My great-grandparents are:
Bernard Francis Aumen
Bertha Mary Smith
Julius Friese
Natalie Antonie Lorek
Rudolph John Heinen
Wilhelmina Loretta Eischeid
Joseph Frank Bachmann
Eleanora Elizabeth Bunkers

Their families as well as those interred at Conewago Chapel Cemetery in Adams County, Pennsylvania are my focus. May they rest in peace.

Conewago Chapel Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Roman Catholic Church at the village of Edge Grove in Conewago Township, present-day Adams County, formerly York County, Pennsylvania
Included in the memorials I manage are any pertinent records from Conewago Chapel's burial, marriage, and baptismal registers. I attempt to record letter for letter what is written on the original pages, but if you have reason to believe that one is in error, then PLEASE by all means let me know and I will double-check. If it is for a memorial that is not my own, then I will include the information as a so-called "virtual flower" on the side of the memorial. If you are the manager of one of these memorials then please feel free to include the passage in the biographical section. If you prefer then I will provide a version of the text with embedded links to memorials for parents, godparents, or priests mentioned in the passages. The records are mostly in Latin so if you have a question concerning the translation of the records then I would be more than happy to answer if I can.

The following is adapted from the Eckenrode Family History compiled by William Kirkpatrick: We are deeply indebted for all that we know about the early history of the Catholic churches in Adams County and the pioneers who built them to two men and their publications. The first is John Timon Reily, who published between 1885-1905 ten volumes of delightful facts and information about the history of old Conewago Township. One volume is entitled Conewago, and the other nine Collection in the Life and Times of Cardinal Gibbons. The second man is John Poist Keffer, who extended the research activities of J.T. Reily, publishing his results in three books entitled The Keffers of the Conewago (1965 & 1974), and Homback Family History (1968).

Before the building of the first log chapel in the Conewago Valley about 1741, the Catholic people in the surrounding area were ministered to at the Robert Owings Mass house from 1732-1741. In 1768 the log chapel at Conewago was enlarged and became the headquarters of the Jesuit missionaries traveling the St. Francis Regis Mission Circuit. In 1784-1787, a stone church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was constructed replacing the old log chapel, and is now the oldest stone Catholic church in the United States. This church was built with the help of parishioners and donations of money and stone by the Baron de Beelen-Bertholf. In 1962 the church was raised to the level of Minor Basilica because of its beauty and historical significance.

Until about 1810 the settlers in nearby Paradise and Berwick Townships were ministered to at the Mass house of Caspar Weis built in 1761. The Jesuit priests came from the Chapel at Conewago. Between 1810 and 1830 a new chapel was established at the home of Frederick Brandt in Paradise Township, York County and in 1846 the "Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" church was built (East Berlin/Abbottstown, PA), also known as Brandt's Church.

The sacramental registers for the Paradise church were started in 1830. Records of the parishioners prior to that time were combined with and kept at Conewago Chapel. The earliest existing Sacramental registers of Conewago Chapel are preserved in the vaults of the Diocese Chancery Office at Harrisburg, PA. They consist of two volumes and contain record entries of:
Marriages: Feb 1796-Feb-1883 (Nov 1835-Nov 1838 are missing)
Baptisms: 1791-Jan 1854
Deaths: 1791-1853 (many missing parts)

In 1942 a partial translation of the registers was made by H.J. Young, on file at the Conewago rectory and on microfilm at the LDS Library in Salt Lake. Marriages: Feb 1796-1835.
Baptisms: 1791-1835. Deaths: 1791-1815.

The complete sacramental registers of Conewago Chapel were published in 1980-81 by the John Timon Reily Historical Society. Marriages: 1796-1883. Baptisms 1790-1900. Deaths: 1752-1979.

In 1850, the spire and transept were added to the 1787 stone church, building over the old cemetery. Some graves were moved to the present cemetery, and some were moved to St. Aloysius in Littlestown.

