Our Lady of Mt Carmel 150 Years Entire Text Recognition

8/9/2019 Our Lady of Mt Carmel 150 Years Entire Text Recognition

1/113

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2/113

PRAYER

to

t he

BLESSED VIRGIN

o f

MT

CARMEL

Most

b l e s s e d and

immacu la te

V i r g i n ornament

and

s p l e n d o r

o f

Mount Carmel you who r e g a r d w i th p a r t i c u l a r goodness

those

who

wear t he s c a p u l a r b e n ig n ly l o o k upon me a l s o

and

cover me w i th

t he

m a n t l e

o f your m a te r n a l

p r o t e c t i o n .

F o r t i f y

my weakness

with

your

s t r e n g t h i l l u m i n a t e t he d a r k n e s s

o f

my mind wi th your wisdom

i n c r e a s e F a i t h Hope and C h a r i t y w i t h i n me adorn my s o u l w i th

such

g r a c e s

and v i r t u e s t h a t it

may

be

a lways p r e c i o u s

to you and

your d i v i n e Son; a s s i s t

me in life

c o n s o l e

me a t the

hour

of

d e a t h

wi th your most l o v i n g p r e s e n c e and p r e s e n t

me

to

the

most a u g u s t

T r i n i t y as your son and d e v o u t s e r v a n t to

e t e r n a l l y

p r a i s e and

b l e s s

you

in

heaven .

Amen.

)

)_11ee11 mho

rt

th

fwuuty o urmef,

pr11y for

us

- 1 -


3/113

THE

LEGEND

OF

THE

SHAMROCK

The

word

shamrock i s

derived rrom

the IrL:oh

seamrog or

sea.mar whi·:h

meam;

trefoil or clover .

The fir:3t wearing of the shamrock

on St.

Pa.trick's Day

was

recorded

in

1681.

The

f i r s t

known

reference to

the

use

of

the

shamrock

to

explain the Trini ty occurred

in

1727

when a

great

Bishop

named Patrick

came

to

Ireland to teach the

word

of

God. Although he was great ly revered, some of the

followers admitted they could

not

understand the doctr ine of

the

Holy Trinity.

There upon, St.

Patr ick

plucked a

leaf

from

the

shamrock and

held t

up before

them

as a

l iving

example of

the

three- in-one. This

simple

explanation

convinced

the skept ics . To th is day, on the 17th. of March, where-ever

true

sons

of

Erin gather , the

shamrock i s proudly

worn as a

symbol

of the fai th that

is .......

Ireland.

The shamrock was accepted as an I r ish

emblem

during

the

18th. century.

I t was used

in the heraldic

badge of

the

United Kingdom and

on flags and

banners of I r ish t roops serving

with

the

United

Na1:ion5.

I t

has been writ ten: When

1

:he I1-i·::;h wet ·.b.c:i:-

: : e . a . m a r - o ~ e ,

t l :t y

o:'i:en

·:ommit ex.:ess in

J.ir::;uor- h Di•:h i o not

r ight keeping

c:f

a •iay of

the

:-.:::·.:: .:;r:-or

g e n e r . . l ~ l y i.eading

1:0 debauchery.

There

had

been

much

unrest in

Ireland

having

to do

with

outside

rule in

the

country; times were

hard

during the

Great

Famin caused by

the

failure of

the potatoe

crop

in

Black '47 . The people

were

poor

and

opressed

and wanted

a new way of l i fe ,

so

they

boarded boats

to

America

................. ..

...... Oh ,

Paddy

dear

and

did you hear the

news

that s gain'

' round?

The shamrock i s

forbid

by

law to grow on

I r ish ground ............

- 2 -


4/113

Fr

Kilroy

lanted

Well

In Emmett s Kenockee Swamp

BY PETEU E. NEATON'

E:\L'llETT. - A

venerable

dis·

trict ·school

house here

-

the

Swamp

school out

Kenockee way

-shares with Our Lady of Mt.

Carmel parish school a remark·

able record for contributing

priests and sisters to the work o

the

Church.

The parish

school hasn't

caught

up

yet,

but

only because

it

is

much younger than the

district

school.

Fr.

John F. Farrell has

been pastor here nearly three

decades.

One

o his

earliest

achievements

was

to

establish the

parish

school.

,SWAMP SCHOOL is situated

about

three miles

east and

north

:o

Emmett in Kenockee

township

'on the

road running north

rom

Kenockee cemetery, site o the

original

parish church.

On the ~ c h o o l s register, in the

handwriting of many teachers,

appear long lists

o Brennans,

Mackeys, Cogleys.

Jacksons, Ha·

leys,

Stapletons,

Sharpes, Codys,

O'Loughlins,

Stackpooles,

Mur·

phys, O'Mearas, Canaans, Sars

fields, Pierces, Hefferons, Mona·

ghans and many

other descend·

nts of pioneers rom

Ireland.

Naturally

a

parish

o

such

solid Catholic

Celts

has given

numerous

priests to the

Church.

The beloved chaplain of World

War

I, Msgr.

Patrick

R.

Dunigan.

was

one

of them.

Another. was

Fr. Richard

Sadler, the first

priest ordained rom the

parish.

He carried his

books

and

h ~ ~

lunch

across the field.

. lQ .·

the

Swam-p.

s c h o o ~ . ·

Fr:

Den\3

O'Loughlin, who died

shortly

alter his

ordination, was

another.

STILL ANOTHER was Msgr.

James

F. Stapleton, founder and

un orgettable

pastor of Annunci

ation parish, Detroit. Fr. William

E. Cogley,

SJ, of Manresa tame,

was a "Swamper." Msgr.

A.

X M

Sharpe of

Dearborn

learned

the

alphabet and threw his first

papeI'

wads there.

Fr.

George

W.

Brennan

of

St.

Brigid's, Detroit,

trudged

to the

Swamp. Fr. Edward

Mackey, re

tired, also Went

there. Fr. WI ·

liam

A. Cogley

of

a Flint

parish

also

was

a

Swamp

boy.

The mother

of Fr. J.

Leo

Hea·

ley, the

chaplain

of

Providence

hospital, went

to

school ·at the

Swamp. 4nd so did the father of

Fr. Joseph A. Canaan of St.

Charles'.

Detroit.

The

father

o Fr. Richard G.

Cody, CPPS,

recently

ordained,

carried

his lunch

across

the fields

to the old school

and

so dld the

ather

of

Fr. Francis Sharpe

of

the Lansing diocese.

Founder of

Mt.

Carmel

parish

and

also

of St. Stephen's,

Port

Huron;

and St. Philip's,

Colum

bus-was

the

pioneer missionary

priest,

Fr. Lawrence

Kilroy. He

Iles now In

the

old Kenockee

cemetery among

the pioneers he

served.

He was

the

first

priest

ordained

in

the

Detroit

diJ>cese.

t he could speak

today

to

their

descendants, no doubt he'd

.say,

"Well done, S w a m ~ r s "


5/113

THE CATHOLIC

CHURCH

IN

THE

COUNTRY

The ear ly his tory of the

Catholic

Church in St, Clair County

is

mare or less

obscure,

for while

there

i s

some evidence of

the v i s i t s of Catholic

missionaries

to

th is

sec t ion

as

ear ly

as the seventeenth century,

we

have few records of the

work

done previous to the f i r s t

par t

of

the

nineteenth.

The ea r l i e s t accounts of

Catholicism in th i s county date from 1670, when two Sulpi t ian

fa thers

- Dall ie r

and

Gallinee - vis i ted the Indian vi l lages along the St. Cla i r

River

and ins t ruc ted the

nat ives in the t ru ths

of

Chris t ian Doctrine.

After the

close of the War

of

1812,

the v i s i t s

of missionary fa thers became

more

regular and

posi t ive

measures

were

taken

ta

provide for the re l ig ious

needs

of

the

people.


6/113

1853

proved to

be a

very busy year. Father Kilroy

bui l t a church

t

St.

Clair

on a

lo t a t

the corner of

Fifth

and

Pine

Streets


7/113

Note:

The

Harr ingtons

s igned

t h i s

l ega l document

with t h e i r mark

as

it

was ca l l ed ,

or an X .

e ls o ••••

Cornel ius

Spain ,

the

J .P . t a lked to

Mrs.

