Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Dunne, Rev Patrick W 
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Author: Past and Present Will County IL; 1907

Rev. Patrick W. Dunne, who for twenty years has officiated at St. Patrick 
church in Joliet, during which period this has grown to be one of the 
strongest churches of the diocese, is a native of Watertown, Wisconsin, born 
March 4, 1852. His parents Edward and Mary (Finn) Dunne, were natives of 
Queens county, Ireland, and of Prince Edward Island respectively. The paternal 
grandfather, Patrick Dunne, a farmer by occupation removed from the Emerald 
isle to Prince Edward Island and spent his last days in Chicago. In 1849 
Edward Dunne became a resident of Watertown, Wisconsin, making the trip to 
Chicago by boat and thence to Watertown, where he was joined by his family. He 
was a contractor and builder and erected the first church in Watertown and the 
first bridge over the Rock river. In 1853 he went to Chicago and afterward 
built some of the first bridges in and near that city. He died in Joliet, July 
2, 1888, and was buried from St. Jarlath's church, Chicago, on the 4th. He was 
one of nine children, there being seven brothers who came to America. One of 
them, Dennis, was vicar general of the Chicago diocese for years, holding the 
position at the time of his death in 1867. During the Civil war he organized a 
regiment that was known as the Dunne legion (later the Irish legion). The 
crowning work of his life was the erection and management of an orphan asylum 
on Archer avenue in Chicago and the diligence and zeal with which he carried 
on this undertaking was really the cause of his death, for overwork brought on 
an illness that terminated fatally. Edward Dunne in his building operations 
was closely associated with the work of early development and improvement in 
Watertown, Wisconsin, and in Chicago. He built the first Magdalene asylum in 
Chicago, but, just before the work was completed, the building was destroyed 
by fire and he thus suffered a heavy loss. He was a devout communicant of the 
Catholic church and for thirty-five years held the same pew. He reared a 
family of fifteen children including Dr. William Dunne, who was graduated from 
Rush Medical College with the highest honors of his class. He served as a 
surgeon in the Second Illinois Infantry in the war of the Rebellion and 
subsequently acted as city physician of Chicago for a number of years. He is 
now deceased. A daughter, Rose, is a sister in the Order of Loretto in 
Toronto, Canada. From an early age Father Dunne was destined for the 
priesthood. He was educated in Christian Brothers' Academy on Adams and 
Desplaines streets, Chicago; St. Charles College at Ellicott City, Maryland, 
where he studied the classics from 1869 until 1875; and St. Mary's Seminary, 
where for two years he was a student of philosophy under the direction of the 
Sulpician Fathers, while three years were devoted to theology. On the 20th of 
December, 1879, he was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Gibbons in the 
cathedral in Baltimore and was assigned to the Chicago diocese. Then returning 
to the west he became assistant in St. Mary's parish in Joliet, where he 
remained for six years, and on the death of Father Power of St. Patrick's he 
was assigned to his present pastorate on the 29th of January, 1886. This is 
one of the oldest Catholic churches of Illinois and Father Dunne has in his 
possession the records of the congregation extending from its organization to 
the present time. At the time he assumed charge of St. Patrick's the church 
edifice was in a dilapidated condition and the work of the church in its 
various departments was by no means at an ideal state. With marked energy and 
zeal he took up the work and in the remodeling of the church his father proved 
most helpful. It was the latters pride that the last work he ever did was the 
fitting of a house for the worship of God. A slate roof was put on and other 
improvements made. The church building has a frontage of four hundred feet on 
Hickory and three hundred feet on Broadway. In connection with the church is 
conducted St. Patrick's parochial school, which was established by Father 
Dunne and now occupies a modern building that was erected at a cost of thirty 
thousand dollars. It contains six large schoolrooms and a commodious hall and 
has an attendance of more than three hundred pupils. The building is heated by 
steam and lighted by electricity and the school is in charge of the Ladies of 
Loretto, under whose supervision the pupils are given a thorough education in 
all of the common branches of grammar school grades. One of the most notable 
events in the history of St. Patrick's church was the celebration of its 
golden jubilee in 1889, on which occasion pontifical high mass was celebrated 
by Bishop Burke, of Cheyenne, and Archbishop Riordan, of San Francisco, 
delivered the jubilee sermon. The various departments of the church are now in 
excellent working condition and the labors of Pather Dunne have proved a most 
potent element in the growth and upbuilding of Catholicism in Joliet. He is a 
learned and able man, commanding the respect of people of all denominations, 
and his influence has indeed worked for righteousness among his own 
parishioners.

Additional Comments:
PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the 
Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing 
Company, 1907

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