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St James Parish Episcopal Church

St. James Parish Episcopal Church was an Episcopal congregation serving Dundee, IL and the surrounding territory in Kane County, Illinois. It is documented as an active parish by the late nineteenth century, ministering to residents on both sides of the Fox River valley.

History

The precise founding date of St. James Parish is not recorded in currently available sources. By 1879, however, the congregation was sufficiently established to support ordained clerical leadership, as Rev. E. F. Cleveland, M.D. was ordained a deacon that year and subsequently engaged in ministerial work at St. James and in the adjacent territory. He was advanced to the priesthood in September 1886, suggesting a sustained and growing Episcopal presence in Dundee through at least the 1880s and into the early 1900s. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))

The parish served not only Dundee proper but reportedly extended its ministry to neighboring communities, reflecting the common Episcopal practice of organizing mission territories around a central parish church in smaller Fox River towns.

Notable Associations

  • Rev. E. F. Cleveland, M.D. — Ordained deacon in April 1879 and priest in September 1886, Cleveland combined a medical practice in Dundee with ministerial duties at St. James Parish and the surrounding territory. He is among the most documented figures associated with the congregation, having settled in Dundee after completing his medical degree at the University of Michigan in 1868. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
  • Rev. Leonard Clifford — A retired clergyman and Dundee resident noted in the same historical record, though his specific connection to St. James Parish is not confirmed in available sources.

Sources