It was an accident — my original subjects of my research was finding source material about the founding families of the Seven Dolors Parish here in Manhattan for a historical research article I hoped to get published.
Yet, the further I dug into early church records I kept stumbling upon the name of Fr. Dumortier. Then, I expanded my search beyond Riley county — into what has now become a 17 county-wide search area which spans as far north as Marshall county, south to Chase, west to Ellsworth — his ministry stretched over hundreds of miles and he worked tirelessly from 1859 – 1867 on the Kansas prairie serving early pioneers.
His efforts are nothing short of miraculous and I encourage others to learn more about his heroic zeal for Christ and the spreading of the gospel through the early parishes here in Central and Northern Kansas. My investigation over the last two months have led Gabs and I to finding the possible microfilms that may contain Fr. Dumortier’s missionary diary (waiting patiently for our inter-library loan to come in) to getting tipped off to the location of Fr. Dumortier’s saddle bag he used for carrying the sacred vessels he used for performing Mass — don’t worry it is in safe custody, but WOW I still struggle to believe it was preserved after all these years.
Here is the most comprehensive article concerning Fr. Dumortier that I have been able to track down as reference: https://archive.org/details/kansashistorical20kansrich/page/270/mode/2up (Starts p. 252 — Sister Thomas historical account of Fr. Dumortier, it is an incredible read and includes such rich stories of Fr. Dumortier’s ministry here in Kansas.)
As I have kept uncovering more and more information about Fr. Dumortier, I stumbled across this article describing Fr. Dumortier that stopped me in my tracks:
“Who will ever relate the heroic deeds of Father Dumortier?”
This question should be our rallying call — who will share the story of those who came before us? The story of those whose shoulders we stand on? The story of those who nurtured the seed bed of our faith which has endured from generation after generation? Fr. Dumortier championed charity each day of his missionary efforts and did so till the end where he gave his last full measure. My hope for each of us, is that we will be willing to champion and share the stories of those who paved our way!
Hope you enjoyed this little dive about sharing some local historical research I’ve been working on! Look forward to sharing more as this journey progresses! Thanks for reading and sharing!
Take care and wishing many blessings, Anthony
Perennial Educator 
My grandmother was a nursing student at Bethany College and her class of 22 nurses were sent by train to Denver during the Spanish Influenza pandemic. Three came home to their families alive and my grandma almost didn’t survive. Her Dad went to Denver and brought her home to Assaria and became a home health nurse for families outside town. She had some amazing stories to tell.
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