One influential figure in the development of French-Canadian towns near Bourbonnais was Charles Télesphore Chiniquy. Born in Quebec in 1809, Chiniquy courted controversy as a Roman Catholic priest by delivering sermons in French and preaching temperance. In 1851, he transferred to the Diocese of Chicago to form a new parish for the growing numbers of French Canadians in Illinois. By 1853, 920 families had followed him to the new town of St. Anne. In a letter to Robert Schuyler, president of the Illinois Central Rail Road, Chiniquy requested a land grant to help found St. Anne.

Chiniquy’s independent style, including providing laymen with the Bible, philandering, and absconding with funds sent to rebuild a burnt church, earned him the censure of several Chicago archbishops. He was suspended from his duties in 1856, but he continued to minister as a Roman Catholic priest until he was excommunicated in 1858.

Undeterred by his excommunication, Chiniquy formed his own independent “Catholic Christian Church,” and most of his parishioners followed him. In need of financial support for his new church, he capitalized on the poor harvests of 1858 and 1859 by touring the east coast and soliciting funds for his “starving French Canadian converts.” Chiniquy played on eastern nativist and anti-Catholic sentiments by accusing the Chicago Catholics of attempting to steal the French Canadians’ property and land.

Back in Illinois, Chiniquy’s actions caused tremendous controversy. Two articles from the December 1, 1859 issue of the Chicago Press and Tribune described the local reaction to Chiniquy’s “begging tour.” One article asserted that, contrary to Chiniquy’s claims, his parishioners were relatively well-off and Chiniquy himself was engaged in deliberate misrepresentation. Another article, “Kankakee County Indignant,” reported that citizens of Kankakee County drafted an “anti-begging” resolution in order to counter the falsehoods being peddled by Chiniquy.

Upon his return to St. Anne in 1860, Chiniquy announced that he had joined the Presbyterian Church because it was the richest church in America and because it had given the most to his cause. Many of his Catholic Christian Church parishioners followed the charismatic pastor, and they renamed their church the First Presbyterian Church of St. Anne.

Chiniquy also generated controversy as a Presbyterian minister, and charges of misappropriation of funds led to a schism in his congregation. Throughout his life, he authored several semi-autobiographical, anti-Roman Catholic polemics, including Fifty Years in the “Church” of Rome and The Life and Labours of the Rev. Father Chiniquy.