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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
CATHOLICS IN GEORGIA
M. A. O’BYRNE.
Mr. O’Byrne is one of those rare men it is impos
sible to flatter. Nothing is too good to be true about
him.
He is a native of Savannah. He was born within
the limits of St. Patrick’s parish, and educated in
the public schools of the city. He then entered St.
Vincent’s College, Beatty, Pa., where he won his
degree.
Coming back to Savannah, he entered the law
office of Col. Mercer, where he stayed until he
branched out for himself and forming with the late
P. J. O’Connor, the firm of O’Byrne and O’Connor.
Mr. O’Byrne has always been active in church
work. In the old days, before St. Patrick’s School
came under the control of the school board, he was
a collector for the school. He served on the build
ing committee after the Cathedral was destroyed by
fire in 1898. At the time it was proposed to use the
small amount of insurance to build an inferior edi
fice. Mr. O’Byrne resolutely fought this proposal,
and the present beautiful Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist is largely the result of his efforts in this
direction.
When the Cathedral was remodeled about ten
years ago Mr. O’Byrne again served on the commit
tee, and within the past three years he has been an
active member of the finance and advisory commit
tee, his business and legal advice being of great
value in the important undertakings.
He took a leading part in 1920 in managing the
campaign for funds to build and equip the Cathedral
Parish Schools for boys and girls, and his able
assistance and guidance had much to do with the
success of the move for the education of the Catholic
children of Savannah.
Mr. O’Byrne’s activities are by no means limited
to the Cathedral. He is president of the Female
Benevolent Society, St. Mary’s Orphanage, of Sa
vannah, one of Georgia’s leading proofs of the char
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE
PARISH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
SAVANNAH, GA.
By VERY REV. JOS. D. MITCHELL, V. G.
VI.
The Personnel of the Early Congregation.
Before proceeding further with our narrative of
the early Church History of Savannah, it will he
well to mention one or two of the prominent char
acters whose signatures appear on the old records
of the Church. Reference will frequently have to
be made to them, and the “setting,” so to speak, of
the old parish story will be better understood.
In 1790 there lived on the island of San Domingo
a retired French army officer, Pierre Michel Joseph
Mirault, who was a wealthy planter and a man of
much consequence at that period. It was in his
house in Savannah, in after years, that Father le
Mercier celebrated Mass before the little chapel was
built on Liberty Square.
He came to Georgia about the time that the politi
cal troubles were beginning, and settled in Savan
nah with what remnant of wealth he was able to
save. The records of Chatham County contain a
certified copy of a long agreement made in the city
of Port au Prince on San Domingo at the time of
ity of the Catholic Church. His interest in children
and their education is not limited to those of his
own faith, however, as his work as a member of the
Board of Education shows.
Mr. O’Byrne is one of the leaders in the thriving
business life of Savannah. He is senior member of
the law firm of O’Byrne, Hartridge and Wright,
president of the John Flannery Company, one of
the city’s largest cotton factors, of the Daniel Hogan
Company, retail dry goods, The Quality Shop, ladies,’
gentlemen’s and children’s furnishings, the
Semmes Hardware Company, the Savannah Cotton
Exchange and the Hibernian Society.
He is a former president of the Savannah Ware
house and Compress Company, of which he is still
a director. He is also a member of the Board of
Directors of the International Vegetable Oil Com-
pany, Atlanta, Ga., the Savannah Supply Company,
and the Savannah Beverage and Ice Company.
Mr. O’Byrne has been active in the work of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia from its
inception. He is thoroughly convinced of the fair
ness of his non-Catholic fellow citizens, and believes
it is only necessary to show them what we believe
in order to dispell the prejudice that exists in certain
quarters. He is a member of the finance committee
of the Association, and has attended practically
every meeting of officials of the organization, as
well as every convention, since it was founded. His
ripe experience, keen intellect, and calm judgment
are among the most valuable assets of the Associa
tion, and it very often takes advantage of them.
The Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia is
proud to number among its officials such a man as
Mr. O’Byrne. There is no man in Savannah held
in higher esteem by the people of that city. He is
a man who is the living embodiment of Catholic
principle, an honor to his state, his country and his
Church. And he is destined for even greater things
than he has ever accomplished up to this time.
his daughter’s marriage. The original date of this
document is Sept. 23, 1790.
His daughter, Renee Michel Mirault, was married
to Jean Berard Macquet, Marquis de Montalet, at
that time captain of the cavalry in the army of His
Majesty, the King of France, and aged 27 years.
Jean Montalet is mentioned as a native of France,
the son of Jean Berard Macquet Montalet and Louise
Caillard, both deceased; while the wife of Mirault
and mother of Renee is given as Renee Louise Mor-
riseau. Among the properties of the two families
there is mention of a large coffee plantation owned,
one-third each, by Jean Montalet, his brother Wil
liam and his sister, Madame Cottineau. The copy
of this document was recorded in Savannah Oct. 18,
1802, the eleventh year of the French Republic. The
document mentions a double marriage ceremony,—
one “according to the rite of Holy Mother Church;”
the other “according to the laws of the Republic.”
In this connection we might mention the following
series of records which appear in the old Parish
Register, and which illustrates the confusion result
ing from the old French custom of giving the same
names to different children in the same family:
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1800, occurs the marriage
record of Claudius Nicholas Lewis de Segur son of
Anthony Lewis de Segur, deceased, and Mary Nicole
Rolin, his wife of the island of San Domingo t0
Renee Michel Heloise Mirault, daughter of Peter
Michel Joseph Mirault and Renee Olive Morriseau-
On this record, the signature of Pierre Mirault,