Fenwick, Edward D. (Edward Dominic), 1768-1832

Edward Dominic Fenwick was born on August 19, 1768 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. In 1784 he went to study at Holy Cross College in Barnheim, Belgium. He entered the Order of Preachers in 1788 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1793 at Ghent. Fenwick returned to America in 1804 to establish a Dominican province in America, which was founded near Springfield, Kentucky in 1805. From this base, he made several missionary journeys into Ohio. On January 13, 1822 Fenwick was consecrated the first bishop of the new Diocese of Cincinnati. At that time the diocese covered the entire state of Ohio and some territories northwest of the state. Bishop Fenwick opened a school for girls in 1825, a cathedral in 1826, a seminary in 1829, and started the diocesan newspaper The Catholic Telegraph in 1831. Bishop Fenwick died on September 26, 1832 in Wooster, Ohio while on a missionary journey.