have baptized manied and buried 1nany of th ir 
parishioners, it becomes clear how involved they w re in the live of Indianapoli 
Irish Catholics. In addition to tending to the religious need of their congr gation 
these four men also influenced many of the political educational and ocial d ci ion 
Indianapolis's Irish community n1ade in the late nineteenth centuty. 
Much like the parish he led, Father Be sanies played big brother to 
0 'Donaghue, Alerding and Curran. Bo1n in 1815 in Alsace F ranee he was the 
oldest of the pastors by twenty-six years and served as n1entor to both O 'Donaghu 
and Curran at St. John's before they were given their own parishe .50 Be sanies 
seems to have been loved by the Irish of Indianapoli a evidenced by the numerous 
flattering descriptions of him: "an indomitable work r and a great friend ... '· " elf-
denying, lab01ious, and kindly"; "very approachable and friendly to all cla s of 
people. "51 Like Bishop Chatard, Bessonies al o catne from a wealthy family· unlike 
the bi hop however ather Bes onies had a sen e of humility that made him more 
approachable to his pari hioner . 
In The We tern Citizen an Irish-Catholic newspaper published weekly in 
Indianapolis between 1877 and 1882 Father Be onies is frequently m ntioned in 
50 Stineman Catholic Clergy in indiana. 
51 Clippings from unidentifiable newspaper without dates. CA VI (Box 3 folder 6) Uni ersity of 
Notre Dame Archive . 
39 
the 'Around Town" section. On May 5 1877, he was li ted a a judg at the St. 
Joseph ' s Society Debate and on the following week Be onie i noted for pre iding 
over the Daughters of St. Augustine social. In the May 26111 edition of that arne 
year he is mentioned as a participant in the Sentinel En1erald Fifth Annual 
Program for the Daniel O ' Connell branch. A copy of The We tern Citizen dated 
January 19, 1878, shows Father Bessonies as one of the speakers at the Knights of 
Father Matthew ball, and in a March edition, he is listed as the fir t vice-president of 
the St. Patrick's Day Celebration. On October 2, 1880, The Weste1 n Citizen 
published an editorial written by Father Bessonies in which he denounced the 
Reverend George T. Dodds for "proclaiming France as only 10o/o Catholic. ' Clearly 
Bessonies was active in many of the social and political organizations of the lri h 
con11nunity in Indianapolis. By compruison, The Western Citizen rarely mention 
Bishop Chatard, except when he was sick, traveled out of town or administered an 
official duty of the Diocese, like saying High Mass on a feast day.52 
During the Civil War, Father Bessonies volunteered to serve as chaplain to 
soldiers being treated at Indianapolis hospitals and camps, and helped e tablish St. 
John's Church as a recruiting station for the Union Army.53 
Editor Journal: The undersigned has been authorized by Captain 
T.J. Moriarty of the Irish Regitnent to infonn any who wish to enli t 
in his Company to apply to me at St. John ' Catholic School room, 
and I shall have them sworn in and provided for at Camp Morton or 
boarded at a boarding house in the city, until the return of the Captain 
fron1 Louisville, which will be about Thursday or Friday next. Very 
respectfully yours, Maurice Ferriter54 
52 Western Citizen, September 28, l 78; October 19, I 78 · Augu t 27, 1881. 
53 Sister Rose Angela Horan, The Story of Old St. John 's: A Pari h Rooted in indianapolis 
(Indianapolis: Litho Press, Inc. , 1971), p. 98. 
54 Indianapolis Journal, September 24 1 861. 
40 
Enough Irishmen from Indianapoli enlisted to form the 35 111 lri h R giment which 
later combined with 61 1 hish to become the Second lri h' Regiment. -s 
Bessonies's pa ion for the young Catholic community in Indianapoli wa 
evidenced in many ways. He frequently donated his own money to upport orphan 
hospitals and religious orders and even purchased eighteen acres of land near 
Pleasant Run to establish St. John's Cemetery, the city s fir t Catholic graveyard tn 
1862.56 He was also responsible for the construction of the current St. John s 
Cathedral on the corner of Tennessee and Georgia streets in addition to the building 
next store that housed the Sisters of Providence. Most importantly Bessonies was 
instrumental in the founding of Sts. Patrick's Joseph's and Bridget's pari h . 
The pastors at these three churches were just a involved in the lives ofth 
Irish of Indianapolis as Father Bessonies was. Father O'Donaghue and Father 
Curran served as assistants at St. John's before leading their own pari hes, while 
Father Alerding came to St. Joseph's frotn Cambridge City Indiana where he wa 
pastor. 57 Both O'Donaghue and Alerding later became bishops, evidence of not only 
their political connections, but also their exetnplary work within the Catholic 
Church.5 
Hennan Joseph Alerding was born April 13, 1846, in Westfalen Germany, 
but immigrated with hi parents to the United States while still an infant. He grew 
55 The Enc clopedia oflndianapoli s.v. ' Irish by David G. Vander tel p. 828. 
56 Private Letter from hatard to Bes onie , dated December 2 1883. CA Vl (Box 2 folder 9) 
Uni er ity of Notre Dame Archives; La t Will and Te lament ofAugust Francoi Be onies Marion 
ounty ircuit Court (21 May 1902) Chatard Papers (Box A-12 folder 2) Archdioce e of 
Indianapolis Archives. 
57 tineman Photographic p. 41· The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume Vi (Online Edition, K. Knight 
2003) .v. 'Fort Wayne ' by Bonaventure Hammer. 
58 Herman J. Alerding became IV Bishop of fort Wayne in 1900 and Denis O'Donaghue became the 
VI Bi hop of Louisville in 1910. Stineman, Catholic Clergy in indiana. 
41 
up in Newport Kentucky. Ordained in 1868 Alerding was sent fir t to Terr Haute, 
Indiana, where he served a an assistant pastor until 1871 then to Cambridge ity 
where he served as pastor for three year . In 1874 when the Iri h community on 
Indianapolis s northea t side petitioned for a church of their own Bishop St. Palais 
chose Father Alerding to organize the new parish. Alerding was responsible for 
building the church, the school, and the parochial residence. 59 
Denis 0 Donaghue was born on November 20 1848 in Davies County, 
Indiana. After attending St. Meinrad's College and St. Thomas's Seminary in 
Bardstown, Kentucky he studied at the Sulpician Sen1inary in Monh·eal. He was 
ordained on September 6 1874, and was immediately sent to St. Jolm's in 
Indianapolis, to serve as an assistant to Father Bessonies.60 In 1885, O'Donaghue 
was selected to take over St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Indianapolis's southeast 
quadrant. He served as pastor there until 1900 when he was appointed Auxiliary 
Bishop of Indianapolis. 
Daniel Curran was the only Irish1nan of this group, bon1 in Crusheen, County 
Claire, on September 9 1841.61 He immigrated to Seneca Falls, New York with his 
parents in 1849.62 At age twenty-seven Curran entered the St. Thomas Seminary in 
Bardstown, Kentucky, and was ordained at St. John's in Indianapolis in 1874.63 
After spending two year in Greensburg, Indiana, Curran went to St. John's and 
erved under Father Bessonies from 1877 to 1879.64 He was then charged with the 
59 The Catholic Encyclopedia , 'Fort Wayne." 
60 The Catholic En yclopedia "indianapolis;" Stineman, Catholic Clergy in Indiana. 
61 Stineman Catholic lergy in indiana. 
62 John Franci McShane Around Old St. Bridget 's: Leave from the Experiences of Rev. John 
Francis McShane (indianapolis: The Brittine Press, 1931) p. 56. 
63 Obituary, Jndianapoli News, December 17 1918. 
64 Ibid. 
42 
task of organizing a parish for the Iri h on the northw t ide of the city. H wa 
responsible for building St. Bridg t church and chool and rv d a her pa tor 
until failing health forced him to resign in April of 191 . Cunan died later that y ar 
on December 15. 
His assistant of n1any year , Father John Franci McShane de crib d Curran 
as having a "pure, analytical n1ind ... appreciate and in1pressible. Wonderful wa 
the elasticity of his Irish mind." He was "of powerful phy ique blessed with 
exceptionally good health a1nbitions and fired with the zeal of an Apo tolic 
missionary."65 Cunan was also known as a' patriarch" to the African-Ame1ican 
children of the city, for whom he built St. Aru1 s School on the corner of Fayette and 
Pratt Streets.66 
As with Father Bessonies, The Western Citizen frequently mentioned the 
activities of Fathers Alerding, O'Donaghue, and Cunan. Whether speaking at 
political meetings or participating in church socials they were all pron1inent figures 
in Indianapolis's Irish community. O'Donaghue in particular, was extren1ely active, 
as exen1plified by the following excerpts: 
May 19, 1877 "Father O'Donaghue will deliver the address [at the St. 
Augustine Social]" 
May 26, 1877 "Participants in the 51h Annual Programme for the 
Daniel O'Connell Branch include ... Father O'Donaghue." 
October 27 1877 "Emerald Reading Room will open with a free 
program. Rev. Alerding and Rev. D. 0 Donaghue will speak. 
January 19 1878 'Knights of Father Mathew . .. Rev. D. 
O'Donaghue spoke." 
May 25, 1878 "Father O'Donaghue lectured on 'Romance of 
Astronomy'." 
65 McShane Around St. Bridget' p. 56. 
66 Obituary. At the time St. Ann's wa the only Catholic chool for African American in the tate of 
Indiana. 
43 
October 19 1878 "Rt. Rev. Chatard and Rev. D. 0 Donaghue will 
travel to Cincinnati to bless a new church . 
January 1 1881 ' A meeting will be held to di cu the fonnation of a 
Land League in Indianapolis. Rev. s D. 0 Donaghue and H. 
Alerding will be present. ... " 
October 1, 1881 "Father 0 Donaghue is working on a directory for St. 
John ' s" and "Members [of the Irish Catholic Benevolent 
Society] attended mass at St. John ' s and heard a ermon from 
Father O' Donaghue." 
Father Alerding was mentioned almost as frequently appearing in The 
Western Citizen for such things as speaking at the Catholic Total Abstinence Union 
of America national convention, addressing the Daniel O 'Connell Literary Society 
and marrying a couple at St. Joseph 's.67 He was also an active member of the St. 
Joseph's Literary Society, and is often mentioned in that context. A history of St. 
Joseph's Catholic Church has yet to be written, and n1uch of Father Alerding' s 
documented activities did not begin until after he became Bishop of Fort Wayne. He 
was quite the historian, however, having written A History of the Catholic Church in 
the Diocese of Vincennes during his time in Indianapolis. 68 
Father Daniel Curran seetned to be mentioned less frequently than the others 
but on March 17, 1881 , The Western Citizen did ntn an article which highlighted 
some of Father Curran's endearing characteristics: 
Father Curran, the restless, enterprising pastor at St. Bridget' s 
church, in this city, is just completing the handsomest parochial 
school building in the state. . . . His residence, hardly yet finished, is 
a gem of a "snuggery;" and the good Father deserves it and much 
more, for his untiring energy and loving zeal on behalf of his 
congregation .... 
67 Western Citizen May 19, 1877; September 8, 1877; August 24, 1878. 
68 Herman Joseph A1erding A Hi t01y of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes 
(Indianapolis: Carlon & Hollenbeck, 1883). 
44 
All of the priests who served Indianapolis between 1860 and 1 90 af:D ct d 
the lives of the city s Catholics in sotne way but Fathers Be onies Alerding 
O'Donaghue and Cunan held particularly influential rol sa leader an1ong the Iri h 
community. The fact that Father Bessonies celebrated hi 701h birthday in the home 
of a Mrs. McKetnan on North Tennessee Street with about eventy people n1o t 
likely including Alerding, O'Donaghue and CwTan speaks volumes about how 
tightly Indianapolis's Irish embraced their pastors.69 
Another religious leader of considerable influence was Brother Aloysiu a 
member of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart who served as headmaster at St. J olu1 ' 
Boys School from 1869 to 1878. Himself a native of Ireland, Brother Aloysius was 
fluent in Latin, Greek and Irish, and eatned a reputation for being tough but fair. 70 
His ten years service at St. John's put him in a position to impact hundreds of young 
Irish boys in Indianapolis. 
In addition to religious leaders, lay citizens also influenced the Irish Catholics 
of Indianapolis in the late nineteenth century. Unlike the larger cities of New York, 
Boston and Chicago, a "boss" figure did not develop, though several men wer 
undoubtedly regarded as influential among the Irish immigrant co1mnunity. 71 
Joseph Marshall was an Irish architect, land agent, and notary public who served as 
editor of the Irish Catholic newspaper The Western Citizen from 1877 until 1880 and 
69 New Record (Indianapolis), June 1 , 1885. 
70 Brothers of the Sacred Heart, A Century of Service for the Sacred Heart in the United State, 1 47-
J947(1947),p.177. 
71 Western Citizen. The most famous b1dianapolis Irish politician wa Thomas A. Taggart a 
Protestant from Northem Ireland who came to Indianapolis in 1877. He became chairman of the local 
Democratic Party in 1888 then mayor of Indianapolis three times. He built the Indianapoli Grand 
Hotel and French Kick Hotel in outhem Indiana. Later Tagga1·t was appointed to the United State 
Senate. Encyclopedia of indianapolis, "Irish" pp. 829-830; WCTY, "Hoosier History, 1989 
"Indiana's Irish History ' Rick Maultra, nanator and producer. 
45 
pre ident of St. Jo eph' Literary Society. Thoma MeSh hy tart d out a th 
busine s manager of The We tern Citizen and then to k o r a ditor when 
Marshall resigned. He was also th president of Emerald B neficial A ociati n 
81h Lodge. Other men whose names appeared more than one a leader of lri h 
organizations were Ed Burns, president of the St. Jo eph Benevolent Soci ty 
president of the Irish Catholic Societies and both pre id nt and marshal of th 
United Irish Benevolent Society (UIB)· P .H. McNelis a pre ident of the Anci nt 
Order of Hibernians and state delegate of the Emmet Guard · and Jame Renihan 
president of the Celtic Savings & Loan first vice-president of the Leonine Union and 
treasurer of the UIB.72 
Miss Alice May Quinn began her literary career a a local poet with her 
work often being presented in The Western Citizen.73 Starting in October of 1877 
she is listed as a "lecturer" and is noted for traveling to Loui ville. In the Decen1ber 
24th edition of that same year, the paper mentions that Quinn had been elected 
president of the Ladies Land League of Chicago. Shere urfaced in 1884 a co-editor 
of another Indianapolis Irish paper Mac' Iri h Tribune published in 1884 and 
1885. Considering the male-dominated culture of the nineteenth century Quinn 
played a significant role as a leader in the lri h Catholic community in Indianapoli 
Among Indianapolis' Irish Catholics the mo t influential leaders were the 
pari h prie t . Papal rule and canon law provided the policies and procedures that 
shaped the Catholic Church in the United States and Bishop St. Palais applied those 
policie to the ever-growing dioce e of Vincennes. Bishop Chatard became a 
72 We tern Citizen May 12 1 77; October 27 1 77 · June 29 1 7 · Daily Union (lndianapoli ) 
January 13 I 75· Mac ' lri h Tribune (lndianapoli ) June 21 1 4. 