Harr ington s epa r a t e ly

from her

husband

to

be

sure t h a t she

ag reed

~ - l & L - . (§_

4 - 1 ~ ~

c A . ~ ' 1 . ~

~ ~

J f

Y/. '/' rA. . / .

r d ' ,.,z

t 2·re«_1:d

C : J ~ r d _ ~ ~ ~ ~ - -

•

/ I X ~ f i / d : n • ~ • ~ t f 4 : - , . . e f t h - . L ~ e f ( ~ L t X ~ ~

d u ~ . . - ~ o t - ~ . , e f a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -

c e f : . . , . ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ 4

- < 7 a > a , , ~ . - . . e - d _ . / ~ P ' t ~ / , : I " - " • ~

t:r 1 . ~ ' t ~ ~ , ~ ~ L ~ . , . - ~ ~

~ ~ ~ · ~ , . , . / { ~ d - ~ / . .

.dh.

~ a ' , ( J ~ _ L z , , p { .

~ _ _ , / o r - - . . c

. 1 ~ # ~ ~ ~ . < Z - t . ~ c ~ ~ : / u ~ n · , . . / r - - ~ U " i 7 n _

~

/

fJ.r.7

•

V.r

l,,,.1 c < r J / - r '

;

.

.. /'. ~


8/113

At the same time that Father Kilroy was building his log cabin church in

Kenockee, Patrick Kennedy was

organizing

Emmett Township

as Supervisor.

Patrick

had knocked

around

a bit on his journey from Ireland and had lived in Nova Scotia

and in London Ontario

before

finally set t l ing in Michigan. I t was

said of

him that

Pat

Kennedy was a

thief;

he had

stolen

an

education

in Ireland. This was no small

feat

in

the days

of

the Protestant Ascendancy there. Part of the farm acreage owned

by

the

Kennedys

is

now

the

property

of

Bob

and

Dorma

Brennan.

Patrick

was

also

the

f i rs t

postmaster. He

used to

take

the mail to Church with him and

pass i t

out af ter

Mass. Kennedy was

to

become something of a patriarch and was

to be

the driving

force behind the settlements

in

Kenockeetown.

Pa Kennedy,

as they

al l

called Patrick

Kennedy, became lonesome

for his Irish

countrymen and he envisioned a Lit t le

Ireland set

off by

i t sel f

in Michigan.

Being a

correspondent

for the I r ish 'World , a

newspaper

in New York, he wrote

glowing

ar t ic les about his home

in Michigan.

The Erie

Canal

provided

a

quick

and

cheap

way

to

travel

and the footloose I r ish came

in

droves. Pa then became the

Land Agent

for

the area and took over the management

of

the newcomers. He divided

the sections

of

the

four

townships set t led by the

Irish

into

subdivisions.

Those

from

County

Clare l ived with

County

Clare neighbors.

I t was

the

same

with those

from Limerick,

Tipperary,

Kerry and Waterford -

al l

had

the i r own sections.

These

conclaves became quite clannish.

Fred Brogan remembers: Yes, and the feeling was

so strong that the older

women

moaned

bi t te r ly about 'marrying

an

outsider' when

a County

Clare

boy

picked

a

gir l from the Kerry settlement.

Elmer Brogan tel ls: Many

of

the old-timers remembered Brockway.

There

was

lumbering at Brockway and the

lumberjacks

were mostly Irishmen. They'd

gather

in

the bar and wait

hopefully

for

a

fight. If

none

turned

up

within

a

reasonable

time,

al l would write

the i r

names and

toss

them

in

a

hat.

Two names would

then

be drawn

and these two lucky

men

were to

put

on the

fight

for

the evening.

Some

other

pioneer se t t l e rs

were

the

Donegans


9/113

After much missionary

work,

Father

Kilroy was

f inal ly made

pastor

of

the

church at Kenockee and in 1865 a frame church was erected for about 2, 000. The

parish

then off ic ia l ly became known as Our Lady

of

Mt Carmel and not just the

Church in Kenockee.

Father

Kilroy

resigned

from active duty

in

1876 and lived in

retirement

in

Columbus unti l

his

death July 16, 1891.

He

was 88 years old; the

oldest priest in

Michigan at that time. Father Kilroy s death

closed

the earthly

career

of one of

the noblest characters in the history of St. Clair County. A man o{ unbounded

zeal,

unlimited

chari ty

and

untiring

energy,

he

proved

him.self

in

every

way

f i t ted

for

the

heroic work which Divine Providence marked

out

for him. His

name

i s as

important

to

our Michigan and

Church

history as Father

Piere

:Marquette or Father Gabriel Richard.

Father Kilroy was

succeeded in

the parish at Kenockee by Rev.

Patrick

Tierney

who remained

~ years and at

his death, in 1878, came Rev.

John

Lynch. Between 1879

and 1893, Our Lady of

Mt

Carmel

experienced

a great increase in membership under

the

s t r ic t and

beloved Father Lynch. During the

pastorate of

Father Lynch a mission

church was built

at

Brockway. This

mission

consolidated with

the

Speaker

mission in

Sanilac county and forms what is now known

as

Sacred

Heart

Parish in Yale. A church

was buil t there in 1904. In 1899 Rev.

Frank

McQueen was

sent

to take charge of the

mission

at Columbus and also

to establ ish

a new mission at Smiths Creek. On

Christmas Day in 1893, Father Lynch died and was buried in Kenockee Cemetery.

At

th is

time Rev. Peter Loughran was given charge of the parish and remained

here for 27 years. Shortly af ter his

arr ival,

the need

for

a new and larger church

came under question.

At

f i rs t there was a

difference

of opinion

as

to where the

church

was to be

built .

Some of the people thought the

church

would

be

more

convenient in the

vi l lage

of Emmett, nearer

to the

railroad. For sentimental

reasons many

wanted

the church lef t at the same location. This difference of

opinion

gradually disappeared after

the following

le t ter was

received

from

the

bishop:

Dear Rev.

Fr.

Loughran:

In

regard

to the new church of Our Lady

of

Mt Carmel, I would

s ta te that there are two points

to

be observed. First as to

the

necessity of a new

church.

This no one can deny, in a parish of the

standing

of Our Lady of Mt Carmel

there

should be a substantial

ediface worthy of Him in whose honor

i t

is to be dedicated and

manifesting the fai th of the congregation.

t

is decided,

therefore,

that a new church is

to

be

erected.

Second,

as to

the location of the

new church. The location of a

church should be

such

that i t may be convenient to the greater

m:i.jority

of

the congregation. I t

is

true, there

are

many

tender

memories

connected with

the present

location,

but

we

must

not

permit

sentiment

alone to guide

our

judgment. After due consideration

and

consultation, I have

come to the conclusion

that

the

more available

s i te for the new church would be the

village

of Emmett.

6

Yours in Christ,

John S.

Foley

Bishop of

Detroit


10/113

In 1896 the ground was broken for a new church (in the village of Emmett). The

land was purchased from

Patrick

Keough.

On

the

second

of May,

our

Ir ish

pioneers

suffered

the loss of

the old

frame church in Kenockee

cemetery when

i t

burned

to

the

ground.

With Rt. Rev. John

Foley in

attendance on the eighth of

June the

cornerstone

was

laid

for

the

new

church

in

Emmett and

efforts

were

redoubled

to

complete i t .

Over 100 skil led and unskilled laborers came from Detroit

to

work on the

building of the new

0

church

in Emmett. James Kavanagh who owned

the hotel

said he

had only 8 rooms available but that he and Mrs. Kavanagh would try to work out a

solution. They turned

the

spacious ball room into sleeping quarters by placing

mattresses wall to wall for the

men.

The bricklayers

received

.44 per hour and .32

was

paid to

daily laborers. They worked

10

hours a day, s ix

days

a week. The

bricks for the

church


11/113

The St. Patrick 's Benevolent Society

After

Father

Kilroy

ret i red

in 1876, he was succeeded by Father Lawrence A.

Tierney

who was instrumental

in

founding the St.

Patrick 's

o c i e ~ y in the parish.

Father

Tierney died

after

being

pastor only two and one half years., : and we

have no

records

to

te l l

us

how

long

the Society

continued

after

his

death.

