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Saint James Catholic Church
History
Catholicism's roots in the area date back to the early period of exploration by the French. Then, from about 1720 to 1793, the Jesuit Fathers of Kaskaskia, Illinois, ministered to Catholics in Washington County. After 1793, it was the Vincentian Fathers from Ste. Genevieve and "The Barrons:' called Perryville, who came periodically to care for the Catholics in the region.
When Vincentian Father John Timon (also referred to in records as Father Tyman) arrived in Potosi about 1825, he found that a small wooden church building had been erected some time previously on a site in Potosi that had been know as Mine au Breton, a locale presently called The Citadel. It was probably a small log building, as it was termed the Pytosi chapel.
Before the parish was established, Father Xavier Dahmen, Congregation of Missions, solemnizeda marriage between Alexandre Duclos and Judith Dufour on October 17, 1826, and filed it in the Book of Marriages at the County Courthouse on October 28th of that year.
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 14, 1827. The first marriage on record was that of Louis Lord and Hyacinthe Placette on April 2,1827.
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 May20, 1829, to Bishop Joseph Rosati of the Diocese of Upper Louisiana. It was Lot Sixteen of 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 the 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 in1831. It was a brick building, 52 by 40 feet, with a plastered interior. It had a bell tower and a repository for the Blessed Sacrament. There was neither baptismal font nor confessional chair. The new church was consecrated by Bishop Rosati in 1834.
One of the stories that has come down through the years concerns Colonel Michael Taney, who was a non-Catholic, and the brother of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, a Catholic. He had a farm in the Potosi area, and after becoming ill, moved to a hotel in Potosi. He was attended by Dr. John G. Brien,who was given the deed to Colonel Taney's land on the condition that if the Colonel recovered, the deed would revert to the owner. He died, and because he was penniless at the time, his friends in St. James Parish arranged for his burial in the parish cemetery. It occurred about 1845.
Catholicism's roots in the area date back to the early period of exploration by the French. Then, from about 1720 to 1793, the Jesuit Fathers of Kaskaskia, Illinois, ministered to Catholics in Washington County. After 1793, it was the Vincentian Fathers from Ste. Genevieve and "The Barrons:' called Perryville, who came periodically to care for the Catholics in the region.
When Vincentian Father John Timon (also referred to in records as Father Tyman) arrived in Potosi about 1825, he found that a small wooden church building had been erected some time previously on a site in Potosi that had been know as Mine au Breton, a locale presently called The Citadel. It was probably a small log building, as it was termed the Pytosi chapel.
Before the parish was established, Father Xavier Dahmen, Congregation of Missions, solemnizeda marriage between Alexandre Duclos and Judith Dufour on October 17, 1826, and filed it in the Book of Marriages at the County Courthouse on October 28th of that year.
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 14, 1827. The first marriage on record was that of Louis Lord and Hyacinthe Placette on April 2,1827.
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 May20, 1829, to Bishop Joseph Rosati of the Diocese of Upper Louisiana. It was Lot Sixteen of 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 the 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 in1831. It was a brick building, 52 by 40 feet, with a plastered interior. It had a bell tower and a repository for the Blessed Sacrament. There was neither baptismal font nor confessional chair. The new church was consecrated by Bishop Rosati in 1834.
One of the stories that has come down through the years concerns Colonel Michael Taney, who was a non-Catholic, and the brother of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, a Catholic. He had a farm in the Potosi area, and after becoming ill, moved to a hotel in Potosi. He was attended by Dr. John G. Brien,who was given the deed to Colonel Taney's land on the condition that if the Colonel recovered, the deed would revert to the owner. He died, and because he was penniless at the time, his friends in St. James Parish arranged for his burial in the parish cemetery. It occurred about 1845.