Nicholaus Fedy

- 1856

• Name	Nicholaus Fedy
  Born	Of, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	weaver
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-110860
  Died	1856	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	St. Mary Of The Visitation Roman Catholic Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo, Ontario
  Person ID	I110860	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

• Notes

  St. Mary of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church Early missionaries came to the area c.1827 beginning with Father James W. Campion who was followed by Father Cassidy and Father John Cullen. Next came the St. Agatha missionaries, Fathers John Louis Wiriath (1834-1837), Peter Schneider (1837-1844), Simon Sanderl (1844-1846), and then the Jesuits. About this time a Mr. Barrett of Puslinch approached Rev. John Holzer, the Jesuit Superior, about building a church in Hespeler. Rev. Holzer agreed to the request. The cornerstone for a stone church was laid on September 6, 1857. Consecration services were held later that autumn by the Rt. Rev. John Farrell, Bishop of Hamilton. A large addition was built c.1900 which changed the rectangular church into the shape of a cross. Sadly, the church was destroyed by fire on March 18, 1916, at which time the congregation purchased the former Presbyterian Church nearby on Cooper St. This building had become Alexandra Hall in 1910 when the Presbyterian congregation had moved into their new church on Queen Street East. The new St. Mary of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church was dedicated on June 25, 1917. Another fire on January 19, 1918 destroyed the altar and caused considerable smoke damage to the interior of the church. The damage was repaired in good time. Renovations to add space were made in 1957 and 1966. Father George Laufhuber began the Hespeler Register in 1857. Some early records could be at St. Agatha, or at the Church of Our Lady in Guelph, as the parish at one time was in charge of the Jesuits from Guelph. Records from 1863-1868 could be in Paris as the Parish at that time was attached to Paris. In 1901 the church was reported to be attached to Galt. Father Joseph F. Crofton became the first resident priest on March 25, 1906. The first burial in the church cemetery was that of Nicolaus Fedy in late 1856. The first Baptism is said to have been in the spring of 1858. Baptisms and Marriages for the Niagara District 1830-1832 (Norfolk 1992a) and 1827 Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials at Dundas, and Guelph 1827-1830 (Norfolk 1992b) have been transcribed and are available at the Kitchener Public Library. *No access is permitted to the church records. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose _______________ CHAPTER II. \endash EARLY CATHOLIC SETTLERS IN AND AROUND HESPELER. It could not be ascertained who these were and when they came, Mr. Nicolaus Fedy, a weaver, seems to have been one of the earliest ones. When the project of building a church was proposed he offered a plot of land on the top of a hill for the church site, two roods and twenty-eight perches. The deed was made Dec. 8th, 1855. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN WATERLOO COUNTY BOOK I With a Summary History of the Dioceses of Hamilton, Book II, and a List of the Clergy Who Labored In Its district from the Beginning to the Present, Book III. By Rev. Theobald Spetz, C.R., D.D. 1916

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - - Of, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 1856 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - St. Mary Of The Visitation Roman Catholic Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo, Ontario  = Link to Google Earth