What

we

do have is a copy of the constitution and by-laws contained

in

a notebook

written by Patrick Murtagh, uncle of Krs. Anna Brennan and now in possession of

her

daughter, Mrs. Donna Francek.

According to the constitution written in 1877, The object of the

association

is

for the

rel ief

of the distressed and their families,

the

visi tat ion of

the

sick,

the

burial of

the dead and to

aid

and assist

widows

and

orphans

of deceased members.

I t also says that i t is being

formed

to continue

30 years

unless

legally disolved.

Besides

being a benevolent organization, one

of

the

by-laws claims that

i t

is for

the due

celebration of

St. Patrick 's Day in

conjunction with

other societies.

Father Tierney was named spir i tual director

and 13

men signed the

constitution. These were

probably

the

founders,

however

at

the

end

of

the

lengthy

document

is

a

l i s t of

about twenty more men

who

must have

joined later .

The by-laws require

that

each member be a

practicing

Catholic

and

be

assessed 25¢ dues per month, payable

at

a bi-monthly meeting. This seems l ike a

lot

of

money considering this was

over

one

hundred

and ten years ago

but,

of

course,

they were building up a

fund

to aid needy

families.

There is a

long

l i s t of qualifications for membership and an

even longer

set of rules for

admission

of members and their duties.

e

don't

know haw

well

they followed

these

rules, but there are many sanctions l is ted for those who step

out

of

line. Some of

the highlights:

He

must be

an

Irishman by birth or descent

and

a resident of Emmett

or vicinity.

He

could

be expelled for

feigning

sickness

to

collect

benefits.

11

He

could

lose

benefits for

dueling

or fighting or for

public drunkeness.

He would be fined $2.00 for

missing

the

parade

on St. Patrick's Day.

He would be

fined

25¢ for bringing up poli t ics during a

meeting.

All these fines went into the general fund. The

benefits

included $2.00

per week up to three months for sick members unable to work and upon

the

death of

a member,

the family

collected

$15.00 for

funeral expenses.

Some

of these

rules

and regulations may seem a bit quaint now, but the St.

Patrick's Society must have been on the right track as i t

predates

two

international

organizations

active

in

our parish today. Neither

the

Knights of

Columbus nor the Daughters of Isabella were in

existance

when the

St.

Patrick 's

Society

flourished in

our

parish

last

century.

- 8 -


12/113

The total

cost of

the

church and pries t s

house

was 33,767.00. Fr. Loughran

loaned

the

parish 5,000.00 and an 8,000.00

mortgage

was taken out. The

parishioners were assessed 1.00 an acre for the Building Fund.

Carpenter Work

Cut Stone Work

Mason

Work

Architect

Seating

Lathing

& Plastering

Altar

Hardware

Cost

of

Church and Rectory:

7,265

Plumbing

&

Gas machine

1,889

Iron

7,867

Furnaces

1,364

Windows

2,775

Painting

2, 100

Pews

350

Gas

Fixtures

264

1,261

125

1,074

915

1,193

1,643

394

Extras,

including

house,

hitching

cisterns, etc. =

the

lot,

organ,

carpets and furniture for church and

posts,

t i l ing,

hauling,

stone,

sand, sidewalks,

3,288

Total

33,767

Kost of

the

parishioners requested a

pew

of their own

and

a charge of 20 per

year

was

levied

- 10

for pew The church held about

850

people.

In

order to keep

up with daily expenses

at

Our Lady of Kt. Carmel,

rules were made:

1. All heads of families who are not pew-holders shall

pay at

least

10

annually

for

the

support of

the church.

2. All young men

and

women not represented by

their father

or mother

shall contribute 5 annually.

3. Pew

rent

of 20 must be paid in

advance.

Pews are

not

t ransferable.

Pewholders

who are behind

with

their

pew rent

for

six

months must notify

their pastor; otherwise their

pews

will

be

rented

without further notice.

4

The poor who

are unable

to pay

will

have

pews supplied

them and

the

services of

the pastor

will

always

be

at their disposal.

-

Fr.

Loughran

POSTED ND STRICTLY ENFORCED

·

these

Father

Loughran

planned to build

a

school soon

after

the church was completed

but the plans were shelved until Father Farrell finally buil t

i t

in 1924.

- 9 -


13/113

Around the turn of the century, a

picture

of

the

village of Emmett would show

the grand new Catholic

church

and, as for the rest

of

the town: 5

grocery

stores, a

three-story

men's

clothing store and

boot shop,

a telephone office, an

ice

cream

parlor (sundaes were a dime), a barber shop and pool room, a drug

store,

a

blacksmiths shop,

the

dis t r ic t school,

the

railroad and telegraph

office,

several

l ivery stables,

charcoal

manufacturing, a hardware

and agricultural

implement

company, cigar shop, meat

market,

H.P. :McCabe's Bank, Butler 's- Ele.vator and

Saw

Ki

11,

Buckleys

Brick

Yard, 4 dress

shops

<

50 -

$1.

00 was the

usual fee

for

an

ankle-length

party dress), 2 milliners, a post office, David Donohue &

Co Furniture

and

Undertaker,

and

the Emmett House Hotel.


14/113

Succession

of

Pastors

1867

Father L. Kilroy

1876

Father

P.A.

Tierney

1878 Father

J,

Lynch

1893

Father

P.

Loughran

1920

Father

J,

Cotter

1921

Father

J,

Hackett

1923

Father

J. F.

Farrell

1966

Father

J,

0' Neill

1971

Father

c.

Desantis

1973

Father T.G. Schmitt

1981 Father

J,

Sirianni

Rev. John F. Farrell


15/113

F I N A NC I A L

REPORT

OF

Our Lady of

Sfit

Carmel

Chu zch

EMMETT, ·.MICHIGAN

JANUARY l,

1938

~ JANUARY l,

1939

The

financial

report

of Our Lady of Mt. Carqiel

Parish

is herein presented.

It is true

that

the most important work of a parish is of a spiritual nature, but in a way,

at

least,

this depends upon the necessary material equipment. Each one, therefore, has the obligation

in

con

science of contributing according to' ability,

that the

work of God may go forward.

I

thank

you for

your

assistance, and

pray that

God

may

bless you in the coming year.

FINANCIAL REPORT, JAN. I, 1933 TO JAN. 1, 1939

REVENUE

Balance on hand January

1, 1938.

_______ .

..........

- 972.9f·

Pew Rent ....................... - ........ -··· ····· ···-·-·····- ····· ··-··· ······ · 1,772.00

Sunday Collections ····-·······-···-·-·-·····-·····-···················

3,054.9-t

Fuel Collections ............................................... -.................. 377.00

Altar

Society, Decorating Altar...................................... 225.00

Home

Coming and Keno ...........- ..................... - ............... 2,300.00

Archdiocesan Collection

....

·-····-··-

..

·····-··-·····-···-··-···

88.00

Votive

Stand

..................................................... -···-····-········

64.00

Total

ReYenue

...............................................................

1,8 3.11

OFFICERS OF THE ALTAR SOCIETY

FOR

1938

President ...................... - ....................... _ ...Miss Mary Dunnigan

Vice-President ........................................._ _ .Mrs. Mollie Reid

Secretary .......................................................... Mrs. Mary McCabe

Treasurer

............................ - ......................... Miss Mary

Jo.

Rynn

OFFICERS OF THE ALTAR SOCIETY FOR

1939

President.. ............... ·-·-···········-··-········ ....Miss

Mary

Dunnigan·

Vice-President

......

_ ........................................... Mrs. Mollie Reid

Secretary ........................................................... Mrs. Mary McCabe

Treasurcr

................................................. Mrs. Mayme De Conick

By contributing $225.00, the Altar Society decorated the

Sanctuary

in

the

month

of

December,

1938.

JOHN F.

FARRELL,

Pastor.

EXPENSES

Archdiocesan Taxes ............................................................ 418.92

Archdiocesan Collection ....................................................

131.00

Repairs, Improvements, Etc.............................................

296.90

Decorating

Altar, Statues..................................................

225.00

Pastor's

Salary

......................................................................

1,200.00

Assistant's

Salary

···········-..·······-··········-·····....................

