HENNESSY
HENNI
J. Rjan, afterward archbishop of Philadelphia,
as pastor of St. John's church, St. Louis. He was
appointed bishop of Wichita, Kan., Aug. 1, 1888,
and was consecrated Nov. 30, 1888, succeeding
First Bishop-Elect James O'Reilly, who had died
July 26, 1887, before assuming the oflSce.
HENNESSY, William John, painter, was born in Thomastown. county Kilkenny, Ireland, July 11, 1839. His father, John Hennessy, left Ireland in 1848 after the unsuccessful rising and struggle for freedom made by the ' ' Young Ire- land " party, escaped to Quebec, Canada, and from there went to New York city, where he became a loj'al American citi- zen. He repeatedly declined nominations |■^ / to political offices
IP jj^r" ^ ""V 3,nd did good service f^ ^^/ Lm during the civil war
/}^y^^^^^^Aj>A4^iy^
in the cause of the
Union. William John
Hennessy, with his
mother and brothers,
joined his father in
New York in June,
1849, and was educated by private tutors. He
showed a strong leaning toward art and when
about fifteen years old began to draw from the
model. In 1856 he entered the Antique school
of the National Academy of Design. He was
elected an associate of the Academy in May,
1862, and the following year was made a full
academician. In 1870 he was married and went
abroad, remaining in England till 1875, taking
summer and autumn holidays in Normandy. He
removed to France in 1875, leasing a manor on
the coast near Honfieur. In 1886 he removed to
Saint Germain-en-Laye, near Paris. He visited
Italy in 1891, removing to Brighton, England, in
1893, and later to Lindfield, England. He was
one of the founders of the Artists' Fund society
and was elected a member of the Pastel society,
London, and of the Institute of Oil Painters,
London. Besides many illustrations from lead-
ing American and English magazines his more
important works include: Drifting, The Poet of
Our Woods, Springtime, On the Sands, and The
Wanderers, all exhibited at the National Acad-
emy (1865-70); The New England Barberry
Picker, Over the Sea, The Votive Offering, En
Fete, Calvador and The Wood Gleaners, exhibited
at the Royal Academy (1871-75); and among the
more important of his later works are The Wings
of the Morning; The Silence of the Hills; Jocxmd
Spring; In the Shade; The Wood Cutter; Fighting
a Prairie Fire; Evening on the River; 'Ttcixt Day
and Night; The Water Carriers, San Remo; Win-
ter Sunshine, Bordighera; The West Pier, Brigh-
ton, Lighted Up on a Winter Night; and The
Wreck of the Old Chain Pier, Brighton (pur-
chased by the corporation of Brighton for the
public gallery). After 1887 he declined to send
his work to the Royal Academy and other large
exhibitions.
HENNI, John Martin, R.C. archbishop, was born in Misanenga, Switzerland, June 15, 1805. He was educated at the gymnasia of St. Gall and Zurich, at Rome, Italy, and at the seminary, Bardstown, Ky., where he completed his theo- logical course. He was made sub-deacon Nov. 23, 1826; deacon Dec. 14, 1826, and or- dained priest by Bish- op Fenwick at Cin- cinnati, Feb. 2, 1829, and that prelate ap- pointed him pastor over the German Catholics of Cincin- nati and professor in the Athseneum in that city. He was trans- ferred to St. Peter's church, Canton, Ohio, and in 1834 Bishop Purcell recalled him to Cincinnati and made him pastor of Holy Trinity church and vicar-general of the diocese. He founded, edited and published Wahrheits-Freund, the first German Roman Catholic paper published in the United States. He founded St. Aloysius' Orphan asylum (Ger- man), Bond Hill. He was theologian to Bishop Purcell at the fifth provincial council of Balti- more, 1843, and proposed to that body plans for a German theological seminary. The council peti- tioned the pope to create the diocese of Milwaukee and recommended Father Henni as bishop. He was appointed Nov. 28, 1843, and consecrated by Bishop Purcell March 19, 1844. His new see in- cluded a population of 8000 Roman Catholics, mostly Germans. In Milwaukee there was one church edifice, a frame structure, and in the diocese only four priests. In 1847 he had at work thirty-four priests and that year opened St. Mary's church on Broadway and Biddle street. The same year he laid the cornerstone of St. John's cathedral, founded St. Mary's hospital and placed it in charge of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and in 1849 founded St. Rose's Orphan asylum, built Holy Trinity church and founded several benevolent and school societies for the poor. He collected money in Cuba and Mexico to complete the cathedral and consecrated it July 31, 1858. He built the Sale-
