On the 18th day of October in 1857, Victor Lebeau and Catherine O’Day were married in Chicago’s St. Patrick Parish. In my grandpa, Marvin Gregoire’s French Canadian lineage, Irish-born Catherine is the only non-french ancestor that I have uncovered.
st. patrick’s Roman Catholic church and the Chicago Irish
Old St. Patrick’s church was dedicated on Christmas Day 1856. It is one of the few buildings to survive the great Chicago fire of 1871 and is the oldest church in the city. Construction of this cornerstone of Chicago’s Irish culture was a heroic undertaking for the impoverished immigrants arriving from the famine during the 1850’s. It is constructed from Cream City Brick made from the clay of the Menomonee River Valley near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1964 the church was a designated as an historical landmark. Today it is known for hosting the “world’s largest” block party every summer.