70.00

Organist's Salary

.................................................................. 200.00

Sexton's Salary ................... -................................................ 960.00

Altar

Bread and Wine .- ...-.............................................. 89.41

Candles, Oil and Incense ................................ ................

110.40

Telephone

............................ --······-

..

---········-··-············· 44.34

Fuel ............................................................................. ...............

893.63

Light .............................................................. ___ ................... 167.38

Insurance ..................................................................................

443.10

Salary of Sisters .................................................. -·· ·· -· ·· ·· -

2,000.00

Repairs on School .............................................................. _

138.04

Miscellaneous .......................................................................... 98.46

Postage and Printing............................................................

116.00

Car· Maintenance .....................................................

............ 103.52

Total

Expen1e1

.............................................................. 7,70t.lt

Balance on band

January

I,

1939

.............................

1,1•'7.71

------ · ----- · · - · · · ----


16/113

From 1941

to

1966

the parish was

assigned

regular assistants.

They were:

Father

Father

Father

Father

Father

Father

Father

Father

Father

Zak - 1941

Kaznowski - 1946

Szelc - 1951

Wahowiak - 1954

Pazik

- 1955

Barzych - 1958

Sonnenfeld

- 1959

Mansfield - 1965

Melton - 1966

In October,

1954

the blessing

of Our Lady

of Fatima" Shrine took place. This

was a project of the Daughters of Isabella and very

much encouraged

by Father

Farrell .

Fram 1955

to

1960 Father Farrell was

called

upon ta minister ta All Saints

Church in Memphis

as

a mission

and

in 1961 he took part

in

ground-breaking

ceremonies far St.

Nicholas

in Capac, another mission church.

In August of 1961, the Holy

Name

Society

was

established

at

Our Lady of Kt.

Carmel. The members purchased Our Sunday Visitor and The Michigan

Catholic far the

parish. Over the years, many donations were llllide ta poor families

far

food as well

as fuel

ail . In

later

years the

Gaadells

Food Bank was

established

by

Harry

u

Goulette in

connection with

the St. Vincent

DePaul Society.

At

that time Holy

Name

ociety funds

were combined with St.

Vincent

DePaul

and al l

bookkeeping

was done /

under

the

Food Bank which

s t i l l

assis ts poor

families

today.

In

July

of

1966, af ter 55

years

of

serving

Gad' s people,

Father Farrell

/

ret ired.

On August 17th

of

that

year Father

Jahn

O'Neill

arrived in EIDlllett

as

our new

pastor. His f i rs t

task was

ta build

a

new

school but before

i t

could be

completed,

an October 16th, just two months af ter his arrival, the beautiful and s ta te ly Our

Lady of

Mt

Carmel Church

burned

ta

the

ground. The school was rushed ta completion

and

Mass was held there until the

new

church could be

built. Jahn

Farrell Schaal

cast $317,695.93 and

was

dedicated an

April 15, 1967 by

Archbishop Jahn

Dearden.

Father

0'

Neill

farmed a

church

cammi

ttee.

He

said,

The

church

is

the

people"

and they should

have a say in what

their new church

should look like.

On

St.

Patr ick 's

Day, March 17, 1967

at

8:00 p.m., the f i rs t

meeting

was held in

the new

school.

Monsignor Sherzer came ta Emmett and

talked about

church architecture.

Thus

began

a

series

of

meetings with

different architects and a

l i turgical designer

who gave their views. There also was a

tour of churches

in

the Detroit

Metropolitan, Canadian

and

Thumb

areas.

One of the

f i rs t decisions

in the planning was ta locate the church across the

road from the

s i te

of

the old

church

far

the fallowing reasons: There was mare roam

so

i t could

be

centered an the property ta enable i t ta

be

seen well

from

all

directions. If

i t

were placed an the sight of the

old

church,

i t

would be tao

close

ta the

road, ta

the rectory

and

ta the convent. I ts placement

enabled

us

to use

the

property we

have ta i t s

best advantage thus giving t

a campus

effect".

The contract

was

finally

awarded ta

Richard Cagley

and

after

many

blueprints

were drawn, approval was

received from the

Chancery.

Ground-breaking ceremonies

were held March 16th, 1969. On June 12th, 1970 Jahn Cardinal Dearden dedicated the

new

church. The cast was $570, 000.

In

1962,

the entire parish plant

was

insured

for $89,000. A n ~ ~ policy was taken

out

just years

before

the Church burned. We

received $326,386.63 from

the

insurance

carr ier

an the lass

of

the old Church.

Father O'Neill

called

i t "a

sign

of God's

providence "

During the fallowing

year

the parish received financial help from various sources. Father O'Neill was invited

ta Guardian Angels Parish in

Detrai

t where the parishioners put on a pancake and

sausage

breakfast far the

benefit of our building fund.

Father

returned

with

$1, 802. 50 proceeds.

The

Friendly Sans of St. Patrick put on a benefit also. Fifty

parishioners

j aurnied

from Emmett ta

the party

with

Father

and brought home gate

receipts of

$803.

-

12

-


17/113

Features of the New Our Lady of Mt Carmel

To

permit

lower

costs for heating, l ighting, maintenance

and

~ p e r a t i o n i t was

decided

to

incorporate

a

Chapel

for

daily

Mass

into

the plans.

The Nave

or general

seating area holds 560 but

can

be

expanded

to 660 by

opening the Chapel

or

expanded even

further to

750 by

s l iding

aside the

glass

parti t ions between the Nave

and

the Narthex .

The

Narthex ,

or main entrance area can be

used as

a Cry Room

i f

need

arises .

The

south curved

wall of this room

is

100

feet

long and 13

feet

high. t

i s

made of

spli t- face stone, incorporating stones from

the

old church and native stones

from

the farms of

parishioners. Selected stones

from the old church were used ta

symbolize

the continuity of the

l i fe of

the

parish

at

Our Lady of

Mt

Carmel

from

ear l ier generations ta the present.

When

sending

in

her

ancestry

questianaire,

one

parishioner

asked

why

the

bricks an one side of the church wall are smooth and

the

other side has bricks

sticking out. The answer is that an Accaustical

Engineer

was engaged ta make a

study of the bui lding's accoustical characteris t ics

and, as a

result ,

the

Architect

and Engineer incorporated a

decorative

masonry

screen along

one wal 1 of the

Nave ,

behind which

is

located an accoustical blanket to absorb excessive

sounds.

The Altar is :made from

granite

from the

quarries

of Minnesota.

In the courtyard

stands

the beautiful

statue of

Our Lady

of Mt

Carmel created

in fiberglass by ar t i s t Gina Testaguzza of Lake Orion.

The

s tat ions of

the cross are

carved

linden

wood

from

I ta ly

The Baptistry,

designed ta

be str iking and functional was

buil t

by one of

our

carpenters from the parish, Paul Houle.

The

confessionals are

sound

proof,

equipped

for the

hard-of-hearing and the

s l ide may

e

opened

by the penitent i f

he

wishes a more personal confession.

Realizing that the

church

buil t

in 1853,

the

one built in 1865 and

the

one

built in 1897 were al l

destroyed

by f ire, extra precautions were

taken that

th is

would not happen again.

The new

church was constructed basically of concrete,

masonry and

s teel .

The

s tyle

of

the

church

is

bold,

texture,

lighting,

and

color

-

class ic

in

appropriate and in good taste in 50 years.

- 13 -

simple,

massive

but

made

warm

through

a way that will make i t appear s t i l l


18/113

C::- July

6,

1971, Father

John

F. Farrel l died. Perhaps

the

f ines t t r ibu te to

F r. Far re l l was the

fac t tha t

during his pas tora te

there

were more vocations from

Emmett

than any other town

of i t s s ize

in the

s tate .

Father Desant is came to Emmett in

February of 1971. e

often

vis i ted

the

homes

of

his pari:3hioners while t ravel ing around

the parish

with his dog. When a

person

would

inv i t e

Father

Desantis in to his

home, the dog also came

in. e

thought

he was a par ish ioner too. Father l e f t EIDlilett

in

August

of

1973.

Father Thomas Schmitt came in

October

of

1973 and l e f t in

June 1981.

Several

changes took place in the parish during

Father Schmit t ' s

s tay

here.

