Local
Catholic Church and Family History - Genealogical Research Guide
The geographic areas of
Kentucky and Tennessee are in
the ecclesiastical province of Louisville
which includes the Archdiocese of Louisville
(Kentucky) and Dioceses of Covington, Lexington, and Owensboro
(Kentucky) and Diocese of Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville
(Tennessee). See additional links and
information for Byzantine Catholic Research.
The geographic areas of
Kentucky and Tennessee are in
the ecclesiastical province of Louisville
which includes the Archdiocese of Louisville
(Kentucky) and Dioceses of Covington, Lexington, and Owensboro
(Kentucky) and Diocese of Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville
(Tennessee). See additional links and
information for Byzantine Catholic Research.
Genealogical Research of Catholic
Ancestors
Kentucky and Tennessee
Online web sites found for the
Archdiocese and Dioceses are below with online Churches, maps and histories
highlighted. The geographic area of Kentucky includes the Archdiocese
of Louisville (Kentucky) and Dioceses of Covington,
Lexington, and Owensboro
(Kentucky)
v Archdiocese of Louisville (Kentucky)
(official), [Diocese est. 1808; Archdiocese 1937]
§ Chancery: 212 E. College St. -
P.O. Box 1073 - Louisville, KY 40201
The Archdiocese of Louisville encompasses
the central Kentucky counties of Adair, Barren, Bullit, Casey, Clinton,
Cumberland, Green, Hardin, Hart, Henry, Jefferson, LaRue, Marion, Meade,
Metcalf, Monroe, Nelson, Oldham, Russel, Shelby, Spencer, Taylor, Trimble and
Washington. See Map
Archdiocese of
Louisville / Diocese of Bardstown (Nelson County, KY), History from the Notre
Dame Archives (Indiana)
History of the Louisville
Diocese, by P. M. J. Rock, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX, 1910, by
Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
"...Prior to the erection of the
Covington Diocese (29 July, 1853), it embraced all the State of Kentucky with
an area of 47,000 square miles. Originally it was called Diocese of Bardstown,
and its bishop administered spiritually a territory now divided into over
twenty-eight dioceses (five of which are archdioceses)..."
§ Parish Directory – By County – By City – By Name – By Map
o
Cathedral of the Assumption
[est. ca. 1841] - with HISTORY as third oldest Cathedral in the U.S.
Rectory: 443 S. Fifth Street - Louisville, Ky 40202; Phone: (502) 582-2971.
Located on the site of the old St. Louis Church [est. ca. 1830]…
o
St.
Louis Bertrand Church Parish [est. ca. 1866] (Dominican Friars)
Rectory: 1104 S. Sixth Street - Louisville, KY 40203-3114.
o
St. Luke Parish [est. 1965]
4211 Jim Hawkins Drive - Louisville, KY 40229.
o
St.
Margaret Mary [est. 1951]
7813 Shelbyville Road - Louisville, KY 40222; Phone: (502) 426-1588.
o
St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church
[est. 1853]
639 South Shelby Street, Louisville, KY 40202; (502)
582-1780.
(Established in 1853, this site
includes a History from Louisville's first German Catholic Church of St.
Boniface established in 1836.)
o
St.
Joseph Proto-Cathedral - Bardstown, Nelson County, KY [Est. 1816]
designated a national landmark by the U.S. Congress. In 1808, the four new Catholic dioceses of
Bardstown, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were created at the request of
Bishop Carroll of Baltimore. "...The
new diocese of Bardstown covered almost the entire Northwest Territory, south
to New Orleans and as far north as Detroit..." In 1995 Bardstown was named
a titular see by the Vatican for its contributions to Catholic Church heritage
in America. see History.
