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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
9
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE PARISH
OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST,
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.
By Very Rev. Jos. D. Mitchell, V.G.
THE FORMING OF THE CONGREGATION.
The Catholic congregation in Savannah began to
form shortly after the close of the Revolutionary War;
and simultaneously with Savannah, two other Cath
olic settlements were established within the State—
in Augusta and Locust Grove. It will be impossible
to describe the beginnings of the Church in Savan
nah without a side-glance, at least, at these. They
share with Savannah the distinction of being the ear
liest parishes in Georgia, were often attended by the
same priest, and their oldest records appear on the
same pages. It is even probable that Locust Grove
and Augusta ante-date by a year or two the forming
of the few Catholics in Savannah into an organized
congregation.
Four causes combined in the bringing of Catholics
to Georgia; and all have had a lasting effect upon
the Catholic Church in Savannah. These were ( 1 )
migration from Maryland; (2) the French Revolution;
(3) the massacres on the island of Haiti or San Do
mingo; (4) the oppression of the Irish. To under
stand the first beginnings of the parish in Savannah,
it will be well to consider each of these briefly.
The Maryland Colony.
Just a few years after the American Revolution—
say, about 1783 to 1790—a great number of families
began to leave the former colonies of Maryland and
Virginia and migrate further South. The country had
been impoverished by the war to a degree scarcely
realizable now the very necessities of life were
scarce, and many of the well-to-do had been reduced
to a state almost bordering on poverty. Georgia was
a comparatively new country, and the land was cheap
and fertile, though uncultivated and very little of it
cleared. What the West became in after years, so
Georgia was to the people of that time. The trav^
was hard not even a stage coach was running from
Virginia through the Carolinas; and the families had
to bring their servants and bejon^ings with them and
travel on foot by private conveyance or on horseback
over roads so rough that they were scarcely more
than footpaths. Some of the best people of Georgia
came to the State in this way, and many of them
settled in the high and rich country between Augusta
and what is now Atlanta.
Among these immigrants was a small Catholic col
ony from Maryland. These people left their own
State and came to Georgia, not onl^ to secure ma
terial improvement, but the religious freedom which
the state of Georgia had proclaimed in her Constitu
tion. Despite the fact that Maryland was originally
settled b>y Catholics, and was the first place in the
New World where religious freedom was granted to
all who believed in God, the political changes which
took place had deprived the Catholic citizens of the
colony of the very freedom which their fathers had
granted to others; so in order to practice their faith
and hand it down to their children, they felt com
pelled to move elsewhere. They left Maryland about
the year 1790, just about the time when John Carroll
was consecrated the first Bishop in the United States.
They were very anxious that a priest should come
with them, but it was impossible for one to be spared
so they had to set out on their journey with only
their firm faith and .rtrust in God—hoping that their
zeal and loyalty to the Church would be rewarded
when they were established in their new home.
These brave pioneers of the faith settled in Wilkes
and Warren Counties above Augusta, and thus the
parish of Locust Grove was formed.
It was Bishop England who gave to this settlement
in after years the name of “the cradle of Catholicity
in Georgia.’’ The Catholic families who composed
the colony embrace the historic names of Semmes,
Luckett, Thompson, Scott and Hargrave; most of
them descendants of the original settlers of Mary
land when that colony was established by Lord Balti
more as a refuge for the oppressed Catholics in Eng
land. To these old families were afterwards added
the Irish names of Ryan, Griffin, O’Neill, Harty, Ford,
Treanor, Burke, and others.
Washington and Sharon of today represent the
original Locust Grove settlement; and many of the
descendants and family connections of these first
Catholic settlers are now living in Savannah and other
parts of the State of Georgia, and are numbered among
our best people in the present day.
The French Revolution.
About the same time that the colony of Locust
Grove was established, the beginnings of the great
upheaval in France had already become manifest, and
many of the nobility of that great Catholic nation,
seeing the approaching danger, escaped from the
country. A great number of these fled first to the
French colony of San Domingo, while others came
direct to America. Philadelphia afforded them a ref
uge for a time, but for reasons of, climate or other
wise some of them came to Georgia and settled in
Savannah and Augusta. The later horrors of the
Reign of Terror brought many more to our shores,
and these emigres were the first to form little Cath
olic congregations in both places. As time went on
and the Revolution had spent itself and was succeeded
by the iron rule of Napoleon, still more representa
tives of the Royalist party joined them. Among these
were many who had played prominent parts in the
history of France, and they lived here hidden in ob
scurity for many years; a few of them remaining, but
most of them returning to France after the Restoration
of Louis XVIII. The descendants of those who re
mained are with us up to the present day—some of
them unhappily lost to the faith, but others respected
members of both Church and community, and counted
among the best people of Savannah, Augusta and other
cities and towns in Georgia.
The San Domingo Refugees.
When the negroes on the Island of Haiti broke into
open revolt against the white planters and officials
of the island, taking advantage of the troubles and
upset conditions in France, a great number of the
French inhabitants of the San Domingan Colony with
their families and slaves managed to escape. Among
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