In 1884, several members of San Salvadore, No. 1, the original K of C council formed in New Haven, summoned the Catholic men of Branford to share in the vision of their parish priest Father Michael J. McGivney and unite in fraternal acts of charity and patriotism toward their fellow man.

The delegation of James T. Mullen, D.W. Cosgrove, David Colwell, C.T. Driscoll and James McMahon discovered, in Branford, an ardent group of men willing to proselytize the ideals of the fledgling Knights of Columbus fraternity.

In that same year on August 24, the practical Catholic Gentlemen of Branford coalesced around the venerable Father’s vision with zeal and fortitude.

In the hall of the stately Gaylord Opera House on South Main Street, the tenth council of the Knights of Columbus was formed.

The first degree was exemplified with James T. Reynolds becoming the first Grand Knight and John P. Callahan his deputy.

These founding Brothers were crusaders with an avowed purpose of improving the lot of widows and families of Catholic men through life insurance, in their union strengthening civic bonds and promoting the principles of Catholicism.

In fraternal symbolism, charity became the council’s livelihood, patriotism its mantra and self-sacrifice its resolve.

Guided by the dogma of the Catholic Church, Eldorado Council #10 became a gleaming citadel of servitude to one’s neighbor and a beacon of patriotism to the country.

With a resolve of fidelity to the Catholic Church and a relentless passion for the founding principles of Fraternity, Unity, Charity and Patriotism, the men of Eldorado council showed great fortitude in espousing their beliefs of civic activism and communal awareness.

Surely, the spirit of Father McGivney hallowed the community of Branford the day Eldorado Council emerged, A “land of gold” that resided dormant in the hearts of the men of the church of St. Mary’s in the parish of Saint John Bosco in the Town of Branford.

Source: Excerpts taken from Centennial Celebration dated October 7, 1984- William J. Ahern.

Written by: Past Grand Knight Matthew J. Pekar, August 17, 2017.

LIST OF GRAND KNIGHTS ELDORADO/STELLA MARIS COUNCIL #10
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

1. James T. Reynolds 1884-1885
2. J.E. Matthews 1885-1886
3. John T. Quinlan 1886-1887
4. Timothy Hanniford 1887-1888
5. John Monahan 1888-1889
6. Thomas F. Carney 1889-1890
7. John P. Callahan 1890-1891
8. John B. Reilly 1891-1892
9. William C. O’Brien 1892-1893
10. John McDermott 1893-1895
11. John Williams 1895-1896
12. Thomas F. McDermott 1896-1898
13. John F. Regan 1898-1899
14. Patrick S. Murphy 1899-1900
15. John B. Dunn 1900-1901
16. John W. Lynch 1901-1902
17. J.E. Matthews 1902-1903
18. John F. Kinney 1903-1905
19. Frank J. Kinney 1905-1909
20. John H. McDermott 1909-1910
21. Patrick H. Dunn 1910-1919
22. William H. Coyle 1919-1921
23. John J. Ahern 1921-1922
24. James J. Carney 1922-1923
25. Terrence Brannigan 1923-1924
26. Frank P. Quinn 1924-1925
27. Eugene C. Bohan 1925-1926
28. Pierce E. Redding 1926-1927
29. Albert Salvini 1927-1928
30. John E. Murphy 1928-1929
31. John F. Zvonkovic 1929-1930
32. Thomas F. Matthews 1930-1931
33. John E. Mullen 1931-1932
34. Edward B. Lonergan 1932-1933
35. Joseph A. Donadio 1933-1934
36. John J. Sudac 1934-1935
37. John M. McDermott 1935-1936
38. Edward A. Driscoll 1936-1937
39. Frederic R. House 1937-1938
40. Timothy J. McCarthy, Jr. 1938-1939
41. James C. Walsh 1939-1940
42. Roland Kinney 1940-1941
43. Peter Donofrio 1941-1942
44. F. Lee McGrail 1942-1943
45. Anthony Giordano 1943-1944
46. Edward F. Garrity 1944-1945
47. James I. Fisher 1945-1946
48. Frank J. Kinney, Jr. 1946-1948
49. Edward S. Lonergan 1948-1949
50. Joseph A. Donadio 1949-1950
51. Godfred George 1950-1951
52. Alfred Chmielecki 1951-1952
53. Walter J. Lynch 1952-1953
54. Gerardo Giordano 1953-1954
55. William J. Ahern 1954-1955
56. Edward Brannigan 1955-1956
57. Reginald Asher 1956-1957
58. Charles Morawski 1957-1958
59. Walter T. Lynch 1958-1959
60. Frank Huard 1959-1960
61. William Huzar 1960-1961
62. Joseph Zukowski 1961-1962
63. Francis LaGreco 1962-1963
64. Edward Murphy 1963-1964
64. William Blake 1965-1966
65. Edward Sejko 1966-1967
66. Harold Flynn 1967-1968
67. Joseph A. Bosco 1968-1969
68. George Bescher 1969-1970
69. William Malta 1970-1971
70. Raymond Gargano 1971-1972
71. Edward F. Fay 1972-1973
72. John Carulli 1973-1974
73. Anthony Pepe 1974-1975
74. Alfred Marinelli 1975-1976
75. Richard Galdenzi 1976-1977
76. Salvatore Martucci 1977-1978
77. Timothy Purcell 1978-1979
78. Edward Ostigny 1979-1980
79. Charles Russ 1980-1981
80. John J. Kennedy 1981-1982
81. Hugh Murray 1982-1983
82. Thomas Consiglio 1983-1984
83. Louis Giordano 1984-1985
84. Walter Kramar 1985-1986
85. James Bracken 1986-1987
86. Thomas Schmidt 1987-1988
87. Edward Struzinsky 1988-1989
88. Anthony Bozzutto 1989-1990
89. Al Brigante 1990-1991
90. Thomas Kelly 1991-1992
91. Mark DiStasio 1992-1994
92. Don Jackson 1994-1996
93. Rich Jackson 1996-1997
94. Ray Santagata 1997-1998
95. Mark DiStasio 1998-1999
96. Matt Halley 1999-2001
97. Jeffrey Klarman 2001-2003
98. Matthew J. Pekar 2003-2005
99. Robert Olejarczyk 2005-2007
100. Joseph Nardini 2007-2009
101. John J. Mooney 2009-2011
102. Hank Bassi 2011-2013
103. Protais Tala 2013-2015
104. Stephen Montano 2015-2017
105. William “Joe” Byrne 2017-2019
106. Stephen Wilhelm 2019-2021
107. Steve Schambach 2021-2023
108. Anthony Bozzutto 2023-2025