Location: Flaget Hall, 110 North Fifth Street, Bardstown, KY
Mailing: P. O. Box 548 -
Bardstown, KY 40004-0548
Phone: (502) 348-3126; E-mail: [email protected]
o
St. Thomas Parish Bardstown, Nelson
County, KY [est. 1812]
870 St. Thomas Lane - Bardstown, KY 40004; Phone: (502) 348-3717
o
St. Joseph Catholic Orphan Society
History
2823 Frankfort Ave. - Louisville, KY
40206; Phone: (502) 893-0241
v Diocese of Covington (Kentucky) [est. 1853, formed from a portion
of the Diocese of Louisville, Kentucky]
§ Chancery: P.O. Box 15550 Covington, KY 41015; Phone: (859) 392-1500
§ The Diocese of Covington encompasses the northern Kentucky counties of
Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Kenton, Lewis,
Mason, Owen, Pendleton, and
Robertson. (see map)
§ Diocese
of Covington Archives
§ History of the
Covington Diocese, by James L. Gorey, from The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume IV, 1908, by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin
Knight.
§ Parish
Directory for the Diocese of Covington
v Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky) [est. 1988] with Parish
Directory Cursillo
§ Chancery: 1310 West Main Street -
Lexington, KY 40508; Phone: (859) 253-1993.
§ The Diocese of Lexington encompasses the eastern Kentucky counties of
Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyd, Boyle, Carter, Clark, Clay, Elliott, Estill,
Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Garrard, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Jessamine,
Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Letcher, Lincoln, Madison,
Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Nicholas,
Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Scott, Wayne, Whitley,
Wolfe and Woodford.
o
Cathedral
of Christ the King [est. 1945]
299 Colony Blvd., Lexington 40502-2322.
o
Holy Family Parish [est. 1860] -
(Ashland, Boyd County, TN)
900 Winchester Avenue, Ashland 41101-7497; Phone: (606) 329-1607.
o
St. Gregory Parish [est. 1960] -
(Barbourville, KY; near TN)
329 N. Sycamore, Barbourville, KY 40906-1129; Phone: (606) 546-4461.
o
Queen of All Saints Parish [est. 1965]
- (Beattyville, Lee County, TN)
90 Railroad Street, P.O. Box 563, Beattyville 41311-0563; Phone: (606) 464-3357.
Missions: St. Therese, Heidelberg;
Holy Family, Booneville; and Good Shepherd, Campton.
v Diocese of Owensboro (Kentucky) [est. 1937; western Kentucky]
§ Chancery: 600 Locust St. -
Owensboro, KY 42301; Phone:
(270) 683-1545.
§ Diocesan
Archives (Historical and genealogical research)
§ History of the
Diocese of Owensboro, KY.
§ 2011
Diocesan Directory (.pdf)
§ Parish Directory for the Diocese
of Owensboro
o
St. Stephen Cathedral –
Owensboro, KY
610 Locust Street – Owensboro,
KY 42301; Phone: (270) 683-6525.
The geographic area of Tennessee is within the ecclesiastical province of Louisville, Kentucky which includes the Diocese
of Knoxville, Memphis
and Nashville in Tennessee.
v Diocese of Knoxville (Tennessee) [est. 19881]
§ Chancery: 805 Northshore Drive, SW - P.O. Box 11127 -
Knoxville, TN 37919; (865) 584-3307 (Archives and Cemeteries)
§ History of Tennessee,
by Thos. J. Tyne, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV, 1912, by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
§ East Tennessee Catholic
News
§ Parish Directory – By City
- area map
o
Sacred
Heart Cathedral [est. 1952] – see parish history
711 Northshore Drive – Knoxville,
TN 37919
o
Holy Ghost Parish - Information
1041 North Central Avenue - Knoxville, TN 37917 + Phone: (423) 522-2205.
Ø St. Thomas the
Apostle Byzantine Catholic Church – Knoxville, KY (Ukrainian Catholic
Church; within the Eparchy of St. Josaphat, Parma, Ohio)
v Diocese of Memphis (Tennessee) [est. 1970]
§ Chancery: Catholic Center - P.O.
Box 341669 - Memphis, TN 38184
§ "...The Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, comprises the 21
counties of west Tennessee - Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer,
Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale,
McNairy, Madison, Obion, Shelby, Tipton, and Weakley..." The city of Memphis is located in Shelby
County, Tennessee.
§ History of Tennessee,
by Thos. J. Tyne, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV, 1912, by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
§ Diocesan
Archives and History; Phonr: (901)
373-1218.
§ The West
Tennessee Catholic Newspaper Online.
