Marie Louise Keene, the daughter of Benjamin Gaither Keene and Susan Tubman McMullen and my 2X great-grandmother, was born at her father's home, Mount Pleasant, in Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1841. Her father was a convert to Catholicism and educated his daughters at Mount St. Joseph in Emmitsburg MD, where their mother had also attended.
Marie Louise Keene was baptized at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Baltimore, where Col. Keene maintained a pew, on 23 March 1866. Her daughter, Effie Gwynn Bowie, reported that her mother's diary reveals that "for some years she had studied and prayed for the Kindly Light. " She married Captain Andrew Jackson Gwynn CSA at the Cathedral in 1869.
But one of her main concerns was the lack of a Catholic Church in her city. Catholicism was not strong in the south. In 1820, 6 priests served the diocese of Charleston which covered the states of North and South Carolina and Georgia. Spartanburg was part of a large mission territory served from Columbia SC. For more than a decade, Catholics gathered at the Gwynn home for Sunday worship. To facilitate the building of a church for Spartanburg, the Gwynns donated the land and then worked tirelessly to raise the money for building. The cornerstone for St. Paul's Church was laid on the 14th of October 1883 and it still serves the Spartanburg community.
Marie's strong devotion to Catholicism continued in her children. To the great pride of his mother, her oldest son, Andrew Keene Gwynn, entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1895 at the Cathedral in Charleston SC. He served as the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Greenville SC from 1900 to 1951 and was designated a monsignor in 1930. Monsignor Gwynn officiated at all the family weddings and funerals, including the marriage of his nephew, my grandfather, Frank Phillip Scrivener. .jpg)
Marie's daughter, my great-grandmother, Louise Gwynn Scrivener, attended a Catholic college, Mount St. Agnes in Baltimore MD and was the founder and first governor of the Maryland chapter of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae. She also helped to found the Pilgrims of St. Mary's, which celebrated Maryland's Catholic heritage. From these platforms, she crusaded tirelessly for Catholic education, among her many other civic causes.
After the Civil War, Marie and AJ Gwynn settled in Spartanburg SC where they raised six children: Effie, Andrew, Louise (my great-grandmother), St. Charles, Mary, and John. Always active in her community, Marie was instrumental in establishing the Kennedy Free Library, remaining an active member of the association until her death in 1912.
But one of her main concerns was the lack of a Catholic Church in her city. Catholicism was not strong in the south. In 1820, 6 priests served the diocese of Charleston which covered the states of North and South Carolina and Georgia. Spartanburg was part of a large mission territory served from Columbia SC. For more than a decade, Catholics gathered at the Gwynn home for Sunday worship. To facilitate the building of a church for Spartanburg, the Gwynns donated the land and then worked tirelessly to raise the money for building. The cornerstone for St. Paul's Church was laid on the 14th of October 1883 and it still serves the Spartanburg community.
Even after the church was built, the Gwynn's provided housing for the priests who would come to say Mass, until a permanent resident pastor was assigned in the early 1900's.
Marie's strong devotion to Catholicism continued in her children. To the great pride of his mother, her oldest son, Andrew Keene Gwynn, entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1895 at the Cathedral in Charleston SC. He served as the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Greenville SC from 1900 to 1951 and was designated a monsignor in 1930. Monsignor Gwynn officiated at all the family weddings and funerals, including the marriage of his nephew, my grandfather, Frank Phillip Scrivener. .jpg)
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