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REVEREND FATHER JOHN MOLITOR.
That friend of all the helpless and poor and weak, the Catholic priest, has a worthy representative in these pages in the person of Father John Molitor. In this state of Illinois, which should be regarded as a part of the great Northwest, the Catholic priest should be looked upon, as a class, with peculair veneration, for it was a priest of the Roman Catholic church, Pere Marquette, who, with his companion Joliet, first explored the prairies of Illinois, and later it was these same priests who through their missionary labors among the Indians of this section made possible the settlement of the country sooner than would have been possible otherwise. Father Molitor has been such an intimate factor in the lives of the people of Newton for so many years that it would not seem the
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same place were his familiar figure absent. For thirty-five years he has baptized, married and buried the people of this parish.
Father John Molitor was born in Clinton county, Illinois, on the 6th of December, 1845. His father, William Molitor, was a native of Germany, having been born at Waterslow, in Westphalia, in 1811. William Molitor emigrated from Germany in 1836, and, coming to America, located first in Baltimore. From there he went down to New Orleans, and then followed the Mississippi up to St. Louis. He remained here for a time, and then he came over into Illinois and settled on the site of the present town of Germantown. This was in 1840, and from this time until his death in 1868 he lived the peaceful life of the farmer, respected by all who knew him. In 1838 Mr. Molitor was married to Gertrude Roeckenhans, also a native of Germany, and they became the parents of six children, of whom Father Molitor was the fourth. The mother long outlived her husband, dying in 1892.
The beautiful character which makes Father Molitor so well beloved owes some of its fineness and strength to his early surroundings, for he was brought up on a farm, and he was much alone with the grass and trees, and at night the stars for company, so he learned to think, he learned with Milton that,
For an education he was sent to the district schools, and later, in 1864, to Saint Joseph's College at Teutopolis, Illinois. In 1868 he went to Saint Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, and here he remained until 1874. On the 25th of March of that year he was ordained at Alton, Illinois, and went immediately to take charge of his first parish at Olney, Illinois. He remained here until 1877, when he was transferred to Newton. It was a fortunate thing for the people of Newton when Father Molitor arrived in the town on that cold January day in 1877. They had not had a priest until a few years before this when Fr. Cornelius Hoffman had been sent to them, the date of his coming being 1873. It was as his successor that Father Molitor had been sent, and the young priest found plenty of work cut out for him. His first work was to build a suitable edifice for the worship of God, and 1880 saw the completion of a fine brick church. In 1895 fire destroyed part of the church building, but the people, led by Father Molitor, immediately set to work, improved the old building and rebuilt the part which had been laid in ruins, so in 1896 the present beautiful building was ready for occupancy. In 1884 the schools were established, and both church and schools are dedicated to Saint Thomas. Since there are only one hundred and fifty-five families in the parish, this activity is the result of some one person's influence and very naturally it is that of their beloved priest's. As for the man himself, he walks quietly along his peaceful way, with his hand ever outstretched to give help to those who ask it, without a thought of self, only asking that he may be permitted to live out his days surrounded by those for whom he has given his life and who in return have given him their confidence and affection.