"It was with interest mingled with sadness that we read the reminiscence of the old St. Paul's Catholic Church in Macomb. Yet the names of many people who have been instrumental in the building of the old church have been omitted. In Macomb, we have the following families: Patrick O'Meara, who came to Macomb in 1865. He left Macomb about 35 years ago to reside in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both he and his wife are now deceased, only the two children, Frances and William, are now living. While in Macomb Mr. O'Meara owned a little shoe shop on the square and worked diligently to educate his children and help to support the church. He lived to see his children millionaires.
Mr. J. Howland and his three daughters, Ann, Kate and Margaret, known as the Howland sisters, were early residents of the parish. Margaret Howland was a devoted member of the church, a splendid woman, lately deceased.
Two other of the old families of the city were the McNamaras and the Vails. In Chalmers township was the Terence Lavery family, none of whom now reside in the parish. One son, John, lives in South Dakota, where he is an extensive land owner.
A few miles north of Macomb, just north of the Patrick Laughlin farm, was the Thomas Murray family, who settled in Emmet township in the '60s. One daughter, Mrs. Mary Sullivan, now lives in Macomb.
Farther north, on what was then known as the prairies, was the home of Bernard Tierney, who came to the county in 1851, and lived in the parish the remainder of his life, with the exception of a few years when he followed the Oregon Trail of the gold fields of northern California. At that time the Edmund Burke and Joseph Wills families lived in Walnut Grove township and the John McSperritt family. Later came Patrick Tierney, Thomas Morton, the Hardeys, the Colgans and the Willis Rileys, also the Roaches, Mc Glynns and Brennans of Bushnell and the Carlins of Table Grove.
The old church had also the honor of being the baptismal place of a bishop, the Rt. Rev. Joseph Sarsfield Glass, at present presiding over the diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah. A man loved and respected by Catholics and Protestants alike for his works of charity and kindness to the poor of the city.
In St. Paul's parish were brave pioneer men and women who, undaunted by the conditions of the weather and often under adverse circumstances, drove the long miles to Macomb in order to be present at the Sunday mass. Most of the old people are peacefully sleeping in the little Catholic cemetery, north of the city. Of their descendents some are here, others are in distant places, in the Land of the Dakotahs or on the far Wyoming plains; others 'neath the mountain shadows of Colorado or Montana--yes, from the great Atlantic seaboard to the far Pacific slope, the children of St. Paul's are scattered. May they each be happy and prosperous, and when life's journey for them is over may they be with their beloved pastors--the shepherds of their flocks--be reunited in heaven, there to chant for all eternity the Gloria in Excelsis Deo before the throne of God.-- M."
Macomb Daily Journal 5 AUG 1925, (p. 5)
Mr. J. Howland and his three daughters, Ann, Kate and Margaret, known as the Howland sisters, were early residents of the parish. Margaret Howland was a devoted member of the church, a splendid woman, lately deceased.
Two other of the old families of the city were the McNamaras and the Vails. In Chalmers township was the Terence Lavery family, none of whom now reside in the parish. One son, John, lives in South Dakota, where he is an extensive land owner.
A few miles north of Macomb, just north of the Patrick Laughlin farm, was the Thomas Murray family, who settled in Emmet township in the '60s. One daughter, Mrs. Mary Sullivan, now lives in Macomb.
Farther north, on what was then known as the prairies, was the home of Bernard Tierney, who came to the county in 1851, and lived in the parish the remainder of his life, with the exception of a few years when he followed the Oregon Trail of the gold fields of northern California. At that time the Edmund Burke and Joseph Wills families lived in Walnut Grove township and the John McSperritt family. Later came Patrick Tierney, Thomas Morton, the Hardeys, the Colgans and the Willis Rileys, also the Roaches, Mc Glynns and Brennans of Bushnell and the Carlins of Table Grove.
The old church had also the honor of being the baptismal place of a bishop, the Rt. Rev. Joseph Sarsfield Glass, at present presiding over the diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah. A man loved and respected by Catholics and Protestants alike for his works of charity and kindness to the poor of the city.
In St. Paul's parish were brave pioneer men and women who, undaunted by the conditions of the weather and often under adverse circumstances, drove the long miles to Macomb in order to be present at the Sunday mass. Most of the old people are peacefully sleeping in the little Catholic cemetery, north of the city. Of their descendents some are here, others are in distant places, in the Land of the Dakotahs or on the far Wyoming plains; others 'neath the mountain shadows of Colorado or Montana--yes, from the great Atlantic seaboard to the far Pacific slope, the children of St. Paul's are scattered. May they each be happy and prosperous, and when life's journey for them is over may they be with their beloved pastors--the shepherds of their flocks--be reunited in heaven, there to chant for all eternity the Gloria in Excelsis Deo before the throne of God.-- M."
Macomb Daily Journal 5 AUG 1925, (p. 5)