§ Diocese of Memphis Parish
Directory
o
The
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception [est. 1921]
1695 Central Avenue - Memphis, TN;
Phone: (901)725-2700.
o
St. Andrew the Apostle Parish (Lexington, Henderson County, TN) - Information
895 N. Broad Street - Lexington, TN 38351; Phone: (901) 968-6393.
o
St. Mary Catholic Church (Bolivar,
Hardeman County) - with brief History - Information
223 Mecklinburg Drive - Bolivar, TN 38008-1736; Phone: (901) 658-4627.
v Diocese of Nashville (Tennessee) [est. 1837]
§ Chancery: 2400 - 21st Ave. S. -
Nashville, TN 37212.
§ On June 24, 1883, Father
Rademacher was consecrated Bishop of Nashville. He remained the Bishop of Nashville until
1893, when he was transferred, by Pope Leo XIII, to the Diocese of Fort
Wayne. In his "History of the
Diocese of Fort Wayne", Bishop Alerding reports: "...His Vicar
General and intimate friend, Rev. P. J. Gleeson, in reply to an inquiry,
writes: "It gives me pleasure to do anything to honor the memory of Bishop
Rademacher. When he took charge the
diocese of Nashville was still suffering from the effects of the yellow-fever
in Memphis, where so many priests and religious had fallen victims to that
dreaded scourge..."
§ History of the
Nashville Diocese, by Jas. T. Lorigan, from The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume X, 1911, by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by
Kevin Knight
§ History of Tennessee,
by Thos. J. Tyne, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV, 1912, by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
§ Diocesan Parish
Directory with map - or Alphabetical
List of Parishes
§ Parish
Directory for Nashville and Davidson County Parishes.
o
The Cathedral of the Incarnation: 2015 West End Avenue – Nashville, TN
37203; Phone: (615) 327-2330.
o
Assumption Parish: 1227 7th
Avenue North – Nashville, TN 37208;
(615) 256-2729.
o
Christ the King Parish
o
Holy Name Parish
o
Holy Rosary Parish
o
St. Ann Parish
o
St. Edward Parish: 188 Thompson Lane
- Nashville, TN 37211.
o
St. Henry Parish
o
St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish [est.
1976]: 601 Bell Road - Antioch, TN
37013.
o
St. Joseph Church: 1225 Gallatin Road
S. - Madison, TN 37115; Phone: (615)
865-1071
o
St. Lawrence Church - Joelton
o
St. Mary Church
o
St. Mary Villa Parish Community
o
St. Patrick Church
o
St. Pius X Church
o
St. Vincent de Paul Church
§ Parish
Directory for Parishes outside of Nashville – or Alphabetical
List of Parishes
o
Alto - St. Margaret Mary Mission
o
Antioch - St. Ignatius of Antioch
Church
o
Ashland City - St. Martha Church
o
Brentwood - Holy Family Church
o
Centerville - Christ the Redeemer
Church
o
Celina - Divine Savior Mission
o
Clarksville - Immaculate Conception
Church
o
Columbia - St. Catherine Church
o
Cookeville - St. Thomas Aquinas
Church
o
Decherd - Good Shepherd
o
Dickson - St. Christopher Church
o
Dover - St. Francis of Assisi Church
o
Fayetteville - St. Anthony Church
o
Franklin - St. Matthew Church
o
Franklin - St. Phillip Church
o
Gallatin - St. John Vianney Church
o
Hendersonville - Our Lady of the Lake
Parish
o
1729 Stop Thirty Road -
Hendersonville, TN 37075
o
Mail to: P. O. Box 279 -
Hendersonville, TN 37077-0279
o
Hohenwald - Holy Trinity Church
o
Joelton - St. Lawrence Church
o
Lafayette - Holy Family Church
o
Lawrenceburg - Sacred Heart Church
o
Lebanon - St. Frances Cabrini Church
o
Lewisburg - St. John the Evangelist
Church
o
Loretto - Sacred Heart Church
o
Madison - St. Joseph Church
o
McEwen - St. Patrick Church
o
McMinnville - St. Catherine Church
o
Murfreesboro - St. Rose of Lima
Church
o
Old Hickory - St. Stephen Parish:
