# The Part Taken by Women in American History/Catholic Women in America

Catholic Women in America.
The Founding of the Georgetown Convent, the Oldest School for Girls in America.
The foundress of the Georgetown Convent, Georgetown, D. C., the first Visitation house in America, was Miss Alice Lalor, known later in religion as Mother Teresa. She was born in Queen's County, Ireland, but her parents removed to Kilkenny where her childhood and early youth were spent. Her tender piety and bright and charitable character won the affection and regard of every one around her, and especially of her pastor, Father Carroll. When at the age of seventeen she received the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop Lanigan, he was attracted also by her modesty, and having instituted with Father Carroll a confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament at Kilkenny, he named Alice Lalor as its first president or prefect. She soon resolved to consecrate herself to God, and was permitted to make the vow of virginity, although complete renunciation of the world could not be made because there was no convent in the neighborhood. One of Alice Lalor's sisters married an American merchant, Mr. Doran, who was desirous that his wife should have the companionship of Alice in her new transatlantic home for a while. Alice, now thirty-one years of age, agreed to go with them, but promised Bishop Lanigan that she would return in two years to aid in forming the religious community so long contemplated. She sailed from Ireland with her sister in the winter of 1794. Among the passengers on the sailing vessel were Mrs. McDer​ mott and Mrs. Sharpe, both widows. During the long voyage, they formed an intimate friendship with Alice and expressed the desire which they had long felt to enter the cloistered life and agreed that when they landed they would go to confession and communion and take the priest, whomsoever might be their confessor, as their spiritual director. They landed in Philadelphia, and the priest whom they found and accepted as their director was, happily, Father Neale. These three devout women brought so unexpectedly to his feet from beyond the sea were the women destined to co-operate with him in founding the community of his vision which he had never ceased to hope that he might realize. Although Alice Lalor felt bound by her promise to return to Ireland, Father Neale saw the greater service she could render to religion in America and offered to release her from her promise to return to her native land. Miss Lalor, Mrs. McDermott and Mrs. Sharpe settled in Philadelphia, hired a house and lived in community. Mrs. Sharpe had her daughter with her, a child of eight years. Suddenly the yellow fever broke out and Father Neale narrowly escaped death. Alice Lalor and her companions remained persistently in the path of danger, ministering to the pest-stricken people. In the winter of 1798-99, Father Neale was ordered to Georgetown as president of the Jesuit College. He sent for the three devoted religious converts and domiciled them for a time with three Poor Clares, who being driven from France to this country by the Revolution of 1793 had set up a little convent not far from the college. The Poor Clares attempted to keep a school as a means of support, but their poverty was so extreme and their life so rigorous that not many scholars applied. These women, poor and barefooted according to their rules, came of noble blood and had been born and reared to luxury. Alice Lalor and her two friends boarded and taught in this convent, but it soon became apparent that the austere rule of St. ​ Clare differed widely from that they wished to adopt, and was uncongenial to the times and needs of the locality. Father Neale, therefore, bought a house and land nearby and installed them in it. Thus was begun by these three ladies an establishment and school which has become famous in America and from which many of her most noted women have graduated. In 1800 Father Neale was consecrated Coadjutor to Archbishop Carroll and continued as president of the Georgetown College. It is not known when Bishop Neale decided to place these devoted women under visitation rules. This little group increased to five members all of whom were known round about as "The Pious Ladies," their only appellation for many years. Mrs. Sharpe who was known as Sister Ignatia, their principal teacher, after a sudden illness died. In 1804 the Poor Clares returned to France, and Mother Teresa (Alice Lalor) was able to buy the house and land which the Poor Clares had occupied. In 1808, Bishop Neale's term as president of the college ended and he took a dwelling close to the convent, which made it possible for him to supervise closely these new daughters of a still unformed community, whom he was endeavoring to train for a monastic life. It is said that in 1812 their buildings were in a state of total disrepair, the monastery a forlorn-looking house containing six rooms, and in 181 1, it is said, Sister Margaret Marshall "succeeded by her energy and the toil of her own hands in lathing and plastering the assembly room." There remains scarcely a vestige of these primitive structures to-day. For a while this was the only Catholic institution of the kind in the United States where the daughters of Catholics might become well grounded in the principles of their religion. The first nine years only four members joined "The Pious Ladies," these were : Sister Aloysia Neale, Sister Stanislaus Fenwick, and Sister Magdalene Neale, and a lay sister, Mary. In 1808 Miss Catherine Ann ​ Ridgen joined the order and was chosen as Mother Teresa's successor. The mother house at Annecy had been suppressed during the French Revolution, and was not restored until 1822. The other houses in Europe were unwilling to send a copy of the constitutions to Georgetown, because this community had not been founded in the usual way by professed members of the order. The whole undertaking, in short, was looked upon as irregular, and it was believed that Rome would never approve of Bishop Neale's little community. Although schools were opened by Mrs. Seton in Baltimore and one at Emmitsburg Bishop Neale would not consent to abandon his scheme. A rich lady living in Baltimore, who had been educated with the Ursuline nuns in Ireland, heard of the embarrassments at Georgetown, and offered her means and influence to the Archbishop for the benefit of "The Pious Ladies," if they would consent to transform their house into an Ursuline convent. These plans were laid before Bishop Neale, who politely and respectfully thanked this generous and excellent lady for her liberality, but stated he would never consent to the proposed change. The Archbishop, seeing how invincible was Bishop Neale's purpose to continue on the lines he had already laid down, told the good Bishop that he would give him power to do what he could, but he must expect no help from him. One day in examining the books which they found in the little library purchased from the Poor Clares, they found on the title page of one of the books the name of St. Francis de Sales and the word "Visitation." This volume, on examination, proved to contain the rules of the Visitation Order, which they had sought so long and so ardently prayed for. This is believed to have been in about 1809 or 18 10, or perhaps a little later. And now, having the rules of the Order, they had but to decide upon their dress. Bishop Neale decided to let them wear the Teresian costume, and wrote to his brother Charles, at ​
​ Bishop Neale said in establishing the school that it was founded "to teach the female youth of America," and truly did he prophecy and plan, for hither came the best of the "female youth of America" for many years, and to-day some of our most distinguished women claim the Georgetown Convent of Visitation as their Alma Mater.
