Although this energetic and successful missionary's activities appear under many spellings (in several sources, "McNamee"), his own signature indicates that "Bernard Patrick McMenomy" is the correct one. He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, August 1 1830, and entered St. Columb's College, Londonderry, at the age of fifteen, finishing his studies and emigrating to the U.S. in 1849. He first settled in St. Louis, where he studied four years under Archbishop Peter R. Kenrick, before being ordained on February 24, 1854. He was immediately sent to Sante Fe, MO, where he purchased ten acres on which he plotted the town of St. Marysville, and in 1858 saw to it that a post office was established under the name of St. Patrick (where a vast quantity of mail annually receives the town's postmark on the feast of this beloved patron saint).
After four years he was sent to Edina as assistant pastor; it was during this time that he began his activities in Adair. It is recorded in one place that he remained at Edina 7 1/2 years, while another gives his dates there as June 1 1854-January 1, 1867. It seems most likely that he arrived sometime in 1859 or 1860.
The outbreak of the civil war took away virtually all the young men of the parish, who formed the 21st Missouri infantry. Fr. McMenomy was a strong supporter of the Union, and yet enjoyed the respect of all. He is credited with saving the life of the Methodist Bishop Hawley, who ran afoul of the secessionists by coming into this union-controlled area from Hannibal to dedicate the Methodist Church, North, at Medina [probably an error for "Edina"]. The Drake Constitution, mentioned in connection with Fr. Hogan, below, resulted in McMenomy's indictment for "officiating at a marriage." Disgusted, Fr. McMenomy moved on.
In Iowa, he rode horseback over a parish 150 miles wide. He purchased property in Clark County in 1868, on which he constructed a church for the 36 families of Irish railroad workers then resident. The church blew down in a summer storm two years later. He was active in Georgetown (Monroe Co, IA) in 1869, and in Council Bluffs afterward, where he built the impressive ($50,000) St. Francis Xavier church and school. He died on December 30, 1892, and was buried in Walnut Hill (Pottawottamie Co). His record is a long list of first-masses-said, churches and schools founded, and he deserves to have a proper biography written by some enterprising candidate for an advanced degree in history. In Georgetown in Early Days and Now, Sr. M. Philomena (d. 1-19-42) gives this account (pp. 11-13):
When the funds were being raised with which to build the church the times were rather hard for an enterprise of this kind. The story goes on to say that the priest [Fr. McMenomy] from his position in the pulpit assigned certain amounts to certain families of the parish, for instance, the Carrs would be directed to give so many dollars, the Malones so many, etc. The priest, pointing to one old gentleman, said "you give ten dollars." Whereupon the faithful parishioner arose and in a meek voice began "May it please yer riverince, toims are verra hard an the price of hogs is..." But at this stage of remonstrance, the priest, pointing his finger at him, shouted, "You must sit down, sir!" The old gentleman sat down, and a few days later someone in Albia remarked to him that the priest was a little hard on him. "Yes, he war," was the reply, "But the money will have to come."
"What will be the result if you fail?" was next asked.
"His Riverince would send me to the devil if I refused," he answered.
They don't make fundraisers like that anymore...