o
14544 Lebanon Road - Old Hickory, TN
37138 Phone: (615) 758-2424.
o
Pulaski - Immaculate Conception
Church
o
Shelbyville - St. William Church
o
Smithville - St. Gregory Church
o
Smyrna - St. Luke Church
o
Sparta - St. Andrew Church
o
Springfield - Our Lady of Lourdes
Church
o
St. Joseph - St. Joseph Church
o
Tennessee Ridge - St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton Church
o
Tullahoma - St. Paul the Apostle
Church
o
Waynesboro - St. Cecilia Church
For Byzantine Catholic
Churches
v The Apostolic Exarchate Armenian-Rite for the U.S. & Canada in New York
(Venerable Exarch.: Hovhannes Terzakian, 1995)
§ Address: 110 East, 12th Street - New York, NY 10003 U.S.A. Ph: (212) 477-2030
v Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark of the Syrians: Syriac
Catholic Diocese for Syrians in the U. S. and Canada (Chorbishop Joseph Younan
appointed as the first Bishop of this diocese in 1995)
§ P.O. Box 8366 - Union City, NJ 07087-8262
v Archeparchy of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania (Byzantine)
§ Address: 66 Riverview Ave. - Pittsburgh, PA 15214
v The Archeparchy of Philadelphia
(Byzantine)
§ The Byzantine Catholic Church in
America (unofficial)
For more information on the Byzantine
Catholic Churches in the United States Click here to return to Main Local
Catholic Byzantine Links
Additional Catholic HISTORY
Resources and TIMELINE:
Kentucky and Tennessee
Catholic History in Kentucky,
by Frank M. Tracy, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII, 1910, by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
History of Tennessee, by
Thos. J. Tyne, from The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV, 1912, by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition, 1999 by Kevin Knight.
St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church
- 639 South Shelby Street, Louisville, KY 40202. (Established in 1853, this site includes a History
from Louisville's first German Catholic Church of St. Boniface established
in 1836.)
1792:
Three French priests, Revs., Flaget, Levadoux, and Richard, met in
Louisville, Kentucky, and probably said Mass there for the first time in 1792.
1808 Apr 8: The Diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky was
established. It originally encompassed
the entire states of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget was the first bishop. (see Descendants of the Diocese of
Bardstown)
1837 Jul 28: The Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee was
formed.
1841 Feb 13: The see of the Diocese of Bardstown was
removed to Louisville, Kentucky.
1853 July 29: The Diocese of Covington, Kentucky was
formed, 29 July 1853, from a portion of the Diocese of Louisville, Kentucky.
1937 Dec 9: The Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky was
formed.
1971 Jan 1: The Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee was formed.
1988 Mar 2: The Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky was
formed.
1988 Sep 8: The Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee was
formed.
If you know of a web site for a
biography of a Catholic with a Kentucky or Tennessee connection, please let me
know.
• On
June 24, 1883, Father
Rademacher (1840-1900) was consecrated Bishop of Nashville. He remained the Bishop of Nashville until
1893, when he was transferred, by Pope Leo XIII, to the Diocese of Fort
Wayne. In his "History of the
Diocese of Fort Wayne", Bishop Alerding reports: "...His Vicar
General and intimate friend, Rev. P. J. Gleeson, in reply to an inquiry,
writes: "It gives me pleasure to do
anything to honor the memory of Bishop Rademacher. When he took charge the diocese of Nashville
was still suffering from the effects of the yellow-fever in Memphis, where so
many priests and religious had fallen victims to that dreaded scourge..."
• The Abbey of Gethsemani, in Trappist,
Kentucky, contains a brief biography of Thomas Merton born in Padres,
France, in 1915, he entered the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1941.
• Thomas Merton
(1915-1968) from Saint Joseph's College Wellehan Library (in Maine).
LOCAL HISTORY and GENEALOGY LINKS for
KENTUCKY and TENNESSEE
RESEARCH
KENTUCKY – GENEALOGY AND
HISTORY RESOURCES
(The links below are not necessarily
Catholic; rather, they are primarily civil and genealogical links.)
