Genealogy resources - Maps and parish histories

A small exhibit of maps that show the development of parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Also included are select parish histories with additional information on the founding of each parish, including first families and first pastors. 

There are additional parishes throughout greater Cincinnati and greater Dayton that do not appear within the boundaries of these maps. 

1838

1818 – CHRIST CHURCH

Christ Church, on Liberty and Vine Streets, was initially outside the city limits of Cincinnati, and was part of the diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky. Cincinnati was made a diocese on June 19, 1821. The congregation was under the patronage of St. Patrick. In 1822, this church was moved to Sycamore St. and named St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. In 1845, St. Peter in Chains moved to a newly built church on 8th and Plum. The old church on Sycamore was then called St. Francis Xavier.

Cathedral Diamond Jubilee History 1920

1834 – HOLY TRINITY, West End

The establishment of Holy Trinity was urged by Bishop Purcell for the accommodation of the German settlers who had come  in large numbers into the western section of the present downtown Cincinnati. Father John Martin Henni was the first pastor. Bishop John B. Purcell laid the cornerstone on April 15, 1834. 

Holy Trinity, West End, Centenary History, 1934

1845

1840 – OLD ST. MARY, Over the Rhine

The number of parishioners of Holy Trinity becoming too great, it was resolved at a meeting held in the basement of the church in the fall of 840 to erect another German Catholic Church to care especially for the northern portion of the city, which was quite removed from Holy Trinity. A committee selected for the purpose under the presidency of Father Henni chose a site on Thirteenth between Clay and Main Streets. The cornerstone of the church was laid on March 25, 1841 under the invocation of the Blessed Mary. Father Clement Hammer was appointed the first pastor. 

Old St Mary Diamond Jubilee History

1844 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, Over the Rhine

The first filial church of St. Mary’s was St. John the Baptist, which was rendered necessary in 1844 by the continued influx of German Catholic immigrants to the northern part of Cincinnati. The parish was organized by Father Joseph Ferneding.

St John the Baptist OTR handwritten history 

1845 – ALL SAINTS, Fulton

There was a need for an English speaking parish in the eastern part of the city. Father Olivetti, in charge of the organization of the parish toward the end of June 1845, bought a Methodist church, situated on Goodlow St. opposite Kemper Lane, had it repaired and ready for dedication on November 9,1845. 

1845 – ST. FRANCIS XAVIER, Downtown

When the Cathedral moved to a newly built church on 8th Street, the old church on Sycamore was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier and served the English speaking Catholics in the area. 

1855

1846 – ST. PHILOMENA, Downtown

A growing German Catholic population in the eastern section of the city and the number of parishioners attending Holy Trinity, led to the organization of  the fourth German Catholic church in the city, St. Philomena. Father Hengehold was selected as the first pastor. 

1846 – ST. JOSEPH, West End

In the western section of the city, Catholics from Holy Trinity and St. John’s were organized into a new church by Father William Unterthiner, OFM, pastor of St. John’s. A lot was purchased on Linn and Laurel streets and the cornerstone laid in 1846. Father Luers became the first pastor. 

1847 – ST. MICHAEL, Lower Price Hill

In the early part of 1847, forty five persons organized themselves into a new congregation in Lower Price Hill. The church was dedicated in 1848 and Father Zoppoth was named the first pastor. 

1848 – ST. PAUL, Over the Rhine

The second filial parish of St. Mary’s, was organized in the winter of 1847-1848 by Father Joseph Ferneding of St. Mary’s to provide for the overflow members of that church. The cornerstone of St. Paul’s was laid in 1848 and the church dedicated in 1850. 

1850 – ST. PATRICK, Downtown

A large Irish colony had grown to great proportions in the southwestern portion of the city, it was proposed in 850 to build a church for the English-speaking Catholics of that section. A lease on the northeast corner of Third and Mill streets was executed on May , 1850. Upon this site, Father Cahill, to whom the organization of the parish had been entrusted, built the church of St. Patrick in the same year, having it blessed by Bishop Lamy on November 24th. 

1852 – ST. AUGUSTINE, West End

The second offspring of St. Joseph’s church was St. Augustine’s, which was organized by Father Edward Purcell in 1852 as an English speaking congregation. The cornerstone of the church, which was to serve likewise as a chapel for the Ursuline sisters on Bank street, was laid on August 29, 1852, and the dedication occurred on October 16, 1853. father Boulger was named as pastor. Failing of support, however, and with a great influx of German Catholic immigrants, the congregation was made over to the German speaking Catholics of the vicinity on June 14, 1857. 

1853 – ST. THOMAS, Downtown

St. Thomas church on Sycamore, between Fifth and Sixth streets, was purchased by Archbishop Purcell in 1852 from the Soule Chapel Society, Methodist Episcopal Church South, and was blessed the following January. This church bore the distinction of having been the church in which the Purcell-Campbell debate had been held in 1837 and was destined to take care of the overflow of St. Francis Xavier. It was transferred to the Jesuit fathers in 1860. It was demolished in 1918. 

 

1929

By 1929, there are over 60 parishes in the City of Cincinnati and surrounding communities.

