There was a fine mist falling as Ganey family members and Our Lady Queen of Peace parishioners, about 100 people in all, gathered on Oct. 12 to celebrate Mass and dedicate a new pavilion in the church’s cemetery at the former site of St. Columbkille Catholic Church near Byrnesville.
The pavilion was built by Ganey family members in honor of Kevin Ganey who died suddenly last year at the age of 57. It also serves as a gift to the Our Lady Queen of Peace community in a gesture not unlike one at least 130 years ago when the late John James Ganey gave the St. Columbkille community 3 acres of ground to expand the cemetery.
Ben Ganey, 36, son of Kevin and great-great grandson of John James, spoke at the dedication.
“My dad’s parents were married here; my dad was baptized here. He thought it was important to maintain this property,” Ben said.
His father organized volunteers to cut the grass and keep the cemetery tidy. He also gave to the Our Lady Queen of Peace community in other ways – coaching soccer and volleyball, and he “fried a lot of chicken at the church picnic,” Ben said.
The tradition goes on as Kevin’s brother, Kenny, takes over the role of maintaining the cemetery.
An Irish Catholic community
The family has roots here, as do many other local families of Irish descent. Byrnesville was known as the “Irish Catholic settlement,” according to Della Lang in her book Along Old Gravois.
The cemetery itself testifies to that. Headstones mark the graves of families of Duffys, Dunigans, O’Briens, Byrnes, Geatleys, McKeevers and Ganeys. Those families came, as many Irish did, in the mid-1800s and settled in this hilly, wooded place near the Big River to eak out a living farming.
John James Ganey was the first of a long line of John Ganeys. So far, since John James first came to this country, the first born son of each of four succeeding generations has been named John, according to the Ganey family.
When the Irish came, they brought their religion with them. St. Patrick’s of Armagh (also known as the Old Rock Church) was established in Catawissa in 1843, and the church was constructed in 1853. St. Columbkille, located at what is now 8761 Byrnesville Road, was first built as a mission of St. Patrick’s sometime in the 1850s. The patron saint, St. Columbkille, is considered one of the three great saints of Ireland and is credited with spreading Christianity to Scotland. In Byrnesville, St. Columbkille’s first church was built of logs and then in 1864 a brick building was built, Lang said in her book.
In 1867, John Ganey settled in Byrnesville and sometime after that gave St. Columbkille the property, part of the family farm, to expand the cemetery, said the Ganey family.
It wasn’t until 1880, however, that St. Columbkille was assigned its first resident pastor, according to the history of the church on Our Lady Queen of Peace’s website.
St. Columbkille’s brick building, however, was found to have structural flaws and was unsafe, and in 1887, members of the parish had a picnic to raise money to rebuild the church, according to Lang.
Materials for the new church were shipped to Eureka by train, and then hauled to St. Columbkille by horse and wagon. The frame building was completed that same year, Lang said.
As more residents came to Jefferson County, more parishes were founded. Residents who traveled a long way to go to St. Columbkille began to attend St. John in Rock Creek or St. Joseph in Kimmswick, according to the history on Our Lady Queen of Peace’s website.
In 1905, St. Columbkille had its own mission church – St. Philomena in House Springs. It continued to be a mission church until 1948. The churches shared a pastor for many years, the history said.
“During World War I, Father Jeremiah Murphy was appointed to serve the two parishes. He remained the pastor of Byrnesville/House Springs until his retirement in 1955,” according to the history.
The construction of Hwy. 30 through the House Springs area and the following growth of the population led to an increase of parishioners at St. Philomena. By 1957, St. Columbkille, off the beaten path, no longer had a resident pastor, but was served by St. Philomena’s pastor until the two parishes merged in 1959, the website said.
Our Lady Queen of Peace was formed from the union and a larger church was built in House Springs. It was dedicated by Cardinal Ritter on July 20, 1961.
Both St. Columbkille and St. Philomena were razed, according to the website.
The new pavilion
The cemetery grounds that once surrounded St. Columbkille, however, are still a vital part of the church community. Renamed Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery, members of the parish still are laid to rest there, usually among their ancestors.
Members of the Ganey family still occupy the farmland that surrounds the church and belonged to their forefathers. “It’s a good place to live,” said Kenny Ganey, 57, of Cedar Hill. “I guess that is why we stayed here.”
His brother, Jack (John) Ganey, 63, of Cedar Hill, said he, too, is happy there.
“There’s a feeling of continuity,” he said. “My family has been here living a peaceful life, and I feel empowered to continue to live that peaceful life.”
Now the new pavilion occupies the place where the old church stood. Conceived in honor of Kevin Ganey, family members, including Kenny and Sherry Ganey, Ben Ganey and Laura and Josh Flamion, worked to build the pavilion. Josh, a carpenter by trade, took the timber to posts, carving out the design, creating the arches that are meant to resemble the former windows of the church. Stones from the foundation of the former church still surround the structure. Pieces of stained glass found in the excavation were used to create a stained glass scene of the old church that hangs in the pavilion.
Ben Ganey said his father had talked about building a pavilion in the cemetery. The new structure will serve as a shelter, a place for funeral services and an open air chapel for church members to hold Mass on Labor Day, which is celebrated each year in the cemetery.
“It was a labor of love,” he said. “My dad would be humbled and proud.”
Bishop Edward Rice officiated at the Oct. 12 Mass and dedication. Family, friends and church members then gathered under the pavilion for a meal.
