St. Sylvester's Church
Palmer Place & Humboldt Boulevard, Chicago (est. 1884)
St. Sylvester's Church
The Kenny family's connection to St. Sylvester's Church began earlier than previously believed—not after Thomas's second marriage, but during his first. A newly discovered baptismal record reveals that infant Margaret Kenny was baptized at St. Sylvester's on May 12, 1901, with her aunt Ellen O'Connor serving as sponsor. This was Mary "Maime" Kenny's last child, born March 26, 1901. The baby died in September 1901, and Maime herself died that August—likely from complications of childbirth.
This discovery rewrites our understanding of the family's parish journey. Thomas and Maime had already moved to the Humboldt Park neighborhood by 1901, making St. Sylvester's their parish while Maime was still alive. When Thomas married Ellen O'Connor in 1902, they continued at the same church where Ellen had stood as godmother to her dying niece just a year before.
A Parish on the Boulevard
St. Sylvester's was established in 1884 as a "territorial parish"—meaning it served all Catholics within its geographic boundaries rather than a specific ethnic group. This made it different from the national parishes that served Chicago's German, Polish, or Italian communities. For an Irish-American family like the Kennys, a territorial parish offered familiar traditions without the language barriers that might exist in ethnic parishes.
The parish had an interesting early history. The original wooden church building didn't start on the Humboldt Boulevard site—it was physically moved there from its first location at California and Shakespeare streets after the church sold that land to the city for the 14th District Police Station. That relocated wooden church served the community until the permanent brick structure was built.
By 1905, the Humboldt Park and Palmer Square neighborhoods were thriving communities on Chicago's northwest side. The Logan Square Boulevards—a system of landscaped parkways connecting the city's great parks—gave the area a distinctive character. St. Sylvester's served as a central hub for the neighborhood's Catholic population, and the parish school provided education to children of the Humboldt Park area.
Why Did the Kennys Change Parishes?
The Kenny family's shift from Old St. Stephen's (where Thomas married Maime in 1894 and their first children were baptized) to St. Sylvester's reflects the common patterns of early 20th-century Catholic immigrant families in Chicago.
The Kenny Family's Parish Journey
In early 1900s Chicago, Catholic families commonly changed parishes for several reasons: residential moves to follow job opportunities or seek better housing; the establishment of new parishes carved from existing ones to serve growing populations; ethnic identity shifts when national parishes were designated (Old St. Stephen's became an official Polish parish in 1916); and sometimes simply convenience for family gatherings. When relatives lived in different neighborhoods, baptisms might occur at whichever parish made godparent attendance easiest.
The Kennys' move northwest followed Thomas's career trajectory with the Chicago Fire Department. By 1904, he was assigned to Hook & Ladder Company 28, and by 1908, Engine Company 40—assignments that may have influenced where the family chose to live. The Humboldt Park neighborhood offered newer housing, green space along the boulevards, and a thriving parish community at St. Sylvester's.
The Kenny Children at St. Sylvester's
The baptismal registers of St. Sylvester's record three Kenny children—spanning both of Thomas's marriages. The first, tragically, was infant Margaret, the last child of Thomas and his first wife Maime. The second two were daughters born to Thomas and his second wife Ellen.
Kenny Baptisms at St. Sylvester's Church
Two Margarets
The Kenny family had two daughters named Margaret—a common practice when an infant died. The first Margaret (1901) lived only six months, the last child of Thomas and Maime before Maime's death. The second Margaret Katherine (1907-1985) was born to Thomas and Ellen, and would grow up to marry Thomas Eugene Hamall, creating the bridge between two family lines.
Margaret Kenny (Infant)
The baptism register records the baptism of Margaret Kenny, born April 26, 1901 (some records say March 26), to Thomas Kenny and Mary O'Connor. This was Maime's last child. The baby died on September 22, 1901, at just six months old. Maime herself died in August 1901, likely from complications of this birth.
Mary Frances Kenny
The baptism register of St. Sylvester's Church (Registrum Baptizatorum, in Ecclesia Sancti Sylvestri) records the baptism of Mary Kenny, born February 5, 1905, to Thos. Kenny and Ellen O'Connor. Mary Frances would grow up to marry John F. Molony in 1927 and become the mother of Mary Ellen Molony Brady, whose preserved family narrative would help document the Kenny family story for future generations.
Margaret Katherine Kenny
Margaret Kenny, born December 29, 1907, was baptized at St. Sylvester's on January 12, 1908. She would grow up to marry Thomas Eugene Hamall, creating the bridge between the Kenny-Connors and Hamall family lines that makes this documentary biography series possible.
A Grandmother's Story
Margaret Katherine Kenny—baptized at St. Sylvester's in January 1908—would become Mrs. Thomas Eugene Hamall. Through her, the Kenny family story connects to the Hamall line, and through her daughter's research, the family history has been preserved and documented for future generations. The baptism record from St. Sylvester's marks the beginning of a life that would span nearly eight decades (1907-1985) and bridge two family histories into one story.
St. Sylvester's Today
Unlike Old St. Stephen's, which was demolished in 1952 for the Kennedy Expressway, St. Sylvester's Church still stands on Humboldt Boulevard—a testament to over 140 years of continuous service to the Logan Square community.
The church interior features distinctive architectural elements, including a large stained-glass representation of the Last Supper that replaces the traditional rose window, dark wood framing, and marble statuary including a likeness of the parish's namesake, Pope Sylvester I. The rectory at 2157 N. Humboldt Blvd. is part of the Logan Square Boulevard Landmark District.
While the administrative structure merged in 2021, the St. Sylvester church building remains active as a worship site, offering services in both English and Spanish to reflect its current predominantly Latino congregation—a continuation of the parish's original mission to serve all Catholics within its boundaries, regardless of ethnic background.
Primary Sources & Historical Images
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