Maps of parishes in dayton

1855

1837 – EMMANUEL

Rev. Emanuel Thienpont organized the Catholics of Dayton into a parish in 1837. From its founder, the new Church received the name Emmanuel and was dedicated in November, 1837. The Irish Catholics separated from Emmanuel to form St. Joseph parish.

Emmanuel diamond jubilee 1912

1847 – St. Joseph

In Dayton itself, the first filial church was that of St. Joseph at Second and Madison streets, which was organized by Father Patrick O’Mealy to care for the Irish families in the eastern part of the town. These families found the distance to Emmanuel Church rather great, and the necessity of German sermons for some of the people of Emmanuel an inconvenience. 

St Joseph Historical Notes

1852 – Our Lady of Good Hope, Miamisburg

Miamisburg, ten miles south of Dayton, where many German immigrants had settled in the beginning of the thirties, was formed into a parish in 1852, when a church was dedicated under the patronage of St. Michael. The parish now bears the title which it received in 1881 of Our Lady of Good Hope. 

1895

1859 – St. Mary

With the growth of East Dayton and the settlement there of a great number of German Catholics, a combination church, school and parsonage was begun in 1859 by Father Schiff in the newly organized parish of St. Mary.

1859 – Holy Trinity

The third filial church of Emmanuel was organized, likewise in the eastern section of the city. Father Goetz was given charge of the organization, and had the church completed in 1861.

Holy Trinity Golden Jubilee 1911

1883 – Sacred Heart

St. Joseph’s excessive membership occasioned the organization of Sacred Heart by Father Hugh J. McDevitt, west of Emmanuel’s. 

1887 – Our Lady of the Rosary

To relieve the congestion of Holy Trinity and to facilitate the attendance of children at school without endangering their lives on their way to school, Holy Rosary parish was formed in 1887 by Father Frohmiller. 

1893 – St. John the Baptist

Another filial parish of Emmanuel, St. John was organized by Father Charles J. Hahne with the formation of the St. John’s Building Society in 1891, though a church was not built and accepted by the archbishop until 1893, when Father Franz was placed in charge of the parish. 

Maps of parishes in other cities and towns

1838

1830 – St. Martin, St. Martin

St. Martin in Brown County was the second parish established in the Archdiocese. As early as 1820, several Catholic families had settled upon land thirty miles northeast of Cincinnati on the east branch of the Little Miami river. Father Kundig was sent to St. Martin to organize a parish in 1830, and completed the church in 1831. 

1832 – St. Stephen, Hamilton

Inspired by preaching by Bishop Fenwick and Father Mullon at the courthouse, the inhabitants of Hamilton established the third parish in the Archdiocese. Ground was bought and a church building erected, which was finished in 1836. 

1834 – St. Augustine, Minster

A colony of German immigrants, mostly from Munster, Westphalia, settled in 1831. Served by Father Horstmann as a mission for some time, the inhabitants then built a log church and served the nearby communities as the first parish established in the northern counties of Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby, and Darke. 

1836 – Sts. Peter & Paul, Petersburg

The second foundation of Father Horstmann was the congregation of Petersburg, about one mile south of Freyburg and two and a half miles northeast of Botkins. Here a log chapel was built in 1836 but the formal organization did not occur until later, in 1840.  

1836 – St. John, Maria Stein

When the constitution of St. Augustine, Minster was drawn up, it also included a consideration of the neighboring settlement at Maria Stein, which could receive ministrations of the pastor of Minster. A log church was constructed the following year. 

1837 – St. Patrick, Fayetteville

The first filial parish of St. Martin was organized under the guidance of the priest at St. Martin’s, Father Masquelet. 

1837 – St. Mary, Arnheim

The second of St. Martin’s filial parishes, resulted from the zeal of the Catholic laymen at Arnheim, a village to the northeast of Georgetown in Brown county. Catholics resided there since 1827. The parish was originally called St. Wendelin. 

1838 – St. Michael, Fort Loramie

The second parish out of Minster was formed when fifty families which had been brought together at Fort Loramie, largely on account of the work to be had on the Miami canal, united to form the congregation of St. Michael. 

1845

1839 – St. Henry, St. Henry

The fourth filial parish of Minster was founded at St. Henry, were twenty members were organized into a parish, and a frame church was built by them in 1839. 

1839 – St. Joseph, St. Joseph

1839 – St. Joseph, Wapakoneta

The people of Wapakoneta attended the church in Petersburg until 1839, when they built their own frame church, which was first served by father Herzog, but received its greatest care from his successor, Father Navarron. 

1839 – St. Philomena, Stonelick

The third and last filial of St. Martin’s was the parish at Stonelick in Clermont County, which was formed to acommodate the French and German immigrants who had settled in that vicinity. Fathers Gacon and Cheymol of St. Martin’s established the parish in 1840 when the log church of St. Philomena was dedicated.

1839 – St. Denis, Versailles

1840 – St. Michael, Ripley

1843 – St. Mary, Piqua

1844 – St. Rose, St. Rose

Sources

Lamott, John H. History of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1921.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Clerus Cincinnatensis, A Directory of clergy and parishes of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1821-2021, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2021.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Clerus Cincinnatensis, A Directory of clergy and parishes of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Vol. 2, No. 2, October, 1946.

Robinson, E. Atlas of the City of Cincinnati Ohio, 1883-1884.