Hinkles and Hanrahans

'Cuthbert Head sold his 78 acres called "Vowel's Purchase" in St Marys Co, MD, Sep 4, 1787, and traveled overland to the head of the Ohio, then down the river to the Kentucky River and overland again to Nelson Co, KY. They disembarked from the river there to avoid the heavy Shawnee presence at the Falls of the Ohio (Louisville). He and his wife and their three sons were part of the large influx of Catholic families from St Marys Co to the area that would become Gethsemani. On Jun 30, 1788, he bought 500 acres of land along Pottinger's Creek from Charles Ewing for 150 pounds. His land adjoined the Oldham, Masterson, Brown and Athanasius Thompson properties.
It is assumed that John Vowels, son of Cyrus and Victoria Vowels, traveled back to Maryland after exploring the area in 1788, and then returned in 1791 to Nelson Co. He broought with him his wife Mary Head Vowels (daughter of Cuthbert) and his infant son John, as well as his sister Elizabeth and brother Thomas. Elizabeth married John Head, his wife's brother, in Nelson Co, and Thomas married Catherine Merriman.
Athaniasius Thompson was married to Dorothy Gristy, sister of Cuthbert's wife, and their brother Clement Gristy also bought land along Pottinger's Creek.
Cuthbert Head's will was attested to by Father William de Rohan, Basil Hayden Sr and Basil Hayden Jr, Apr 15, 1798. Those men were the founders and leaders of the great Emigration of Fifty Families planned in St Marys County, MD. Pottinger's Creek Station was the settlement site for the first of many waves of families coming to Nelson Co. The population of St. Mary's County decreased from 15,444 to 12,794 between the years 1790 and 1810. Many of these followed those first St. Mary's County pioneers to Kentucky, especially to Nelson and Washington (then including Marion) counties. The Marylanders brought with them the traditional skills of their region, including tobacco farming, distilling, and preparation of Southern Maryland stuffed ham. The first Catholic church, a log building, was built at the foot of Rohan Knob (now Holy Cross) in 1792. Since Catholic education had been banned in colonial Maryland, most of the priests sent to Kentucky had been brought from Europe, particularly from France. The diocese of Bardstown was created in 1808 with Father Benedict Flaget named as the first Bishop. Father J. B. M. David was appointed as the second Bishop in 1832, and Bishop Flaget was reappointed in 1833. With the coming of the priests and the establishment of orders of nuns, Catholic education became available, beginning with St. Thomas Seminary in 1811. However, relatively few of the early settlers received an education, and many were illiterate.'
The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky, Hon. Benjamin J. Webb, 1884.

Holy Cross Cemetery is in Marion Co, KY. The cemetery surrounds Holy Cross Church on Hwy 457 off of Hwy 527 northwest of Loretto, KY. GPS Coordinates 37.67363 -85.448032

Holy Cross, known as the birthplace of Catholicism in Kentucky, was established in 1785, when “a league” of sixty Catholic families was formed in Maryland. Each pledged to migrate to Kentucky and agreed to settle in the same area for mutual support, to increase their chances of having a priest and to establish a church.

In 1787 Mass was held in private homes. Under Father William DeRohan the first chapel was built at Holy Cross. A grotto today marks where this structure, the first west of the Alleghenies for Catholic worship, was built.

Father Stephen Badin, the “Apostle of Kentucky” and the first priest ordained in the United States, came to Kentucky in 1793 and cared for the entire state from Holy Cross. From the fall of 1822 to the spring of 1824, Belgian Father Charles Nerinckx served Holy Cross. In 1823 the present brick church was built. Father Robert Byrne, a local boy, became pastor and remained at Holy Cross for twenty years.

Father Edward Lynch built the first frame school in 1880. In 1914 three Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph arrived. A convent was built and the school was enlarged. The Ursulines stayed until 1976.

In 1958 fire destroyed the two-story frame school that had at one time housed a grade and high school. Two weeks later plans were underway to replace the school with a brick structure. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1935 with descendants of many of the original settlers present. At the 200th anniversary celebration on September 15, 1985, more than 1,000 people attended. In 1995 Holy Cross was clustered with St. Francis of Assisi in St. Francis, Kentucky under one pastor.