As early as 1846, Catholic missionaries labored in Janesville; Father Morrisy, one of three Catholic priests in Wisconsin, was the first to visit Janesville.

The evidence

• “The Catholics. — Among the first settlers in Janesville was a fair proportion of the disciples of the Roman Catholic faith, and, as early as 1846, Catholic missionaries prosecuted their labors here, braving the dangers of frontier life and spreading the Gospel. Father Morrisy, one of three missionaries then in Wisconsin Territory, with headquarters in Milwaukee, was the first Catholic priest to visit Janesville.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/14-rock-county-ch08-janesville.md, PDF p. 550

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources

  

• “The Catholic Churches of Janesville. Father Morrisy, one of the three Catholic priests in Wisconsin in 1846, was located in Milwaukee. He used to make trips to Janesville on horseback, to visit the members of his church, who were quite numerous among the early settlers.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/14-janesville-churches.md, Vol. 1, PDF p. 314 / book p. 288

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources · may repeat 1879-history-of-rock-county, so not counted as independent