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Stephenson County, Illinois Genealogy
Rev. William A. Horan
Rev. William A. Horan, late pastor of St. Mary's Roman
Catholic Church, at Freeport, Ill., was born in Pierce township, DeKalb
Co., Ill., on Feb. 2nd, 1851, and is the son of the late Patrick M. and
Mary (Hanaghan) Horan.
Patrick M. Horan was a native of Ireland,, and was born in the year 1800.
When a young man he removed to England, where he served in the British
army. In 1839 he married Mary, a daughter of Malachy Hanaghan, of county
Mayo, Ireland, their union resulting in the birth of twelve children, five
of whom are still living. In 1849, in company with their parents and other
members of their family, they emigrated to the United States intending to
land at New Orleans, but on account of the cholera were not permitted to
land but sent up the river and made the first landing at Beardstown, 111.
They went directly to DeKalb, Ill., where the father-in-law purchased a
tract of 160 acres of fertile farm land in the township of Pierce. Mr.
Horan passed away in Aug., 1897, having survived his wife, Mary,
twenty-four years.
William (our subject) attended the public schools of his native town and
the High school at DeKalb, from which he graduated with honor, at the age
of fifteen. During the following two years he remained at home on the
farm, but, determining to fit himself for the priesthood, in 1868 he
entered that celebrated institution of learning, the University of
Niagara, Niagara, N. Y., where he spent six years in the study of
Classics, and four in Theology. In 1877 he completed the University
course, and on May 26th, of the same year he was ordained to the
priesthood by Bishop Ryan, of Buffalo, N. Y., being then only twenty-five
years of age, a fact which shows that Father Horan was possessed not only
of unusually fine abilities as a scholar, but of a spirit of determination
and of habits of close application; for the training of a Catholic Priest
is very exacting, and requires, as a rule, many years of the hardest kind
of mental exertion.
Father Horan's first call was to St. James' Catholic Church, in Chicago,
as assistant pastor, under Father P. W. Reardon, the present Archbishop of
San Francisco, Cal., where he remained until 1880. In that year he was
made curate of St. Jarlath's church of which the Cook County Hospital was
a charge, where for three years he faithfully acquitted himself of the
duties of his position, attended as it was by the lurking dangers which
threaten to undermine the strongest constitution, his time being spent
mostly amid the foul airs of the hospital, until at last, in 1883; he was
compelled, through his thoroughly broken down condition, to resign his
office as curate. After a brief rest, Father Horan accepted the pastorate
of St. Thomas' Catholic Church at Hyde Park, now a part of the city of
Chicago. The parish also included the town of Auburn. During his pastorate
there Father Horan raised funds and erected the St. Lawrence church at
Grand Crossing, St. Leo's church at Auburn, the school and Parochial
residence at Hyde Park, and began the new Church of St. Thomas at Hyde
Park. He also built a fine convent for the Sisters. At the very height of
his success, in 1887, Father Horan was compelled, through his ill health,
to relinquish his work and accept of a vacation. For three years he
traveled in the United States, visiting first many of the more important
cities of the South and West, and later, in the states bordering on the
Great Lakes. In December, 1889, although still a sufferer, Father Horan
returned to the labors of the church. In 1890 he became the pastor of St.
Mary's at Freeport, Ill., where within a few months his influence was
manifested in his securing the sum of forty one thousand dollars, with
which he built the new St. Mary's church and parochial residence, and St.
Mary's school and convent in connection with the church.
Father Horan was beloved, not only by his congregation, but by every one
with whom he carne in contact. His personality was such as to compel the
respect and admiration of the entire community, and his good deeds
extended far beyond the pale of the church. The esteem in which he was
held is best evidenced by the following extract from one of the local
papers: " Next Tuesday evening the pupils of St. Mary's school will
observe the anniversary of the birth of their faithful pastor, Rev. Father
Horan, by giving an entertainment, and they wish to give the proceeds to
Father Horan as a personal gift. This is the first time St. Mary's people
have had a chance to prove their appreciation of their pastor's value as a
father and friend. We are sure they will gladly embrace this opportunity
to make some slight return to him for his many self-sacrificing deeds in
their behalf, so the children expect a large audience.
"The writer of this has been deeply impressed by Father Horan's
personal indifference to money as a possession, and still more by his
generosity with his people, his parishioners and with their children. His
contributions toward the payment of parish debts ran into the thousands;
his interest in furthering the financial welfare of individual
parishioners has always been unfailing; his influence in securing work for
the parishioners out of employment has never been refused. Never have the
people had a chance to make any personal return to him for his kindness
and generosity. Of the hundreds of dollars taken in at the office and door
of St. Mary's hall each year not a dime has been taken for Father Horan's
personal needs. Everything has been for the parishioners and for their
children. Nearly all of his salary is given to the church." Father
Horan has three brothers and one sister living: Michael, who fought in the
Civil war from 1861 to '65, and was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg;
Kate, Thomas and Stephen. Father Horan died November 5th, 1899, and lies
buried beneath the altar of St. Mary's church, which is regarded as his
monument, and an extended account of which finds a worthy place here.
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