History of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
The parish of St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, Illinois, was organized in 1841 by a small group of newly-arrived German immigrants: Nicolaus Frett, Nicolaus Adams, Jacob Schmitt, and Johann Baptist Muller. The headstone of Nicolaus Frett, one of the first persons to be buried in St. John's Cemetery, gives their exact date of arrival as August 2, 1841. They were joined the following year by other immigrants from the same area of Germany -- the Eifel region of the Rhineland.
The first priest to come upon what was then called "Miller's Settlement" was the Rev. Fr. Fisher who had lost his way returning from Wisconsin and was brought to the settlement by friendly Indians. From 1842 until 1852 the parishioners of St. John's were served by visiting priests sent from the diocesan headquarters at Vincennes, Indiana, to care for the sacramental needs of Catholics in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. With the appointment of Rev. T. B. U. Jacomet in 1852, St. John's acquired its first resident pastor and the official record keeping of the church was begun.
It is evident from the Baptismal and Marriage records that settlers from other communities without the services of a parish priest came to St. John's for these sacraments. Names common to the "Irish Prairie" are often seen. Also present are names from the German settlement at Fremont Center and the settlements in Grant and Wauconda Townships in western Lake County.
The first priest to come upon what was then called "Miller's Settlement" was the Rev. Fr. Fisher who had lost his way returning from Wisconsin and was brought to the settlement by friendly Indians. From 1842 until 1852 the parishioners of St. John's were served by visiting priests sent from the diocesan headquarters at Vincennes, Indiana, to care for the sacramental needs of Catholics in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. With the appointment of Rev. T. B. U. Jacomet in 1852, St. John's acquired its first resident pastor and the official record keeping of the church was begun.
It is evident from the Baptismal and Marriage records that settlers from other communities without the services of a parish priest came to St. John's for these sacraments. Names common to the "Irish Prairie" are often seen. Also present are names from the German settlement at Fremont Center and the settlements in Grant and Wauconda Townships in western Lake County.
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Record Transcriptions
- Early Records of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Volume I, 1852-1868 (Free online)
Early registers of baptisms, marriages, burials, translated from ecclesiastical Latin from St. John's Baptist Church in Johnsburg, IL. A surname index is also available.
- Early Records of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Volume II, 1869-1882 (Out of print)
Early registers of baptisms, marriages, burials, translated from ecclesiastical Latin from St. John's Baptist Church in Johnsburg, IL.
- Early Records of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Volume III, 1883-1909 (Available for purchase)
Early registers of baptisms, marriages, burials, translated from ecclesiastical Latin from St. John's Baptist Church in Johnsburg, IL. 104 pp. indexed.