There

were

several

specia l col l ec t ions taken up to t ry to

support

John Farrel l school but costs

rema.ined high

and

income

was not enough to continue. In

1967 the

school

operated

with

approximately $3,000 income and

$20,000

in expenses (a def ic i t

of $17,000)

The

John Farre l l School

was

sold to the

Yale

Public Schools for $348,000.00 on November

25, 1974.

The

people then needed

a center

for parish funct ions which prompted the

building

of

our new

hal l a t

a

cost

of

$285,617.91.

Opening

on

April

15,

1977,

i t

has served us well

as

a

meeting

place

for par ish and colDlilunity ac t iv i t ies .

Father Jasper

Sir ianni a r r ived here

on

June 15,

1981

and

i s s t i l l with

us

today,

helping

to

ce lebra te the

125th. Anniversary of

Our

Lady of Kt.

Carmel Parish

in Emmett. e has not taken a salary for

the

past several years which helps the

par ish s tay

solvent . Father

was a recipient of

the

John Far re l l award which was

begun

by Cardinal Dearden in the Fal l of 1972.

I t

i s given

to a pr ies t

whose

pastora l

serv ice deserves recognit ion and whose

l i f e

has

been open to continued

growth and renewal. The award consis ts of a three month s tay in Rome to par t i c ipa te

in the Ins t i tu te for

Continuing

Theological

Education

conducted a t the

Graduate

House of the North

American

College and a

grant

toward expenses.

The

Knights of

Columbus was

s t a r t ed

in the parish

shor t ly

a f te r Father

Sir ianni came

here.

The char ter date

i s

December 27, 1981. Walt Szymanski was the

f i r s t Grand

Knight

and,

l a te r

Jack Hazelman

was

the f i r s t elected Grand

Knight.

- 14 -


19/113

e

o ow ng

a

a

oy

~ n e

e u ~ ~ e n ~

y e ~ ~ .

We al o 6ound a l i t 6hom 6 yeah

ago.

Vo you know any 06 the e gu

A L T A R B 0 Y S

(

2989)

Pat \Jebb,

Rober t Beat ty 384-1314 384-6590

Sean Quain ,

Andrew Daoust 384-1877 395-2219

Brad

Br ian

Francek

384-6584

Jim St ap l e t o n J e r ry

Sche ib le

384-1786 384-1711

·Greg Pa t Kinney

384-6966

Brad

Keegan, David

Van Hensel

395-4489 392-2923

Roger McClel land, Kevin Kinney 384-1819 384-6643

Sco t t

Jason

Schmidt

384-1731

Michael Hagger ty Ricky Mar t inda le

384-1743 325-1369

Ron H ei l i g Lawrence Cowper

395-7209 324-2205

Chr is Hazelman, Tim Schne ide r 384-6582 384-1758

A L ~ A R BOY PARTNERS

( 197 3)

Donald

Brennan

Patrick

Brennan

384-·H346

(10)

Thoma:s

:Butler

384-1320

Bill Hyde

384-1708

~ i o ~ a r d Cowhy

}24;..:2411

Thomas

Cowhy

· ~ 2 4 2 2 9 8

11) John

Mackey Joe Mackey

384-1840

Michael Connelly David McClelland

384-1356 ~ 8 4 1 8 1 9

,4) James Donnellon

384-1369

James Ryan

384-1831

Edward Cowhy Gerald Cowhy

Mike Grace

Mark

Harter

}64-1306

324-2298

Joe

Grace

384-1767

Tom

E.

Cowhy

~ 8 4 1 3 6 6

James Kovach

325-1379

Patrick Johnson

184-1771

9)

Ro.ber::t Kea..n

384-1363

Tony

Chmielewski

395-4382

(12) Paul

McClelland, Patrick McClelland

384-1819

(13)

James O'Connor Mike O Connor

384-1735

(14) Michael Quain Bil l Quain

384-1719

(15)

David

Stahl Robert Stahl

384-6630

(16)

Scott

Schneider, Sal

Palazz.olo

384-6658

(17) Chris

Szymanski

384-6698

(18) John

Nowakowski

384-1757

John Cowhy

387-2.254

Ga.;ry

Zwiernik

384-1712


20/113

Thank you to the sources used for this presentation:

Joe Donahue History of the Irish in Emmett


21/113

The Church

Is

The People

While making

plans

for

our 1990 celebration, a suggestion was given that we

should

include in

our

booklet

some

information

about

the ancestry

of the

people

who

make up Our Lady of

Mt.

Carmel Church. So, we

sent

out letters some time ago

asking

questions and these are the replies

we

received:

Margaret and Eugene Asselin have spent

the

winters here for the past 3 years. Their

daughter

and son-in-law

Sandra and

Bob Boyd and grand-daughters

Jeanine

and Bonnie

have lived

here

14 years. . , . . .

Rosemary Brogan Ryan -

My

grandfather, Frank Brogan, owned the general

store

in

Emmett which s t i l l

stands today (the

current

barber shop).

His

store

was known

for

i t s Brogan's Tea , supposedly the best tea ever. The l i t t le poem below tel ls i t

all .

Brogan's was a grocery

Once

to try a

test

on her

In a

l i t t le

country

town I

told

a

l i t t le

l ie

An item that was carried long Brogan's hadn't any

Had brought

i t

great

renoun.

So

I

made

another buy.

When Grandma had a

shopping

l is t I handed her the Brogan Brand

And handed i t to me and watched her make a brew.

She always mentioned carefully She poured i t

in

a china cup

A pound

of

Brogan's

tea. And

took

a sip or two.

A look

of disappointment

Was

what she

turned

on me.

There

isn' t

any

other

brand

That

equals

Brogan's Tea.

This

store was

later

operated by my Uncle Elmer. It also housed

the post

office and Elmer was postmaster until

his death.

My

grandfather

married

Kary Carroll and

they

had

seven

children - Helen


22/113

Brandon

Thomas Brandon

of

County

Clare, Ireland,

and

Margaret

Dunigan

of

Emmett

but

born

in Pennsylvania married

and

set t led in Emmett. Thomas had a brother,

Michael and 2 s is ters Ann who married a

Mr.

Fitzgerald,

and

Mary who married a

Kr.

Reedy.

Margaret

was a

s i s t e r

to

Michael

Dunigan

the f i r s t

white

child

born

in

Riley

Township in 1840. She had one

s i s t e r and

two other brothers besides

Michael.

Tom

and Margaret

purchased

80

acres

on what

is

now Burt Road

near

Keegan

Road cleared

the

land and

bui l t

a home

there.

They eventually added

40

more

acres

to their

homestead. Ten

children

were born to Thomas and Margaret.

Patrick, who

l e f t

Em.mett owned

and operated

a hotel

in northern Michigan.

He married

and

had two children. He was accidentally shot and killed while

trying to remove some

s tray dogs

from

under his house.

John,

who

had

wanderlust

in his

soul, emigrated

to

Alaska

and

worked

in the

gold fields.

He

returned to

Em.mett

only for brief vis i t s and died in Alaska.

John never married.

Mary married Patrick Rynn

and

they had a

farm at

Rynn and Quain Roads.

They

bad

one son, Billy.

Margaret

married Thom.as Rynn who

worked

for the

railroad. They lived

in

Battle

Creek and had

no

children.

Timothy died a t the age of 2 years.

Michael

and James stayed on

the farm

with the i r parents and continued

farming with their

father. Neither

of them married.

Martin

never

married either, and

also

lived at home

but

he was a

mail

carr ier

for the

Emmett Post

Office.

Thomas married

Elizabeth Haggerty and

moved

to Chicago.

maintenance man for various elevators in and near Chicago.

children, Marguerite,

Bessie, P.J . , Catherine,

Martin,

and

Thomas.

He worked

as

a

They had s ix

Christopher, born December 24 1859 also worked on

the

farm but he

eventually

went to work on

the

Grand Trunk

Railroad which

was being

built

through

the area a t

th is time.

He

married

the former

Gertrude

Klauka

of Centerline.

Gertie came

to

Emmett

to

work as a

cook

in Larry 0'

Neil ' s

Hotel


23/113

Brandon

(Con'

t

The res t

of the

children were born

in

this home.

