The Topeka state journal., 1897-09-28
MISS INGALLS, WORK.
The House Mother at Philadelphia
Tells of Her Future Plans.

Philadelphia, Sept. 2s.-The daughter
! of ex-senator Ingalls,, of Kansas, who
| recently announced her intentionnS- to
! become deaconess in the Episcopal
l church, viii become a member or the
! Spruce Street House of DeaconesSes
| when it opens in October.
Miss Ingalls, is still very young, but
| she has had every educational and So
| cial advantage, and of her own accoKd
| chooses to devote her life to the church.
| After she graduated Miss ingalls, went
| into a society life, and. the demands of
| the world have kept her busy for three
! or four years. All her spare time,
| however, her father says, has been
spent in parish and philanthropic
work It is because of her liking for
this sort of work that Miss ingalls, has
decided to enter herself as a candidate
for deaconess in the Protestant EpiSco-
pal church. By this course of action
she has renounced the happiness of
married life.
IF she were married. the house
mother remarked naively, "she would
have to obey her husband, but if she is
a deaconess she must give her first
obedience to the Bishop and the two
men might disagree
This is almost the only worldly sac
rifice that Miss Ingalls, will have to
make. The order does not allow any
monetary questions to enter into the
matter of admitting a member. Miss
Ingalls, may give to the different mis-
sion purposes of the house according to
her means. The proceeds from the
house gifts are not bestowed upon in
dividua1s, but are placed in the hands
of aid societies and hospitals and hous-
eS to be distributed by them. For a
month after Miss Ingalls, enters school
she will be sort of probationer, and
Will have q chance to consider serious
" whether her chosen vocation is as
desirable as she now imagines it to be.
If she wishes to withdraw at the end
of that time she may leave the school
quietly. If she is still satisfied she has
to await the judgment of the board OF
admission. Having found her spirit
ually. mentally and physically capable
for the work, they will give her card
of admission and she will become a
member of the house for the first year
of the course. The studies consist of
church history, English work and some
practical lessons in hygiene and Sani-
tation.
flow" the house mother was asked,
''does this train the members of the
house for parish work %
"They need to know these things
she replied, but besides this they go
out three afternoons in each week to
visit all sorts of institutions. They
have to learn. for instance, what pa
pers they need to get in order to help
some one into a position, and how they
shall go about obtaining work for un-
employed persons through missions and
agencies"
Perhaps. after the first year the can
date is not found suitable to become a
deaconeSS. Then there are many other
up. Sometimes she goes from the
house as a trained nurse, some etimes
she devotes herself to college settle-
ment work. Those who are not turned
away complete a second year of study,
and then are ordained by Bishop Whit
aker, who is in charge of the Diocese
of Pennsylvania. There are two other
houses of deaconesses in the United
Staees-one in Louisiana and one in the
west. Miss Ingalls, will attend the one
in Philadelphia, presumably because it
is nearer Washington, where her family
is to be this winter..f After her ordina-
tion her work will be assigned to her
by Bishop Millspaugh, of Kansas.
The Philadelphia House of Deacon
esses enjoys widespread fame because
of. the noted women who have gradu-
ated there. From Miss Ingalls, own
state comes Miss Kate, ]. Adams who
is to be ordained this fall. She has been
doing some special work for the Bishop
ever since the school closed in May
The House of the Holy Comforter in
New York City has a house mother
who comes from the training school
Mrs. Flora V. Stuard. She has been
wonderfully successful in her work
among the incurables there, and is one
of the best-known deaconesses in the
country,