In the period just before the war-days, there came to the academy the two daughters of Senator Ewing, of Ohio (the first secretary of the Department of the Interior). One of them, Ellen Ewing, afterwards married General William Tecumseh Sherman. Here also was educated Harriet Lane Johnston, niece of President Buchanan, who gained social distinction at the Court of St. James while her uncle was United States Minister there, and afterwards gracefully conducted for him the social functions of the executive mansion, as one of the most charming in all the line of "ladies of the White House." Another graduate, famous for her exceptional beauty, as well as for her social leadership in Washington, was Adelaide Cutts, who married Stephen A. Douglas, the brilliant rival of Abraham Lincoln for presidential honors. Mrs. Douglas long after her first husband's death, became the wife of General Robert Williams, United States Army.
General Joseph E. Johnston, eminent afterwards among Confederate military chieftains, found his wife in a Visitation graduate, Miss McLain, a daughter of Secretary McLain. Another pupil, Teresa Doyle, married Senator Casserly; and Miss Deslonde, of Louisiana, who studied here, became Mrs. General Beauregard. The following account of the students of the institution is compiled from "A Story of Courage; Annals of the Georgetown Convent of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
"Among others who graduated before the war were Marion Ramsay, who became Mrs. Cutting, of New York; the ​ daughters of Judge Gaston, of North Carolina; the daughters of Commodore Rogers; Eliza and Isabella Walsh, the daughters of the United States Minister to Spain; Minnie Meade, a sister of General Meade, who became the wife of General Hartman Bache, United States Army; Albina Montholon, daughter of the French Minister and granddaughter of General Gratiot, United States Army; Kate Duncan, of Alabama, who married Dr. Emmet, of New York; the daughters of Commodore Cassin; the Bronaugh sisters, one of whom married Admiral Taylor; the Carroll sisters, one of whom became the Baroness Esterhazy, of Austria; the daughters of Senator Stephen Mallory, of Florida; the daughter of Senator Nicholson, of Tennessee, afterwards Mrs. Martin, who became principal of a leading seminary in the South; Katie Irving, a grandniece of Washington Irving; the daughters of Major Turnbull; Mary Maguire, who became the wife of General Eugene Carr. Of the daughters of Mrs. Bass, of Mississippi, afterwards wife of the Italian Minister, Bertinatti, one married a foreign nobleman. Madeleine Vinton became the wife of Admiral Dahlgren; Emily Warren became Mrs. Roebling, the wife of the builder of the Brooklyn bridge, who herself completed the great work when her husband had been stricken with illness. Nancy Lucas, who married Doctor Johnson, of St. Louis, sent five daughters to the convent, as did also Major Turner. General Frost sent five representatives, one of whom married Philip Beresford Hope, son of the distinguished member of Parliament. Adele Sarpy, who became Mrs. Don Morrison, a pupil herself, later on sent her three daughters. Ellen Sherman Thackara and Rachel Sherman Thorndyke, daughters of General Sherman, followed in their mother's footsteps at Georgetown. Myra Knox became Mrs. Thomas J. Semmes, of New Orleans. Ada Semmes, who married Richard Clarke, the historian, with her sisters, one of whom was Mrs. Ives were also pupils here. ​ Among other leading Southern families represented at the school at this time were the Floyds of Virginia and the Stephenses of Georgia.
"Of those who have graduated since the war are: Bertha and Ida Honore; the former Mrs. Potter Palmer, who was brought prominently before the country as the president of the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition. Her sister became the wife of General Frederick D. Grant, formerly United States Minister to Austria, now a general in the United States Army. Blanche Butler, the daughter of General Benjamin F. Butler, became the wife of Governor Ames, of Mississippi, and Mary Goodell married Governor Grant, of Colorado. Harriet Monroe, of Chicago, who wrote the ode for the Columbian World's Fair, graduated in 1879, having for her classmates Adele Morrison, of St. Louis, now Mrs. Albert T. Kelly, of New York; Ella Whitthorne, of Tennessee, now Mrs. Alexander Harvey, of Baltimore, and Miss Newcomer, of Baltimore who, as Mrs. H. B. Gilpin, annually presents a medal for music to the school. Mary Saunders, the daughter of ex-Senator Saunders, of Nebraska, as the wife of Russell Harrison, the ex-President's son, graced the White House by her presence during Benjamin Harrison's administration. Mary Logan Tucker, the daughter of the soldier and statesman, General John A. Logan, now wields as a journalist a pen as trenchant as was her father's sword.