73 Aprill4 1 77· SeptemberS, 1877. 
46 
formidable member of the Indianapolis Catholic community and certainly 
contributed to its successful organization of schools and churches, but it was under 
the strong leadership and personable guidance of Fathers Bessonies, Alerding 
O'Donaghue, and Cunan that the Irish community in Indianapolis flourished. 
Religious and lay leadership also played an integral role in the creation of four 
successful neighborhood parishes and schools and the establishment of numerous 
political, charitable and social organizations. 
47 
Chapter 3 
Parishes and School 
In 1860 Marion County Iri h-born population wa recorded at 1 74 more 
than ttiple the nun1ber in the 1850 cen u .1 Most lived in n1all neighborhood on 
the outh side of Indianapolis in proxin1ity to the National Road canal con truction 
sites or the numerous railways entering the city.2 The majority of Indianapoli 
Irish were Catholic and belonged to St. John's Catholic Church. 
By 1870, however the number of Irish itnn1igrant living in Indianapoli had 
soared to 3,760, thirty-one percent of the city's foreign-born population and aln1o t 
eight percent of the entire population of Indianapolis. 3 This increase wa primarily 
due to the post-Civil War econon1ic boom which brought thou ands of people 
including itntnigrants, to cities throughout the Northern United States and Midwest.4 
In response to this enormous influx of Irish Catholics, the Diocese of Vincennes 
agreed to form several new Catholic parishes in Indianapolis, beginning in 1865 with 
the construction of St. Patrick's, and later creating St. Jo eph 's in 1874 and St. 
Bridget's in 1879. Together with St. John's, these four churches would come to 
sy1nbolize the Irish comtnunity in Indianapolis. 
1 William W. Giffin, "Irish in Peopling indiana: The Ethnic Experience ed . Robert M. Taylor Jr. 
and onnie A. McBirney (Indianapoli : Indiana Hi torical Society 1996) p. 255. 
2 Jame J. Di ita. Ethnic Settlement Pallerns in Jndianapoli (Indianapolis: Marian College 1988) 
p. 11. 
3 Ibid· Frederick Doyle Kershner Jr. "A Social and Cult mal History of Indianapolis 1 60-1914" (Ph. 
D. dissertation University of Wisconsin 1950) p . 54. 
4 It i hard to establi h whether industry or the increase in population occurred first. Kershner argues 
that the hundred of soldi r "stranded" in Indianapolis following the ivil War pushed busine smen 
to increa e their production which in turn led to larger factories and the need for more employees. 
With the abundance of employment opportunitie immigrants and native-bom flooded Indianapolis 
thereby increasing the need for higher production levels. 
48 
Few e ent in an lri h atholic li£ if any occun d ut id f th pari h. 
In addition to providing the Catholic acra1nent of bapti m fir t c mmuni n 
penance confirmation maniage and the anointing of th ick ath li 
acted as ' tribunals which gave deci ion on bu ine differ nc and moral ndu t. 5 
The four Irish pari he also becan1e the center for religiou political and cial 
organizations and they provided the foundation that allow d th lri h t parti ipat 
in An1erican society and pro per in the United States. Th xploration f th 
Catholic parishes offers insight into the Irish community of Indianapoli during th 
late nineteenth century. 
St. John's Catholic Church was the first Catholic pari h in lndianap li and 
after the formation of St. Mary's was almost exclusiv ly Iri h. Of th 1 317 entri 
in the St.John's 1881 directory thefamilynamesthatoccunedmo tfr qu ntlyw re 
Iri h: Sullivan (26 families); Kelly (19)· Murphy Quinn and Ryan (17 ach)· 
Dugan (16); Griffin O'Brien, and Reilly (14 each)· Shea (13)· 0 onnor (12)· 
Donelly (11)· Burns, Connor and Logan (10 each). 6 
Interestingly ju tone year earlier Father Bes oni in hi annual r port t 
the Diocese of Vincennes, e ti1nated there were only 650 fan1ili at St. J hn 
although he did adn1it that, due to the fluctuating population an accurate nun1b r wa 
hard to determine: ' Be ide the [ famili ] ' he wrote ' there are [also] about 150 
boy and girl on th railroad and in different hotels and private families. 7 Father 
Be onie al o may have been including older teenager with their familie when 
5 K r hner ocial Hi tor p. 20. 
6 i ter Ro e Ang Ja Horan Th tor of Old t. John ' :A Pari h Rooted in Jndianapoli 
(Indianapoli : Litho Pre lnc. 1971) p. 154. 
7 batard Paper (Box A-4 folder 24) Archdioce e of Indianapo lis Archive . 
49 
a e ing parish member hip while th directory app ar to ha li t d th m 
eparately if they lived outside the hotne r w r mployed. R 0 ardl 
membership occurred around 1885 when approximat ly three thou and ath lie 
belonged to St. John's. 8 The parish remained the largest and mo t financially 
powerful of the four Irish churches in Indianapolis throughout the late nineteenth 
century.9 
Father Bessonies had seen the potential for growth at St. John and had 
ordered the construction of a new church building to be located at 126 We t 
Georgia. 10 After four years St. John's Cathedral finally was completed and the 
location of the parish officially tnoved. When Bishop Chatard made Indianapoli hi 
home in 1878, the gothic-style cathedral soon becan1e recognized as the unofficial 
cathedral for the Diocese ofVincennes. 11 
Most of St. John's parishioners lived close to the church. Of the 101 treet 
entered in the 1881 directory, thirty-one percent of the familie lived on ju t five: 
West (1 03 fatnilies); Mat-yland (92); Te1messee (85)· Illinois (75); and Mi souri (60). 
More than half (56 percent) of the parish lived on just fifteen streets, including the 
Insane Asylum, which thirty people had listed a their place of residence. 12 The Iri h 
8 William Frederick Stineman Saint John the Evangeli t Church: A Photographic E ay of the Olde t 
atholic Church inlndianapoli and Marion County (lndianapoli : St. John the Evangeli t Church 
19 6) p. 34. 
9 Diocesan report continually li t St. John' has ha ing the bighe t membership and largest 
collection in cornpari on to St. Patrick St. Jo eph' and St. Bridget' . CAVI (Box 2 folder 9) 
Uni ersity of otre Dame Archives; Humbert P. Pagani 200 Year of Catholicism in indiana; An 
Authentic Hi tory of the Dioce e of indianapolis Formerly the Diocese of Vincennes. (Indianapolis: 
Hurnb r P. Pagani 1934) p. 30· W stern Citizen January 1 18 1. 
10 The cathedral was de igned by Iri h architect D.A. Bohlen . Stineman Photographi p. 33. 
11 Jeanne h ehan "Tirneline for Development of the Catholic Church in Indianapolis' 
www.geocities.com. p. 1. 
'-Calculations by author based on "St. John Parish Direct01y 1881 (lndianapoli : Carlon & 
Iollenbeck Printers 1880). 
50 
Catholics who did not h e within a hort walking di tance to St. John ft n became 
the original members of it atellite pari he . 
Indeed St. John evolved into th n1other church for Indianapoli Iri h 
Catholic as she gave birth" to Sts. Patrick Joseph sand Bridg t pari he . 
Soaring membership and the desire to have a church closer to home cau ed t. 
John's mernbers to petition for more Catholic parishe in Indianapoli . And not only 
parishioners came from St. John' , but priests as well. Mo t served as a i tant at 
St. Jolm 's before heading to one of the other churches including Father 
O'Donaghue and Curran long-time pastors at St. Pahick's and St. Bridget 
respectively. Furthermore, religious and social organizations that began at St. John' 
often established additional chapters at Sts. Patrick's, Joseph's and Bridget's and 
because the St. John campus was centrally located to all three of the e Catholic 
parishes, St. John's Hall was frequently used by non-men1bers for club meetings and 
events. 
The need for a church closer to home often inspired members of St. John' to 
form a new parish. St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Indianapolis s third atholic 
Church was established in 1865 and built to serve the Irish community living in the 
city's southeast quadrant. Initially called St. Peter s St. Patrick's opened on 
Woodlawn Av nue with Father Joseph Petit a Frenchman as pastor. 13 Father Petit 
had b en erving under Father Bes onie at St. John's making it probable that he 
already kn~w many of the new church's Irish parishioners. In 1869, Father Petit was 
called to Europe and St. Peter as istant pastor Father Peter R. Fitzpatrick 
13 Max R. Hyman ed. Journal Handbook of Indianapolis: An Outline Hi tor (Indianapolis: 
lndianapoli Journal New pap r o. 1902), p. 116. 
51 
ucceeded him. 14 Under Father Fitzpatrick St. Peter built an w church at 950 
Prospect Street and changed it nan1e to St. Patrick an indication that the pari h 
consisted almost entirely of hish families. 15 
A string of Irish pastors followed Father Fitzpatrick: Father Patrick 
McDennott served as pastor from 1879 until hi death in 1882 and Father Hugh 
O'Neil from 1882 until his retirement in 1885. 16 Father Denis 0 Donaghue on of 
Irish imn1igrants and an established leader among the Irish Catholics at St. John 
served out the remainder of the century at St. Patrick's. 17 
To help manage the growing parish, an assistant pastorship was added in 
1885. Again, Irish priests fulfilled this role: Father Joseph P. Matthews served from 
1885-1887, and Father Willian1 F. Quigley served from 1887-1896. 18 The lay 
leadership of St. Patrick's also included Irishmen, as indicated in the pari h 's 
directories for 1885, 1888, and 1890. The ttustees for all three of these years were 
James Walsh, John Newtnan, Thomas Markey, and John Keating. 19 
By 1885, the parish's boundaries included most of the southeast ide of 
Indianapolis: 
JM &I [Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapoli ] Railroad on 
west as far north as Menill; line extends east on Merrill including 
14 
"St. Patrick's Parish Directory 1885 "(Indianapoli :St. Patrick' Catholic Church 1 5). 
15 
' Fountain Square eighborhood Timeline 1820-1997 ' (Indianapolis: The Polis Center 1997). 
16 Father Fitzpatrick was reas igned in 1879 after a financial di pule with Bishop Chatard. A copy of 
th e 18 2 court ettl ment between Fitzpatrick and Cbatard bows both parties bad sued one another 
over a controversial debt involving lots 87-91 the land adjacent to St. Patrick's Church. The two 
agreed to drop all charges but in a personal letter from Fitzpatrick to a Rev. F. 0 Donaghue dated 
July 5, 1885, Fitzpatrick says some member of hi new parish (in Loogootee Indiana) disliked him 
because of th~ earlier problem with Chatard. Chatard Paper (Box A-4 folder 4). Archdiocese of 
Indianapolis Archives. 
17 
'S t. Patrick's Pari h Directory 1885,' p. 12; Kathleen Van Nuys, Jnd) international (lndianapoli : 
indianapolis Journal, 1978), p. 56. 
18 
"St. Patrick 's Parish Directory 1885 " p. 19. 
19 In I 5, the choir members are also listed: Ester 0 Neill, Kate Moore Daniel Healey Lizzie 
Curley, Mary O 'Neill , and James Murphy. Again, mostly lri h surname . 
52 
outh ide of treet as far a Alaban1a· thence north on Alabama 
including ea t side a far a Pan Handle Railroad which from that 
point ea t i the dividing line between St Patrick and t. Jo ph 
pari he .-0 
To the south St. Patrick's limits included the northside ofMinne ota Str et.2 1 
By 1890 this area had such a high concentration of Iri h people that it wa 
known as 'Irish Hill. "22 Of the 514 fan1ily entries in the 1885 directory ixty- ix 
streets were mentioned. The 1najority of the parishners (57 percent) however liv d 
on just twelve streets, and thirty-four percent on just five: Meek Street later 
Maryland ( 49 families), Bates Street ( 45), Dougherty Street (29) Georgia Street 
(28), and Delaware Street (25). 23 
A survey of the surnames listed in the directory confirms that St. Patrick' 
was almost entirely Irish. The most frequently occurring are Sullivan (17 fao1ilie )· 
O 'Connor (12) ; Cunan (1 0); Shea (9); O'Btien, Griffin, and 0 Neil (7 each); 
Mahoney, Kelly and Murphy (6 each); and Kennedy and Moran (5 each).24 
In 1873, the Diocese of Vincennes established another Catholic church, St. 
1 oseph' s, to serve the Irish community living in the northea t section of Indianapolis. 
The original church structure was located on East Vermont Street, near Liberty, and 
then moved to the southwest corner ofNorth and Noble (now College Avenue) 
streets in 1879.25 Father Herman J. Alerding, assistant at St. John s became pastor 
in 1874 and erved at St. Joseph's for twenty-six years. In 1887 the church's 
20 
"S t. Patrick's' Pari h Directory, 1 5." 
21 
' entennial Book St. Patrick' Church 1 65-1965," (Indianapolis: St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 
1965) p. 10. 
22 Jndianapoli Star March 17 198 . 
23 
alculations by author ba ed on "S t. Patrick Parish Directory, 1 5. ' 
24 Ibid.· One member of the parish was Irishman Timothy Rowland whose poetry often appea1·ed in 
The Western itizen. He wa named St. Bridget 's official poet laureate. 
25 Information beet on St. Jo eph Catholic Chmch Indianapolis, Indiana located at the Archdiocese 
of Indianapolis Archives. 
53 
trustees reflected the lri h make-up of th pari h: W.J. r aney D ni 1 0 Bri n 
Thon1as Cantwell and Willian1 0 onnor.-6 
Although no member hip directory exist for th year in tudy a look at th 
1904 directory reveals a predotninanc of Irish urname : Shea (7 famili )· 
Sullivan Kiley McCarthy O'Connor unan and Wil on (5 ach)· and Riley 
Freaney Fanell Smith Meehan Healey ampb 11 Murphy and 0 Brien ( 4 ach). 
Undoubtedly, St. Joseph's parish had a in1ilar ethnic make-up ju t ten y ar prior to 
this directory. In a copy of the 1887 "Record of St. Joseph ' a bookl t imilar to a 
directory but without a membership roster there i a listing of all of the children 
enrolled in the parish school, along with their addr se . Of the eighty- ix family 
names entered, the majority are hish: 0 Brien ( 4), Cu1minghan1 (2) Griffin (2) 
Meehan (2) MutTay (2), Shea (2) Sullivan (2) Brady Conlin, Cullen Clancy 
Clune, Deery, Donovan Gallagher, Greenen Hemerly Hillard Keefe Kelley 
Kennedy Killilea, Laney, Mack, Ma11oy, McBride McCarthy McGinley, 
McLoughlin, Moran, Murphy, Niland, O'Connell 0 Connor, Phelan, Rafferty, 
Ryan, Sheehan and Wate. 