§ State of Kentucky (Official)
§ Cabinet for Health Services - Office of Vital Statistics
275
East Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40621
Phone:
(502) 564-4212
§ U. of K.: Kentucky Vital Records
Index:
o
includes Kentucky Death Index,
1911-1989 and 1987-1992
o
includes Kentucky Marriage Index,
1973-1993 and Divorce Index, 1973-1993
§ Marriage and Divorce
Records
§ Kentucky Genealogy
Records prior to 1911
§ Kentucky Historical Society: 100 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY 40601; Phone: (502) 564-1792.
§ Kentucky Land Office /
Kentucky Secretary of State – Land
Records Database
§ Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer
- from the University of Kentucky, Lexington
§ Kentucky Department for
Libraries & Archives
TENNESSEE GENEALOGY AND
HISTORY RESOURCES:
The links below are not necessarily
Catholic; rather, they are primarily civil and genealogical links.)
§ State of Tennessee (Official)
§ Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, TN
§ Circuit Court Clerk: 506 Metro
Courthouse - Nashville, TN 37201; Phone:
(615) 862-5181.
§ Metropolitan Archives of Davidson County:
1113 Elm Hill Pike - Nashville, TN 37210-3505; Phone: (615) 862-5880
§ The Friends of Archives- The Friends of the Public Library of Nashville
and Davidson County with
§ Tennessee Department of Health
§ Tennessee State Archives
& Library
o
Vital Records Death
Index, 1914-1932
o
History and Genealogy Resources
§ Shelby County (Memphis),
Tennessee
§ Memphis, Shelby
County Public Library
§ Tennessee Genealogy - TNGenWeb
§ Goodspeed's
History of Tennessee, County Histories.
Nashville: The Goodspeed Publishing Co.
1887. brought to you online by TNGenWeb
§ History
of the Catholic Church in Tennessee, From History of Tennessee From the
Earliest Time to The Present, Goodspeed Publishing Co., Nashville, TN,
1887. Retyped for the page by Diane
Payne & Danene Vincent, 1998.
§ East Tennessee Historical Society: 601 S. Gay Street (PO Box 1629) Knoxville, TN
37901; Phone: (865) 215-8824.
Explanation
and disclaimer: Though the beliefs and practices of individual members of
the Catholic Church may differ from the official teachings of the Catholic
Church, I have tried to gather information and links that appear to follow the
official teachings of the Roman See. I cannot, however, control the
content of others' web sites, and I myself can err. Please inform me of
errors on my site, and of any links which may become inappropriate to family
viewing.
I
am creating this site as a helpful guide to researching the history of the
local Catholic Churches and Catholic ancestors in this geographic area.
This is not an official Catholic Church page.
Though
links to this page are encouraged, please do not download the page without
requesting permission since it contains copyright protected material.
If
you find an error, have a suggestion, or a site that you believe will be
helpful, please let me know.
--Ann
Mensch, Professional Historical Genealogist
E-mail:
[email protected]
URL:
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~localcatholic/Index.htm
Appreciation
With appreciation and love, I would like to thank my family and friends for
their love, assistance, patience and guidance.
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004-2011,
by Ann Mensch.
Return to MENU
Copyright 1998, 1999-2011, by Ann
Mensch. All Rights Reserved.
________________________________________
References used include:
11990 Catholic Almanac. Felician A.
Foy, O.F. M. (Editor), Rose M. Avato (Associate Editor). Huntington: Our Sunday Visitory Publishing
Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
2New
Advent, Inc.
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright © 1913 by the Encyclopedia
Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright © 1997 by New Advent, Inc. (A Catholic Web Site transcribing The
Catholic Encyclopedia: an International Work of Reference on the Constitution,
Doctrine, Discipline and History of the Catholic Church. Herbermann, Pace, et al. (Editors).
Imprint: Appleton (New York) 1907-1912.)
Information learned from the web sites for the Archdioceses, Dioceses, and
Catholic Church.
List:
•
Archdiocese of Louisville
(Kentucky)
Diocese of Covington (Kentucky)
Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky)
Diocese of Owensboro (Kentucky)
Diocese of Knoxville (Tennessee)
Diocese of Memphis (Tennessee)
Diocese of Nashville (Tennessee)