Joseph in

1895, Thomas

in

1897, Leo in 1898, Mary in 1900, Margaret in 1902,

Helen

in 1904, Vincent in

1906,

Ann

who died

at

birth

in

1908, and James,

who

died at birth in 1910.

Chris was

very active

in the

pol i t ics of the

village,

serving

for many

year::> on the

council

in

different

cap 1ci t ies , and

also

served as a Township

official .

During

the

construction

of

the

new

Our Lady

of

Mt.

Carmel

church

in

Emmett, he

donated

many

hours of

work,

and his

team

of horses and

wagons.

He

was

also

an

active

member

of

the Holy

Name

Society. Gertie was not involved with

outside organizations as caring for her home

and

family occupied al l her time.

In

la ter years,

she became a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the

Gleason-Butler

post

in

Emmett.

Chris

continued farming until

his

death

in

1940.

Gertie

remained l iv ing on the

homestead

with

hersons,

Joe, Leo, and Vincent, unti l her

death in 1948.

Jahn

worked a t home

for

a

time, but

eventually

lef t and

became a

telegraph

operator.

He was the

telegrapher a t

the Emmett Depot for

many

years.

He

married

the former Nellie

Jackson, and they had four

children,

Madelon, Mary

Ella,

Elsie,

and Joseph.

John

died

in

1974,

and Nellie

in 1975.

Thomas was a member of

the

U.S. armed forces

in

World

War I.

While he was

in Texas, he was

in

a t ra in

accident while

they were moving troops from one camp

to another. He was badly

injured,

and spent many months

recuperating in

a

hospital.

When he came home, he went

to

Flint

to

a trade

school, learning the

f ie ld of mechanics. He returned to Emmett and established a garage a t the "Y",

the intersection

of

old M-21

and

Brandon Road.

Tom

and Irene

Balie

were married

in

Emmett and had s ix

,children, Lorene, John,

Lucy,

Robert, William, and

Thomas.

Tom died in 1933 and

Irene

and

her brother-in-law,

Vincent Brandon

continueed

to

operate

the garage

for

many

years. She eventually moved to Fl int where

she

l ived

with her sons,

John

and Thomas.

Irene

died in 1987.

Joe and Leo

continued

to l ive on the homestead, helping their parents with

the

farm

work. However,

for several

years in the winter time, they l e f t

to

work

in the lumber mills of Wisconsin, returning home in the spring to

help

with the

planting.

Neither

Leo,

who

died

in

1961,

nor Joe,

who

died

in

1969

married.

Vincent, known as

Dutch ,

helped

with

the farming

for only

a

short while,

preferring to work with his brother, Tom as a mechanic in

his

garage. After his·

brother 's death, Irene and Dutch continued this partnership. Dutch served with

dis t inct ion in the army

during

World War II. He was

involved

in

many

of the

European campaigns, and participated

in

the famous Battle of the Bulge. After

his return, he was instrumental.

in the formation

of

the

Gleason-Butler

V. F. W

Post in Emmett and served

many

years as commander. Dutch never married and died

in 1956.

Caroline,

after

completing school, went

to

Port Huron where

she

entered the

nursing program

a t Port Huron Hospital. After

graduating, she

became a

private

nurse, caring for various

pat ients

in the

area

unt i l her marriage to Frank

Brennan. They had six

children

- Leo,

who

died

at

3 days of age,

George,

Martin,

who

died

at birth,

Thomas,

Marie,

who

died

at

6 months,

and

Jimmy,

who

died

when

he was 11 years old.

Frank

was an area

farmer

and

also

worked for the St. Clair

County

Road Commission.

Frank died in

1957

and

Carrie

in

1983.

M.ary was sick

for many years.

However, she was able to finish her

schooling and graduate. She

died

in 1917

at

16

years

of

age.

-

18

-


24/113

Brandon

(Con

t

Margaret, better known as Peg, after graduating from

the Em.' lett

school,

went

to

Cleary

College in

Ypsilanti and

enrolled

in the f ie ld of

accounting.

She

returned to

Emmett

and

worked

for Frank

Keough

at the

Emmett

elevator as

the

bookkeeper

until

her

marriage

to

James Brennan. For a few

years

af ter

their

marriage,

they owned

and

operated a farm on

Bricker

Road. However,

they sold

th is

farm and moved

to

Detroit where Jim worked in the construction business.

They eventually moved back

to

Emmett

and

owned and operated a

gas

station,

grocery

store, and creamery

station.

When Jim

suffered a

heart attack, they sold

the

gas

s tat ion - grocery store business. They retained the

creamery

business

and

moved

to

a new

home

on Main

Street.

They had

no children and

Jim died

in

1968 and Peg died in 1989.

Helen graduated from the Emmett school and stayed a t home

to

help her

parents with

the home

and

farm. She worked

for

a time at the Kike Mcinerney Ford

dealership and gas s tat ion

which was

located next to

the Emmett

Hotel.

She and

Clem Quain were

married October

29, 1929

in

Emmett by Father John Farrell. Clem

worked

as

a

farmer

for

some

years, then

went

to

Port

Huron where he was employed

by

Mueller Brass

and then

Chrysler

Corporation. When Chrysler s closed, he

returned ta work in Emmett at Johnny Mullally s gas stat ion, located on Kain

Street next to his

home. After Johnny s

death,

he found employment at the Emmett

Elevator where he continued

to

work unt i l

his retirement.

Clem died

in

1970.

Clem and Helen have

three children

- -

Patrick, who married

Kary

Ann

Sweeney, l ives on

the original

Chris Brandon

homestead.

He

has

carried on the t radit ion of farming. They

have

three

daughters, Laura,

who

is a research

nurse

a t the University of

Michigan

Hospital

in Ann Arbor;

Anne,

who is married to

Mark Ladd from Port Huron,

and is

a

claims

representative

for

Aetna

Insurance

Company

in

Troy; and

Judy, who is

a

student

at

Michigan

State

University.

Robert, married Donna Belle Welch of Yale and they have

six

children, Linda, who

married Vito Palazzolo

and

l ives

in

Emmett;

Robert,

who

was kil led

in

1974

in

an

auto accident;

Michael, who is married to

Nancy Normandin and l ives in Emmett;

William,

who i s

a student at Grand

Valley College;

and Nancy

who l ives in

Emmett

with her parents. A

daughter,

Sue Ann, died at 2

days

of age. Bob is a

detective

with

the

St.

Clair

County Sheriff Department.

Helen Marie married Daniel LaM:ay,

l ives

in

Emmett and has 6

children.

is married to Don

Lester and l ives in

Port

Huron; Sherry,

who is married

Thomas and

l ives

in Yale;

Daniel,

Christoper, Jason, and

Bradley,

who al l

home. Helen

i s

a homemaker.

Sue,

who

to Andy.

l ive at

Grandma,

Helen bas always been active in her church

and community, working

for

many

years

as a

section

leader in

the

old Homecomings Our Lady of Mt.

Carmel became famous for, as a very active member in the Legion of Mary, holding

various off ices in the

Daughters

of

Isabella,

and always a willing supporter

of

the

Al

ta r

Society,

now

known

as

the Catholic

Womens'

Guild. For

many

years,

she

was a member of

the

Emmett V F W Auxiliary. She is

currently very

active in

the

Emmett

Senior

Cit izens,

and is

a

Minister

of

Praise in the

OLM Church. Helen

i s

the sole

surviving

child of

Christopher

and Gertrude

Brandon.

The descendants of Thomas and

Margaret

Brandon have lef t their mark on

Emmett

and

the

four corners

of North America. They were,

and

are, a

hardy people

who sunk

the i r

roots here,

ins t i l led the i r

values of

hard

work,

concern far their

fellow man,

and

love

of God in

their children.

-

19

-


25/113

Stor ies

to ld by Irene Brandon

by Bil l Brandon

I rene ' s grandfather , Robert Balie,

came

from Ireland. He ran

away

from

home and a capta in

of

a

ship

hid

him.

His fa ther followed

him'

to

London,

but

gave

up.

Irene says she remembers

being

paid

10¢ a week to milk the

cows

unt i l she

learned how to do i t , then "she ju s t

did i t .

Her fa ther was a mailman

and,

when the

roads were

too bad

for the buggy, she

rode

the l i t t l e horse through

the

deep

snow to

get the mail delivered.

