Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 (Continued on Page 18)