Hamilton County OhArchives Biographies.....Brockhuis, Antonine B. 1876 - 
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Ann Anderson ann.g.anderson@gmail.com October 11, 2005, 10:16 pm

Author: John C Hover, et.al.

    Rev. Antonine B. Brockhuis, O. F. M., pastor of St. George's Catholic church
of Cincinnati, is a native of this city, having been born here on September 24,
1876, a son of John and Adelheid (Wessling) Brockhuis. He received his primary
educational training in St. Aloysius Orphans Home in Bond Hill, following which
he attended St. Francis Seminary, Cincinnati, St. Boniface Monastery,
Louisville, Ky., and the Franciscan Seminary at Oldenburg, Ind., where he was
ordained a priest of the Catholic church, July 14, 1901. At the same time,
Father Brockhuis was appointed a professor at St. Francis Seminary, Cincinnati,
and during his incumbency there, was active in the organization of several
social and athletic bodies among the Catholic young men of Cincinnati, which
tended toward promoting interest in these directions. These organizations
included the Friar's Club in 1908, and the Friar's Athletic and Gymnasium clubs.
He was likewise organizer and became president of the Young Men's Sunday
Baseball League. In July, 1912, Father Brockhuis became pastor of St. George's
Catholic church, of which pastorate he has since been in charge. Here he has
found opportunity for the exercise of his intense zeal and energy, and while
doing much in building up the parish has won and held the love and esteem of his
people. St. George's parish of which he is now pastor was established in 1868,
and the cornerstone of the new church, which was to be placed under the
patronage of St. George was laid on July 5, 1868, by Archbishop Purcell.
Nineteen weeks later the church was completed, and dedicated, and represented a
total cost of $12,300.00. The growth of St. George parish was such that a new
church became an absolute necessity and immediate arrangements were made to
carry out the project. The cornerstone of the present imposing church was laid
on October 13, 1872, by Most Rev. Archbishop Purcell. and the ceremonies and
festivities accompanying this great occasion were such as to be remembered many,
many years. The building which is about one hundred and sixty feet long by
seventy feet wide, with two towers, each one hundred and ninety feet high, was
designed by Samuel Hannaford, a local architect, in Roman-Byzantine style, at a
cost of eighty thousand dollars. An immense clockworks was installed in one of
the towers to indicate the time on the eight dials of the two towers, and three
bells were also hung in the towers. During the following years, many
improvements were added to the church and property, and in 1870 the parsonage
was built. As the population of St. George's parish grew and the work in the
parish multiplied the need for a larger parsonage for the resident clergy was
felt. Therefore in 1896 the building of an additional story to the parsonage
took place. The first school of St. George parish was opened fifty years ago in
November 1868 and consisted of two rooms situated over the chapel, the present
third story of the high school building. In 1875 tne school was enlarged by the
addition of a two-story structure of brick in the rear which offered four
additional class rooms. In the early years of this Parish the school was taught
by men and women of the laity, but in 1877 the Sisters of Notre Dame, from
Namur, Belgium, came to take their place. The growth of the parish from day to
day, made the parishioners realize the necessity for enlarging the school
facilities. Accordingly plans were made for the establishment of a high school,
for girls and another for boys. The former were taught by the Sisters of Notre
Dame and the latter by the Brothers of Mary from Dayton, Ohio. These schools
continued until 1913, when plans were made for a new, modern and up-to-date
school building. In 1914, the cornerstone was laid and on September 19, 1915,
the dedication took place. The present territory of St. George's Parish is nine
squares in length and four in width and lies in the very heart of North
Cincinnati. There are eight hundred and seventy-five families in the parish and
in the year 1921, 674 children were registered in the elementary school and 178
in the high school. St. George's Parish has all the regular societies of the
church, including: St. George's Men's Society, St. Mary Married Ladies' Society,
St. Michael Young Men's Society, St. Francis Young Ladies' Society, St. Vincent
de Paul Conference, Christian Mothers' Society, S. S. Heart Society, Third Order
of St. Francis, Young Ladies' Sodality, Young Men's Sodality, League of the
Sacred Heart, Catholic Knights, of Ohio, Catholic Order of Foresters, Catholic
Knights of St. John, Ladies' Auxiliary, Knights of St. John, and Cadets Knights
of St. John. The Parish has also the Young Men's Social and Athletic Club, and
the Georgiana Young Ladies' Club and the Georgia Samaritan Guild. During the
great World war, St. George's parish gave 213 of her young men to her country's
service, and had one of the best Red Cross Chapters in the city. The pastors of
St. George's Parish up to the present time have been as follows: 1868 to 1870,
Accursius Beine, O. F. M.; 1870 to 1873, Jerome Kilgenstein, O. F. M.; 1873 to
&76> William Gausepohl, O. F. M.; 1876 to 1879, Bernardine Holthaus, O. F. M.;
1879 to 1880, Eberhard Huelsman, O. F. M.; 1880 to 1886, Paul Alf, O. F. M.;
1886 to 1887, Dominic Myer, O. F. M.; 1887 to 1888, Aloys Kurtz, O. F. M.; 1888
to 1900, Max Schaefer; 1900 to 1912, Hilary Hoelscher, O. F. M.; and 1912, Rev.
Antonine B. Brockhuis, who is its pastor at the present time.




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