The Church of Nospelter Eck: A History of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Big Spring Township, Seneca County, Ohio
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Regular price $34.99
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The Church of Nospelter Eck: A History of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Big Spring Township, Seneca County, Ohio
Sale price
$28.99
Regular price $34.99
For more than 150 years, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church stood at the heart of a rural immigrant community in Big Spring Township, Seneca County, Ohio. Known to generations simply as “St. Peter’s, Alvada,” the parish served as a spiritual, cultural and social center for families whose roots stretched to Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and beyond.
Drawing upon parish sacramental records, cemetery records, newspapers, diocesan archives, civil documents, family histories, and international research, Mark Coleman, Jean Ensch, and Jayme Mathias present the most comprehensive 19th-century history ever assembled of this remarkable Catholic community. The authors trace the origins of the parish from its beginnings in1860 through the lives of the pioneering families who built its chapel, church, school, cemetery, and enduring legacy.
More than a history of a parish, this volume is a history of a people. Readers will encounter the stories of immigrant settlers, clergy, community leaders, farmers, soldiers, teachers, and families whose lives shaped northwestern Ohio. The book also sheds light on the 1876 platting of nearby Alvada, Ohio, and explores how the development of railroad, agriculture and religion transformed the region over generations.
Alongside familiar stories of faith, sacrifice, and community building, the authors examine lesser-known episodes preserved in historical records, including the 1866 impregnation of a parishioner by a Catholic priest—resulting in nearly 600 descendants in the area and throughout the world today. Such stories reveal the complex and deeply human realities that existed alongside the public life of the parish.
Richly documented, The Church of Nospelter Eck preserves the memory of a community that played an outsized role in the lives of countless families. Whether you are a genealogist, local historian, student of trans-Atlantic immigration, descendant of the parish’s founding families, or simply interested in the history of rural America, this volume offers a fascinating window into the people, events, and institutions that shaped one corner of Ohio for generations!
Drawing upon parish sacramental records, cemetery records, newspapers, diocesan archives, civil documents, family histories, and international research, Mark Coleman, Jean Ensch, and Jayme Mathias present the most comprehensive 19th-century history ever assembled of this remarkable Catholic community. The authors trace the origins of the parish from its beginnings in1860 through the lives of the pioneering families who built its chapel, church, school, cemetery, and enduring legacy.
More than a history of a parish, this volume is a history of a people. Readers will encounter the stories of immigrant settlers, clergy, community leaders, farmers, soldiers, teachers, and families whose lives shaped northwestern Ohio. The book also sheds light on the 1876 platting of nearby Alvada, Ohio, and explores how the development of railroad, agriculture and religion transformed the region over generations.
Alongside familiar stories of faith, sacrifice, and community building, the authors examine lesser-known episodes preserved in historical records, including the 1866 impregnation of a parishioner by a Catholic priest—resulting in nearly 600 descendants in the area and throughout the world today. Such stories reveal the complex and deeply human realities that existed alongside the public life of the parish.
Richly documented, The Church of Nospelter Eck preserves the memory of a community that played an outsized role in the lives of countless families. Whether you are a genealogist, local historian, student of trans-Atlantic immigration, descendant of the parish’s founding families, or simply interested in the history of rural America, this volume offers a fascinating window into the people, events, and institutions that shaped one corner of Ohio for generations!