My great-grandparents are:
Bernard Francis Aumen
Bertha Mary Smith
Julius Friese
Natalie Antonie Lorek
Rudolph John Heinen
Wilhelmina Loretta Eischeid
Joseph Frank Bachmann
Eleanora Elizabeth Bunkers

Their families as well as those interred at Conewago Chapel Cemetery in Adams County, Pennsylvania are my focus. May they rest in peace.

Conewago Chapel Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Roman Catholic Church at the village of Edge Grove in Conewago Township, present-day Adams County, formerly York County, Pennsylvania
Included in the memorials I manage are any pertinent records from Conewago Chapel's burial, marriage, and baptismal registers. I attempt to record letter for letter what is written on the original pages, but if you have reason to believe that one is in error, then PLEASE by all means let me know and I will double-check. If it is for a memorial that is not my own, then I will include the information as a so-called "virtual flower" on the side of the memorial. If you are the manager of one of these memorials then please feel free to include the passage in the biographical section. If you prefer then I will provide a version of the text with embedded links to memorials for parents, godparents, or priests mentioned in the passages. The records are mostly in Latin so if you have a question concerning the translation of the records then I would be more than happy to answer if I can.

The following is adapted from the Eckenrode Family History compiled by William Kirkpatrick: We are deeply indebted for all that we know about the early history of the Catholic churches in Adams County and the pioneers who built them to two men and their publications. The first is John Timon Reily, who published between 1885-1905 ten volumes of delightful facts and information about the history of old Conewago Township. One volume is entitled Conewago, and the other nine Collection in the Life and Times of Cardinal Gibbons. The second man is John Poist Keffer, who extended the research activities of J.T. Reily, publishing his results in three books entitled The Keffers of the Conewago (1965 & 1974), and Homback Family History (1968).

Before the building of the first log chapel in the Conewago Valley about 1741, the Catholic people in the surrounding area were ministered to at the Robert Owings Mass house from 1732-1741. In 1768 the log chapel at Conewago was enlarged and became the headquarters of the Jesuit missionaries traveling the St. Francis Regis Mission Circuit. In 1784-1787, a stone church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was constructed replacing the old log chapel, and is now the oldest stone Catholic church in the United States. This church was built with the help of parishioners and donations of money and stone by the Baron de Beelen-Bertholf. In 1962 the church was raised to the level of Minor Basilica because of its beauty and historical significance.

Until about 1810 the settlers in nearby Paradise and Berwick Townships were ministered to at the Mass house of Caspar Weis built in 1761. The Jesuit priests came from the Chapel at Conewago. Between 1810 and 1830 a new chapel was established at the home of Frederick Brandt in Paradise Township, York County and in 1846 the "Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" church was built (East Berlin/Abbottstown, PA), also known as Brandt's Church.

The sacramental registers for the Paradise church were started in 1830. Records of the parishioners prior to that time were combined with and kept at Conewago Chapel. The earliest existing Sacramental registers of Conewago Chapel are preserved in the vaults of the Diocese Chancery Office at Harrisburg, PA. They consist of two volumes and contain record entries of:
Marriages: Feb 1796-Feb-1883 (Nov 1835-Nov 1838 are missing)
Baptisms: 1791-Jan 1854
Deaths: 1791-1853 (many missing parts)

In 1942 a partial translation of the registers was made by H.J. Young, on file at the Conewago rectory and on microfilm at the LDS Library in Salt Lake. Marriages: Feb 1796-1835.
Baptisms: 1791-1835. Deaths: 1791-1815.

The complete sacramental registers of Conewago Chapel were published in 1980-81 by the John Timon Reily Historical Society. Marriages: 1796-1883. Baptisms 1790-1900. Deaths: 1752-1979.

In 1850, the spire and transept were added to the 1787 stone church, building over the old cemetery. Some graves were moved to the present cemetery, and some were moved to St. Aloysius in Littlestown.