Most of the families lived on North Pine (12) and Dorman (8) Street a 
pattern reflected in the 1904 directory: Donnan(32 families)· North Pine (31)· 
on1ell (30); North Noble (29)· and Columbia (28). On these five streets lived 
twenty-two percent of the member of St. Jo eph s Parish in 1904. If one includes 
Ashland, Bellefontaine and East Pratt the numb .,r jumps to thirty-two percent.27 
26 
'Record of St. Joseph Church (Indianapolis: arlon & Boll nbeck Printer 1 7) . opy held 
at the Archdioce e of Indianapolis Archi es. 
27 Calculations by author based on "St. Joseph s Pari h Directory 1904' (lndianapoli : Harrington & 
Folgers Printer 1903). The directory Ji ted approximately 677 entries and 95 street . 
54 
Michael W. Carr in The History of Catholicity and atholi In titution in 
India napoli list St. Joseph' n1ember hip in 1 7 at 1300 oul and 260 
households.' 28 
The establishment of Sts. Patrick's and Jo eph h lp d tre1nendou Jy in 
alleviating the pres ure of St. John s to serve all of lndianapoli lri h atholic . 
But in the late 1870's, those immigrants living in the city northwe t quadrant a] o 
felt the need to build a church closer to their homes. They petition d the Dioce e for 
a church of their own and succeeded in obtaining permi ion to tart another Catholic 
parish. Father Daniel Curran, then assistant at St. John' wa assigned pa tor of the 
new parish, soon to be named after St. Bridget of Ireland. He remained ther until 
1918, when failing health forced him to resign. 29 
St. Bridget's was located on the northeast corner of North We t Street (now 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Drive) and St. Clair Street in an area called Jemy 
' Blake's Woods" in the nineteenth century and initially erved about eighty 
fami1ies. 30 The centennial celebration booklet for the church natnes four men in 
charge of St. Bridget's construction, all with Irish sun1ame : Thotnas Niland 
excavation; Michael Hyland, stonework; Michael Higgin bricklayer and Jan1e 
Crane framer. Thomas Saundon and John McGee assisted Father Curran in rai ing 
the money neces ary to begin con truction along with St. Bridget's Trustees 
Michael allaghan Thomas Clark Harry Bullock P. Griffin, B. King and John 
28 indianapolis: arion & Hollenbeck 1887, p. 46. 
29 
'St. Bridget' Pari h Indianapolis Indiana One HLmdred Year : 1 0-19 0" (Indianapo1i : St. 
Bridg t' Pari h 19 0). 
30John Franci McShane Around Old St. Bridget ' : Leave ji·01n the Experiences of Rev. John 
Francis McShane (indianapolis: The Brit tine Press 1931) unpaginated ection of text· Addre 
furnished by Janet Newland Associate Archivist for the Archdioce e of lndianapoli . St. Bridget' 
was closed in 1994 and demolished in 1996 to clear the way for an apartment complex . 
55 
Manning. 31 St. Bridget s corner tone wa laid on June 22 1879 and th church 
opened the following year. 
Much of the information provided in the centennial celebration booklet wa 
obtained from St. Bridget's 1882 parish directory which unfortunately cann t be 
located. Father John McShane's memoirs Around Old St. Bridget' : Leave from. 
the Experiences of Rev. John Francis McShane, however does include a list of the 
original families at St. Bridget's. Some of the surnames mentioned are Callahan 
Kinney, Duffy, Kelly Murphy, O'Brien, O'Mara, McLoughlin, Eagan Quinlan 
Burns Baney Dunne McGee, and Clearly.32 One can assun1e that St. Bridg t 
followed a pattern similar to those of Sts. John's, Patrick's and Joseph's nan1ely a 
concentration of Irish parishners on one of several streets in proximity to the church 
itself: Walnut, St. Clair, North, Elizabeth, Louisa, West, Blackford, Ellen California 
and Camp. 
The unknown author of the centennial booklet also notes that St. Bridget's 
first recorded baptism was that of Ann Donnaghue and the first marriage that of 
' John F. Hallahan and Ellen Davis." Church membership for 1882 is listed a 111 
families and thirty-five widows, and school membership as 130 students.33 In ju t 
three sbott years then, St Bridget's Parish increased its membership by almo t forty 
percent. 
31 McShane, Around St. Bridget's, unpaginated section of text; Carr, History ofCatholicit) p. 56. 
32 Carr, Hi tory of Catholicity p. 61. 
33 
'St. Bridget' Parish. ' Numerous attempt to locate this directory have failed. The Archdioce an 
Archive does not have it nor does SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral the parish that absorbed St. 
Bridget s wh n it closed. lt i possible that the directory existed somewhere in the church itself and 
was de troyed when St. Bridget's was demolished. It is also possible that the directory exi ts in a 
private collection, but since the author of the booklet is unknown and no footnotes are cited the 
directory may never be located. 
56 
Once a Catholic parish completed construction of the church edifice building 
a school became the next priority. Most Irish immigrants understood that education 
was the key to success in America, and that unlike life in their home country wealth 
was not necessarily the basis for success. Even without that belief Catholic 
immigrants soon did not have a choice. In 1880 Bishop Chatard mandated that "all 
Catholic children n1ust attend the parish school and only for grave reasons ... would 
they be petmitted to frequent public schools."34 It was not surprising then that the 
Catholic parishes serving the Irish communities in Indianapolis had nearly all of their 
children enrolled in school. 
Earlier, in his 1878 Pastoral letter, Bishop Chatard had written, "Catholic 
education brings with it a two-fold advantage: while it imbibes the youth with sound 
Catholic doctrine, it also makes good citizens ... a most desirable thing in this 
republic. "35 Six years later, the Third Plenary Council at Baltimore n1andated that 
each parish must establish a school within two years of forming, not only to foster 
the Catholic faith but also to protect the children from "Protestant values. "36 Though 
they shared similar views on the necessity of teaching the Catholic faith , the Council 
and Bishop Chatard differed on what role the parish school should play with regards 
to Protestants. While the Council wished to keep the children separate from 
34 Sister M. Salesia Godecker, A Hi t01 y of Catholic Education in indiana (St. Meinrad IN : The 
Abbey Press, 1926), p. 48. 
35 Ibid. , p. 41. 
36 Joseph M. White An Urban Pilgrimage: A Centennial Hist01y of the Catholic Community of Holy 
Cross, india napoli , 1896-1996 (GAC Shepard Poorman 1997), p. 4. 
57 
everything Protestant and therefore much that was Ame1ican hatard believed it 
was the school ' s duty to create loyal citizens of the United States.37 
The first church-sponsored Catholic School in Indianapoli wa St. John 
Academy which opened on September 5 1859, under the direction of Sister Mary 
Ambrose, and served both Catholic and non-Catholic girls.3 It had five teachers all 
nuns fron1 the Sisters of Providence at St. Mary-of-the-Woods and eighty students 
some Irish, some German and some American.39 By 1870, enrolln1ent had soared to 
325, and the numbers of teachers had doubled to ten.40 In 1874 the school moved to 
135 West Maryland Street, which put it right around the comer from the new St. 
John 's cathedral, located at Georgia and Tennessee Sh·eets.4 1 The following 
advertisement appeared in The Western Citizen during the late summer of 1877: 
The next session of St. John ' s Academy situated on W. 
Maryland St. , opens on Monday, Septen1ber 3. This institution 
affords superior advantages as a boarding school for young ladies. 
While the term for board and tuition are moderate, nothing is spared 
to promote the comfort and advancement of the pupils in attendance. 
For further particulars apply to the SISTER SUPERIOR. 
Thirteen years later, the Academy was still going strong. A scrapbook made 
for Father Bessonies by the girls of St. John's Academy in 1890 shows that 
enrollment hovered just below three hundred girls, almost all of whom had Irish 
37 Chatard him elf was a second-generation immigrant with English, Irish and Santa Domingan 
root . He spent twenty year in Rome and wa known for his penchant for politics and love of 
American democracy. Dictionary of American Biography, 1958 ed. s.v. "Chatard, Silas Francis." 
380n July 7, 1884, The New Record (Indianapolis) reported that prior to St. John's Academy a 
Catholic school ex isted in the frame house on the corner of Georgia and Tennessee. A Miss L. 
Keatings taught thirty students of American, Irish , German and French heritage. The New Record 
also mentions a boys school located in the same building with a layman George Goldsberry as 
schoolmaster. Horan Old St. John 's, pp. 88-89, 350. 
39 Godecker, Catholic Education pp. 88-89. 
40 William Robeson Holloway indianapolis: A Historical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City, 
a Chronicle of its Social, Municipal, Commercial, and Manufacturing Progress, with Full Statistical 
Tables (Indianapolis: Indianapolis Journal Print, 1870) p. 182. 
41 Horan, Old St. John 's, pp. 88-90. 
58 
sumatnes. Some of the graduates that year w re Mary McDonald Ruth Me oy 
Mary Catherwood Mary Crawford and G rtrude 0 Keefe.42 
On October 21 1867 eight year after the start of th Acaden1y St. John 
Boys School opened under the direction of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in a 
three-story building that faced Georgia Street, two blocks from Union Railroad 
Station.43 The first teachers Brothers Cyrinus Austin Fabianus and Martin 
received $300 each per year, paid mostly by Father Bessonies as the pari h wa 
extremely poor.44 Most of St. John's students belonged to the parish and w re fir t-
generation Irish. In their history, the Brothers of Sacred Heart reflected on the 
characteristics of their young Irish pupils and farnilies: 
[They] were ... tough, uncouth, ungainly harum-scarum lads 
from across the tracks, first-generation of Irish ... good-hearted .... 
The patrons of the school were poor. They were day laborers in the 
breweries, rolling mills, railroad shops, and packing houses. Their 
pay was not the munificent wages paid the workers of today, nor were 
there unions to protect the workers' rights. A dollar or seventy-five 
cents was thought to be good remuneration for a ten-hour day. Some 
of the workers were improvident, dissipating their weekly wage in the 
corner saloons, so that many a poor unfortunate mother was 
compelled to see her children half tarved and half-clothed.45 
At its height in 1870, St. John's Boys School held approximately two hundred 
students.46 
In 1879, St. John's opened a second grade school, St. Augustine's for the 
Iri h boys and girls who lived south of the church across the St. Louis & Indianapolis 
Railroad tracks. The parish felt the children would be safer attending a school closer 
42 
"Record of St. John 's Academy: A Souvenir toRt. Rev. Monsignor A. Bessonies," February 22 
1 90. Univer ity of Notre Dame Archives. 
43 Horan Old St. John 's pp. 106-108. 
44 Brothers of the Sacred Heart A Centwy of Service for the Sacred H art in the United States, 1847-
1947 (1947) p.l77. 
45 Ibid., p. 178. 
46 Godecker Catholic Education, pp. 94 and 108. 
59 
to home without the danger of the con tant rail traffic to negotiate. By 1 90 St. 
Augustine's had 101 boys and girls in attendance.47 In 1 6 St. John b gan a 
night school at the Academy, with its' sole object [being] to gi e an opportunity to 
working girls to learn the rudiments of the ordinary tudi .... 4 The chool wa 
free, opened three nights a week and taught reading writing arithmetic and pelling 
in a Catholic setting. The Acaden1y later extended its night school cla e to include 
art and music, and opened up the classes to adults in the parish. A boy high school 
opened in 1906. 
The exact date of the opening of St. Patrick's grade school is uncertain but 
the original church building was converted to a classroom at some point after the 
new church on Prospect was completed in 1870. The boys school had four teachers 
and fifty students while a "Mrs. L.A. Keatings" taught approximately sixty girl .49 
The schools closed temporarily in 1875 due to lack of financial support.50 In 1878 a 
new school building was constructed across from the church on Prospect housing 
both a girls and boys school. 51 The girls were taught by the Sisters of Providence, 
and the boys, initially by Mrs. Keating, and later the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. 52 
As most of St. Patrick's .parishioners were poor, there was no tuition fee, leaving 
47 
"Record of St. John 's Academy." 
48 Godecker Catholic Education p. 156. 
49 Holloway Hi torical Sketch, p. 182. 
50 Ibid .; Brother of the Sacred Heart Centwy of Service p. 184. This woman is perhap the arne 
Mi Keatings who had taught in the little frame house on Georgia and Tennessee prior to St. John 's 
Academy. 
51 Brothers of the Sacred Heart Century of Service p. 184. 
52 
"Centennial Book St. Patrick's Church ' p. 11· Sheehan, "Timeline " p. 2. 
60 
maintenance and building repairs to the parish. 53 By 1885 St. Patrick chool had 
sixty-five boys and 108 girls in attendance. 54 
St. Joseph's school shLiggled in the early years. In the Brothers of the Sacred 
Heart history, Father Alerding is noted for requesting two teachers in 1878 to begin a 
parish school. They sent Brothers Odon and Augustine who were paid $50 each per 
month for teaching approximately eighty students. But after only one year the 
brothers left, either because Alerding could no longer afford them or because they 
refused to teach girls, and the school closed. It is unclear when St. Jo eph 's grade 
school reopened, but by 1887 St. Joseph's had an Academy with seventy-five boys 
and seventy-six girls in attendance. 55 In 1896 the parish added a high school. 56 
There is little information about St. Bridget's School. Father McShane note 
that a Mother Michael of the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, Indiana, approached 
Father Curran and offered to provide teachers from her order to start a school. He 
accepted and deeded two lots next to the church for that purpose. Sisters Mary 
Fidelia, Mary Clara and Mary Catherine arrived sometime in 1880 and by 1882, 
were teaching 130 students.57 
With the exception of St. Patrick's, Indianapolis's Catholic schools charged 
tuition fees, and often families struggled to afford it. Meanwhile, free public 
education was available in the city at this time. The framers of Indiana's constitution 
had called for it in 1816, although public schools did not become popular until 1862, 
just three years after St. John 's Academy for girls opened. By 1895, Indianapolis 
53 Brothers of the Sacred Heart, CenftfiJ of Service, p. 184. 
54 
"St. Patrick's Parish Directory, 1885.' 
55 
"Records of St. Joseph's Church.' 
56 Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Centwy of Service, pp. 184-185. 
57 McShane, Around St. Bridget 's, unpaginated section of text. 
61 
had forty-fi e public grade schools and two public high chool . For the Iri h 
then the decision to send their children to a Catholic . chool wa a choice and on 
that became a source for debate among the Iri h Catholic c mn1unity. On Augu t 
24 1878 shortly after the arrival of Bishop Chatard The We tern Citizen publi h d 
an editorial addressing the most common complaint about Catholic chool : th y 
were too expensive; they required too much prayer tim · and they offered fewer 
acaden1ic courses than public schools. The Western Citizen debated each i ue 
arguing that priests would be more than willing to reduce tuition fees if a fan1ily 
could not afford it; that children could never possibly pray too much· and that public 
chools taught itnpractical courses, like foreign languages that would never be u d. 
The fact that most of Indianapolis's Catholic community cho e to enroll their 
children in their parish school demonstrates how committed these families were to 
educating their children in the Catholic faith. 
