Snippets for Aunt Sharon: The Kellings and the Founding of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church

St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, Sheffield, Lorain Co., Ohio.

 

Last fall I wrote about a discovery I made while doing some research for my Aunt Sharon: her great-great-grandfather Bruno Albaugh was one of Lincoln's bodyguards! I had several other great discoveries about her family that I've been anxious to share.

This week's post profiles her Kelling ancestors' connection to a church founding in Ohio.

St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church was organized in 1845 by German settlers to Sheffield, Lorain County, Ohio. Among the founding families of the church were my aunt's second great-grandparents, Johan Kelling, and his wife, Katharina Schuber.

The book, History of Lorain County, Ohio, published in 1879, includes these notes on the church founding:

“St. Theresa Church (Catholic), organized in 1845 by Rev. Peter Griesh, with the following membership (other member names)…John Kelling and his wife Catharine. At the organization of the church, each member paid one dollar, with which they bought one acre of land upon which they built a log church twenty-four by thirty feet, which was occupied until the new church was built in 1847. The new church was forty by sixty feet, and cost fifteen hundred dollars.”¹

However, church records tell a slightly different version of the founding, noting that Johan’s wife at the time of the church’s beginning was noted as “Widow Kelling.” It appears that Johan had died prior to the church founding in 1845. Based on an actual church account book, this information appears more reliable.

The St. Teresa church website offers the following history:

The Founding Of Saint Teresa Of Avila Church

“It has also been written in some history books that in 1845, Father Peter Greist urged the Catholic community in Sheffield to form St. Teresa of Avila's Catholic Church. However, no priest by that name has ever been located in a search of diocesan records from either Cincinnati or Cleveland. A more plausible explanation stems from these facts. We know that Father Brunner was providing mission services to the Sheffield/Avon catholic community during this time period. We also know that Father Brunner always brought several of his theology students with him. He was the only one qualified to instruct them, and would continue to teach them while they were traveling.

The records reflect that two of the young men studying theology with Father Brunner were brothers named Peter and Mathias Kreusch. Because of his youth and enthusiasm, it was probably Peter Kreusch who convinced the community to establish a church, along with a little assistance from Father Brunner of course. By looking at the history written about Father Brunner prior to his coming to this country, we find that he often prayed to St. Teresa of Avila to get him through some of his most difficult times. One could then conclude that it was Peter Kreusch who convinced the community to found a church, and Father Brunner who suggested the church be named after one of his favorite saints, Saint Teresa of Avila. We also know that in those early days the population was often afflicted with fevers which caused many to die. The parish prayed to Saint Teresa of Avila to spare them and promised to always remember and honor her on October 15 of each year. Regardless of who gets the credit, we are grateful that the catholic community responded by pooling their resources and energy together to build a church.

By 1845 the number of church members had grown. The oldest document in the Parish Records is the "Rechnung Buch 1845-1875" which indicates the original twenty families numerically as follows: 1. Peter Laux; 2. Heinrich Schwarz; 3. Peter Schneider; 4. Mathias Schuller; 5. Johan Schuller; 6. Nichlaus Linnert; 7. Wilhelm Eiten; 8. Johan Laubenthal Jr; 9. Anton Kalz; 10. Johan Diedrich; 11. Johan Muller; 12. Joseph Tomas; 13. Jodokus Otto Jr; 14. Nichlaus Tannen; 15. Nichlaus Rothgeri; 16. Peter Rothgeri; 17. Peter Uhrig; 18. Widow Kelling; 19. Christian Merz; 20. Nichlaus Burkert. This list does differ somewhat from those contained in history books written around 1879. The reader must be made aware that church documents will always take precedence over commercially written material. In no way does this diminish the contributions made by the fine German families who joined the parish in the next few years following its establishment.”²

While there are no images of the first two church buildings that were built—one log and one wood frame— above is a photograph of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Sheffield today. This building was erected in 1907. 

