Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

Margaret Murphy was born on July 20, 1849, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Jeremiah S. Murphy (1835-1880) and Johanna Honora Harrington Murphy (1830-1892).

Margaret headed further west, where in Rockland, Michigan, she met Francis Frank John Geis. Frank was born on July 20, 1839 in Krumbach, Bavaria, Germany. When Frank was born, his father, Lorenz Lawrence Guise (1816-1907), was 22 and his mother, Elizabeth Franziska Hessler Guise (1820-1886), was 19. Frank and family immigrated from Antwerp to New York on Aug. 26, 1848. The family became settler-colonists as they headed further west.

Margaret married Frank on June 16, 1866, in Rockland. By 1867, the two parents had their first child, Johanna, in Rockland.

Within a year, Frank, Margaret, and Johanna Geis headed to Scott County, Minnesota, where they bought land near Sand Creek.

Margaret and Frank ended up having ten children: Johanna Geis Kreuser (1867-1951); Elizabeth Geis (1869-1904); Frank Conrad Geis (1872-1944); Mary Ann Geis Grommesch (1874-1944); Catherine Clara Geis Hamers (1876-1941); Margaretha Geis Lehnen (1878-1940); Dorothy Geis (1881-1970); Theresa Marie Geis Kreuser (1883-1963); Josephine Geis (1886-1964); and Agnes Geis (1889-1963).

According to the Scott County Historical Society Jan. 26, 2021 newsletter, the Geis family was involved in the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sand Creek.

The St. Joseph Catholic Church was said to have been the focal point of the community of St. Joe. “Jeanette Robling, a lifelong resident of Sand Creek Township, said in 1887, ‘It was really the church that made the community. There never was a business district. All community centered around the church.’”

According to early settlers in the township, they wrote to the bishop in St Paul to request permission to build a local church. They heard that their request might be refused because of their proximity to Jordan which was also building a Catholic church at the time. “Supposedly, a farmer came out with his wagon to meet the bishop when he came to inspect the area. Instead of taking a direct route back to the community of St. Joe, the farmer drove the bishop along a circuitous and bumpy back route. St. Joe seemed farther from Jordan then it actually was, and the bishop gave permission for the church to be built,” said the Scott County Historical Society.

St Joe’s Church was established in 1858. It was built entirely by community volunteers and, due to farming and family obligations, was not finished until the following October. The original building was a 24’x35’ log cabin. In 1860 a bell, cast in St. Louis, was purchased for the church by the local Young Men’s Society. A sandstone church replaced the cabin in 1873.

According to the article, a school opened in 1874, run by an order of nuns, with 60 students attending. “The school consisted of only two rooms, with two teachers on staff. Attendance for each student averaged only 50-60 days per year due to farm work, illness and weather. By 1883, 106 children were enrolled. Unfortunately, this proved to be a difficult year for the school. Several students died in an epidemic, and the school closed for a large portion of the year as a protective measure. In 1884, the nuns retired and the building became the District 22 public school. The building was still shared with the church for religious instruction until 1947. It remained in operation until 1960.”

For over 100 years, St Joe’s Church stood in Sand Creek. The final mass was officiated in 1971, and the township used funds to preserve the church cemetery. Finally, the church itself was removed in 1988.

In June of 1989, a memorial to the church was dedicated on-site featuring the old church bell. The inscription reads “St Joseph’s Catholic Church. On this spot stood St Joseph’s Catholic Church. This monument is dedicated in memory of those who worshiped here and supported the church for 113 years. The bell is original. The stone and brick are from the church.”

The end of the church also marked the end of St Joe. Never a large community, it began to disperse after the church closed. Today it is considered a ghost town.

Margaret Murphy Geis lived in Sand Creek Township until she died Feb. 5, 1893, at the age of 43. Her husband, Francis Frank John Geis, died July 5, 1922, at age of 82.