In addition to establishing schools, the Irish families of Sts. John's, Patrick 
Joseph's and Bridget's took part in several organizations to fo ter their growing 
ethnic commu:p.ity. Both Sts. John's and Patrick's had Men' and Young Ladie ' 
Sodality clubs, a Cathedral Altar Society, and a Society of the Children ofMary.59 
Furthermore, Sts. John's and Patrick's parishioners and probably Sts. Joseph' and 
Bridget s participated in the inter-pari h Catholic Total Abstinence Society (TAB), 
the Catholic Knight of America, and the Knights of Father Mathew, an Irish 
organization founded in 1851 by Father Mathew, a native Irishman, who toured 
58 The Enc clopedia of indianapolis .v. 'Education by William J. Ree e, pp. 72-79 . 
59 
'St. Patrick ' Parish Directory'; St. John's also had a Boy Solidality. Godecker Catholic 
Education pp. 152-153. 
62 
American citie promoting the t mperanc mo In nt. 60 Oth r popular organization 
that existed in lndianapoli du1ing the lat nin te nth century w re St. Micha 1 
Confraternity for Married Men St. Ann onfraternity of the Sacred Heart for 
Married W01nen the Young Ladies Confraternity of the lirunaculate Cone pti n th 
Holy Angels Society and the Arch-confraterruty for the Relief of the Soul in 
Purgatory.61 
Both the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Relief of the Poor Catholic 
charity foundations that served the poor in Indianapolis were compris d mo tly of 
St. John 's parishioners, but it is probable that the other three Irish pari be al o 
supported these organizations.62 In addition the Ancient Order of Hibernian (AOH) 
flourished in Irish neighborhoods.63 In fact, by 1877, the Indianapoli AOH had 
grown to four lodges. They met in Hibernia Hall located above P.F. Moran tore 
directly across from the State House, around the corner from St. John ' .64 Because 
members had to be Irish Catholic Indianapolis's AOH organizations worked closely 
with their parish priests. Their bylaws even included some of the rules n1andated by 
the Diocese, like prohibibon of Sunday outings and balls during Lent.65 
The AOH sought ·"to pay benefits to me1nbers who were sick or disabled 
pay funeral expenses," and find jobs for its members, but secretly their goal wa to 
60 Horan Old St. John 's p. 61. The Knights of Father Mathew also had an offshoot organization for 
boys called The Boy Brigade. 
61 
"Record of St. Joseph' burch. 
62 Godecker, Catholic Education p. J 55 . 
63 The Ency lopedia oflndianapoli .. "lri h by David G. Vander tel p. 29. 
64 Th We tern Citizen, 1 77. 
65 
'Constitution and By-law of the Ancient Order of Hibernian lndianapoli 1 7 (lndianapoli : 
Thoma K. Barrett 1 7 ), pp. 14 and 20. Chatard Papers (Box A-ll folder 17) Archdiocese of 
Indianapolis Archives. 
63 
promote lri h independence in heland.66 Thi ft n dr w th mint c nflict with 
Bi hop hatard becau e of the ban on cret oc1 ti 67 th AOH 
remained popular among Indianapoli s Iri h. Like mo t lri h in1tnigrant who can1 
to the United States during and after Ireland Great mnine (1 45-1 49) n1any of 
the Indianapolis Irish blmned Great Britain for tb de a tation. They upported 
nationali t organizations that promoted hmne-rule for Ireland ev n if th y defi d 
Catholic policy. 
A sin1ilar movement was the Fenian Brotherhood or Iri h Republican 
Brotherhood, a secret organization founded in the 1850 sin both Ireland and th 
United States that supported an armed rebellion in Ireland.6 The lndianapoli 
chapter was founded in 1859 by Rev. Edward O'Flaherty, but later split into two 
factions , one who followed the principles of the original founder John O'Mahoney 
and the other who supported a "Mr. Roberts. "69 In Indianapolis the 0 'Mahoney 
faction died out in early 1866, and by May of that year the Roberts faction wa 
organizing to participate in the Fenian invasion of Canada. 70 Indianapolis ent 130 
lrishn1en, led by Captain James Haggarty. The n1en traveled to New York to meet 
with other Fenians and launch their invasion frmn Buffalo.71 Though the inva ion 
was unsuccessful, the Indianapolis Irish continued to support home-rule for Ireland. 
The We tern Citizen posted weekly meeting times at Hibernia Hall for the 
66Emma Lou Thornbrough Indiana and the Civil War, 1850-1 0 vol. 3 (Indianapolis: lndiana 
Hi torical Bureau and Indiana listorical Society 1965) p . 553. 
67 Encyclopedia "Irish ,' p. 829. 
68 Encyclopedia of the Irish in America, ed. Glazier Michael (Notre Dame IN: Uni er ity of Notre 
Dame Press 1999), .v. 'Ireland p. 422. 
69 lolloway Historical Sketch p. 2 O· Joseph P. 0 Grady Ho w the irish Be ame American ( ew 
York: Twayne Publishers 1973) p. 40. 
70 Holloway Hi ·torical Sketch, p. 280. 
71 Encyclopedia of Jndianapoli "lrish ' p. 28. 
64 
Indianapoli 0 Flaherty ircle ( o. 144) chapt r of th F nian Br th rh d 
throughout 1877 ele n year aft r the di a trou in a ion. And th ugh th ath lie 
Church in Indianapoh could not publicly upport the Fenian n1o n1 nt a it wa a 
secret society St. John and the other thre pari h upplied th organiza ti n with 
members.72 
Indianapolis also had a chapter of the Emmett Guard a militant Iri h 
nationalist group, and a chapter each of the Emn1ett Guard Band and th Iri h omet 
Band, all-Irish bands that marched in St. Patrick Day Parades and participat d in 
parish dances. 73 In addition to their political and nationali t agenda each of th e 
organizations provided a social forum for parishioners to network and unite with 
other Irish Catholic immigrants in Indianapolis.74 They usually conducted their 
meetings in Hibernia Hall, Greaney Hall (corner of South Street and Delaware) or 
the Emmet Guard Annory (corner of Tennessee and Market streets) but were ju t a 
likely to meet at St. John's Hall or St. Joseph's schoolhouse.75 
Several other Irish organization existed inlndianapoli in the 1870 ' 
including two groups which ought to provide financial aid for lri hmen in both 
An1erica and Ireland. 76 The Indianapolis United Irish Benevolent Soci ty (UIB) wa 
formed on November 24 1870, to assi t healthy Irish imn1igrants between the ag 
of eighteen and fifty. Within five month membership had climbed to 150.77 A 
imilar organization was the Emerald Beneficial A sociation (EBA), with two 
72 Encyclopedia of irish "Ireland ' p. 422. 
73 In 1 7 the two band merged to form the Emerald ornet Band. Western Citizen, January 19 
1 7 . 
74 For example the Ancient Order of Hibernian wa respon ible for organizing the annual St. 
Patrick s Day Parade. Ibid. 
75 The We t rn Citizen, 1 77. 
76 The Western Citizen, l 77. 
77 Holloway Hi torica/ Sketch p. 279. 
65 
branches in the city. They focu ed on rai ing fund t nd back to th p r In 
Ireland. The EBA al o worked forth rganiz tion of fr librarie calling tb 
e tablishment of ... [a] reading-romn in e ry pari h a nece ity of th tin1 and 
"one of the hopes [that] the Emerald trive to realize in th ir organizahon. 7 Lik 
the AOH membership in the EBA and th UIB wa open to lri h atholic only and 
operated under the Diocesan umbrella generally conducting m hng at St. Jolm 
Hall or around the corner at the EBA Hall (sou thea t corner of Pearl and M ridian 
streets).79 
Indeed all of these organizations were affiliated in orne way with at lea t 
one of the four Catholic parishes in Indianapoli . In almo t every i ue of The 
Western Citizen one can find reference to the partner hip between the atholic 
churches and Irish organizations: 
April 14, 1877 "Rev. O'Donovan [pastor at St. Malachi' in 
Brownsburg, Indiana] to lecture at Masonic Hall under St. 
Patrick's TAB Society." 
April 21, 1877 "Irish Band performed for the Sister of Good 
Shepherd." 
May 5, 1877 "Ladie of St. Augustine will give ocial at St. John 
Hall." 
May 12, 1877 'St. Patrick TAB Society will n1eet at St. Jolm 
Hall." And "UIB Society will meet at St. John Hall. 
May 26, 1877 "Sentinel Emeralds will hold 5111 annual programme 
[sic]. ... Participants ... Rev. P.R. Fitzpatrick Rev. Bes onie 
Irish Cornet Band, Father O'Donaghue ... Father Alerding." 
September 8 1 77 Rev. Alerding will speak at Daniel 0 Connell 
Literary Society." 
Augu t 24 1878 ational convention of the Catholic TAB Union of 
America will convene in Indianapolis· High Mass will be said at 
St. John's under Bishop Chatard· Parade will go to Masonic Hall 
to hear Father Alerding. ' 
78
' Emerald Beneficial As ociation" pamphlet hatard Papers ( ox A-ll folder 17) Archdioce e of 
lndianapoli Archives. 
79 We tern Citizen 1 77. 
66 
October 1 1 81 Iri h Catholic Bene alent oci ty comn1enc d it 
13 111 National Conv ntion in Wa hington Hall aft r fir t tt nding 
rna at St. John . 
Be it membership meeting location con tituti n progran1 p ak r b ard 
men1bers, agendas or sponsorship all were influ nc d by th atholic c n1munity in 
which they operated; and certainly the opposite hold tru a well. Indianap li 
Irish Catholic would not have flourished had it not been for the religiou m ti nal 
and financial support and the social educational and political opportunitie that 
these Catholic organizations offered. In fact, the two were o tightly int rw n 
that it is difficult to separate the lives of Indianapolis's Iri h from their pari h 
The people were personally and corporat ly ' the pari h ' harinb 
the life of the parish and connibuting to it piritual1y liturgically 
socially, and financially according to their mean .... The vitality of 
... pmish-life [sic] led to and was nurtured by the development of 
strong active sodalities and societies. Such associations trength n d 
what today would be identified as a 'spitit of comn1unity. 0 
This "spirit of cotnmunity" was further enhanced by the exi tence of St. 
John's Cemetery on the near Southside of Indianapolis. Establi h d in 1 62 by 
Father Bes onies the Catholic cemetery allowed the city ' Irish toea ily obtain a 
Catholic burial for their loved ones and to bury them among friend and fatnily. In 
the older sections of the cemetery it is common to see clusters of family grave 
bearing such Irish surnames as Sullivan, Crahen Cahalane Slattery and Hanahan. 
In fact so many Iri h were buried at St. John's that it locally became known as the 
' Iri h graveyard. ' 2 And though the name was changed to Holy Cross Cemetery in 
80 Horan Old St. John 's p. 105 . 
1 ame obtained from author vi it to Holy ro and t. Jo eph emetery on Augu t 10 2004. 
82 Sheehan 'Timeline " p. 1. German atholic at St. Mary' Parish in lndianapoli e tabli hed their 
own gra eyard named St. Jo eph emetery in 1 70 on fi e acres of the original eighte n that had 
been set aside for St. John ' Cemetery (Horan Old St. John , p . 95). The two were m rged in 1951 
67 
1 91 to honor th fir t Catholic church in Indianapoli it i important t r n1 n1b r 
that St. John en1etery began a a pari h grav yard that ought to r inforc 010 
death the powerful ties between lndianapoli Iri h and their church. 
Politics was one arena where the atholic hurch in Indianapoli did n 
have at least publicly much control over her members although an Iri hn1an ry 
co1mection with Catholicism was frequently the cau e of political turmoil. In local 
politics the Irish Catholic contingent in Indianapolis wa extremely influential and 
at times the source of controversy. On April 14 1877 Indianapolis Iri h atholic 
newspaper The Western Citizen , publi hed the following notice: 
There will be a meeting of all Irish voters of this city on Sunday 
the 22nd in st. , to consider which party will receive the mas of that 
vote at the coming election. The hour and place of meeting will be 
given in this paper on next Saturday. Look out for qualls. 
No incidents appeared to have occurred in relation to this election but on May 3rd of 
the previous year, a large riot took place following a special city councilman 1 ction 
at the Woodburn Sarven Wheel factory , near Pogue's Run and South Illinoi Street. 
Ethnic and political tension between Irish and African Arnerican had been brewing 
in the city ever since the pas~age of the Fifteenth Amendtnent which e entially put 
African Americans in direct con1petition with Irish in1migrants for jobs hou ing and 
respect from the Indianapolis community. 
In 1876 this ten ion worsened when the Republican Indiana Journal 
published a serie of editorials calling the Irish "Hibernian Heifers,' 'Irish Tramps,' 
and ' Romanish Herds " and accusing the Irish of importing" Irish Democratic 
and renamed Holy ros and St. Jo eph mete1y. Today only a mall roadway separates the two o 
that after walking among hundred of lri h grave ite one has only to cro a path to uddenly be 
among grave with all German UI1Jame . 
68 
voter to way the election. The Journal al o in inuat d that th IIi h D mocrat 
li ing in the city 6th ward (the area un unding St. J bn burch) w r 
intimidating African American ot r who traditi nally ot d R publican. 
Approxin1ately one hundred African American fr m Indianapoli 4th ward 
responded by marching into the 61h ward with hickory tick to confront the Iri h. 
After several hour police ended the riot the city wor ton record to that point. 
Several African Americans were wounded and one di d. 
The majority of the city s Irish Catholics like Irish in other citi upport d 
the Detnocratic Party, despite the fact that Indianapoli n1ayors William John 
Wallace (of County Donegal Ireland 1860) John Caven (oflri h d c nt 1 63-
1867 and 1875-18 1) and Daniel Macauley (of Irish descent 1867-1873) w re 
Republicans. 4 Irish Catholics were urged to "vote the Democratic ticket traight 
minus a scratch. "85 This alliance with the Democratic Party wa due in part to th 
Irish rejection of the Republican Party platf01m, which favored temperance and 
opposed labor reform. It was al o due to the fact that the Republican Party had 
strongly supported the abolitioni t movement and continued to pu h for right for 
African Americans. Finally, prior to the en1ergence of the Republican Party near th 
end of the 1850's, the only other major political party in Indiana was the Know-
othing Party who e main goal wa to rid the United States of Catholic 
83 Enc clopedia lri h ' p. 2 · Frederick Doyle Ker hner Jr. A ociaJ and ultural Hi tory of 
lndianapoli I 60-1914 (Ph. D . di rtation Uni er ity ofWi con in 1950) p. 16 . 
84 Thes m n were Prot tant which may explain th ir affi li ation with th R publican party. 
Ker hner o ial His tor pp. J 5-17· Roger Daniel Coming to America: A Hi tory of immigration 
and Ethnicity in American Life ( ew York: Harper ollin Publi her 1990) pp. 144-145. 
