Luers, John Henry Bishop of Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Archbishop John Baptist Purcell, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1859 October 5

Luers thanks Purcell for ordaining Mr. George Steiner, subdeacon. Luers has been desirous of moving ever since he came to Fort Wayne and now he has had a new temptation. He went to Detroit recently and on his way beack visited Toledo . Struck with the size of the place, its harbor on Lake Erie and its shipping he thought how much better that town would so for an episcopal See than Fort Wayne. He recalls that Father Edward Purcell had remarked the same idea and that Bishop James F. Wood had expressed a fear that he would be sent to Fort Wayne. As Fort Wayne the baptisms amounted only to 65 for the past year. It is already an old place and bigoted enough for two. The wages are lower than at Lafayette, and the land is not to good. The trade of the city has been hurt by the railroads which carried its business to the terminals. The public debt is heavy and taxes high. He will be obliged to divide his congregation, 1/3 French, because people will not come 8 and 10 miles to church. He can never expect to have an orphan asylum or other ecclesiastical institutions. Lafayette is better situated but one zealous priest can take care of the parish, too. The bishop will be dependent on these two parishes for 2/3 of his revenue and he will be at the mercy of bad priests who would cut off this revenue, especially as Bishop Maurice de St. Palais says that help from Europe will soon stop. Indiana is already an old state and there is no hope for further immigration, with land high, and no hope for manufactures. Some dioceses have better prospects. Toledo is a much better site, and is only 45 miles from Fort Wayne by railroad. Toledo will always be large. The Catholic population is already over 5,000, over 3,000 of whom speak English. It has good church properties, and the Ursulines a fine establishment. There is a marine hospital and orphan asylum. He thinks that Bishop Amadeus Rappe of Cleveland will consent since he has a judgment of $1400 against him and he cannot derive much support from Toledo for some time. Of course Purcell would have to give him some of the Cincinnati diocese in return, especially since Purcell's churches have increased so much recently. The other possible divisions of Purcell's diocese, with Sees at Columbus or Toledo will not work out. P.S. He met Bishop Rappe and found him friendly. Luers would visit him often, however, he did not mention the matter to him. :: II-4-o A.L.S. 8vo.