BlairAndCernyFamilie..

J
I
-
-I
r-
1-
f-
t-
F_
I J
I J
--
r-
I
f- I
i
I
r-a
-t
F
I
I
I
I
I
I
tt
In preparing this book it would not be right and just
unless mention was given to our parish dedicated to the
Uisltation of the Blessed Uirgin l'lary at Illiopolfsl
Illinofs. It is also a memorial to the pioneer menbers
of the parish nrtto for so many years struggled to
organize it. It is further dedicated to the present
generation, descendants of the pioneers and also other
meinbers of the parish, who have continued through the
years to maintain the parish church, rectory and the
recently bui lt hal l.
The church celebrated its 100 year anniversary on
A.rgust of 1966. Before the Civil War, fs Catholics
were to be fotrnd in or near Illiopolis. After the close
of the war ard for the next ten or fifteen years, many
families, rost of Irish descent, settled on farms north
of urhere the tosr is now located aloqg the Sangaron and
lagan county lines. Arong these were found such names
as Qginlan, Blairp l{cGeel Graham, Colllnsr Gleasonl Welch,
Oonnors, Scott, Stengel, f'lcCabee Donovanl HcDermott, Hagen
and nany [x)F€o
llass was celebrated for the first time in the village of
Iltiopolis in the hotte of Dr. Bernard Stuve in the spring
of 1866.
In the autumn of 1867, under the direction of Rev. Uogtr
a rector of St. Patrickrs church in Decatur, Illinois the
first church building was colrpleted, a small frame buildingr
forty-t16 feet by twenty-four feet on lots .east of the
present rectory, where Visltation Hall is located. Once a
rilonth the parish was attended by priests cqniing on their
rounds frora Decatur, l{acon, Taylorvi lle and Springfield.
These priestrs names are not to be forgottei--Rev A. Uogt,
Rev. H. Kanel Rev. B. Claus and Rev. R. Grant.
In 1876 while Rev. llonasses Kane was in chargel the little
clrurch was enlarged by addition to meet the needs of the everd
growing congregationr n'trich at that time numbered seventy-five
to eighty families.