85 Ma ' irish Tribune April 5 1 4. 
69 
immigrant . 6 The Iri h in Indianapoli th n had no oth r I gical ch but t id 
with the Den1ocratic Party who w learned i1nmibrant d granting 
civil right to fanner lave . 7 
The continual organization of block oting ugg t that tr ng pob tical 
leader existed among the Irish Catholic con1n1unity fTom 1 60 to 1 90 th ugh n 
one person een1 to have risen to the tatu of bo N verthel a li t d in th 
previous chapter many men, both religiou and lay exerted gr at influ nc o er th 
Irish in Indianapolis and undoubtedly that influence xtended into the p liti al 
sphere.8 
Sts. John's Patrick s Joseph's and Bridget's were more thanju t church 
schools and organizations. They were places where Catholic sacrament wer 
celebrated and spiritual needs were met; wh re opportunities for educational growth 
and social networking were realized· and where Irish Cathohc fron1 around th city 
could discuss concerns and propose solutions. Most importantly the e four pari h 
were places where Indianapolis s Irish could forge a trong sen e of cOJninunity and 
work together to not only surviv , but thrive in America. Without a d ubt t . 
John's Patrick's Joseph ' and Bridget's were the very e enc of Iri h atholic li:fi 
in Indianapolis from 1860 until 1890. Furthennore, the e ucc ful pari h and 
chool became the mean by which Irish Catholics integrated into Ame1ican 
oci ty. 
6 Tyler An binder The Ideology of the Know-Nothing Party,' in Major Probl m in American 
Immigration and Ethnic History, ed. Jon Gjerde (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company J 99 ) pp . 
152-1 53· Democrati Platform (Indianapolis) July 19 1 54. 
7 Only one instance of lndianapoli lri b community upporting U1e Republican Party wa found. 
Thi was in the 1 0 October edition of The Western Citizen when th typically D mocratic paper 
ndor ed the Jam Garfield and the Republican national ticket. 
8 On April 5 18 4 Mac 's irish Tribune listed Jolm olbert, James Higgin and John Haley a 
leaders of the 25' 11 Ward which the pap r coined ' tl1e banner Democratic ward ofth city. 
70 
Chapter 4 
Ethnic Definition and Re-definition 
The early Indianapolis churches succeeded in providing strong religious 
political and social foundations for the Irish Catholic community. Yet after 1920 all 
four parishes rapidly lost membership, and by 1940 were no longer recognized as 
"Irish." 1 How could the Indianapolis Irish community, which thrived between the 
years 1860 and 1890 and which celebrated its religious and cultural heritage vani h 
fron1 the ethnic landscape by 1940? How could the Irish parishes that had worked o 
hard to cultivate cultural traditions, foster ethnic pride, and educate its children in the 
Catholic faith , find themselves closing schools and fighting to keep member ? Part 
of the answer is that the Irish in Indianapolis were able to create a strong sense of 
ethnic awareness, thus enabling them to reach a certain level of econon1ic and 
cultural achievement. Ironically, another part is based on the success of parochial 
education- a value held in high esteem by the Catholic Church and the immigrants. 
The combination of thriving community and Catholic schooling created a nurturing, 
stable environment that made integration into American society a relatively sn1ooth 
and speedy process, and allowed second and third-generation Irish Catholic to enter 
higher socio-economic levels . 
The Irish Catholic ill11lllgrants who settled in Indianapolis created a distinct 
ethnic awareness through the formation of three identities- residential , cultural and 
occupational. Furthermore, each of these identities was shaped to some extent by the 
1The Encyclopedia oflndianapolis, .v. "Irish " by David G. Yanderstel , p. 829. 
71 
fact that th IIi h in1migrant who mad th ir way to lndianapoli w r in fact 
bett r uited financially educabonally and p ychol gically t ucc d in Am rica 
than the Iri h who remained on th ea t coa t. 
Hi torically ethnic n ighborhood w r d m d ntial for th 111 rb nee 
of an thnic identity and the sub equent proce of integration.2 In lndianapoli 
however only one of the neighborhood urrounding th four Iri h church had a 
high enough concenh·ation of Irish to earn an thnic Jab J, Iri h Hill near St. 
Patrick's. The other three neighborhoods had clu ter of lri h familie but al o 
German and African-Atnericans resid nts.3 Ba ed on thi theory then th Iri h wh 
lived around Sts . John's, Joseph's and Bridget would have fail d to d velop a n e 
of ethnicity, and therefore would not have been able to integrate into American 
society. But clearly the Irish in Indianapoli did integrate- St. John Catholic 
Church the mother of the Irish parish s rapidly lo t n1ember hip after 1920 a 
second and third generation Irish moved up the socio-economic ladder and out of the 
city into the suburbs. A in1ilar pattern occutTed at St . Patrick Joseph and 
Bridget's. 
So how did the Irish fom1 an ethnic identity if they did not live in all-Iri h 
neighborhoods? One significant reason wa the exi tence of national churche . 
Getman atholics in lndianapoli had had separate parishes since 1857 when they 
broke away from St. John to establi h St. Mary . Thi meant that Sts . Jolm's 
Patrick Jo eph sand Bridget's were compris d almost entirely of Irish. In 
onzen "Immigrant immigrant eighborhood and EUmic Identity: 1 i torical 
I ue ' The Journal of Ameri an Hi tor Vol. 66 o. 3 (Decemb r 1979) pp. 604-605 . 
3 Jame J. Divita Ethnic ettlement Pattern in Jndianapoli (lndianapoli : Marian ollege 19 ) 
pp. J 1 13-14. 
72 
e ence the lri h in Indianapoli w r abl to de 1 p a r id ntial id ntity ba d n t 
on their neighborhood but on th pari he to which th y b long d. Th Iri h 
affiliation with th e pari h wa an in1portant fact r in th fan lri h 
ethnic identity in Indianapoli . Though their hom w r on th am tr t a 
German and African American they celebrated th ir faith ducat d th ir hildr n 
and practiced their politic among fellow Irish. 
Another way in which the Iri h created a n of ethnic awar n wa 
through the development of a cultural identity ba ed on a con1mon hi tory. M t f 
the Irish imn1igrants who lived in Indianapolis between 1 60 and 1 90 c n1e fr m 
the southern and we ten1 counties of Ireland prin1arily counti K IT)' Galway and 
Donegal.4 Transcription on tomb tones that record birthplaces at Holy ro and t. 
Joseph's Cen1etery confi1m thi . They also reveal that tnany other can1e fr m 
counties Mayo and Tipperary. The e area were predominately rural and atholic 
and were devastated by the Great Potato Famine from 1845-1849.5 The n1ajority of 
the Irish who settled in lndianapoli after the internal in1proven1ent proj ct f the 
1830' and 1840 ' then were poor and Catholic, and urvivor of th fan1ine. 
A common belief in Catholicism brought Indianapolis Iri h t g ther and th 
low socio-economic status of the city's Irish limited th ir choice of neighborho d 
and occupations. But having lived through and survived the Irish Potato Famine and 
the ubsequent Atlantic cro ing was almo t a trong a bond and certainly 
contributed to the formation of a distinct ethnic awarene among the lri h in 
4 W TY Hoosi r Hi tory 19 9 Indiana lri h History " Rick Maultra narrator and producer. 
5 Arnold Schrier ireland and the American Emigration, 1 50-1900 (Milll1eapoli : Uni er ity of 
Minnesota Pre 195 ) p. 37. 
73 
Indianapoli . A bri f ummary of th am1n h w r 1 e ential b £ r on can 
truly under tand how it affected Iri h immigrant . 
From 1845 to the early 1 50 a potato bli 0 ht d tr y d th n1ain tay f m 
Iri h families resulting in rna tar ation throughout Ireland. Mor than half a 
n1illion Irish were left homele unabl to pay th rent to landlord and pow rful 
fa1mers. Over one n1i1lion lri h died fron1 ta1 ation or di a e r ducing th ntir 
population of Ireland by one-fourth and d a tating the cotti r cia to a p int f 
near-extinction.6 Many Irish and American believ d the Engli h Parliam nt fail d 
to respond adequately to the crisi fu ling ho tiliti b tween Iri h atholic and 
Prate tant (both English and Irish) landlord .7 But a K rby Mill r argue ther 
were underlying conditions in Ireland that tnagnified th affect of the famine: Th 
potato blight was unavoidable but the Great Famine was largely are ult of Ireland 
colonial status and grossly inequitable ocial y te1n. R gardle the Iri h who 
urvived the Famine felt as if they had no other choice but to leave for the United 
States or anada, for staying in Ireland would lead only to further poverty and 
oppres 1011. 
It was the feeling of de peration that mad the Irish exodu in the mid-
nineteenth century so unique. Unlike oth r Europ an immigrants, who believed 
America to be the land of milk and honey ' and who made the decision to come to 
6 Enc clopedia of the Jri h in Ameri a ed. Glazier Michael olre Dame I Uni er ity of otre 
Dame Pre s 1999) . . Ireland p. 420. 
7 Daniel Coming to America pg. 134. 
8 Kerby A. Miller Emigrant and E ile : Ireland and the Jri h Exodus to orth Ameri a (Oxford: 
Uni er ity of Oxford Pre s 19 5) p. 2 6. A common mi cone ption is that Prote tant landlord did 
nothing to aid Iri h pea ant during the amine. While many did e ict tarving familie without any 
kind of compen ation some landlord paid for pa ag to orth merica or th European mainland to 
help familie e cape. 0 er 50 000 lri h CaU1olic were able to migrate becau e of Prote tant 
landowner . Kerby Miller and Paul Wagner Out of ireland: The t01 y of irish Emigration to 
America (Wa hington D.C. : Elliott & Clark PubJi hing J 994) p. 2 . 
74 
the United Stat In earch of a bett r way of li£ m t Famin lri h b li d that 
their immigration to the United Stat wa a fon11 f In lunt r xil · th t th 
were being pu hed out by 'force b yond indi idual c ntr particularly by Briti h 
and landlord oppres ion. '9 Famine lri h held wak for family n1 n1b r pr paring 
to emigrate because they equated going to America with d ath. 10 With thi mind 
Irish immigrants were far more likely than their Europ an count rpart to fl 1 
alienated home ick and nationali tic· and therefor far more lik ly t fail in th 1r 
attempts to find financial and social success in An1erica. Thi exil mind twa 
so powerful among Famine lri h that it prevented n1any of thetn fr m r 
acculturating to the American way of life more so than any other itnn1igrant group in 
h · h II t e ntneteent century. 
The Famine Irish who settled in lndianapoli then had 1nuch in c n1n1on 
having survived starvation, disea e and the Atlantic cro ing. Additionally and 
what made them different from other Famine lri h in the United tat th y bared 
the desire and the financial means to leave the ea tern eaboard and make th 
joun1ey westward. Indianapolis i in fact about even hundred 1nile from N w 
York City and 950 miles fron1 Boston, the two major port citi wh r thou and of 
Irish immigrants entered the Untied States. Mo t lri h who in1migrat d aft r th 
Great amine could not afford to leave these cities because the Atlantic passage had 
co t most if not all of their savings. 12 By the time they arrived in the United States 
they did not have enough money to buy a train tick t to the Midwe t let alone 
9 Miller Emigrant and Exile p. 556. 
10 Miller Out of ireland p. 6. 
11 Miller Emigrant and Exiles pp. 3- . 
12 Roger Daniels Coming to America: A History of immigration and Ethnicity in Am rican Life (New 
Y rk: Harper ollin Publisher 1990) pp. 137-139; "Hoo ier Hi tory.' 
75 
enough to e tabli h a hou ehold and purcha e land th re. Many w r t ick r 
di heartened by the treacherou Atlantic cro ing to face a journey inland. 1., Fa1nin 
Irish al o tended to be ' afraid of the wide open pace of Am 1ica fam1 b It· th y 
found conditions in the ghetto's of America great citie mor conduci to th ir 
needs. 14 
Indianapolis did not have an hish ghetto yet thou and of Famine Iri h 
ettled in Indianapolis in the 1850 s. They had the financial mean to continue th 1r 
journey westward once they anived in America and did not feel then ed to tabli h 
exclusively-Irish neighborhoods. Irish families in Indianapoli e tabli h d h 111 
throughout the city, and often lived on the same streets as German il11Inigrant nd 
other ethnic groups. 15 The tene1nent housing systen1 so pro1ninent in the a t coa t 
cities did not develop in Indianapolis nor did a true' Irish ghetto.' Granted th 
"Irish Hill" community sun·ounding St. Patrick's Catholic Church wa 
predominantly Irish and poor, but most fatnilies could afford their own hon1e and 
find steady, gainful employment. 16 
The absence of an Irish ghetto indicates that the average Iri h iminibrant who 
settled in Indianapolis wa relatively better off financially than the Iri h immigrant 
who had to stay in New York Boston and Philadelphia. They did not n d to follow 
the path of employment on construction sites and were able to settle in Indianapoli 
and establish families. Indianapolis's Irish were also probably better educated and 
13 Miller Emigrant and Exile , p. 316. 
14 Jo eph P. O ' Grady How the Irish Became American ( ew York: Twayne Publi her 1973) 
p. 3 . 
15 Divita EthnicS ttlement Patterns pp. 11 13-14. 
16 Based on addre es provided in 'St. John Pari h Directory 'St. Patrick s Pari h Directory 
1 5 ' and ' St. Jo eph s Pari h Directory 1904.' 
76 
they were certainly more ad enturou . They gave up the r lati e ecurity and 
cultural b nefit of living among fellow Iri h in tabli bed ea t-coa t ncla e to 
settle in a city that only a fl w decade earlier had b n con ider d th fronti r. 
In this respect the Indianapolis Famine Irish were more like pre- amin 
Iri h, who "had willingly con1e to America mo t with an education and mon y. 
They were able to move up in social class and become predominant people in the 
community." 17 And with more money and education the Iri h who settled in 
Indianapolis had less reason to feel homesick discriminated against, or alienated 
thereby eliminating the need for an Irish ghetto. Put differently they xperienc d a 
certain degree of success that made the American way of hfe acceptable. 
Nevertheless in comparison to the native-born population and oth r 
im1nigrant groups in Indianapolis, the Irish were, on a whole a poor lot. Wage 111 
all labor industries fell drastically during the 1870's a a nationwide d pression took 
hold and by 1880, they were still only $1.25 per day, about half of what it had been 
during the five years immediately following the Civil War. 1 Only 17.7 percent of 
Irish workers in Indianapolis owned real property less than half that of German and 
about ten percent less than the average for all workers living in Indianapoli 1n 
1860. 19 Yet when the post-war boom ended and the country entered into a 
depre ion in 1 75 the Irish Catholic immigrants of Indianapolis seemed to have 
uffered le than other socio-economic groups particularly the native-born 
population. The harde t hit industries were banking and real estate areas in which 
17 O'Grady How Jri h Became p. 39. 
18 Frederick Doyle Ker hn r Jr. 'A ocial and ultural Hi tory oflndianapoli 1 60-19l4 (Ph. D. 
di rtation Un i er ity of Wi con in 1950) p. 1 2. 
19 Carl Abbott "1ndianapoli in the 1 50 : Popular Economic Thought and Urban Growth" indiana 
Magazine of HistOIJ' , Vol. 74 No. 3 (197 ) pp. 293-315. 