"The portraits of Emma Etheridge, of Tennessee, the daughter of Honorable Emerson Etheridge, and Josephine Dickson, of Missouri, which adorn the walls of the convent parlor, are those of two young ladies noted for their beauty. The former is now Mrs. John V. Moran, of Detroit, and the latter Mrs. Julius Walsh, of St. Louis; Estelle Dickson studied art in Paris.
"Among other pupils were Pearl Tyler, daughter of ​ President Tyler; Gertrude and Jessie Alcorn, the daughters of Senator Alcorn, of Mississippi; Romaine Goddard, daughter of Mrs. Dahlgren, who became the Countess von Overbeck; Irene Rucker, who become the wife of General Philip H. Sheridan; Constance Edgar, now the Countess Moltke Huitfeldt, daughter of Madam Bonaparte and granddaughter of Daniel Webster; Mary Wilcox, granddaughter by adoption of General Andrew Jackson. Ethel Ingalls, daughter of ex-Senator Ingalls, has reflected credit on the academy by her literary work; her younger sister, Constance, followed her at the school, together with Anna Randall Lancaster, and her sister Susie, daughters of the late Samuel J. Randall; the five daughters of the late A. S. Abell, of Baltimore, and Jennie Walters, daughter of W. T. Walters of the same city.
"Miss Early and Miss Ould were two gifted Southern ladies who are remembered at the school. Miss E. M. Dorsey, also, a bright and winning story-writer, whose 'Midshipman Bob' is well and favorably known to young readers, is one of the later graduates."
Even this partial list of some among those who have received their training at Georgetown Convent in knowledge, morals, manners and the conduct of life, is at first rather surprising by reason of the high rank and average of the women educated here. Yet on second and deeper thought it will appear to be only a reasonable result of so much patient labor, lofty endeavor, unselfish effort, and devout studiousness, offered day by day for a century, with no other thought than that of contributing to the glory of God and the blessing of the human race, in whole and in particular.
The annals of this illustrious institution, which celebrated its Centennial in 1899, must, we think, place one fact very clearly before the minds of all thoughtful and observant readers, and that is, the marked degree of individuality characterizing the ​ members of such a body as the Georgetown Convent of the Visitation.
This we trust has been demonstrated by such definite examples as the steadfast endurance and guiding hope of Mother Teresa Lalor; the virgin self-reliance and bravery of Sister Margaret Marshall; the firm executive quality of Mother Agnes Brent and other Superiors; the gentle, tactful rule of Mother Juliana Matthews; the vivacious and exquisitely trustful, spiritualized personality of "Sister Stanny" (Sister Stanislaus) who was the daughter of Commodore Jacob Jones, United States Navy, who captured the British war-sloop "Frolic," for which act he received the thanks of Congress, a reward of $25,000.00 and a gold medal; the enthusiasm for astronomical study of Sister Genevieve White, who was a sister of the late Judge White, of New York, and niece of Gerald Griffin, the famous Irish poet, and her sister, dear Sister Teresa, in the midst of bodily suffering; the grand, sturdy serviceableness of Sister Joseph Keating, who was of noble French descent; the delicate, skillful housekeeping and responsive charity of Mother Angela Harrison, or the perfect meekness of Sister Mary Emmanuel Scott, daughter of General Winfield Scott; Sister Bernard Graham, daughter of Honorable George Graham, who was a very remarkable business woman; Sister Eulalia Pearce; Sister Mary Austin, who was a wife and the mother of five children when she presented herself for her vows in the Order. She was received and became a nun—her husband a Jesuit priest—and two of her children were brought up by the mother of Father Fenwick and three by the Sisters of the Convent in which she was a nun. Among those of later date who are affectionately remembered by the present generation of graduates and scholars are: Sister Mary Loretto King, long the able directress of the school and a woman of wonderful executive ability, strength of character and mental qualities possessed ​ by few of her sex; Sister Paulina Willard; Sister Loyola Leocadia, a gifted woman and to whom we are indebted for the collecting and preparation of the Annals of the Convent, now in book form. Sister, now Mother Fidelis, is the last of that type of women noted for their great executive and mental strength which have put their stamp on the women they sent out into the world to become forces in the progress of their sex, going on in America to-day; Sister Benedicto, with her gentle spirit and marked artistic talents, has developed the talents of those of the students who came within her care, among whom many are to-day well known in the world of art and owe to her their first creditable work. It might be mentioned that Madame Yturbide found a refuge in this Convent after the tragic death of her husband, the self-proclaimed president of Mexico, who was shot on his return from exile. She wore the garb of a nun and her daughter became a novice and is buried with the sisters here. These are but a few, among the larger few, whom we have sketched in this book, and all, taken together, are only instances of the traits and capacities of numberless other sisters. They show that not only may there be pronounced individuality among the members of a religious order, but also a wide variety of development, under the uniform garb and the equal submission to a common rule and discipline.
The alumnae of the Georgetown Convent of Visitation was organized by Mary Logan Tucker, daughter of General John A. Logan, a graduate of the Georgetown Convent of Visitation, who was elected its first president, March 3, 1893.
