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Shelby County |
Home 1915 History Index |
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Shelby County |
Home 1915 History Index |
CHAPTER VI -- PIONEERS (CONT'D)IMPORTANT BEGINNINGS IN WESTPHALIA TOWNSHIP.(Facts Kindly Contributed by Rev. Father P. Brommenschenkel of Westphalia.) The first person authorized to sell land for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company in what is now Westphalia township, for the purpose of establishing a church and founding a settlement of German Catholics there, was A. H. Ketteler. In October, 1873, Fluesche Brothers assumed the agency for the sale of the land. Herman Schwarte was the first settler in what is now Westphalia township. The first marriage was that of Charles Fluesche to Miss Clara Feldman, which occurred on the present Wagemann farm, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Father John F. Kempker, who was then stationed as priest at Mr. Carmel in Carroll county, Iowa. The first mass was said at the Wagemann house by Rev. Father Heimbucher in May, 1873, there being present at that time only about a half dozen persons. Rev. Father Heimbucher was then stationed at Mr. Carmel in Carroll county, Iowa, eight miles from Carroll. The building of the first church was begun in 1872. The present site of Westphalia stands on what was once the farm of Herman Schwarte. The first priest was Rev. Father Joseph Knepple. The second was Rev. Father Peter Maly, who was a native of Bohemia. By the way, it is related of Father Maly that, at a time when his leg was broken from an accident and he was unable to walk, he was taken on sofa to see sick persons calling for him. The third resident priest was Rev. Father A. B. Weber, who built the present brick church at Westphalia in 1881. Rev. Father Weber built the first parochial school, and he brought the sisters to Westphalia about 1884. The parochial school was first taught in the public school building. Father Weber was in charge of the Westphalia parish for about five years and was a faithful, hard-working priest. It is related of him that he helped load the stone and other material used in the construction of the church and that he labored shoulder to shoulder with his parishioners in the building of the church. All of the brick for this church were made at Westphalia out of the clay on the ridge a short distance back of the present church. During his pastorate he took a vacation of ten months in Germany, during which time the parish was in charge of Rev. Father J. Cook. Rev. Father P. Brommenschenkel came from Riverside, Iowa in May, 1886. The first sacrament of confirmation was by Bishop McMullen of Davenport, Iowa. The first church bell, of the old church, was presented by Mr. Goetzen, of Atlantic, Iowa. This bell does service now for the parochial school. Near the settlement of Westphalia, back on the beautiful ridge on which it now stands, there were absolutely no trees in the settlement. It was easy for men to become lost and it is said that before the church was built a scantling was put up to mark the future location of the church and to guide men who were hauling lumber from Avoca and Harlan for the building of it. At this time many of the small streams were not bridged and it often became necessary for lumber to be taken from the wagon, carried across small streams by hand and then reloaded after the stream was crossed by the team and wagon. The corner stone of the present parsonage was laid in 1888. The building was erected by a well-known Harlan contractor and builder, William Cockerell, father of Charles Cockerell of Harlan. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Coimpany donated thirteen and one-third acres to the church and Michael Wilwerding donated five more. The first parsonage was built by Thomas Sonntag where the present parsonage now stands. The first funeral occurred in August, 1874. The first baptism was that of a child of Charles Fluesche. The first teacher was Mr. Strieter. The first dwelling was built by an old bachelor, Steaka by name, an Austrian, whose trade was that of carver of wooden crucifixes. The parochial school was built from lumber of the old church by Father Weber. The present parochial school is taught by three sisters and has an attendance of about one hundred scholars. There is a ten-months school. Many of the settlers of Westphalia township came from Bavaria, some from Westphalia, others from Luxembourg, some from the Rhine provinces, and beside there were a good many Austrians in the early days of the colony. In the present parish there are about one hundred and twenty families. The parish at one time embraced all of Shelby county. Father Weber built the first church in Harlan, C. J. and D. M. Wyland donating part of the ground. One of the early places of worship was two and one-half miles east of Portsmouth in what was then known as the Koelnische settlement. The church building erected there was afterwards moved into Portsmouth and made over into a church and school. Subsequent to the establishment of the church at Westphalia came the establishment of churches in Panama, Portsmouth, Earling, Harlan and Defiance.
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