Diocese of Galveston Houston

When the present St. Stanislaus Church, Anderson, was completed in 1917. it became the first brick Catholic edifice in Grimes County. On August 6, 1918, Monsignor James M. Kirwin, vicar general and administrator of the Diocese of Galveston dedicated the present church. At the time of the dedication of St. Stanislaus Church, the parish family included 168 families of Polish descent and one family of German descent. Today, the parish family totals 268 families.

Such was not the case, however, in 1871, when a few Polish families migrated from (German) Poland to Anderson in southeast Grimes County, 82 miles northwest of Houston and 16 miles southeast of Plantersville. Records are not available to confirm how many families were in this migratory event; however, as tradition goes there were supposedly about 30 families.

The first Polish immigrants to Grimes County were very poor, and the greatest disadvantage was their lack of any knowledge of the English language and being scattered over Grimes County.

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History of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, AndersonRead More »

The Polish nation was a peace-loving nation, hard-working, religious and a nation of farmers. They were warred on by the Germans, Austrians, Russians, and the Scanddanavians, because there was always an abundance of food, livestock and fodder much needed by invading armies.

So, those who lived in Poland more than three centuries ago had seen their country partitioned twice in their life time, and had no hope left either for themselves or for their children. They heard of a new country, a free country struggling in its history, torn by its own troubles yet showing a promise of better things to come.
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History of St. Joseph Catholic Church, New WaverlyRead More »