Prominent Catholic Women in America.
Mrs. Frances Tiernan, novelist, whose pen name is "Christian Reid," was a daughter of Colonel Charles F. Fisher of the Confederate Army. Her girlhood home was in Salisbury, North Carolina, to which she returned on the death of her husband, James M. Tiernan, of Maryland. Among the thirty or more stories which have made famous her pen name "Christian Reid," are "A Daughter ​ of Bohemia," "Valerie Aylmar," "Morton House," "Heart of Steel," "Cast for Fortune," and "A Little Maid of Arcady." Mrs. Tiernan has received a Laetare medal from Notre Dame University, Indiana.
Miss Grace Charlotte Mary Regina Strachan, educator, social worker and writer, is the daughter of Thomas F. Strachan, a Scotch Presbyterian, but entered the Catholic church, of which her mother was a devoted member. She was educated in Buffalo, New York, first, at Saint Bridget's and later at the Buffalo State Normal School and she has taken several New York University extension courses. Since 1900 she has been superintendent of the public schools of New York, and is well known for her philanthropic work in the Young Women's Catholic Association of Brooklyn, where she has taught free classes. Miss Strachan has also been most active in promoting the cause of equal pay for equal work and is interested in all Catholic charities. She has contributed several articles and stories to the Delineator and has traveled in this country and abroad, having been granted an audience with Pope Pius X. She is president of the Interborough Association of Women Teachers and a member of many other organizations.
Georginia Pell Curtis was born in New York City, February 19, 1859, and although of Protestant parentage and educated at a Protestant school she was afterwards converted to the Roman Catholic Church, and has since been a constant and brilliant contributor to all the publications devoted to the interests of that church. Her writings have appeared in the Ave Maria, the Catholic World, the Messenger, the Magnificat, the Messenger of the Sacred Heart, Donahoe's, the Rosary, and the Pilgrim. She is also the editor of "Some Roads to Rome in America," and the "American Catholic Who's Who." She comes justly by her ready, facile mental qualities and her ability for logical work, coming from distinguished ancestry along Colonial and Dutch lines; on the maternal side Miss Curtis is a granddaughter of Thomas Hill, known on the stage as Thomas Hillson, an English actor of the old Park Theatre, New York, who numbered among his intimate friends, Junius Brutus Booth, John William Wallack, and Washington Irving. Other lineal ancestors of whom Miss Curtis is justly proud were Peter Vandewaker, keeper of the city gate at the foot of Wall Street, New York, in the eighteenth century, and Jacobus Vandewaker, mayor of New Amsterdam, in 1673.
Mrs. Edwin F. Abell, daughter of the late Frank Laurenson, a noted merchant of Baltimore. She married the late Edwin F. Abell, son of Arunah S. Abell, founder of the Baltimore Sun. Mr. Abell, succeeded his father as editor of the Sun, and under this guidance it remained as it had always been one of the most efficient and influential journals in the United States, and in its columns all affairs of interest and benefit to the Catholic Church in America have always been given just and dignified treatment.
Madam Marie Louise Alband, was born at Chambly, near Montreal, in 1852, and was the daughter of Joseph Lajeunesse, a musician. Musical ability was early evidenced in the daughter and at the age of fifteen she had finished her education at the Sacred Heart Convent in Albany, New York, and had become organist at the Church of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Later she studied in Paris and Milan under distinguished musicians, eventually making her debut in Messina, in 1870. Her success, which established her as a famous singer, ​ was achieved in the Royal Italian Opera in London, in 1870. Since then her voice has been heard in opera and sacred music by great audiences in America and England.
MOTHER O. C. D. AUGUSTINE.
She was the daughter of the late Samuel Tuckerman. She entered the Religious Order of the Carmelites, in Baltimore, in 1893, and for three years was Superior of the Carmelite Monastery, in Roxbury, Boston, having been one of the founders of this order. In 1908 a branch of the order was established in San Francisco on the estate of Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mother Augustine was placed in charge, where she has remained ever since.
LAURA ELIZABETH LEE BATTLE.
Was born January 26, 1855, and is a descendant of the celebrated Lees of Virginia. Has been active in the work of building Catholic Churches in Michigan and North Carolina.
KATE WALKER BEHAN.
Was the daughter of William Walker, a prominent citizen of New Orleans, Louisiana. She married General William J. Behan. Is president of the ladies auxiliary of the Good Shepherd, for Magdalenes, one of the most prominent Catholic Societies of New Orleans; also president of the Ladies' Confederated Memorial Association and president of the Jefferson Davis Monument Association, and chairman of the civic department of the Women's League of New Orleans.
MARY ELIZABETH THOMAS BLOW.
Was born May 27, 1863 at Cape Elizabeth, Maine. One of her father's ancestors, Isaiah Thomas, was the publisher of the first Bible in New England. One of her mother's ancestors, General Timothy Pickering, was president of the war board in Revolutionary time, Secretary of State, and Postmaster-General under Washington. She is the wife of Major William N. Blow, 15th Infantry, United States Army.
ROSALIE B. DE SOLMS BOND.