77 
the lri h eldom entured. And in 1 76 to off t the high un mploym nt rat In 
Indianapolis the city ub idiz d th c n truction of th B lt Railr ad th Uni n 
Stock Yards employing hundr d of laborer .20 It i probable that 1nany of tho 
laborers were Irish. 
Members of Indianapolis lri h community then bared a common hi tory 
and i1nmigration experience. Mo t were survivor of the Great Fan1ine fron1 the 
southwestern counties of Ireland who had the financial mean and education to lea 
the American eastern po1i cities and travel we t. A discus ed in hapter Thr 
most took part in numerous Irish nationali t n1ovements and aid organization . 
Finally, they chose Indianapolis as the city to build their homes practic their faith 
and raise their families. This shared ense of history and nationali m a w 11 a th 
knowledge of a shared future , forn1ed a rich cultural identity that contributed to a 
distinct sense of Irish ethnicity in Indianapolis. 
Finally, Irish immigrant in Indianapolis forged an occupational id ntity to 
create a sense of ethnic awarene . Between 1860 and 1890 the city' Iri h worked 
in a wide variety of jobs, in addition to the industries that usually employed Iri h 
immigrants- factory work and dotne tic service. 21 Many Irishn1en were in fact If-
employed and advertised their service in The We tern Citizen: William J. reaney 
was a plumber at 80 Massachu etts Avenue· C.O. Criffm operated a liquor store at 
189 East Washington; C. H. 0 Brien owned a tobacco shop at 29 South Illinois· and 
J.W. Reilly sold millinery good (laces feathers) at 63 North Illinois. The 
McSheehy brothers editors of The We tern Citizen opened a ticket agency 
2° Kershner, Social 11i t01y p. 77. 
21 Daniel , Coming to America p. 137. 
78 
on1etime in 187 elling tran -Atlantic t mnboat pa ag and tran -c ntin ntal 
railway pa age. 2 The Iri h n w paper w r fill d with d rti 
Iri hn1en like these who owned and operat d th ir own bu in ( App ndix 17 . 
The 1857 city directory for Indianapoli how many oth r typ of mploym nt for 
resident with Irish surnames including bricklayer black mith 
dealer carpenter gunsmith, merchant cabin t maker brak tnan huck ter hoe 
maker and paper carrier.23 
Factory work however continued to be the 1no t popular form of 
employn1ent an1ong the Irish imtnigrants living in Indianapoli . Following the il 
War, Indianapolis's econon1y skyrocketed, as factori r placed tnalllocal hop 
and the introduction of the streetcar tnade traveling throughout th city a y and 
cheap.24 For the Itish, many of whom were unskilled laborers employment becan1e 
readily available in these facto1ies. Hundreds worked a day labor rs and hog layer 
at Kingan Meat Con1pany (Maryland Street near the White River) owned and 
operated by the Kingan family of Ulster. Irish immigrant al o worked at Sheet 
paper mill (Market and West streets), Southside Flouring Mill (Madi on Avenue 
and Ray Street) and the Woodburn Sarven Wheel Cotnpany (Illinoi and South 
Street).25 The National Starch and Chemical Company (South of Morri Stre t along 
the White River) and Her hey Candy e1nployed hundred of Irish men and women in 
22 Western itizen Augu t 24 1 78. 
23 
'A. . Howard Directory for the City of lndjanapo!is: Containing a orrect Li t of Citjzen s 
ame Their Re idence and Place ofBusjoe · with a Hi torjca l Sketch oflndianapoli from it 
arlie t Hi tory to the Present Day (lndianapoli : A. C. Howard publi her 1857); Mac lri h 
Tribune June 21 I 84. 
24 Ker hner, ocial Hi t01y pp. 67 and 71. 
25 Enc clopedia of Jndianapoli .. 'National Starch and Chemjcal ompany' by Bill B ck and 
' Woodburn Sarven Wheel ompany by Leigh Darbee; Ran om Place Arch ology Field School 2001 
w bsjte: www.iupui.edu/-anthpm/f: 2001.hbnl; WCTY "Hoo ier Hi tory.' · 
79 
their factorie a did another lri h-own d company lune Mattr ( 1402 uth 
M ridian). ntra] tate H pi tal n1ploy d lri h worn n a and 
housekeeper and wealthy lndianapoli famjli oft n hir d lri h girl a d 1n ti 
servants. 26 
Irishmen al o worked a firefighter though n t to th an1e xt nt a in th 
larger cities of New York Bo ton and Chicago wh r lri hm n b can1 yn nym u 
with fire and police departn1ent .27 A 11 ting of Indianapoli firefight r in 1 93 
include the Iri h umames Ca idy, Quinn Merrick Healy Keating 0 Bryan 
Cochran Monaghan Brennan Shea, O'Hara Delan y Ryan Sulli an and Neal 
approximately twelve percent of the entire department.2 Unlike the nnan 
community that had been operating a company call d The Invincible me 1 54 
Indianapolis's Irish did not have an all-Irish unit. 29 Irishmen al o work d with th 
Indianapolis Locomotive Fire Unit, whose meeting and financial record from 1 76 
reveal several n1ember with Irish surnames (Ryan Healy Laughlin Me inty 
O ' Connell, and Elliot).30 Lik the fire department however Iri h repr ented only a 
small percentage of the force, at ixteen percent.31 
The Irish Catholic immigrant who settled in Indianapoli th n found 
employment in many different fields. Consider Daniel O'Leary for xan1ple. Born 
in Ireland 0 Leary had immigrated to the United States in 1863 having survived the 
26 Enc clopedia of indianapoli lri h p. 30· Kathleen Van uy indy international (lndianapoli : 
indianapoli Journal 197 ) p. 55· W TY 'Hoosier Hi tory. 
27 Daniels Coming to America p. 142. Police Department record could not be located but 
pr umably th y would refl ct a imilar pattern a the fire department: a mall percentag of the men 
were of Iri h anc try. 
2
sHi IOI'J ofth indianapoli Fire Departm nl (lndianapoli : Baker-Randolph Lith and Eng. o. 
1 93) pp. J 13-117. alculation by author ba don a total of 123 firemen. 
29 Ibid. p. 44. 
30 Brotherhood of Loc motive Fire Unit Eureka Lodge 14 M eting Record 1 76. 
31 Calculation by auth r ba ed on a total of thirty- even members. 
80 
Famine as a child. After aniving in ew Y rk ity 0 L ary tra 1 d fir t to 
Boston then decided to con1e to Indianapoli in January of 1 64. H w rk d a 
bartender for a while and then head d to Illinoi for a job on the railroad. By the 
end of 1864 O'Leary was back in Indianapoli and found work with M r hant 
Union Express Company. In 1874 he was appoint d to the Indianapoli P lie 
Force and two years later established a groc ry bu ine on Hill Avenu . 2 
So although factory work and dome tic ervice were popular it wa not 
uncommon for an Irishman to own and operate a sn1all busine s elling uch it m 
as shoes, groceries, liquor and hats or providing trade ervic s like plumbing and 
n1asonry. In essence, Irishmen in Indianapolis uccessfully e tablished their own 
commercial sphere, which allowed them to cater to sp cific needs and want within 
the Irish community and created a di tinct occupational identity. Thi identity in 
tum, contributed to a group sense of Irish ethnicity. Furthe1more the variety of 
employment is another indication that the Irish who came to Indianapoli were bett r 
prepared financially and educationally than Irish on the east coa t to nter the 
An1erican workforce and succeed in their pursuit of n1aking a living in th Unit d 
States. 
As outlined above, the Irish imn1igrant community of Indianapoli created a 
distinct ethnic awarenes in three ways: they established a residential identity based 
on their neighborhood parishes they formed a cultural identity through a con1mon 
hi tory and immigration experience and finally, they shaped an occupational identity 
32 Manufacturing and Mercantile Resource of Jndianapoli , indiana; A Review of it Manufacturing, 
Mercantile, and General Bu ines interest , Advantag ous Location, & C; To which is Added a 
Historical and Statistical Sketch of lt Rise and Progre (lndianapoli : Hi tori cal & tati tical 
Publi hing Co. 1883) p. 556. 
81 
around an Iri h commercial phere. This sense of ethnicity con1bined with teady 
employment throughout the period allowed Indianapoli lri h to thri in th lat 
nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century however the Iri h arguably 
ceased to be a distinct ethnic group in the city. How thi could happen to an ethnic 
community who clearly had been flourishing? How could the four Irish pari he , 
which practiced and promoted Catholicism and fostered and celebrated Iri h cultur 
allow the demise of Irish ethnicity? The answer lies in the parish schools who e 
primary purpose was, as Bishop Chatard had stated in 1878 to acculturate th 
in1migrant children. 
The schools ofSts. John's, Patrick's, Joseph's and Bridget's succeed din 
this purpose through three simple measures: they offered a similar curTiculum to that 
taught in Indianapolis public schools; they enforced English as the language of 
instruction; and they promoted American patriotism. And though the pari h 
members and students were Irish, most teachers were not. All of the e factors 
combined to create circumstances that transformed Irish immigrant children in 
Indianapolis into American citizens who could then marry acros religiou and ethnic 
lines, move to the suburbs, and forget most traces of their Irish heritage. 
Characteristic of Irish-American churches in the second half of the nineteenth 
century, Sts. John Patrick's, Joseph's and Bridget's "promoted American 
patriotism, bourgeois values and upward mobility among its adherents."33 
As previously mentioned, the first Catholic school in Indianapolis was St. 
John's Academy, opened in 1859. Father Augustus Bessonies hired five nuns from 
the Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to teach the mostly Irish 
33 Miller Emigrants and Exiles, p. 332. 
82 
girl . 4 Th Si ter were not lri h how r but Fr ncb and n w to Am ric 
them el e having i1nmigrated to Indiana in 1 40. One tab 1 i h d th y b g n 
opening chool ba ed on the French Acad my and Fr School y t m and 
mploying the teaching technique of Jean-Bapti te de la Sail a noted r nch 
Catholic educator in the early 1700 .36 Although the i ter did contribut to th 
promotion of Catholicism by utilizing atholic-friendly textbook they w r not 
concerned with defining or maintaining ethnic awar ne or identity. 7 In fact the 
Si ters of Providence organized St. John around the strong belief that th 
'traditions and ideals brought from Europe mu t reinforce it largely in th r alm f 
character and religious training, but the education in its main outline mu t b fitt d 
for American girls in an American environm nt. "3 Their goal it e m wa to 
educate the girls in American ways and to e entially tran form the Iri h immigrant 
into American citizens. And by educating and 'Americanizing' Irish girl the 
Sisters were preparing the future generation of Catholic mother . 
Why would the Irish of St. John's allow French nuns and brother to educat 
their children? Why not find native Irish to teach at the chools? The an w r i 
simple: there were not enough Irish teachers. Although Iri h priests don1inated the 
34 The BroU1ers of Sacred leart who taught at St. John Boy Sch ol wer al from Franc . Si t r 
Ro Angela Horan The Story of Old St. John ' :A Pari h Rooted in Jndianapoli (Indianapolis: 
Litho Pre Inc. 1971) p. 106. 
35 ister Eug nia Logan, A Hi tor of the Si ter of Providence of St. Mmy -ofthe-Wood , Volume JJ 
(Ten· haut 1 : Moore-Langen Printing Co. 197 ) pp. 1-3. 
36 i ter Mary Borromeo Brown. Hi t01y of the Si ter of Providence of St. Ma1 y -oj-the-Wood 
Volume 1. ( ew York: Benzinger Brott Inc. 1949) pp. 156-161. DeJa Salle was canonized in 1900 
by Pop Leo XIJI and is often re£ rred to a "St. de la Salle. He is the patron aint of hri tian 
teacher . The atholic En clopedia, Vol. Vlll (Online Edition K. Knight 2003) .v. t. John 
Bapti t de la aile by Brother on tantiu . 
7 1n the 1 00 the textbook u ed in public and pri ate school were often anti- atholic. In 1 33 
th Baltimore ouncil appointed a committee to uper i e the pr paration of textbook pecifically 
£ r atholic chool . Brown Sisters of Providence, Vol. I p. 157. 
3 Ibid ., p. 15 . 
83 
hierarchy of th a tho lie burch in th Unit d tat D w nt r d th r ligiou 
teaching order . 9 Finding atholic t ach r wa a difficult n ugh ta k 1 tal n 
trying to find one with an lri h h ritage. In fact th nly atholic fl mal r ligi u 
teaching ord r clo e to Indianapoli in th 1 50 wa 
When Father Be sonie opened St. John Acad my h wa not cone n1 d with 
is ues of ethnicity· he needed individual who could teach the a tho lie faith at 
affordable rates. Nun and Brother were the only one who m t th crit ria. Thi 
is why 1no t of the early Catholic pari he en1ployed th Si ter of Pro id nc th 
Sisters of Old nburg and the Brother of the Sacr d H art at th ir chool without 
regard to the ethnic heritage of tho e t ach r . In any ca e the teacher thnic 
identity mattered little because the goal was to run chool ba don in1ilar 
pedagogy and in a fashion that guaranteed accreditation according to American 
standards. 
Early records of class schedule are lo t but ba ed on Jean-Bapti t de la 
Salle 's recommended daily routine and St. John s 1912 eighth grad cour li ting 
one can surmi e that the Si ters taught reading writing p lling grammar 
mathematics, and of course, religion.40 At orne point hi tory geography languag 
(German, French), drawing, painting, sewing cience and mu ic cour including 
guitar violin and banjo were added to the curriculun1.4 1 With the exception of 
9 0 Grady Ho w Jri h B ame p. 112. 
40 Brown Si ters of Providence, Vol. 1 p . 161. De Ia Salle recommend daily routine wa a follow : 
" am daily Ma followed by Lhe reading Je son · 9:50 spelling followed by djctation· 10:15 prayer· 
1:15 pm r view and recitation of morning le on followed by arithmetic· 2:45 writing· 4 catechism. 
Ibid. 
4 1 t. John ' A cad my Grad 1912-1913 our e Li tin0 furni h d by Si ter Marie Esth r 
ivert en Archi A si tant Si t r of Pro idence t. Mary-of-the-Wood ( pril 2000)· 'Record of 
t. John Academy: A Sou enir toRt. Rev. Mon ignor A. Be om s February 22 1 90. 
UniversHy ofNotr Dame Archives. 
84 
religion the children at St. John recei ed almo t identical in truction to tho e in 
Indianapolis public schools.42 There is no mention of any cla s on Iri h hi tory or 
culture although it is interesting to note that most of the nineteenth-century hi tory 
textbooks found in Irish school did emphasize the role Irishman play d in th 
American Revolution and other events.43 In an attempt to control both content and 
cost, Bishop Chatard himself chose the textbooks for the Catholic schools in the 
Diocese of Vincennes, most of which were published by Catholic printing hou e .4 
It is also probable that crucifixes and statues of Mary and other saint found th ir 
. h 1 45 ways tnto t e c assroom. 
