Loreto
Rev. Felix Andrew Byrne named Loreto in Sauk County, Wisconsin, for a small hill town in Italy in the province of Ancona in the Marche.
He was born in 1864 in Millville, Iowa, the son of Irish emigrants. In July 1899, he preached his first sermon at the St. Patrick Catholic church in Loreto, in Bear Creek Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin.
Early parishioners of St. Patrick were mainly of Irish descent. There were four St. Patrick church buildings; the first three burned down. The first two were located on the site of Our Lady of the Field Chapel in Section 4 of T10N R3E. The third church and current church are in Section 14 of T10N R3E.
Over the years, St. Patrick's at Loreto has become a mission of other churches, including St. Luke in Plain. As of 2020, St. Patrick is merged with Holy Family Parish, LaValle, and St. Boniface Parish in Lime Ridge.
See the "Naming of Loreto" in the June 2020 issue of Old Franklin Township Historical Society newsletter: https://oldfranklintownshiphistoricalsociety.weebly.com/newsletters.html
The story has one error and says, "Max Gaertner held services in the Donahoe home from 1855 to 1860." We have since found that Rev. Gaertner left Wisconsin in 1858 and went back to Stift Wilten in Austria.
Sources include:
History of Catholic Church in Wisconsin. Rev. Felix Byrne (portrait), pastor at St. Bridget in Ettrick
A Standard History of Sauk County, Wisconsin" by Harry Ellsworth Cole, 1918. Page 413: "Loretto -- Discontinued postoffice in the Town of Bear Creek, named by Rev. Fr. T. A. Byrne for Loretto, Italy. It is sometimes spelled Loreto."
History and record of noteworthy events of St. Patrick’s Church, Marble Ridge, [Loreto] Sauk Co., Wis., 1890-1959. A handwritten history of St. Patrick’s Church located near Plain, Wis., written by Reverend Stephen Duren for the period 1863-1891 and subsequently updated by others. Duren covers such events as the first Catholic settlers to the area, first church services, construction of a second church and its destruction by fire, and the planning and construction of the third church. There is a lapse of historical data from 1905 to ca. 1957 except for a list of the pastors. Also included are notes about remodeling, newspaper clippings on a chapel re-dedication, a list of parishioner donations, and inventories of furnishings and other church property. Repository: Wisconsin State Historical Society Archives (Madison, Wisconsin). Manuscript collection. RLIN Number: WIHV92-A168. Call Number: M92-067. Shelf Location: MAD 4/Unprocessed SC file. 1 folder. https://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/9911125122102121
Our Lady of the Fields. 1997. Author Rose Ann Blau who wrote the book with information given to her by Thomas and Katherine Fargen. This book includes a transcription of the handwritten history, History and record of noteworthy events of St. Patrick’s Church, Marble Ridge, [Loreto] Sauk Co., Wis., 1890-1959.
Chapter: Cemeteries & churches. St. Patrick's Cemetery, Our Lady of the Fields Chapel south of Hillpoint on County G (near Loreto). Looking into History: The Sauk County Area. Author Dean O'Brien. 2001.
1922 Standard Atlas of Sauk County, Wisconsin. Geo. A. Ogle & Co. Page 75 and 77, photos of St. Patrick church and rectory at Loreto
Early Postal History of Sauk County [Wisconsin]. By William C. Thies. Written after 1957. Found amongst the notes of Hildegarde Thering and scanned by Gary Haas in 2003. Loreto: 1st postmaster was Felix A. Byrne
The History of Churches in Sauk County Wisconsin featuring Ghost Churches; by Bernadette Durben Bittner, 1977.
Illustrations: St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Loreto. Standard Atlas of Sauk County, Wisconsin. Geo A. Ogle & Co. Publishers & Engravers. Chicago. 1922. 100 pages. Page 77, Loreto
Ancestry.com database: U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971. Loreto, Sauk County, Wisconsin. Formerly Marble Ridge post office.
Good Old Golden Rule Days: A History of Sauk County Wisconsin Country Schools (1994) By the Rural Schools Research Committee, Sauk County Historical Society, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Page 71, Loreto School, Bear Creek Township
Wisconsin: Its Territorial and Statehood Post Offices. Bulletin No. 23. Page 318 (date of 2001)."Loreto. Established May 14, 1900, with Felix A. Byrne as postmaster. The office was discontinued January 31, 1907, with mail service from Sandusky. It was located in Section 14, T10N R3E in Bear Creek Township." "Marble Ridge: Established October 19, 1860, with Abijah Sweet as postmaster. . ."