Was the daughter of Sidney J. de Solms and Maria del Carmen de Solms. She was born November 26, 1843, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Is one of the founders of the Catholic Guild, now the Dominican House of Retreat; member of the association of Perpetual Adoration and Work for Poor Churches, and other societies. The de Solms family is one of the most distinguished Catholic families of Philadelphia and Mr. de Solms presented to the Cathedral, in Logan Square, the painting of the "Crucifixion" which is over the main altar.
JOSEPHINE HALE BOYLE.
Was the daughter of Joseph P. Hale, of San Francisco, California. Her husband enjoys the distinction of being heir-presumptive to the Earldom of Cork. ​
MRS. PETER ARRELL BROWNE.
Was born April 14, 1834 and is the daughter of Thomas Parkin and Julianna M. Scott, of Baltimore. In 1860 she married P. A. Browne, Jr., who was the son of Peter Arrell and Harriet Harper Browne, of Philadelphia, and in 1861 they removed to Baltimore. Mr. Browne was a prominent lawyer of Maryland and auditor of the Superior Court, of Baltimore. Mrs. Browne's father was also a distinguished lawyer being chief judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, and a member of the Maryland legislature in 1861, and with others was imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
ANNA ELIZABETH BRYAN.
Was one of the most prominent women of the South, being the daughter of the late Admiral Raphael Semmes. Is prominent in Catholic charitable work of her home city, Memphis, Tennessee.
EMMA WESTCOTT BULLOCK.
Is the widow of Jonathan Russell Bullock, who was formerly judge of the United States District Court of Rhode Island She is a member of the national patriotic societies of the country, The Colonial Dames, Descendants of Colonial Governors, Society of the Mayflower, etc.; hereditary life member of the National Mary Washington Memorial Association.
SUZANNE BANCROFT CARROLL.
Is a graddaughter of Honorable George Bancroft, the historian of the United States. Her husband is the son of John Lee Carroll, of Ellicott City, Maryland. The family emigrated to Maryland, in 1688, and have been conspicuous in the history of the United States. One of his ancestors, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He took a prominent part in the Independence Movement and was a member of the Convention of Maryland chosen to frame the constitution; also a member of the first Congress of the United States in 1777, and of the board of war, and a senator from Maryland. Mrs. Carroll lives in Paris, France.
MOTHER PRAXEDES CARTY, (SUSAN CARTY).
MARGARET ELIZABETH CASEY.
Was born December, 1874, in Beatrice, Nebraska. Active in the ladies' auxiliary, Ancient Order of Hibernians. Was secretary in 1900 of the law class of the Kansas State University.
MRS. JAMES BLANCHARD CLEWS.
Is the granddaughter of the late Honorable Charles Nichols, at one time minister to The Hague. Her husband, J. B. Clews, is a nephew of Henry Clews of the firm of Henry Clews and Company, bankers of New York City. She is active, and has been for several years, in all Catholic charitable work.
ZOE DESLOGE COBB.
Was born in Potosi, Missouri, December 18, 1850. Is president of the Children of Mary, Sacred Heart Convent, and also president of the ladies' auxiliary, St. Louis Obstetrical Dispensary.
EDYTHE PATTEN CORBIN.
Mrs. Corbin, the wife of General Henry C. Corbin, United States Army, was one of the most prominent social leaders of Washington before her husband's death, and by her kindliness, charm, and practical sense endeared herself to the army. She is the daughter of Edmund and Anna Statia Patten, of California, who were pioneers of the Pacific coast, and belonged to that circle of early settlers the Mackays, Fairs, and Crockers, who made their fortunes in the gold fields of that state. Mrs. Corbin and her sisters were educated in a convent in Paris. She is a most accomplished conversationalist, speaking French, German, and Italian fluently, and is to-day one of the charming women of Washington, D. C.
ANNA McLANE CROPPER.
Was born March 11, 1859, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Is the daughter of Allen and Ariadne Knight McLane. Her family were prominent in the army, navy, and diplomatic service of the United States. Her father's father, Louis McLane, was a member of Congress, Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State under General Jackson, and Minister to England. Her own father was a graduate of the Naval Academy, but resigned in 1850, and was for many years president of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. She is prominent in the Society of Colonial Dames.
MOTHER ANTONINA O. S. D. FISCHER.
Before entering sacred order her name was Mary Ann Fischer, and she was born in Bavaria, Germany, November 22, 1849. Is the daughter of John and ​ Mary Ann Fischer. She was a member of the Dominican Order for thirty-four years. In 1902 she went with seven Sisters to Great Bend, Kansas, and founded the Mother House and novitiate of the Sisters of St. Dominic.
STELLA M. HAMILTON.
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Hamilton, and was born in Omaha. Is prominent in social work of that city, and active member of the Christ Child Society.
JULIA CARLIN HARDIN.
Was born in Carrollton, Green County, Illinois. Her ancestors were prominent among the early settlers of Illinois. She married John A. Hardin, of Louisville, Kentucky, who died in 1884.
MRS. FRANCIS T. HOMER.
Is the daughter of George W. and Jennie Webb Abell, and granddaughter of A. S. Abell, the well-known founder of the Baltimore Sun. In 1902 she married Francis T. Homer, of Baltimore.
LOUISE FRANCES HUNT.
Was born in Paris, France, in 1837. Is the daughter of John T. and Anne Maria Hyde Adams, and the wife of William H. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy under President Garfield, and Minister to Russia under President Arthur
MRS. GEORGE MERRIAM HYDE.
