PROLOGUE TO DEAN F. MAY FAMILY ORIGINS IN OHIO

The German nations’ agrarian production was much like that of the Irish nation - reliant primarily on potato farming. In the mid 1800's, as with the Irish, farmers were beset with a famine of epic proportions. German farmers and their families immigrated in large numbers to the "new world" of Canada and United States. Both were said to be a land rich in resources necessary for successful farming, and devoid of the scourges of famine and drought. Such immigration was the case for the Mai family from the town of Bensheim, Hessen-Darmstadt, historically a fertile farming area along the Rheine River in West Central Germany.

Suffield Ohio was established in 1802. German immigrants were drawn to this area because of its lush land of rich soil and abundant water. As was traditional "in the old country", life centered around the church. In the early settlement of Suffield that tradition was exemplified in the establishment of St. Joseph Parish in 1831. Mass was held in the homes of the settlers until a combination log chapel and schoolhouse was built in 1835. (footnote 1) This was replaced in 1838 by a frame church built on top of the hill behind where the grotto now stands . This building and four others were destroyed by fire over the next 65 years. Following the fifth fire loss around 1904, the current beautiful cathedral-style brick church was completed and dedicated on June 25, 1905.

Other than necessary skilled tradesmen, able-bodied parishioners were involved in framing and roughing out the new church. John J. May was among them. Finishing detail continued through 1911. Since that time, it has served the greater community of Suffield (footnotes 2&3)

Notes:

1. St. Joseph School claims the title of the oldest English-speaking elementary parochial school west of the Allegheny Mountains.

2. The replacement church built in 1836 was destroyed in a fire in 1837, In 1841 Bishop John Purcell of Cincinnati sent a young priest Rev. John Neumann, (who later would become the first American citizen to be canonized a saint) to reorganize the parish. The parish is renowned for its grotto where Mass is celebrated at 10:00 am each Sunday through the Summer.

3. There is a Catholic church in Heppenheim (St. Peter's). The Records Keeper (as of 1980's): Herr Hemuth Becker. The church may house records about Francis, or may know of a church closed to Kirschhausen. Unfortunately, many of the churches housing achieves were destroyed in WWII. This is true of the church in Bennsheim.