TERRE HAUTE —
Emma Bird stood over the tombstone that bore her name across its top.
And while dozens of visitors walked about the historic cemetery of St. Mary’s Village Parish on Sunday morning, she and others, dressed in their finest 19th-century church clothes, told the stories of their lives and times there at a church founded in 1837.
But unlike the other volunteers participating in the parish’s inaugural cemetery walk, the woman standing over Emma Bird’s grave was in fact Emma Bird.
“She’s my great-something. I’m not sure,” Bird laughed, standing beside her boyfriend, Jacob Kelley, who was dressed as Matthew James Bird, the husband of her ancestor buried there.
Born in 1870 to a Civil War veteran who hated Catholics, the original Emma fell in love with Matthew, whose family had even by then long attended the St. Mary’s Village Parish. And she broke away from her parents to convert and marry him.
That marriage produced 12 children, the last of whom came when Emma was 45 years old.
She and the baby died as a result of the birth, and Matthew, unable to handle the children, sent the youngest to an orphanage.
“We want to have six in the future, but not 12,” Emma’s namesake laughed as she finished her ancestor’s story. Growing up just two miles north of the village, the younger Emma was raised in her family’s church there. Now 18, she is a freshman at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College majoring in history.
Sunday’s program ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the graves of 10 parishioners represented by re-enactors dressed in period costume with a script detailing their lives. Organizer Edie Breneman explained that Emma Summers Bird was in fact her own great-aunt, as her great-grandparents were Birds.
“My family’s been here since 1837,” she said, explaining the first church building was erected in 1867, 30 years after the parish was born. This means her ancestors took communion with St. Mother Theodore Guerin, who first arrived there in 1840.
And it’s that history Breneman hopes to share. “This is our first year. We’re already having requests for next year,” she said, explaining that she attended a similar program at Highland Lawn several years ago.
Sunday’s program also served as a fundraiser for the parish religious education program. The small Roman Catholic church still surrounded by woods hosts 80 families today, representing about 200 members.
And while the Sisters of Providence were French, Breneman explained that most of the original families were an eclectic mix of Catholics coming north from Kentucky.
Among them were the Thrallses.
Mandy Maher, a fifth-generation member of the parish, dressed as young Juliette Thralls, who was born in 1855 to Francis and Nancy Rea Thralls. The youngest child of the family, her oldest sister became a nun.
But Juliette’s life was cut short when the drawbridge then spanning the Wabash River at Ohio Street collapsed in 1863. The 8-year-old girl and four others drowned in the accident, she explained at the gravesite now bearing that name.
Originally, though, the little girl was buried in the yard where the college’s Conservatory of Music now stands. Her body was moved to its present location during that construction.
“I just love the history of the parish,” Maher said.
Jeannette Bird Wrin, another member of the parish’s interlocking families, portrayed Margaret Friel. Friel moved with her three daughters to the small village from Pennsylvania in 1842 at a time when the parish’s third church was being built. Her daughter, Mary, married the church architect, James Roquet, and the pair moved to Evansville where they had children and started a family. But Mary and James died tragically young and their children came back to St. Mary’s Village to live with their grandmother, who routinely brought them to visit with the Sisters of Providence.
The nearby burg of “Rocky Town” is in fact named after the family, as it was originally known as “Roquet Town,” she said.
The Wrins, her husband’s family, are also generations deep in the parish, as are her own people, the Birds. And Jeanette, while portraying Friel, was just a stone’s throw from the 95-year-old grave of Emma Summers Bird.
The complexity was in fact enough to make a priest rise from the grave, as Rev. Augustine Riehle stood over his own marker, represented in the corporeal sense by Marty Patterson. Father Augustine helped visitors sort out the interwoven network of families, noting that he himself witnessed 114 marriages and performed 600 baptisms during his tenure between 1879 and 1912.
And even he had to consult a script.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
News
Re-enactors visit St. Mary's cemetery to study history
- News
-
-
Banks of the Wabash Festival is more than just yearly entertainment
Pioneers think counterintuitively. Where others see widespread apathy, they focus on the possibility for progress. In a way, the 2013 Year of the River celebration began in the 1970s.
-
Planning session aims to better Terre Haute
It’s not yet clear what will come of it, but dozens of community leaders spent the whole day Wednesday trying to develop a plan – or collection of plans – to make Terre Haute “a better community.”
-
Education funding boost won’t benefit all schools
In the budget bill passed by the General Assembly last month, there is more money allocated for K-12 education over the next two years, but that doesn’t mean every school will get more dollars.
- Day of Action job options open
-
Park Board renames land around Memorial Stadium
Land surrounding Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium on Terre Haute’s east side has been designated as Veterans Memorial Park, following a unanimous vote Wednesday from the Terre Haute Park Board.
-
Deputy suffers minor injury during incident
A Vigo County Sheriff’s deputy received a minor injury to his hand Tuesday night while subduing a drunken driving suspect who fled behind a North Terre Haute business.
-
Man accused of child neglect gets new trial date
An Oct. 15 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute man arrested in November for child neglect after he and his wife allegedly tied up and confined their adopted children in the family home.
-
Police find meth labs, arrest Pierson Township man
Police uncovered two active methamphetamine labs in southeastern Vigo County on Monday, leading to the arrest of a Pierson Township man.
-
New date set for attempted murder trial
A new trial date has been set for a Terre Haute woman charged with attempted murder.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
- More News Headlines
-
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Oklahoma Family Reflects on Lost Son
Today in History May 23
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
