Untitled - Digitizing America

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Fother Timon's t'irst maliage records recall the French
origins ol the parish
The Nineteenth Century
As the Catholics of the area began to coalesce,
records show that the first baptism was that of
Joseph Biron, son of Gabriel Biron and Mary
Louise Russ, on January 74. 7827. The first
marriage on record was that of Louis Lord and
Hyacinthe Placette on April 2.1,827.
After a canonical parish was founded in
1829, Father Jean Boullier, C.M., became the
first resident priest of Washington County. He
acquired a half-acre lot. The land was donated
on May 20, 1829,to Bishop JosephRosati of the
Diocese of Upper Louisiana. It was Lot Sixteen
o{ the plat of the Jones Addition to the town of
Potosi. The donation was made for the purpose
of erecting a church on the site.
It is apparent that at this time and the years
previous, circuit missionaries attended Potosi.
These priests were members of the Vincentian
Order in the Congregation of Missions, and
came under ihe jurisdiction of the Diocese of
Upper Louisiana. After becoming a canonical
parish, Potosi Catholics were attended to on a
more regular basis.
When Father Philip Borgna, C.M., succeeded
Father Boullier, he arranged for construction
of the church on the donated land in
1831. It was a brick building, 52 by 40 {eet, with
a plastered interior. it had a bell tower and a
repository forthe Blessed Sacrament. There was
neither baptismal {ont nor confessional chair.
The new church was consecrated by Bishop
Rosati in 1834. In the History of the Archdiocese
of St. Louis, it is noted that "the place
was regularly visited by Fathers Borgna and
Boullier from Old Mines until 1835, when
Father Lewis Tucker, a secular priest, became
its pastor."
Father Tucker won the affection of his parishioners
for his hard work in their behalf . When
Bishop Rosati attempted to transfer Father
Tucker in 1836, members of the parish petitioned
Bishop Rosati, requesting that Father
Tuckerbe allowed to remain. Inpart, thepetition
asked: "...let their dearly beloved pastor continue
to reside with theml' The Bishop consented,
and Father Tucker remained in Potosi
until 1844.
Among the petitioners was Firmin Desloge,
who had been sent to America in 1822 by his
parents. He was the third son of a family o{
iwelve children, and his parents felt there was
more opportunity for him to succeed in the
New World. He first stayed with an uncle in
Ste. Genevieve, and when his uncle thought
him ready, he set him up in a mercantile business
in Potosi with a Mr. Daly.
A plat oJ the Jones Addition to Potosi
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