In the year 1804, when the formal transfer of Louisiana occurred, we find mention of John Mullanphy’s arrival in the village of St. Louis. Born in 1758 near Enniskillen, Co. Fermanaugh, Ireland, John Mullanphy entered the Irish Brigade in the service of France at the age of twenty. At its dispersion, on the imprisonment of Louis XVI, Lieutenant Mullanphy returned to Ireland, and in 1789 married Miss Elizabeth Brown. Three years after this Mr. and Mrs. Mullanphy, with one child, sailed for America, landing in Philadelphia, which became their home for a time. They next resided in Baltimore, where they formed the acquaintance of Rev. John Carroll, afterwards the first bishop of America, between whom a strong friendship took root. Remembering the lines of Berkeley, “Westward the star of Empire takes its way,” our citizen of the world turned towards Kentucky, where he established his home in 1798. While here his home in Frankfort became the stopping place of the early Catholic Missionary, and the temporary chapel of the scattered children of the Church. In 1804 Mr. Gratiot coming to Frankfort, his acquaintance with Mr. Mullanphy grew into closest friendship, which led our hero to move to St. Louis, where he was appointed Justice of the Peace. Here fortune smiled upon him, but he was not the man whom riches could corrupt. He made to himself friends of the Mammon of Iniquity, and so filled his life with noble deeds. In 1827 he settled upon the Ladies of the Sacred Heart twenty-four arpents of land, adjoining the village, today worth millions, on which was a brick house, and gave them ready money for its necessary furnishings. The condition of this bequest was that the Sisters should care for and educate in perpetuity twenty young orphan girls. Mr. Mullanphy assisted in establishing an orphan home for boys. He likewise founded a home for aged and destitute widows, and, assisted by Bishop Rosati, brought out the Sisters of Charity—the spiritual daughters of St. Vincent de Paul—to take charge of a hospital, the first of its kind in St. Louis, which is now called by his name. Besides his never-failing daily charities, he in times of scarcity gave sums of money to the bakers to furnish bread to the hungry poor, and when the cholera was raging employed a young physician, Dr. Henry, to visit the sick throughout the surrounding country. Mr. Mullanphy died in St. Louis in 1833. His only surviving son, Bryan, was also remarkable for his great charities. In November the 14th, 1845, Judge Bryan Mullanphy was chairman of the Committee of Catholic gentlemen who founded the first conference of the St. Vincent de Paul society in the New World. He also established an immense fund for the relief of emigrants on their way to settle in the West.