Our Lady of Loreto / Loretto church. Looking into History: The Sauk County Area. Author Dean O'Brien. 2001. Chapter: Cemeteries & churches. Book at Sauk City Public Library, Sauk City, Wisconsin. Call #Wis 997.5 OBR. Pages 163-166
Loreto School, Joint District No. 9, Highway G, Town of Bear Creek, County of Sauk [Wisconsin], 1855-1960. By Kathleen Jordan Lins, May 2007.
Grave marker photo, Rev. Felix Byrne: Hope Cemetery, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Our Lady of the Field's Shrine. Celebrating Faith, St. Luke, Plain, 140 Years; St. Patrick, Loreto, 131 Years. 1997. (Sauk County, Wisconsin). Publisher: United Church Directories, A Life Touch Company, Galio, Ohio. (Has some incorrect info about naming of Loreto)
Wikipedia:
"The Basilica della Santa Casa (English: Basilica of the Holy House) is a shrine of Marian pilgrimage in Loreto, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. A legend claims the same house was flown over by angelic beings from Nazareth to Tersatto (Trsat in Croatia), then to Recanati, before arriving at the current site."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_della_Santa_Casa
"Loreto is a hill town and comune of the Italian province of Ancona, in the Marche. It is most commonly known as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreto,_Marche
Newspapers:
Weekly Home News (Spring Green, Wisconsin):
May 26, 1887, St. Patrick's in Loreto fire
Dec. 15, 1887, Loreto church location
February 23, 1888, St. Patrick rebuild committee
March 8, 1888, St. Patrick to be built not on the old site (correction)
August 24, 1899, page 2: "Thirteen hours adoration will be conducted in St. Patrick's church, White Mound, September 5th, by the pastor, Father Byrne, and Father Laurer of Plain."
July 29, 1899, Catholic Church at White Mound [Loreto]. Rev. Felix A. Byrne
Feb. 22, 1900: "Rev. Byrne's Lecture. Rev. F. A. Byrne, pastor of St. Patrick's church, White Mound, is announced to lecture in Post's opera house Sunday afternoon next at 3:30. His subject is "The Men and Religion." Wherever Rev. Byrne has spoken the press speaks in the highest terms of him, his work and his lectures. He recently gave a series of lectures in Trempealeau, Galesville, Ethrick and Black River Falls, and all the papers of those places are unanimous in expressions of commendation. Pleasing entertaining and instructive. Free to all. Excellent music. Rev. Byrne is a young man, and while it is hoped that Spring Green in general will turn out to hear him, it is desired that the young people of the town and vicinity have a good representation present."
June 14, 1900, page 3 col. 3 "Loreto. The new post office has been opened for the business of Uncle Sam.
June 14, 1900, page 2 col. 2, "Loreto is a new postoffice established at Marble Ridge, and Rev. F. A. Byrne, rector of St. Patrick's church, has been appointed postmaster. . ."
Aug. 9, 1900, Loreto column: "Father Byrne preached his farewell sermon yesterday"
August 1903, Rev. Byrne visited Fr. Vaughn at Loreto, and the next month attended the cornerstone laying at St. Luke's in Plain.
Baraboo Weekly News (Baraboo, Wisconsin), July 18, 1912, page 4, column 6:
Sauk County Place NamesARTICLE XXI.Cities, Villages and Settlements Continued.Loretto—Formerly a postoffice in the northeast portion of the town of Bear Creek. Concerning the naming of the postoffice Rev. Father T. A. Byrne, wrote: “Cheerfully do I grant your only reasonable request. In the month of June 1899, the Rt. Rev. James Schwebach, bishop of La Crosse, appointed me pastor of St. Patrick’s congregation three miles from White Mound, Sauk county, Wisconsin. I arrived at my new post of duty on the 18th of July, 1899. To get my daily mail I was obliged to drive or walk three miles. A few months later I applied to our good congressman, J. W. Babcock, for a postoffice at the church. The office was secured through the kindness of Mr. Babcock. When I was about to choose a name for the office, Rev. Fr. P. F. Garrity of Black River Falls happened to be paying me a visit. Among the names suggested he favored Loretto; so did I. It was short and sweet; sweet because of sacred memories. Loreto (it is and may be spelled Loretto) is the name of a famous little city in Italy which is noted as the site of the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called Santa Casa or Holy House, and which is reputed to be the identical house in which the Holy Family lived in Nazareth. It is believed to have been miraculously transported to Loreto in the year 1295. Thousands of pilgrims visit this shrine annually. This is what makes the memory of the name sweet to me. The word itself is also musical as well as short. I was also appointed the first postmaster of Loreto.” With the coming of the rural carriers the office was discontinued.
https://newspaperarchive.com/baraboo-weekly-news-jul-18-1912-p-4
Kenosha Evening News (Kenosha, Wisconsin). December 5, 1953, page 4, columns 4-5: The Holy House of Loreto in Loreto, Italy. by Canon Howard V. Harper