THE STORY OF ASSUMPTION OF B. V. M. CHURCH By John J. Foster 1951 >From 1735 to 1752 thousands of immigrants came into province. In the autumn of 1749, twenty vessels brought twelve thousand German passengers to Philadelphia. Among them was Johannes Arnolt, ancestor of many of the present Arnolds, parishioners of St. Mary's. The exact date on which the first chapel was erected within the present boundaries of Lebanon County is not known. The location of the chapel, however, has very definitely been established. A man by the name of Arendorf, who lived about three miles north of the present city of Lebanon in North Lebanon Township, donated a plot of ground sufficiently large for a church and an cemetery. On this plot was erected the first Catholic Church in this vicinity and one of the oldest in the State. The first rude log chapel, though not large, was of such size as to accommodate all who were then enrolled as members. The site of this log chapel was about one-half mile south of the present Kimmerling's Church. There is preserved to this day the small cemetery, surrounded by a crumbling stone wall, in which lie buried the remains of our pioneer Catholics. The old block church soon became unfit for religious purposes, and the small band of Catholics, although widely scattered, was invited to attend services at the house of Jacob Arnold who lived in the neighborhood of the chapel. The people eagerly flocked to Mr. Arnold's house whenever word was brought that the priest was coming. The first members of St. Mary's Congregation, lies buried in the old cemetery in North Lebanon Township. John Arnold, Hermanus Arnold, George Zweier and wife, Jacob and Joseph Aurentz, and others are some of the oldest members who are there also awaiting the Resurrection. If Father Fitzsimmons had carried out his intention and given the names of his parishioners, the complete list would be very valuable, but unfortunately he failed to do so. The following names, however, are found, all in the same hand writing: Mr. Thomas Denison, Senr....43 years Thomas Dension.....................14 years John Dension..........................18 years Samuel Denison......................16 years Abigail Mushroe, alias Denison, by her husband, will make a public profession of the H. R. Faith on the 17 of May. Christian Orindorf......................5 in family John Orindorf.............................4 in family John Aurens...............................3 in family George Curl's family..................6 in family He himself is not a public Roman Catholic; his wife is. John Orindorf and Magdalena, his wife Thomas Denison, Junr. Cath. Arnold Thomas Denison, Senr. Christian Zweyer Maria Aurens Frances Zweyer Elizabeth Alwayn Christian Orindorf John Aurens--Trustee man Conrad Alwain Herman Arnold Philip Alwayn The little Catholic community held services at the Arnold home until 1810. June 27, 1810 Sometime later, the same newspaper, in commenting on the event, stated that "the ceremony of the corner-stone laying occurred the day before yesterday at 11 o'clock in the morning. Work on the building went steadily on until the spring of 1814 when the church, which had been consecrated to the Blessed Virgin, was solemnly dedicated to the service of God by an English-speaking priest from Lancaster, whose name we cannot learn. The building committee, the four out-standing parishioners of the little flock, was composed of Hermanus Arnold, George Zweir, Jacob Aurentz, and Conrad Allwein. Before the dedication, the balance of the debt on the Church was removed by these four men, each giving $250.00, the entire debt being 400 pounds. THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL The first teachers were lay persons, and the names of Mr. Stengel, the first teacher, of Mr. Rockelle, Mary Eckenroth, Mr. Ruf, and Henry Allwein, were held in high esteem by the first pupils of St. Mary's School. There is still preserved today, "The Monthly Report", kept by Mr. Henry Allwein for the years 1865 to 1867. This report list the pupils and their ages up to December 1865. Male Pupils Female Pupils Ambrose Allwein 9 Mary G. Allwein 4 Henry Allwein 8 Agnes Arnold 11 Charles V. Arnold 9 Alice Arnold 7 Edward Arnold 10 Rose Greth 6 John A. Arnold 12 Mary Greth 7 Frank Greth 7 Beckie Seifert 9 Moses Seifert 12 Maria Seifert 11 (There are other names of course, check this book). THE NEW CHURCH The Allwein/Arnold windows in the body of the church were as follows: Saint Henry.................Herman Arnold Apostle Saint Philip....Philip Allwein Saint Elizabeth...........Elizabeth Arnold Apostle Saint James...Jacob Arnold A bad windstorm had blown out one of the large windows on the side of the church. A close examination of the other windows showed them to be in such a state of deterioration that it would be wise to replace them also. The big north and south transcept windows were replaced with new stained glass, each costing $1,100 and imported from Innsbruck, in the Tyrol, Austria, through metropolitan agents in this country. One of the windows represents the Nativity and is the gift of the family of Anna Greth. The was given by a friend of Manus Friel, a deceased member and most generous supporter of St. Mary's. It represents the Ascension. The other windows were replaced and paid for by societies of the parish and by families in memory of their parents as follows: Moses.............................Herman & Elizabeth Arnold Tobias and the Angel......Philip & Elizabeth Allwein The Transfiguration........Joseph & Mary Bowman Sermon on the Mount.....Moses & Sarah Arnold Marriage at Cana............Jacob & Catharine Arnold The current church of St. Mary's used these stained glass windows in there building. (N.A.N.) HOLY CROSS CEMETERY The first grave was opened in 1971 for Mr. Stephen Allwein. Have a nice Easter!!!! Cousin Nancy