Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/196

 136 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI Soon after Father Gibault's appointment to New Madrid and his removal there, he be- gan and completed the erection of a build- ing for church purposes, and a house for the residence of the priest. He has left a de- scription of this early church building. It was constructed of wood and was ample and commodious in size and perfect in its ap- pointments for all of the services of the church. Of course this building has long since disappeared, together with the very site on which it was erected. The second man noted as among the priests of Ste. Genevieve deserving of a further men- tion was Father James Maxwell. He was a native of Ireland, an educated man and one of superior ability. He resided in New Bour- bon a short distance from Ste. Genevieve, and rode to his services at that place. Hi' was appointed vicar general of Upper Louisiana in 1792, and held this post for about seven- teen years. He was held in the highest es- teem and regard by the people among whom he labored, and he accomplished a great work for the church. He was killed by being thrown from the horse while riding home from the service at the church in Ste. Gene- vieve. Maxwell was very diligent in looking after the matter of land grants from the Spanish government. It is said that at one time he had received grants amounting to more than 120,000 arpents of land. The land thus claimed by him was scattered over a con- siderable part of the district of Ste. Gene vieve, but his claim to the greater number of these tracts was finally denied and he w:is left in possession of only aliout three hundred and twenty arpents. The first church building in Southeast Missouri was erected in the old village of Ste. Genevieve at a date which we are iinable to fix. It was previous to the great flood, be- cause after the year of that flood the village was moved to its present site. The church which had been erected was moved to the new site in 1794. It was a wooden structure, but large and well suited to the purposes for which it was dedicated. It was used by the inhabitants of Ste. Genevieve vintil the year 1835. It was then so old and dilapidated that it was torn down to make way for the erec- tion of a larger and more siaitable structure. Until the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, the priests were supported by the government of Spain. The salaries were paid in this way and the government also looked after the erection and care of the dif- ferent buildings. It is said that the ordi- nary pay of the priests was about six hundred dollars a year. Besides this there was usually furnished a priests' house, and there were some other minor compensations. This was a very small salarj', of course, but considering the time and circumstances under which they were placed, it was sufScient for the sup- port of priests. Of coui"se this government support was discontinued with the transfer to the L'nited States. From that time the money for buildings and for the pay of church officials had to be secured from the congregation itself. As was right, the prop- erty of the church was transferred or con- firmed to the church. The buildings in Ste. Genevieve and New Madrid were in this way transferred to the proper officers of the church. There was also a tract of land in Little Prairie belonging to the church and the title to this was confirmed by the government. The work of these missionaries and priests was. of course, rendered more difificult by rea- son of the cutting off of the support of the government. They could no longer be as-