Is the daughter of the late Oliver Prince Buel, of New York, and grand-daughter of General Charles Macdougall. Her mother was a member of the well-known family of Hillhouse and of Bishop Atkinson's family. Mrs. Merriam is now Sister Mary of the Tabernacle.
ELIZA LE BRUN MILLER JOYCE.
Was born in Ohio, April 5, 1840. Her father, Thomas Miller, in that year came to Ohio from Bronwnsville, Pennsylvania. Her mother's (Margaret T. Wilson) father, Thomas Wilson, Mrs. Joyce's grandfather, was obliged to leave Ireland in the rebellion of 1798, forfeiting his property, which was restored to him forty years later. She is regent for Trinity College, Washington, D. C., and on the board of mangers of several charitable institutions. Active in organizing charitable societies in the church.
ANNE LEARY.
Was born in the city of New York of Irish parentage, and is a sister of the late Arthur Leary. She is one of the most prominent social leaders of ​ New York City and Newport and much beloved for her generous charity and her great accomplishments. She was created a countess by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of her services to the church. She spends much of her time abroad.
ADELE LE BRUN.
Was the daughter of Napoleon Le Brun, of New York, the well-known architect. She was instrumental and conspicuous in bringing to this country the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, which had been founded in France by Mere Marie de la Providence. The house for this order was opened in May, 1892, and she has made the extension and the furtherance of the good works of this order her life work.
MARGARET McCABE.
Was born in 1846 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded the Sacred Heart Home for Working Girls and the Boys' Home in Cincinnati, and prominent in the building of the Church of the Sacred Heart of that city.
MARCHIONESS SARA McLAUGHLIN.
Created a marchioness by Pope Pius X in 1908, in recognition of her benefactions in the interest of religion. She is the widow of the late political leader, Hugh McLaughlin.
MOTHER EUTROPIA McMAHON.
Superior of the Sisters of Charity, of Nazareth, Kentucky, to which she was elected in 1909, having been previously Superior of the Presentation Academy at Louisville.
SISTER JOSEPHINE O. S. D. MEAGHER.
Was born in 1841 in County Tipperary, Ireland, and emigrated to this country in 1852. She and her sister both entered the order of St. Dominic at Springfield, Illinois. In 1873 Sister Josephine was placed in charge of a little band of religious people and sent to Jacksonville, Illinois, to establish an independent community, over which she presided for fifteen years. In 1908 they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of her entrance into religious life.
REBECCA NEWELL MORISON.
Was born in Rhode Island, and is the widow of H. G. O. Morison. It is said the "Knownothings" tried to burn the convent in New England where she was staying to "rescue her from the Popish Nuns."
MARGARET O'BRIEN.
Assistant librarian, Omaha Public Library. Is the daughter of the late General George Morgan O'Brien, United States Army. ​
MARY SEMMES ORRICK.
Is a descendant of the distinguished Admiral Raphael Senimes, U. S. N., and the widow of Dr. Nicholas C. Orrick, of Kenton, Massachusetts.
MARIE MARTIN PALMS.
Is the wife of F. L. Palms, of Detroit, Michigan, and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Is the president of the Weinman Catholic settlement.
MRS. THEOPHILE EMILY CARLIN PAPIN.
Was born in Carrollton, Illinois, and is the daughter of William and Mary Goode Carlin. In 1865 she married Theophile Papin, great-grandson of Pierre de Laclede Ligueste, the founder of St. Louis. Some of her ancestors left Ireland in the Revolution of 1798 and settled in Virginia, eventually going with a colony to Illinois. An uncle, Thomas Carlin, was governor of Illinois from 1838 to 1842 and founded the town of Carrollton. Mrs. Papin is prominent as an active worker in the charitable work of the Catholic church in St. Louis. and in the social life of that city.
KATHERINE LAUGHLIN PFOHL.
Was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1867. Is the daughter of John M. and Mary A. Whalen Laughlin. Her grandfather on her mother's side was one of McMahon's Irish Regiment and was killed at Spottsylvania Court House. Her granduncle was Bishop Marrom of Kilkenny, Ireland. In 1887 she married George W. Pfohl, whose ancestors came to this country with Lafayette. Mrs. Pfohl is the director of the Working Boy's Home of the Sacred Heart; also St. Elizabeth's Hospital Association, and St. Mary's Infant Asylum. Is president of the O. M. I. Parish Aid Society, Holy Angels Church, and vice-president of the St. James Mission and of the Catholic Women's Club.
MRS. ANDREW WELSH, SR.
One of the generous benefactors of the Catholic Church, having given $100,000 to St. Ignatius College, California, and later $50,000 to Santa Clara College near San Francisco.
MOTHER MARY DE SALES (WILHELMINA TREDOW).
ELIZABETH A. SETON.