Records show that at some Catholic schools, children celebrated Colun1bu 
Day by "gathering around the US flag in the schoolyard and listening to a patriotic 
(US) address."46 They also probably hung An1erican flags in their clas roon1s and 
recited the Pledge of Allegiance in Engli h following Morning Prayer.47 For St. 
John's then , and most likely Sts. Patrick's, Joseph ' s and Bridget' s although the 
Catholic religion was a big part of school life, Irish ethnicity and culture were not 
singled out or reinforced. 
This trend toward Americanization in the Catholic schools was being 
countered by an anti-Americanization movement in the Catholic Church. Some of 
the Irish among the Catholic hierarchy argued against the establishment of separate 
foreign language churches, like the German-speaking St. Mary ' s in Indianapolis 
42 Brown Sisters of Providence, Vol. 1, p. 157. 
43 James J. Divita, Ph.D. Marian College lndianapoli , Indiana. Letter to author April24, 2000. 
44 Catholic Telegraph August 2 , 1 79. PCLR (Box 5, folder 14), University ofNotre Dame 
Archives. 
45 Brown Si ter of Providence, Vol. 1, p. 161. 
46 lbid. 
47 Photos from Sacred Heart Parish 's (the second German parish in Indianapolis) 25-year anniversary 
celebration in 1900 show American flags decorating the church. Divita letter April 2000. 
85 
aying it further i alated atholic fron1 n1ain tr am Am rica. ti -b rn 
Protestant already felt threat n d by th ath lie faith· imn1igrant wh did n 
peak Engli h and practiced Catholici m only fu 1 d th ir nationali tic t nd n i 
Conservative Irish prelates howev r enjoy d th pow r th y h ld in th m ncan 
Church and fought against anything that threat n d th tatu quo including 
Americanization.4 Pope Leo XIII eventually ided with th con rvati wh nh 
issued an Apostolic Letter called Te tem Benevolentiae in 1 99. He argued that th 
fight for the Americanization of the Catholic Church threaten d th unity of th 
global Church, and therefore would not be condon d or tol rated by the Vatican. 9 
This battle over Americanization had ignificant implication for the Iri h 
Catholics in Indianapolis. Although the Dioce e of Vincenn had two con rvati 
leaders in Bishops St. Palais and Chatard their action ironically ped up the 
integration process rather than hinder it. Both bi hop w r staunch supporters of 
Catholic education, which encouraged acculturation to Atnetican way and valu 
among the Irish. Furthennore both bishops approved of di tinctly thnic church to 
serve Indianapolis' communities: St. Palai ov r aw th creation of St. Mary 
(1858) and Sacred Heart (1875) for the Gennan Catholic in th city and hatard 
approved the formations of Holy Trinity (1906) for the Slovenian and Holy Ro ary 
(1909) for the Italian .50 Having the e di tinctly ethnic churches meant that the 
pari hes of St . John' Pahick s Joseph sand Bridget s would remain Irish, and in 
48 0 Grady Howlri hBecame pp. 110-112. 
49 The Catholic Enc clop dia, Volume XIV (Online Edition K. Knight 2003) .v. T t m 
enevolentiae by onde B. Pallen. 
50 J anne Sheehan, "Timeline for Dev lopm nt of the atholic hurcb in India napoli 
www.geocitie .com. p . 3. Recall that prior to Vatican 11 atholic Ma s wa aid in Latin. Only the 
homily and cripture reading were poken in the pari hner nati e tongue: 
86 
theory never become too American. In reality though by upp rting all-Iri h 
parishes the bishops were in essence fo t ring integration. Indianap li Iri h 
parishes developed into such tight-knit communitie that they w re abl act both 
as religious and social havens for Irish immigrants. By 1 ening the oftentin1 
stark differences between life in Ireland and in America, the predominat ly Iri h 
parishes of Indianapolis facilitated the assimilation proce and o er tin1e de h·oy d 
the hopes of conservative bishops who fought in the war again t Americanization. 
It is ironic to note that the anti-Catholic organizations like the Ku Klux Klan 
believed that Catholic schools were a threat to the American way of lifl and that they 
represented a foreign presence among Protestant institution .51 They could not hav 
been fariher from the truth. Yes, St. John's and the other Irish pari he ought to 
educate their children in the Catholic faith which by definition n1eant loyal ty to the 
Pope (a foreign ruler), but at the same time, the parishes were atten1pting to create 
American citizens. The schools emphasized American allegiance and loyalty and 
the parishes enforced these values. Early on St. John's school served a a recruiting 
station for Union soldiers during the An1erican Civil War where ov r one hundr d 
of the city's Irishmen joined Indiana's 35 1h Infantry Regiment. Formed a an Iri h-
only unit, the 351h became known as the "First Irish" of Indiana, and later a th 
"Second Irish" after joining forces with Indiana 's 61 st Infantry.52 Several of the 
officers were residents of Indianapolis including Lieutenant Colonel Richard J. 
51 Tyler Anbinder 'The Ideology of the Know Nothing Pa11y' Major Problem in American 
Immigration and Ethnic History ed. Jon Gjerde (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 199 ) pp. 
152-160. 
52 
"Adjutant Generals Report oflndiana Roster ' 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Web ite 
http ://home.att.net/- b.d.henry/pageJ 8.html. Indianapolis Irish served primarily in Companie A and 
L of the 35th Infantry. 
87 
Ryan Major Henry N. Conklin and Captain Jatn McHugh. - Them n of the 351h 
understood that 
The first duty of the Irishmen as citizen of America i obedi nc to 
the Constitution and the laws of the country· and any attempt to 
destroy the Government under which they enjoy the bles ing of 
peace and plenty, is a crin1e against their indefeasible right which 
they should resent even with their live .54 
These Irish had obviously put aside any notion that America wa a land of exil and 
instead, embraced the opportunity to defend her way of life. They were not afraid to 
show that people of Indianapolis that they were fir t and foremost An1erican 
citizens. 
The decline in the membership of the fow· Irish parishes and the pattern of 
migration northward from downtown Indianapolis should be no sw·prise then. Th 
parishes and their schools were indeed succes ful in tun1ing i1nn1igrants and their 
children into Americans with the financial n1eans to choose their residence even if 
that meant moving away from their ethnic neighborhoods and families. St. John 
was the first to feel the pinch as second and third generation Irish, mostly graduat 
of St. John's schools, began moving north with their young families into the new 
suburbs of Indianapolis. In 1919, St. John's High School for boys closed its door , 
and in 1929, so did its boys grade school. By 1959, St. John's parish had no chool 
in operation, and today has a parish roster containing members from all ethnic 
53 Ibid. 
54 David Power Conyngham The irish Brigade and its Campaigns: With Some Account of the 
Corcoran Legion, and Sketche of the Principal Officer (New York: W. McSorley & Co. l 67) 
p .. 
88 
group and all part f the city. It i now known imply a Th ath dral with 
the only remind r of it Iri h origin being a n1all chap 1 d dicat d to t. Pat:Iick. 
atholici m on the oth r hand wa xperiencing ub tantial gr wth. At th 
arne tim a the fir t national pari he in Indianapoli wer clo ing th ir cho 1 
new re identia1 churche were being op ned at a rapid rate. H ly Ang 1 St. Rita 
St. Joan of Arc St. Ann Holy Trinity Our Lady ofLourde St. ath rin St. 
Francis, and St. Philip all en1erged between the year of 1906 and 1924. 6 Th 
churche catered to no particular nationalitie and atn·acted men1b r from the now 
second and third generation immigrant Catholic buying home in the urrounding 
neighborhood . Today in Indianapolis the descend nts of hish itnmigrant are 
scattered throughout the city. Most are till atholic but many have n1arTied aero 
ethnic racial and religious lines an idea literally unl1eard of in the late 1 00 
To be sure there were other events and circun1 tances that pro1noted 
An1erican acculturation atnong Indianapolis ' Iri h Catholics and led to the decline 
in the metnbership of the four churches. The city wa growing tremendously and 
the small quiet neighborhoods that had once been hon1 to hundred of lri h familie 
and their churche soon became noisy and dirty fron1 commercial and indu tiial 
expansion. The Penn ylvania Railroad destroyed many home in the Iri h Hill 
neighborhood when it built elevated track there in 1918.57 Many young couples did 
not want to tay and raise children in an industrial environment, even though their 
55 Willi am rederick tineman Saint John the Evangeli t Church: A Photographic Es a of the 
0/de t Catholic hur h inlndianapoli and Marion County (Indianapol is: St. John the EvangeJj t 
hurch I 9 6). 
56 Si terM. Salesia Godecker A Hi 101 of Catholic Edu ation in indiana (St. Meinrad IN: The 
Abbey Pre 1926), p. 70. 
57 Encyclopedia of lndianapoli "Irish p. 30. 
89 
immigrant parent and grandparent till li ed in ther . Th y m ed north a t and 
outh of the city into' American n ighborh d wh re nobody pok with ac nt 
or told stories of coming to An1erica. By 1920 le than fift n perc nt of 
Indianapolis s Irish population till lived in ach of the four neighborhood 
surrounding Sts. John 's Pahick Jo eph' or Bridget .5 
It is important to remember that Indianapoli s relative homogeneity al o 
played a hand in what happened to the Irish con1n1unity. ompared to citie on th 
east coast and in the Midwest, Indianapolis s immigrant population was by far th 
lowest. The percentage of foreign-born resident in India napoli hrunk from thirty-
five percent in 1850 to around eight percent in 1910.59 In cotnpari on New York 
City's immigrant population made up forty percent of total population in 1910 and 
Chicago's, almost thirty-six percent. There wa far more rea on to "Americanize in 
Indianapolis than in other cities because the numbers of ethnic people imply were 
not there. This is part of the reason why New York City Philadelphia and hicag 
still have neighborhoods almost exclusively Italian and Iri h why Cincinnati and St. 
Louis have large enclaves of Germans and why Loui ville's Catholic population 
remains around forty percent.60 Simply put Indianapolis wa not the city n1o t 
immigrants chose to settle, and the few who did had to truggle to keep their ethnic 
communitie together. 
But one cannot overlook the significance of the early Irish parishes and 
chools in the acculturation of Indianapoli s immigrant children. With the 
58 William W. Giffin "Iri sh,' in Peopling indiana: The Ethnic Experience eds. Robert M. Taylor 
Jr. and annie A. McBirney (Indianapolis: Indiana Hi torical Society 1996) p. 263. 
59 The Encyclopedia of indianapolis (Bloomington Indiana: Indiana Univer ity Pre s 1994) .v. 
'Demography and Ethnicity,' by James J. Divita pp. 53 and 55. 
60 
ather Patrick Delahanty conversation with author February 2000. 
90 
exception of Brother Aloysius at St. John' the Catholic brother and nun who 
taught at these schools did not hare an ethnic heritage with their tudent and o did 
not celebrate ethnic culture. They n1ade English the language of instruction and 
study and most impo1iantly promoted an atmosphere loyal to America not to the 
home country. When these children graduated, they were no longer branded by their 
ethnicity. Most did not speak the language of their parents and grandparent nor did 
they celebrate "Old World" traditions. They were Americans through and through 
and although they continued to practice Catholicism they now had the intellectual 
means to enter professions previously held by only the "Native-born' Protestants. 
Today in Indianapolis, there are hundreds of successful doctors, lawyer politicians 
and businessmen with an Irish ancestry. 
91 
Conclusion 
After 1900, the nutnber of Irish imn1igrants in Indianapolis began to fall and 
by 1920, only 2,488 native-born Irish lived in Marion County. 1 Wars con1n1ercial 
and industrial expansion, and the natural city growth of Indianapolis encouraged the 
An1erican-bom generations to n1ove out of their parents' Irish neighborhoods and 
marry across ethnic and religious lines. A new wave of imn1igrants from 
southeastern Europe supplanted what was left of a once-strong Irish presence in the 
city, leaving only the annual St. Patrick's Day parade as a reminder of the Irish in 
Indianapolis. 
Ironically, the success of "1nainst:rean1ing" the Irish immigrants in the second 
half of the nineteenth century can be attributed to the roles that the parishes and 
schools of Sts. John's , Patrick's, Joseph's and Bridget's played in the lives of the 
Irish in Indianapolis. By reinforcing American characteristics (including the English 
language), promoting American patriotism, and providing a solid education those 
institutions offered itntnigrant children opportunities for entering white-collar 
professions and moving to the suburbs. In essence, the structure and values of the 
parish encouraged social and econmnic mobility, eventually leading to its, and the 
Irish community's, disappearance.2 
The conservative policies and procedures of the American Catholic Church 
and her leaders, which sought to prevent "Americanization" an1ong the Irish and 
1 William W. Giffin "Irish," in Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic Experience eds. Robert M. Taylor, Jr. , 
and Connie A. McBimey (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1996), p. 254. 
2 Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Immigrants, immigrant Neighborhoods, and Ethnic Identity: Historical 
Issues," The Journal of American History, Vol. 66, No.3 (December 1979),.p. 612 . 
92 
oth r Cath lie i1nmigrant group th int 0 r ti 111 
Indianapoli . Th polici wh n co1nbined with th goal and xampl f 1 
Catholic leader hip creat d an atino ph re that ncouraged acculturati n. hur h-
pon ored Iri h oci tie allowed new in1migrant t find w rk n1ak p liti al and 
social connection and adjust to life in Indianapoli atnid t fii nd countryn1 n and 
co-religionist . The Catholic Church wa a major factor in th integrati n of 
Indianapolis's Irish becau e it provided eccle ia tical and ecular upport n tw rk 
that had strong ethnic characteiistic but that were neither exclu i e nor protnot d 
exclusivity. 
Another factor was the strong ense of ethnicity bared by the Iri h 
i1nmigrants in Indianapolis. They used residential cultural and occupational 
identities to create an ethnic awarenes that provided the foundation for a thriving 
Irish co1TI111unity between1860 and 1890. This post-Civil War generation oflri h 
immigrant gave rise to four distinctly Iri h Catholic parishes and chool annual t. 
Patrick Day festivities, and founded hundred of Iri h-owned bu ines e . Iri h 
Catholics provided cheap labor to many local con1panie , nabling lndianapoli to 
. 
weather a depre sion and develop as an indu trial city. The continuity and growing 
importance conn·ibuted to the relocation of the Diocese of Vincennes's pi copal 
re idence and mad lndianapoli a center for Catholicism in Indiana. Indianapolis s 
Iri h were active in the Democratic Party and were involved in several other national 
organizations. Clearly, the Irish Catholic immigrants who successfully 1nade 
Indianapolis their home in the late nineteenth century conti·ibuted significantly to the 
city s spiritual intellectual political and econon1ic diversity and growth. 
93 
Two key factors made the Iri h community in Indianapoli b tween 1 60 and 
1890 exceptional. First, the hish imn1igrants who settled in Indianapoli were 
different fron1 many of their countrymen who aiTived at the same time. They had 
enough capital, skills, or connections to leave the east coast port cities and tra el 
hundreds of miles to the Midwest. They chose a relatively small rural town with a 
small percentage of foreign-born residents and a nascent Catholic Church o er a 
larger, more established city, like Chicago or Cincinnati. They lived in clo e 
proximity to their parish churches, but not necessarily in Irish-only neighborhoods. 