Irene reca l l s : "

There

was a

massive oak icebox

that hulked in a

corner

away

from the

cookstove.

I t

was a

monster whose ent i re l i f e

was

dedicated to

aggravat ing people. The block ice was never made in

s izes tha t

would

f i t

and

each time t

needed t be

f i l led ,

i t

meant

custom

chisel ing

and

showers

of ice

in every

direct ion.

Dad

put

in a melt-pipe to the basement to s top the overf low

in the drain pan in the ki tchen, that

no

one ever emptied. But i t never worked.

Li t t l e

pieces

of

food

were always get t ing in the

hose and

plugging

i t

up. When

Detroi t Edison

s t a r t ed

se l l ing

ref r igera tors

they bought the old ice ea te r for

two

dol lars .

I th ink they

hauled

them to the dump. The new ones cost ten

dol la r s

and

had brass hardware."

About

her mother: My mother

was Methodist

and

when I was

three ,

I

remember

s i t t i ng

on

her

lap in the buggy coming home from church. I

s t a r t ed

to

s ing

'Sweet

Rosie

0 ' Grady'

and she

to ld me tha t on Sundays, we could only s ing

hymns.

She died

when I was

f ive.

I sa id

tha t

they didn ' t

have to take me in

there,

I

knew

she was

dead. That Christmas there wasn't

anything

under the t ree

for

me. I guess everyone was so sad

they

jus t forgot , When my aunt Ste l l a

found

out

she

cried. The

next

year

my brother ,

Bob, got me a doll and Aunt

Ste l l a made a l l the

di f ferent

kinds of clothes for i t . "

In l e s s than four months, Irene

los t

her father, the uncle who helped

r a i se

her, and her husband,

who

died of l inger ing

war

wounds from

World War I.

She

ra ised

s ix

chi ldren

and

some

orphan

chi ldren

by

hersel f

in

the depression

years.

She owned two gas s ta t ions a t one t ime in her l i f e

and

kept a l l

the

books for them

hersel f .

She

was

the

f i r s t

woman to work in the

elevator

as the

bookkeeper.

Previously, th i s posi t ion was always held by a man.

When Irene

Brandon died

on

February

12,

1987, i t was said tha t

her

q u a p t i e s were: se l f - sacr i f ice , perseverence, and courage;

she

had

"t rue

gr i t "

A woman of s t rong character , body,

and

mind, a t rue fr iend,

devoted ch r i s t i an

and

generous

to

a f au l t , the

family and f r iends of Irene Brandon

suf fe r

an

i r reparable loss in her passing. Good night , Irene - we love you "

- 20 -


26/113

The History of the James C and Anna Brennan Family

by Donna

Francek

was born to Thomas and Catherine


27/113

The Brennans, The

Breens,

The Purtel ls ,

and

The

Neatons

by

Marian Pra t t

Grandpa Brennan

(John F.) had

7 brothers

and

5

s i s t e r s . His brothers and

s i s t e r s are

l i s t ed

in

Donna Francek'

::;

s tory about

James C

and· Anna

Brennan


28/113

Brennans

(Con t)

John Brennan

ind Catherine

Breen

h ~ i :3 children. Catherine

married

Tom

Flannigan and

1 i

ved Detroi t with the i r children:

Don, Jack,

and Eileen.

Helen married Gerald Butl-er---and _ had three children: Kay who died as a

baby,

Jerry who died

as

a baby,

and

Sue, who married Jim Kovach and

l ives

in

Goodells.

They

have

three

children: Jim, Karen and Jerry

who was ki l led

in an auto

accident three

years

ago).

Tom Brennan

married Mary Rita Purtel l , the only

chi ld

of John Pur te l l and

Mary

Ellen Heaton.

Tom

and Rita

had 8

children,

7

of

whom

died a t bir th:

Theresa

Cl947), Michael J.


29/113

Harold

B.u..al.aCdeceased)

husband

of Mrs.

Martha Burns

and father

of

Harold

Burns,

Jr.

Great-grandparents:

Bernard

Burns

(died 1852),


30/113

Our

Lady

of Ht. Carmel

Written

by Euphemia Collins

'Tis

indeed

grand

tha t

Pa Kennedy brought along a l i t t l e name plate when he

came across

ta

America

from

his

birthplace in Ireland.

Ah

the

pride in the

heart

of an Irishman,

as

he stands there forninst

the

door

of

his

bit of a lag house an

the

l i t t l e knoll by

the creek bank,

and

gazes a t

the words, Tara's Hall imprinted there an the

l i t t l e

plaque which he had just

fastened aver the

doorway.

Yes, t i s a far

cry

from the

Tara's

Hall

in

County lfoath

in Ireland

but

i t

i s

a

bi t

of home.

God

bless

th i s house and a l l

within,

and may ye al l prosper, invoked

the

youthful

voice of

the

missionary

priest .

Father Laurence Kilroy whose

t ravels

led

him along

the t ra i l beside the rude cot only

recently

erected

by Pa Kennedy and

his

stalwart

sons.

Twenty odd

miles

west of what was then the

village

of Desmond, now

called

Port

Huron, lay

this

gentle

land. Wilderness,

yes,

but a

kind

and generous

wilderness. The

soi l

was r ich

and

pliable.

There

were

t rees aplenty

for building

and

good water

so t i s no wonder Pat Kennedy loved i t and wished to

share with

others.

Pat

Kennedy was known to a l l and

sundry

as Pa - Pat

with

the

t

lef t

off. -

a kindly man who with his wife and family had come

to

carve a home for himself

and

his loved ones here in this

good land. He was

one

of

the f i r s t to find his way in to

this

beautiful

woodland,

but

he

did not

leave

the

world

so

far

behind

for

he

made

i t

a

point to t ravel to

Desmond

to get

a weekly

newspaper,

published

in Boston and

brought

by boat to this small settlement a t the

foot of Lake

Huron. The Boston

Pilot,

published

in Boston by John Boyle O'Reilly

was

the strongest l ink

between

the

new

settlements, so what

does our friend Pa Kennedy do?

On one

of

his t r ips to

Desmond he takes

along

a

prepared

copy

of

an

advertisement

which

he

sent

to

Boston

which probably read something l ike

this:

Come

to

Michigan -

fine

land - fine opportunities -

Ir ish Catholics

wanted - homesteads $1.25

per

acre -

government

land

-

rai lroad

construction

offers

employment.

So-

along went

the

ad

and the Boston Pilot did the

rest . Families came

from New York, Ohio,

Pennsylvania,

the New England States, and Canada. These early

se t t le rs had

l i t t l e

in worldly goods

but

they were sturdy and venturesome and soon

many

had

come

in

and

taken up

land.

The

settlement

grew and,

although

i t

had been

known

as

Clay - the name was

eventually

changed to the

present

name of Emmett in

honor

of

the Ir ish patriot .

At that time Detroit

was

a fair ly

large

town and had a number

of

Catholic

families. Riding out of Detroit on horseback were two Catholic missionaries. Father

Kelly,

who traveled

to the

west and south

and

Father Kilroy whose pathway led

to the

north and eas t and Emmett and i t

was

this

young pries t who celebrated the

f i r s t

Holy

Mass in Emmett. The home of

Patrick

Dunigan, a log house

which

s t i l l

stands

was

the

scene of

this f i r s t .Mass. The exact date

is not

known

but

descendants

of

the

Dunigan family

set the time as probably about 1840 as records show that the f i r s t

land

in Emmett was entered in 1836.

A

log church

was

eventually replace

by

a

frame

one.

In one

of

the

early

records is brief statement as

follows:

"A.D. August 23, 1865 Ego didicavi Ecclesiam hujus loci

Kenockee

sub-honore

Sanctae

ariae Virginis de Monte

Carmel.

-Laurentius

Kilroy, Pastor


31/113

Grant

and Jim Collins• grandfather, Timothy Collins hauled stones for

the

church.

His

great-grandfathers

were

Jeremiah Collins

- 1823 and

Sylvester Coacty

- 1819.

Bridget Collins, daughter of

Jim

and Jo

Collins

was

the

f i rst baby

Father

Farrell

baptized

by

the name of

Bridget

- 1958.