Founder and first Superioress of the Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City, the 28th of August, 1774, and was the daughter of Dr. Richard Bayley, a distinguished American physician. Her mother died when she was but three years of age. Miss Bayley was brought up in the doctrines and practices of the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which her parents belonged. At the age of twenty she became the wife of William Seton, a merchant of New York City, whose early life had been spent in Leghorn. About the beginning of the year 1800, Mr. Seton's affairs became much embarrassed from the consequences of the war and other vicissitudes incident to trade. Mrs. Seton rose to the necessities of the occasion. She not only cheered him by her unfailing courage, but aided him in the arrangement of his affairs. Mrs. Seton was the mother of five children. Her influence was not only confined to her own family circle, but she sought wherever it was possible to draw the hearts of others to the consideration of their true welfare. So zealous was she in this respect that she and another relative were frequently called the Protestant sisters of charity. In 1801, Mrs. Seton's father, Dr. Bayley, died, but although her father had married a second time, Mrs. Seton was very devoted to him during his entire life. In 1803 Mr. Seton's health became so precarious that they resolved upon visiting Italy. Owing to many calamities and a form of contagion and sudden illness among her children, and the extreme kindness and devotion of the Catholic friends of Mr. and Mrs. Seton, she was brought under the influence and lived in the atmosphere of the Roman Catholic Church, and ultimately she became a convert to this faith. While away she was in constant correspondence with Father Cheverus, and owing to the counsel and advice of Bishop Carroll she ​ ultimately, on Ash Wednesday, March 14, 1805, presented herself for acceptance in the Church of St. Peter's, New York City. She was received into the church by Rev. Matthew O'Brien. Mrs. Seton being anxious to exert her influence for the benefit of her own family and others, opened a boarding house for young boys who attended school in the city. May 26, 1806, Mrs. Seton was confirmed by Bishop Carroll in the presence of her devoted friend, Mr. A. Filicchi, her husband's former friend of Leghorn. Through Mrs. Seton's zeal she brought her sister-in-law, Cecelia Seton, into the circle of the Roman church and her sister Harriet joined Mrs. Seton when she went to Baltimore, and here she collected around her a band of religiously inclined young women. Mrs. Seton decided upon establishing an order for the care and instruction of poor children. Mr. Cooper, a convert and student of St. Mary's for the priesthood, was anxious to devote his property to the service of God. The clergy were consulted on this occasion and the city of Emmitsburg, Maryland, was fixed upon as full of moral and physical advantages for a religious community. The title of Mother had already been gladly given everywhere to Mrs. Seton. One lady after another came gathering about her in fervor and humility offering themselves as candidates for the new sisterhood. A conventual habit was adopted, which was afterwards changed to that worn by the Sisters of Charity and under the title of Sisters of St. Joseph, a little band was organized under temporary rules. At the end of July, Mother Seton and the whole of her community, now ten in number, besides her three daughters and her sister-in-law, removed to a little farmhouse on their own land, in St. Joseph's Valley, which was to be their own home. In 181 1, measures were taken to procure from France a copy of the regulations in use among the Daughters of Charity founded by St. Vincent de Paul, as it was intended that St. Joseph's community should model itself ​ upon the same basis. All during this time, Mrs. Seton had continued her devotion as mother to her own children, and she says, in writing to a friend, "By the law of the church I so much love, I could never take an obligation which intertered with my duties to the children, except I had an independent provision and guardian for them, which the whole world could not supply to my judgment of a mother's duty." This and every other difficulty in the adoption of the rules was, however, at length arranged by the wisdom of Archbishop Carroll, and in January, 1812, the constitutions of the community were confirmed by the Archbishop and Superioress of St. Mary's College in Baltimore. In 1820 Mrs. Seton's health failed, and her lungs became so seriously affected that medical attendance gave her no hope of recovery. Her death occurred January 4, 1821. 1821.
MARY HARDEY.
As we trace the lineage of Mother Mary Aloysia Harley we turn to one of the brightest pages in the history of America. It records the eventful day when under the leadership of Leonard Calvert a company of English Catholics sailed from their native land to lay the foundation of civil and religious liberty in the new world. Among these high-souled pilgrims was Nicholas Hardey, a man of undaunted courage and of unflinching fidelity to his faith. Another, the grandfather of Mary Hardey, came in direct line from this loyal son of the mother church and was well-known in the colonial times throughout Maryland and Virginia. He lived near Alexandria and was an intimate friend of George Washington. Frederick William Hardey was the third son of Anthony Hardey and inherited the winning qualities of his father. In 1800, he married Sarah Spalding. The year 1803 is noted in the history of America as the year of the Louisiana Purchase. When this ​ last territory came into the United States, a tide of emigration flowed steadily for a number of years in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico. Among the pioneers from Maryland was Mr. Charles Anthony Hardey, who fixed his residence in lower Louisiana. The young Republic of America after separating from the mother country, entered at once upon a life of intense energy, and the church was not the last to feel the inspiration of freedom. Before the close of the eighteenth century the orders of Carmel and the Visitation were established in the United States. The first decade of the nineteenth century saw the birth of Mother Seton's congregation in Maryland, and about this time two religious communities sprang up in the newly settled regions of the far West, the Lorettines and the Sisters of Nazareth in Kentucky. A little later came the Daughters of St. Dominic. On the Atlantic coast, the Ursulines had founded convents in New York and Boston. In 1815, when Bishop Dobourg was appointed to the See of New Orleans, his first care was to provide educational advantages for the children of his vast diocese; hence when in