The Irish Catholics who settled in Indianapolis could exercise son1e choice and were 
not afraid to take risks. 
The second significant factor was that the Irish Catholic community in 
Indianapolis developed under the guidance of several exceptional leaders. On the 
diocesan level, Bishop Chatard brought superior intellect European experience and 
conservative direction. His commitment to parochial education reinforced the 
policies set by Bishop St. Palais and ensured that Catholic schools would flourish. 
On the parish level, Fathers Bessonies, O'Donaghue, Alerding and Cunan served the 
Irish Catholics of Indianapolis for an average tenure of twenty-nine years each, 
providing spiritual, political and social guidance to this immigrant population. The 
parishes they led- Sts. John's, Patrick's, Joseph's and Bridget's- became the 
backbone of the Irish community in Indianapolis. Even after Bishop Chatard 
transferred the see to Indianapolis and established the Episcopal residence at St. 
John's, these parish priests continued to be the primary leaders among the Irish, and 
their personable watmth provided counter measures to Chatard's stem character. 
94 
This very brief outline of the Irish community needs to be augn1ented by 
further examination that focuses on the lives of the in1migrant generations. Foremo t 
among those characteristics are gender roles and family structure. Ward censu data 
and court records n1ight provide enough information for historians to detail the lives 
of Indianapolis's liish women and children. Another important question concerns 
the continuation of the story told here- Indianapolis's Irish Catholics between 1890 
and 1920. How did the next generation differ fron1 that of their parents? Did the 
Catholic Church continue to dominate the lives of Indianapolis's Irish-Americans? 
What problems did the Irish encounter on their ways toward integrating into the city? 
How did the influx of southeastern European immigrants affect the Irish con1n1unity 
in Indianapolis? These questions are key to c01npleting the story of Indianapolis's 
Irish and to understanding the role their con11nunity played in the development of 
Indianapolis. 
95 
Appendix 1: Photo of Right Reverend Maurice de St. Palai Bi hop ofYincenn s 
1848-1877. I 
Right Rc ert."ld M:n: ricc de S t. l '<~ l~ • s. ll1 shop of Vmcenncs, 
IS4S- lc77 
Appendix 2: Photo of the Right Reverend Francis Silas Chatard, Bishop of 
Vincennes, 1878-1918? 
1 Sister Rose Angela Horan, The St01y of Old St. John's: A Parish Rooted in indianapolis 
(Indianapolis: Litho Press, Inc. , 1971 ), p. 1. 
2 Diocese of Indianapolis, "Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Consecration of the Rt. Rev. Francis Silas 
Chatard, D.D. Bishop of Indianapolis, 1903" Program. 
96 
Appendix 3: Photo of Right Re rend Mon ignor ugu t B 111 P t r f t. 
John theE angeli t atholic hurch Indianapoli 1 57-1 90. 
J) .. 
•·:,. 
3 GFCL (Box 13 Folder 53) Univ r ity ofNot:re Dame Archive . 
97 
Appendix 4: Photo ofR er nd Herman J. Alerding Pa tor f t. Jo ph 
hurch lndianapoli I 74-1900.4 
~' . 
,;.1 • 
, ' 
atholic 
4 Photo courtesy of Janet ewland Assistant Archivi tat the Archdioce e oflndianapolis Archive . 
98 
Appendix 5: Phot of R r nd D m 0 Donaghu pa tor of t. Patri k a tho lie 
Church lndianapoli 1 5-1905 . 
5 GFCL (Box 21 folder 63) Un iv r ity of olr Dame Archive . 
99 
Appendix 6: Photo of Reverend Daniel Curran, pastor of St. Bridget's Catholic Church, 
Indianapolis, 1879-1918.6 
Tt t: L ' I•' l 'F\ ll.\. I' . ( ' t' l l! ~ 
6 John Francis McShane, Around Old St. Bridget 's: Leaves from the Experiences of Rev. John 
Francis McShane (Indianapolis: The Btittine Press, 1931 ), p. 65. 
100 
Appendix 7: lri h Organization and Their Leader in lndianapoli A R p rt din The 
Western Cit Len l 77-18 1 unl otherwi e noted. 
Ancient Order of Hiben1ians 
Catholic Societies 
Celtic Savings & Loan 7 
En1erald Benefits Association 
EBA Branch # 18 
EBA (State Level)9 
Emmett Guards 
Hibernian Rifles 
Irish Band 
Knights of Father Mathew 
L . u . 10 eon1ne n1on 
7 Mac 's irish Tribune, 21 June I 84. 
Chapter Pre ident : Micha I Raf£ rty P 
Williatn Glea on John Ball Philip D yl 
McDonald· County Delegat : Edward 
Delegate: P.H. McNeli 
Grand Marshall: Patrick Rafferty 
t r ar on 
and Jan1 
Ian· State 
President: James Renihan· S cretaty: P.M. 0 onnor· 
Treasurer: J an1es McHugh 
Executive Board: Thomas McSheehy John J. Price 
H.A. Breclweg Peter M. Conn lly and A.D. Qualy 
President: Thomas McSheehy· Tru tee : M. . Wall 
Michael Griffin and Patrick Connolly. 
Grand President: Thomas Brennan· GrandS cr tary: 
Michael F. Wall· Delegate to the Supreme Grand 
Branch ofNorth An1erica: Joseph Mar hall (all of 
Indianapolis) 
Captain: Edward Barry· President: P.H. McNeli 
Ball Committee: Patrick Rafferty (Fir t Lt.) Philip 
Doyle, John Welch, and Andrew Lee. 
Leader: William Tooney; Presid nt: John Deety 
President: Mr. Murphy. 
Spiritual Director: Bishop hatard· Pre ident: R.A. 
Davis, M.D.; First Vice-President: Jame Renihan; 
Second Vice President: Jason S. Morgan· Secretaty: 
M.W. Carr; Financial Secretary: Captain Jason 
McHugh· Librarian: W.J. McFarlane· Board of 
Directors: Rev. Bessonies, Rev. Alerding, Rev 
0' Donaghue. 
H Abbreviated title for Emerald Benefits A ociation. 
9 Daily Union I 2 January I 875. 
10 Originally called the "Chatard Club, ' the name was changed to honor Pope Leo XIII. It wa also 
known as the entral Catholic As ociation of Indianapolis. Michael W. Carr A Hi tory of the 
Catholicity and catholic institutions in indianapolis (Indianapolis: Carlon & Hollenbeck 1 7) pp. 
60-61. 
101 
Meridian Land and Developn1ent Pr ident: John F. Hallahan· Vice Pr ident: P .. 
National Guards, Company A 
St. Joseph's Benevolent Society 
St. Joseph's Literary Society 
St. Pat1ick's TAB Society1 1 
United Irish Benevolent Society 
Wolf Tone Social Club 
25 111 Ward Democratic Advance 
Guards 12 
Deery· S cretary: William J. Breen· Tr a ur r: 
Willian1 heridan· Executi on1n1itt : Hun1phr y 
Hanington J hn Fol y and John Rutl dg . 
Captain: Dan Kil y 
Pre ident: Edward Burn · S cr tary: John Krupp 
President: C.H. McSheedy· Vice-Pre ident: Phillip 
Moore· Recording Secretary: Hun1phr y Hanington· 
Treasurer: Re . Alerding· Financial Seer tary: Micha 
0 Brien· Corre ponding Secretary: D ni Harrington· 
Debate Chainnan: James Broden· Door Ke p r: 
Willian1 Dunn. 
President: Patrick Walsh 
Pre ident: Ed Burns followed by Jam Gaughan· Vic 
President: Tin1 McCarty· Recording Secretary: 
Michael Higgins· Financial Secretary: Frank arr· 
Treasurer: Jatnes Rennihatr Board of Director : 
Jeremiah McCarty, Jan1es Riel Daniel Dillon· 
Marshall: Ed Burns. 
Chief Ball Manager: Michael J. Dowling· A si tant : 
Jatnes Doherty, M.J.H. Doyle W.A. Wal h John 
Hennessey and James Foley. 
Captain: John Colbert 
11 Abbreviated title for St. Patrick's Total Abstinence Society 
12 Mac's Irish Tribune, 21 June 1884. 
102 
Appendix 8: Map of Indianapolis, 1876. The location of Holy ro hapel and 
the city's first four Irish Catholic churches are shown though St. Bridget and St. 
Joseph's do not exist in 1876. 
103 
Appendix 9: Indianapolis southwe t quadrant 1 76 howing the location of Holy 
Cross Chapel and the location of the St. John Catholic hurch. 
Appendix 10: St. John 's Cathedral 126 West Georgia Street, Indianapoli 1 
1903 
Saint John Church 
and 
Elen1entary Sch(X)l 
13 Photo from St. John the Evangelist Church website, www.calholic-foruf!l.com/churches/314stjobn. 
104 
Appendix 11: lndianapoli outh a t quadrant 1 76 howin0 th location of t. 
Patrick atholic burch. 
Appendix 12: St. Patrick Catholic Church, 950 Prospect Str et Indianapoli 14 
14 Photo taken by author 10 Augu t 2004. 
105 
Appendix 13: Indianapoli north a t quadr nt 1 76 bowing th futur I ati n f 
St. Jo ph atholic burch. 
Appendix 14: St. Joseph Catholic Church, southwe t co111er of North tr t and 
College A venue, Indianapolis. 15 
15 Photo taken by author 10 Augu t 2004. The church building rectory and old choolhou e ar 
currently for ale. t. Jo eph Pari h mo d location in 1949 to 6041 We t Mon·i treet and then 
again in J 954. It i now located at 1375 South Mickley treet clo e to the lndianapoli International 
irport. Addresse pro id d by Janet Newland A i tant Archivi tat the Archdioce e of 
Indianapolis Archives. 
106 
Appendix 15: Indianapoli northwest quadrant l 76 hawing the future location 
of St. Bridget s Catholic burch in relation to Holy ro hap 1. 
Appendix 16: St. Bridget's Catholic Church, 801 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive 
Indianapolis. 16 
16 McShane, Around St. Bridget 's. 
107 
Appendix 17: Advertisements from The Western Citizen June 11 1881. 
:>.J....t:....l:'-..L.. .... '--'-'-...l..~L.~-'-"· 
----====-- - - - - - ~-- .=_ - ...  
- ~ ---
The 
ROYAL 
' • 
knowu 1 CRAND ::.,::~. :ExcursioN ! 
Cunard Line 
<>:.::--
MAIL STEAMERS. 
. · cc ss rtoO'Hri r & K y, 
-v.r·· OL:88A.. , E D l.C.A L..(:.; .LN 
.:H OlCE 
Tobacco~ Cigars 
- P . n -: 
BEST BRANDS1 
NO . 50 SOUTH ILLI 01 'T., 
JN Dl.ANAPOl..J 'LTD . 
.1 fi fi ) 
m the 1 
,;.·loon 
~d ~~~t COLU ~IBLS, 
nd l. o 
d·. -0' 
IND., Ba.rga.ins in Stoves ! - T 
a ros 
r! 
t. (". ? ... : I ; · 
( ll !ZI 
f:du· I n 
JULY lOth. John A. Myers, 
and 15 7 \\ . \\ a hi n ~ o u St., 
ll r > 'S 1': V l N · 
It 
n e e~ . 
Cra~.kers 
:"<:lOti!. 
. ___ _._ , .. - ... ___ _ - - •-- -• 
108 
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Newspapers 
Cincinnati 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
Indianapolis 
New York 
Directories 
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Daily Union 1875 
Star 1988 
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New Record 1885 
News 1918 
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Center, 1997. 
Information sheet on St. Joseph Catholic Church. On file at the Archdiocese of 
Indianapolis Archives. 
"St. Bridget's Parish, Indianapolis, Indiana, One Hundred Years: 1880-1980." 
Indianapolis: St. Bridget's Parish, 1980. 
"St. Mary's Parish, Indianapolis, Indiana." Booklet, June 1979. On file at the 
Archdiocese of Indianapolis Archives. 
Secondary Sources: Journal Articles 
Abbott, Carl. "Indianapolis in the 1850's: Popular Economic Thought and Urban 
Growth." Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 74, No.3 (1978): 293-315. 
Conzen, Kathleen Neils. "Immigrants, Immigrant Neighborhoods, and Ethnic 
Identity: Historical Issues." The Journal of American History, Vol. 66, 
No.3 (December 1979): 603-615. 
Inglehart, John. "The Coming of the English to Indiana in 1817 and Their 
Hoosier Neighbors." Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 15 (1919): 
94-111. 
114 
LaFollette Robert. "Foreigners and Their Influence in Indiana. ' Indiana 
Magazine of History, Vol. 25 (1929): 17-26. 
Lawlis, Chelsea L. "Prosperity and Hard Times in Whitewater Valley 183 0-
1840." Indiana Magazine ojHisto1y, Vol. 43 (1947): 363-378. 
__ . "Changes in the Whitewater Valley, 1840-1850." Indiana Magazine of 
History, Vol. 44 (1948): 69-82. 
Secondary Sources: Websites 
35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry website: http://home.att.net/""b.d.henry/page18 
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volumes VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII and XIV. Online 
Edition, K. Knight, 2003. www.newadvent.org/cathen! 
Diocese of Evansville website: www.evansville-diocese.org/chancellor/history 
Ransom Place Archeology Field School2001 website: 
www.iupui.edu/ -anthpm/fs200 I 
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church website: www.catholic­
forum.com/churches/314stjohn/ 
Sheehan, Jeanne. "Timeline for Development of the Catholic Church in 
Indianapolis." www.geocities.com 
Secondary Sources: Miscellaneous 
WCTY, "Hoosier History," 1989, "Indiana's Irish History," Rick Maultra, 
narrator and producer. 
115 
Education: 
Professional 
Experience: 
1999-2004 
1992-1995 
1990-1992 
1986-1990 
1977-1986 
Curriculum Vita 
V. Danielle Wilson 
Indiana University-Purdue Univer ity at 
Indianapolis: M.A. United States Hi tory 2004 
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana: B.A. 
United States Hi tory 1994· Indiana State Teaching 
License Grade 5-12, 1995 
United States Air Force Academy Colorado 
Springs, Colorado 
Sacred Heart Academy Louisville K ntucky 
St. Leonard Catholic School Louisville Kentucky 
2001-2004 Private Tutor (History, Government Econon1ic 
And Mathen1atics) Indianapolis, Indiana 
2000-2001 Mathematics Teacher, Bishop Chatard High School 
Indianapolis Indiana 
1998-2001 Office Manager, Robert E. McCalli ter M.D. 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
1996-1998 Social Studies Teacher As un1ption High School 
Louisville Kentucky 
1995-1996 Long-term Substitute Teacher (Mathematic and 
Social Studies), Ballard High School and 
Assumption High School Louisville, Kentucky