Wisconsin Diaries of Fr. Max Gaertner

The Gaertner Project

The goal of the Gaertner Project is to transcribe, translate, and publish each volume of the Gaertner diaries. The first-person narrative offers a valuable perspective, particularly as it captures the educated Norbertine's detailed observations and sketches of everyday life. The information contained in these volumes will enhance our understanding of mid-nineteenth century immigration, the formation of Catholic parishes in Wisconsin, the experiences of clergy in a developing landscape, and the history of both the area and of religious attitudes of the time. It is our sincere hope that these diaries will capture the attention of a wide audience, ranging from members of the general public with a casual interest in the period, to scholars researching any aspect of life in the state’s early history.

The Gaertner Project, driven by international team of researchers and historians, is open to the anyone and everyone with an interest on the subject matter. As each volume is transcribed and translated, we will post the documents to this webpage. We encourage you to read the drafts, provide comments and feedback, and share with us any knowledge or family history you might have on the details Fr. Gaertner narrates. At present we have the second volume of the diaries ready for comments. You can access the document here:

Maximilian Gärtner Diary - Volume Two English Translation

The original volumes of the Gaertner Diaries are housed in the archives of St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin. Each volume has been digitized and is available to the public by the Center for Norbertine Studies:

Digitized Volumes of the Original Diaries

The Story of Fr. Maximilian Gaertner

Father Gaertner arrived in Milwaukee in October of 1846 to assist a fellow Norbertine, Father Adalbert Inama, in establishing a Norbertine abbey in the southern part of the state. Both Fathers Inama and Gaertner came to the state at the invitation of Bishop John Martin Henni of the Milwaukee diocese. Father Inama arrived in the area in 1845 and was instrumental in promoting the region to his superiors back in Wilten Abbey and attracting German settlers to the area. By 1847, he had attracted fifteen German families to the area and became known as "the Apostle of the Four Lakes Region". Not only did he attract settlers to the area, he also was successful in persuading the Abbot of Wilten Abbey to send another Norbertine missionary to assist in this endeavor: Fr. Gaertner. Fathers Inama and Gaertner were responsible for ministering to the group of German settlers in the Sac Prairie area, who until their arrival had been without any organized Catholic leadership and spiritual guidance. In doing so, the two confreres laid the foundation for Catholic parishes in the area.

Father Gaertner prepared for his mission by becoming fluent in English, French, and the local Indian dialects. As he was studying, he taught school at St. Norbert House, the headquarters of the Norbertine mission in Sac Prairie, Wisconsin, founded by Father Inama. The Norbertine mission served the counties of Dane, Portage, Sauk and Iowa. Father Gaertner was responsible for the outlying and more rural areas, whereas Father Inama’s ministry focused on St. Norbert House. Father Gaertner’s first undertaking was in the settlement of Columbus, a small town on the borders of Columbia and Dane counties, just northeast of Madison. He was able to build a church and school which opened in July, 1850. Additional parishes were then formed in Jefferson, Watertown, Baraboo and in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin.

Father Gaertner returned to Europe in May, 1851 as the American delegate for the funeral of Abbot Alois Roeggl of Wilten Abbey and for the election of a new Abbott. While in Austria, he traveled through the Tyrol, Bavaria, Austria and Bohemia to collect donations for his parishes in Wisconsin. When he returned to Wisconsin in June of 1852, he was accompanied by another priest, two brothers, and a lay student, Francis X. Weinhart, who was later ordained at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. With his return, he found that the Norbertine territory had been reorganized, with the Norbertines now being responsible for two districts, the largest community being Sauk City. Here he founded the parish of St. Aloysius, a congregation consisting of seventy-five families, primarily German, and with continuing immigration from Austria. Fr. Gaertner continued his mission work and parish work until he was recalled by his Abbot, John Freninger of Wilten Abbey, in 1858. Although we know little about the reasons for his ultimate departure, speculation has centered on the inability of Fathers Inama and Gaertner to create a monastery at St. Norbert House.