Their

son, Jim was Father Farrell 's f irs t

commentator


32/113

Dunigans

by Ann

Donnellon

Patrick Dunigan

emigrated

from County Limerik, Ireland, in 1832 and

set t led in Philadelphia where the f i rs t two

of

his five children were born. He

and his wife Bridget Keough Dunigan

lef t

Pennsylvania in 1837 and headed to the

wilds of Michigan. The places

la ter

called Emmett and Riley Twonship were then

known only

as

Town 7, Range 14

in the

terr i tory of Michigan. Patrick and

his

friend Michael Harrington were the f i rs t to

sett le

with their

families in this

area.

I t was

here

on February 12, 1840 that Patrick's and

Bridget 's th ird

child,

a boy, Kichael, was

born.

He was the f i rs t

white

child

born

here and

in later

years, he loved to reminisce

about

the

pioneer

times. In an interview in 1928

Ctwo years before his death)

Michael

recalled

how the Indians would come to his

parents

cabin

and

throw

the

venison

they

carried

up on

the roof

to protect

i t

from wolves. On cold nights, the Indians

often

came into their cabin to sleep

on the floor before the f ireplace. At night, the wolves prowled around the

cabin

and

they got

so bad

that

the

county

offered 6. bounty and the state

$7.00

bounty to get

r id of them.

When

the

civi l

war

began,

Michael was 21 and

he t r ied to

enl ist

in the army. The fact that he was rejected

because

he was

too frai l gave the old

pioneer

a good chuckle over sixty years later.

He recalled that the great Michigan forest f i res of 1871 and 1881 did not

seriously

threaten Emmett but

stated

that the smoke was so

dense

that , when he

dug

for

potatoes, he would

have to

get

down

and

feel

around for them.

In 1866 Agnes Brogan came to Emmett from Perth, Ontario to visi t

her

s is ter , Mrs.

John

Furlong and there she met Michael Dunigan. They were married

by Fr. Kilroy in 1867 and had a

family of four sons

and a

daughter.

Msgr.

Patrick

Dunigan, one

of

their

sons,

gained

fame

in

World

War

I

as

the

highest

ranking chaplain in the army

and

as a decorated and wounded war

hero.

Their

daughter, Mary, lived al l

her

l i fe in this parish and is often remembered as the

President of the Altar Society.

Xichael

Dunigan died

in

December 1930 and his wife of 65 years died a few

days later . Their funerals were attended by hundreds

of

mourners, more than 7

priests , the bishop and the governor of the State of Michigan.

- 27 -


33/113

George

and Luci l le

Eschker

Family

by Luci l le Eschker

George Eschker s German ancestors l e f t the

Black

Forest

area

of Germany

and immigrated to Hungary when Maria Theresa was Queen of

Hungary.

· The Germans

were

given

a

small

piece

of land

in the center

of

Hungary

that

was

mostly water.

They were good farmers so

they worked tha t part in to

the best wheat f ie lds

in

a l l

of

Europe.

They

were very poor. There was barely enough

to eat .

Georges s mother and fa ther

had

re la t ives in Detroit

so

they came to

Detroi t about

1910. The

fa ther

had

t rouble

f inding

work.

He spoke only

German

and Hungarian. He made a

l iving

by taking care of horses and

del iver ing

coal

to

homes

by horse and wagon.

George was born in Detroi t in 1912. Two brothers

and

a s i s t e r were

born there

too. Work

was scarce with the advent of the coal

t ruck.

The family moved to the farming country around Allenton

and Capac

and

worked

on the

farms.

George

grew up there and jo ined the Civi l ian

Conservation

Corps


34/113

The Foleys

of

Foley Road

The Foley

family

immigrated from Cohersiveen, County

Kerry,

some time in

the la ter

1B40 s or

early 1850 s.

The father,

mother, five

adult

sons

and two

daughters

made the t r ip

from Ireland to Canada. The oldest son, James,

had

died

in Ireland but his widow and three children

accompanied

the family.

I t was while they were in Canada that the senior

Foley

died and family

t radi t ion maintains that

he

had to

be

secret ly buried

at night because

the

Orangemen

resented the

intrusion

of the Catholic

Irish to the i r land. The

widowed

mother,

Catherine Foley, with

her

family, entered the

United

States

and

se t t led in Jamestown,

New

York. The Foley men worked

as

laborers

and la ter as

contractors, building roadbeds for

the

railroad. They followed this work which

took them into Ohio during the Civil War period (1860 s).

The deceased James son, Jeremiah, was, by

th is

time,

17 and old

enough to

enlist

in

the

Ohio

volunteers. He

fought

in

several

batt les,

traveled

with

Sherman s

and

Sheridan s

armies through the south and was wounded, losing the

fingers of one

hand.

Upon his return

from

war, Jeremiah

found his

mother

had

died

and his younger brother, P.J. was

being

cared for by members of the family.

His

l i t t l e sister

Alice, however,

had

been allowed

to

stay with

another family

and, in

the

unsettled

times following

the Civil War they had migrated westward.

Jerry searched in vain for

his

l i t t l e sis te r . Subsequent generations of his

branch

of the family have

had gir ls named

Alice

but no trace

of the original

child was ever found.

In the late 1860 s,

the

Foleys migrated to Kichigan where

they

purchased

farms

in the northern

part of Emmett Township. John, .Maurice, Paddy, and Dan

along with their sis te rs Hanora Bowler and

Bridget Carey

Newell owned several

farms along or near the

road

which subsequently took the family name. Because of

the prevalence of

11

Kerrymen

in

that

area, i t

became known

as the

Kerry

settlement.

The most

remarkable

of these

pioneers

was Dan, a bachelor, with whom his

mother

lived until her death

in 1891. Jeremiah, who

had married

Elizabeth

Parkinson

af ter his discharge from

the

Union Army

joined

Dan and, together, they

bui l t up a thriving stock farm.

In

1898,

the family

moved from the i r

log house

into a

large, brick,

Queen

Anne

style

home on Foley Rd. This house, today, remains in

the possession of

descendents of

Jeremiah.

I t was from here that

Dan conducted

the business of the

busy

stock farm

and

also the

ci

vie and pol i t ica l affairs in which he took an

active part . He

served

as

supervisor

of

Emmett Township

and twice,

was

elected

Clerk of St.

Clair County.

Jerry and his

wife,

Elizabeth, had eleven children and, although

several

died young,

the

remaining have many

descendants l iving

in

the

parish today.

Their

th ird daughter, Nellie, married Edward Butler and

the

Edward,

Gerald, Tom

Basil

and

Elizabeth Butler Gleason

branches of

this family

l ive in the

EID1Uett

area. The

youngest

daughter, Alice, married Frank Keough and their two daughters

Ann


35/113

Dan Foley s

Journal

Daniel

Foley

kept a diary for

over

twenty years and though much of what he

wrote was a record of the weather

and

farming conditions. He also comments on

events

of the times. His

f i rs t

journal was a

notebook

begun on

Christmas

Eve

1889

l i s t ing

the

acreage and description of

Maplewood

stock farm.

·The

next

few

years,

he

kept only

a

sketchy record but

by 1897 he

wrote

on a

daily basis

and

i t is from th is diary

that most

of

the material

has

been taken.

Dan

was

self- taught learning to read and write

on

his

own.

He

was an

avid

reader,

following

newspapers, farm journals, and

owned

an

extensive

l ibrary.

The

reader

must

note that

Mapel wood Farm was located seven

miles

from

Emmett and ten

from

Kenockee so the family found i t too inconvenient to often

attend Mass at

the mission church at

Brockway unt i l the new Our Lady of Mt

Carmel was buil t

in

1896.

Despite

poor roads

and

slow travel by

horse and

buggy,

they attended Mass almost

every

week and i t i s his comments

about

the

parish

tha t

are

recorded here.

July 9. 1891: Mrs. Byrnes was

buried

on

the

9th. Funeral being

the

la rges t I

ever saw going

to

Kenockee. t was one

mile

and a

quarter long

- 160 teams.

July 21. 1891: Attended Father

Kilroy s

funeral. t was the biggest ever

brought

to Kenockee. The

Bishop and

Our Lady of Mt Carmel 150 Years Entire Text Recognition

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Transcript of Our Lady of Mt Carmel 150 Years Entire Text Recognition