Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1908-07-04

torian. He has as yet written no his
tory of Kentucky, as histories go; but
he has been a chronicler of events.
He has a peculiar facility for putting
facts before the public in terse terms.
To him 1t has been a labor of love.
No mercenary motives have led him
to do the arduous work he has done
in collecting facts about Kentucky's
early history. Neither have they en-
tered into his work as editor of the
Record, the Official organ of the do
cese, and upon which st. Vincent's
and st. Thomas Orphan Asylums
largely depend for their support.
First of all, he is a man of God. To
that end he subordinates every other
motive. He has charity for all, but
has made the care of the orphans
his great life work Yet he loves
this diocese, Kentucky and her peo-
pie. He sees the works of God in
everything and has chronicled many
events in Kentucky's history for the
benefit of those who are now living
and those who are to come after all
the rest of us are gone.
In 1887 Father Deepen published
the Catholic Family Guide, an alma
nae or Catholic calendar as it were.
In 1t was chronological table of the
principal events of the diocese of
Louisville that had never been put
before the public so succinctly. We
learn from this table that La Sale,
French Catholic, was the first white
man to visit the Falls of the Ohio in
1867. That was 241 years ago. Dan
tel Boone made his first visit to Ken
lucky in 1868, almost a century after
La Sale. Four years later Daniel
Boone, with a party, returned to
Kentucky, and on July 8 of the same
year Capt. Thomas Bullitt camped at
Louisville. He laid off the site of
Louisville a month later
In 1775 a colony of Catholics set
tied at Harrodsburg, and three years
later Col. George Rogers Clark estab-
lished a temporary settlement on
Corn Island. Christmas was cele-
barted for the first time in Louisville
at a fort on Twelfth street in 1878.
In the following year the settlement
but the winter was very severe
DcdTS, WOlNtS, DulIdlOeS, uter
and turkeys were frozen to
death. In those days big
game was plentiful in Kentucky
and the early colonists were not hard
up for flesh, though they were in
constant danger of attacks from In
dians If they attempted to cultivate
crops in the field.
In 1880 the city of Louisville was
established as a corporate body by
act of the Virginia Legislature, and
In the same year the first settlement
III Hardin county was made on the
site of the present city of Elizabeth
town. The first court In Kentucky
was held at Harrodsburg in 1881. In
1885 twenty-five Catholic families
from Maryland, descendants of those
who had come from IrelaNk with
Lord Baltimore. settled in Nelson
county, near Pottinger creek. The
Rev. Father Whelan, an Irish Fran
ciscan, was sent to Kentucky as its
first missionary priest in 1887, and
on November 4 of the following year
Bardstown was Incorporated as a
town. At that time the white popu-
lation of Kentucky was 10000. The
winter of 1888 was very severe and
the Ohio river at Louisville was froz-
en- up from Christmas until March 49,
Father William De Rohan, an Irish
missionary priest, arrived in Ken
lucky In 1890. and In the same year
built log chapel, the first church
Id Kentucky At that time the ag-
gfegate population of Louisville was
0l0 cossIo Eofbor III a Uof offo~uro -
the first Bishop of Louisville. cele'