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June 25, 2003 - News Story
Author to Speak About Book and Local History of Church
George Neargarder, local historian and author, will be at the St. Marys Community Public Library on Monday, June 30, at 7:00 PM to speak about his book, History of Holy Rosary Church. The presentation is free and open to the public. After the presentation, the book will be available at this presentation for $35 each, and Neargarder will be available to sign copies. Those who previously purchased the book and who would like to have them signed may bring them, as well.
The history of Auglaize and Mercer Counties is closely interwoven with the history of the Catholic Church in Ohio. A Catholic Diocese was established in the early Ohio Territory, and the second bishop of the United States was present for the signing of the Treaties of St. Marys with the Indians in 1818. The first priest to be ordained in the United States, Father Badin, preached from the courthouse steps here in St. Marys back in 1832, when St. Marys was the county seat of Mercer County. He proceeded from here to South Bend, IN, where he purchased 564 acres of land for a school. Today this is the site of University of Notre Dame.
History of Holy Rosary Church contains a wealth of information about these early beginnings of the Catholic Church in Ohio, as well as a complete documentation of Holy Rosary Church in St. Marys. Genealogists will particularly be interested in the death records of Holy Rosary Church from 1857 to 1911, which Neargarder assisted in researching and translating from Latin and German along with Mary Englehart and Tom McCarthy. Parishioners’ names are also listed for the years 1917, 1929, 1942, and 2002. The hardcover book has 236 pages and 400 photos. Thirty-six pages are in color.
Neargarder has lived in St. Marys since 1940 and has been involved in Holy Rosary Parish and local history and genealogy. He volunteered to help with the book and ended up writing it over a two-year period.
For more information visit St. Marys Community Public Library at 140 South Chestnut Street, or call (419) 394-7471.
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