 

The Kelling family appear to have arrived from Germany to the United States by about 1844.³ Johan lived only a few years after their immigration. He does not appear on the 1850 United States census and his wife is listed as the head of household with seven children, including "Anthony" Kelling, my aunt's great-grandfather.⁴

 

It's unclear exactly where Johan Kelling is buried though his wife is buried at St. Teresa Cemetery next to the church. Some sources claim Johan died in 1845.⁵ However parish cemetery records indicate the first burial at that cemetery was in 1854.⁶ It could be that Johan was buried somewhere close by before the church kept formal records.

 

Katherine died on 21 March 1885 and was buried at Saint Teresa Cemetery, adjacent to the church.⁷ But her headstone does not include information on Johan. It states:

Hier ruht

Katharina, 

ehefrau von

Joh. Kelling

gest 21 Marz 1885

78 Jahr

which translates to

Here lies

Katharina

wife of 

Johan Kelling

died March 21, 1885

in her 78 year⁸

Future research may uncover Johan's actual burial place. 

 

It was wonderful to discover that Aunt Sharon's ancestors had a part in the founding of this Catholic church, and that her family was present in Ohio at that early date. I'll share more stories from research into her family in upcoming posts.

Until next time...

 

 © Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved. 

 

 

 

BONUS

 

The town of Sheffield celebrated its bicentennial in 2015 and prepared bulletins on the historic features of the town including bulletins on St. Teresa of Avila Church and Saint Teresa Cemetery. Both mention the Kelling family. Click the links to read more:

 

Bicentennial Bulletin No. 7 - Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church

Bicentennial Bulletin No. 43 - Saint Teresa Cemetery 

 

 

NOTES

 

¹ Gertrude A. Barber, History of Lorain County, Ohio (Cleveland, Ohio: Leader Printing, 1879), 254; imaged, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyoflorainc00phil/page/254/mode/2up?q=sheffield : accessed 16 Feb. 2026); citing Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 

² St. Teresa of Avila Parish (https://stteresaparish.com/parish-information/parish-history : accessed 4 Dec. 2025), "Parish History," Founding of Saint Teresa of Avila Church.

 

³ Port of New York, Manifest of Passengers, Ship Agnes, arr. 23 August 1844, New York, New York, line 33, Johan Kelly household; imaged, "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_55-0825 : accessed 17 Feb. 2026).

 

⁴ 1850 United States census, Lorain County, Ohio, population schedule, District No. 93, Sheffield Twp., dwelling 2184, family 2225, Catharine Kelling household; imaged, "1850 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4204491_00293 : accessed 17 Feb. 2026).

 

⁵ Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54644447/johan-kelling : accessed 16 Feb. 2026), "Johan Kelling" (1803-1845); memorial created by and headstone photo by "RLE"; citing Saint Teresa Cemetery, Sheffield, Lorain, Ohio. The headstone image is incorrect for Johan Kelling; the stone is for Johan Nickolaus Kelling (1885-1888), the son of Nickolaus and Kunigunda Kelling.

 

⁶ Sheffield Bicentennial Commission, "Bicentennial Bulletin No. 43, Saint Teresa Cemetery"; Sheffield Village (https://sheffieldvillage.com/bicentenntial-commission-bulletins : accessed 17 Feb. 2026).

⁷ Lorain County Chapter Cemeteries (https://loraincoogs.org/cems/st_terry.html : accessed 6 Dec. 2025), "St. Teresa's Cemetery," entry for Katharina Kelling, 21 March 1885; citing Lorain County Historical Society, Cemetery Inscriptions of Lorain County, Ohio, 1980 (Elyria, Ohio: The Workshop, 1980).

 

⁸ Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54646823/katharina-kelling : accessed 6 Dec. 2025), "Katharina Schuber Kelling" (1807-1885); memorial created by and headstone photo by "RLE"; citing Saint Teresa Cemetery, Sheffield, Lorain, Ohio. Also, Pam Israel, Unlock Your History (https://www.unlockyourhistory.com/post/2018/10/15/german-in-the-cemetery : posted 23 Oct. 2018, updated 6 March 2023), "German in the Cemetery."