Paris, he made application to Mother Barat for a colony of nuns. He had been silently preparing among the Daughters of the Sacred Heart an apostle for the American mission in the person of Mother Phillipine Duchesne. On the fifteenth of December, 1804, Mother Barat accompanied by three nuns arrived at Sainte Marie and took possession of it in the name of the Sacred Heart. Mine. Duchesne was anxious to undertake the work for the church in the new field and far ofT regions of America. After fourteen years of waiting, her earnest desires were realized. She was accompanied by Mme. Octavie Berthold, who was born a Calvinist, her father having been Voltaire's private secretary. Mme. Eugenie Audi entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in Paris, and offered herself for the mission of the Sacred Heart in America. Two lay sisters were ​ chosen to accompany this little band of missionaries, and on the 29th of May, the anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, they landed on the shores of America about sixty miles below New Orleans. After their arrival they determined to join the Ursulines in St. Louis, arriving there August 21, 1818, where they established a school about fifteen miles out of the city. The wife of Mr. Charles Smith, a relative of the Hardey family, who had left Maryland in 1803 to make Louisiana his home, built the first Catholic church in New Orleans, and one of their plans was the establishment of a school at Grand Cateau which was the home of Mary Hardey. Proposal for this foundation was in due time accepted by Mother Barat and the organization entrusted to Mme. Audi. In October, five pupils were received, one of whom was Mary Hardey. Here she spent the early years of her education, and during this time her thoughts were turned to a religious life which met with the hearty approval of her mother, but her father, while not approving did not oppose her in her plans, and on September 29, 1825, she entered upon her training for religious orders, receiving the religious habit on the 22nd of October, 1825. About sixty miles from New Orleans, on the left bank of the Mississippi, lie the farm lands associated with the pathetic story of the Arcadian exiles and glorified by the charm of Longfellow's magical pen. These woodlands are embalmed with memories of the gentle Evangeline. Not far from these smiling scenes, in the midst of a devout Catholic population, the Society of the Sacred Heart founded its third convent in America. The Abbe Delacroix, cure of the small town of St. Michael, appealed to Mother Duchesne to establish a convent in his parish, and it was decided that Mother Audi was the only one who could carry on the work. She entered upon it assisted by some novices, among them being Mary Hardey, who was then not yet sixteen. On the 23rd of October, 1825, ​ they bade farewell to their relatives and friends, and on the 20th of November, took possession of their new convent. Mine. Hardey profited so well by the training she received and made such progress in humility and self-renunciation that her period of noviceship was abridged, and she was admitted to her first vows, March, 1827. May, 1827, Mme. Matilda Hamilton, assistant superior of the School of St. Michael died. Like Mme. Hardey to whom she was related, Mme. Hamilton sprang from one of those English Catholic families who sought liberty on the shores of the Chesapeake. Her father left Maryland in 1810 for upper Louisiana. In those days the advantages of education in this part of the world were very great. After taking her first vows, Mme. Hamilton was sent to Cateau and later accompanied Mother Audi to St. Michael, where her death occurred. In 1832, the Convent of St. Michael counted two hundred inmates. In the spring of 1832, the Asiatic cholera appeared for the first time in America, having been carried to Quebec. The pestilence turned southward, advancing with the current of the Mississippi, along whose borders it mowed down thousands of victims. During the next spring the contagion swept over Louisiana, and the Convent of St. Michael was included in its destructive course. Mme. Audi and Mme. Aloysia Hardey stood valiantly by this little community and remained at their post of duty. After Mother Hardey's service as superior at this convent, she was appointed superior of the Convent of New York. Her work in Louisiana was the beginning of a long and eventful career in labors for the church in various institutions which were established throughout the country. She assisted in the foundation of orders in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Buffalo, New York. In 1846, she established a convent in Philadelphia. In 1847, she purchased the Cowperthwaite estate, ten miles from Philadelphia, and established a school known as Eden Hall, and confided it to ​ the care of Mother Tucker, mistress-general of Manhattanville. The two foundations of Halifax and Buffalo made heavy demands on the community of Manhattanville. Among the many foundations organized by Mother Hardey, there is probably none more interesting in history than that of Detroit. In 1852, Mother Hardey established a free school in New York City for the instruction of poor children. The Manhattanville School owes its establishment and organization to her. In 1863, she began labors for the church in Cuba, establishing a boarding school for girls in Sancto Spiritu, Cuba. At one time when it was decided that Mother Hardey should leave Manhattanville and be succeeded by another superior this met with the earnest disapproval of Archbishop McCloskey, and a letter was received from Mother Barat at the head of the order in France written to Archbishop Hughes promising that she would never withdraw Mother Hardey from Manhattanville. In addition to this she organized parochial schools and many of the prominent educational institutions of the church in existence to-day. She was the instrument of the church for the foundation in Cincinnati. At the time of the memorable and terrible conflagration in Chicago in 1871, Mother Hardey organized bazaars in all her houses and sent the proceeds to be distributed to the most needy sufferers. When the terrible days of 1871 had drawn to a close, Mother Hardey was appointed assistant-general and deputed to visit the convents in North America, which required several months, as at this time they numbered twenty-five houses. After this service, she was permanently transferred to Paris to give to Mother Goetz the benefit of her experience and judgment in determining matters of importance to the church. Mother Goetz's death occurred January 4, 1874. She was succeeded by Mother Lehon as superior-general and her first act as such was to send Mother Hardey to America to attend to business matters for the Manhattanville property. ​