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Irish Catholic families in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. 

The Northwest Territory, established in 1787, included present-day Ohio. Ohio became a state in 1803. POPULATION OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: 510 (handwritten) in 1820; 935 in 1828;1080 in 1830; 2094 in 1840; 5109 in 1850; 5567 persons in 1852. 1852 HISTORY OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO with LIST of EARLY CITIZENS

It was a dream of Thomas Jefferson called the National Road which put Springfield, Ohio on the map. The National Road was our country's first federally-funded interstate highway.The road started in Cumberland, MD and headed West, inching through the forests of Western Pennsylvania and Ohio toward St. Louis, MO. It got to Springfield, Ohio in 1838 then for twelve years construction on the National Road stopped from 1838-1850.

For the next decade, the "town at the end of the pike" benefited greatly from the traffic jam. Twenty stagecoaches stopped in Springfield everyday. The tavern business thrived and drinking whiskey became the most popular pastime.

georgeann's ancestors in Springfield, Ohio include: Charles and Rosalind (ODENBAUGH) MALOWNEY who have over 100 descendents to date, Isaac and Anna (MURPHY) MALOWNEY, John W. and Ellen (WHITE) MURPHY, Owen and Katherine (McGIVNEY) BIGGINS, Michael Patrick  and Margaret Cecilia (GARRITY) KEARNS, and Peter and Bridget (GRIFFIN) GARRITY. 

Catholic Churches and schools of Springfield, Ohio  

SAINT RAPHAEL CHURCH, founded in 1849, is the pioneer parish of Springfield and Clark County. In 1848, the few Catholic families of Springfield, mostly Irish and German immigrants, began construction. In 1898, a much larger addition was dedicated. This magnificent building is in a modified Gothic style and features graceful ceiling arches, elegant space and extraordinary light filtered through beautiful windows. 

 My BIGGINS ancestors helped build St. Raphael's church. Isaac MALOWNEY married Anna Elizabeth MURPHY on June 11, 1879 at St. Raphael's Church.

Picture of St. Raphael School from The Book "The 20th Century History of Clark County and Springfield, OH", by William Rockel, pub 1908.

Charles Raphael MALOWNEY, Sr. and his sons including George Raphael MALOWNEY, Sr. attended St. Raphael's school as well as countless relatives. My grandfather, father, uncles and brothers have the middle name of Raphael after this church.

St. Raphael's is located at the corner of Rt 41 & Rt 72, 225 E. High St. http://www.ceitron.com/straphael.html   

• Sister Mary Ziebere, 2nd grade - probably about 1927
• Sister Mary Louise, 3rd grade
• Sister Rose Dennis, 4th grade (she also taught George)
• Sister Mary Raymond, 5th grade
• Sister Therese Clare, 6th grade (taught Kitty's oldest daughter 20 years later for the sixth grade also.)
• Helen GARRITY, first cousin of Kitty's mom, 7th grade
• Sister Mary Felix, 8th grade

Catholic Central High School, located at 1200 East High Street, Springfield, Ohio, dates back to the late 1920's. Up to that time the educational needs of the Catholic youths of Springfield were provided by the five parishes: Saint Raphael, Saint Bernard, Saint Joseph, Saint Teresa, and Saint Mary's. Prior to the founding of Catholic Central, several parishes instituted high school classes to complement the grade schools, notably Saint Raphael's.

By Approximately 1927, Diocesan authorities decided the educational needs of Catholic students of high school age could best and more broadly be served by a central high school. Accordingly, Catholic Central was opened in 1928 at Saint Raphael's. The the first graduating class was in 1932. 

By the mid 1950's, it became apparent that the facilities at St. Raphael's were inadequate.  The land for the new construction was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Patrick J. Shouvlin. The new school building opened its doors to the students in 1958. 

George MALOWNEY would have graduated in Catholic Central's class of 1933 but he  dropped out of school to work four jobs during the depression and help support his widowed mother and family. George's older brother John MALOWNEY and John's future wife Margaret CROWN were in the first graduating class of Catholic Central. Margaret had previously attending the St. Joseph's parish high school and John attended St. Raphael's. John's older brother Charles MALOWNEY graduated in the 1929 high school class of St. Raphael's. 

My oldest sister and two cousins graduated in the first class at the new building in 1959. "Kitty" (KEARNS) Malowney graduated from Catholic Central in 1938. In 1939, two of her future sister-in-laws graduated, Virginia MALOWNEY and Patricia (Adams) MALOWNEY . We probably have at least 50 relatives that are alumni of Catholic Central. 

Catholic church websites in the surrounding area. Many cousins lived in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. 

Archdiocese of Cincinnati Website www.catholiccincinnati.org/  

Cincinnati Catholic Genealogy and History 
Historical and Genealogical Research: Roman Catholic Resources in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio. Catholic Church Resources for those researching in Hamilton County and Cincinnati, Ohio including historical information, a bibliography, and profiles of Catholic cemeteries and parishes.

The top of a document says, SOLDIERS MEMORIAL, Spanish-American War 1898,Company B,3rd Regiment ,Volunteer Infantry,Champion City Guards. At bottom ,it says organized as Springfield Light Guards,mustered in Feb 22,1874. & mentions Camp Bushnell. There is other info a bottom, but parts there are peeled off,& unreadable. The Center list the members, both officers & enlisted men.