Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-11-07
PROVIDENTIALl
First Postulant of the Sisters of
Mercy I'm the United
States.
Eliza Jane Herman Sacrificed
Her Life I'm Typhus Fever
Epidemic.
Her Father Was President of the
Baltimore Hibernian
Society.
ACTIVE LIFE IN PITTSBURGH
BY James A. Rooney. LII. D.

for Catholic enterprises apparently
threatened with delay or failure
unless financial help was forthcom-
ing that the acquisition by the
Sisters of Mercy, in the early days
of their struggling foundation in
Pittsburgh, of a large fortune with
their first postulant may be re-
garded as another Of these provi-
Dental interpretations. The father
of this first Sister of Mercy in the
United States was Luke Herman,
who died in Baltimore on November
10, 1899. He was one of the most
prominent and successful Irish
Catholic merchants of his day, i'm
porting general merchandise in his
own ships. 1t was he who brought
over from England the first locomo-
tive for the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
road, in which he was largely in
terested and of which he was one
of the incorporators, securing for
that road the first charter granted
in the United States. He was a
native of County Meath, Ireland,
where he was born in 1857. He
settled in Hagerstown, Md, on
emigrating to America in 1884, and
there he married Anna O'Neil in
l1793 and moved to Baltimore, where
in a long and prosperous career he
amassed a large fortune. He was
always interested in any movement
to benefit his church and his fellow
countrymen and was noted for his
many charities. Being one of the
original Trustees of the Baltimore
| Cathedral it fell to his lot to pur-
chase the property on which it was
built. AS President of the Baltimore
Hibernian Society he co-operated
with Father Moranville, pastor of
st. Patrick's church, in establishing
the first free parochial school in
Baltimore. He was also one Of the
| committee of seven citizens ap-
pointed to provide for the defense Of
the city at the time of the lombard
ment of Fort McHenry during the
war of 1912. He died at the ripe
age of seventy-two, leaving an i'm
mense estate to his widow, his two
sons and two daughters, one of
whom, Eliza Jane Herman, took her
large share with her into the COM
munity of the Sisters of Mercy in
Pittsburgh, to which city she re-
moved after the death of her mother
in 1S41.
The Sisters of Charity from EN-
mitsburg under Sister Isidore
Fisher, who later, on April 9, 1916,
entered the convent of the Sisters
of Mercy, had already been intro
duced into the diocese by Father
lO'Reilly in 1895, and were in charge
Of the orphan asylum and st. Paul's
parochial school, and in 1843
Bishop O'Connor, on his way to
Rome, secured in Ireland band of
Sisters of Mercy under Mother
Mary Frances Warde, and they
reached Pittsburgh on December 81
of the same year, taking possession
of a four-story brick building on
Penn street as their first convent.
Before the Bishop left for Europe
Miss Tiernan had consulted him
with a view of going to Ireland to
make her novitiate there at the
mother house of the Sisters of
Mercy, but as her family and friends
interposed strenuous objections he
counselled delay, saying to her:
Don't be in too great a hurry; we
may have Sisters of Mercy here
yet" When they really did arrive
she succeeded in reconciling heI
relatives to the step she had so long
contemplated, and she entered the
convent as the first America1
postulant. February 2, 1874. The
first ceremony in the convent
oh MI H.
afterward on February 22, when
Miss Margaret O'Brien, afterward
Mother Superior of the Chicago con.
vent, who had accompanied the
Sisters from Ireland, received the
white veil. The second ceremony 10
which the public was admitted was
the profession of Sister Mary Alloy
sius Strange, one OF the Irish
novices. and the comforting OF thu
white veil on Miss Tiernan as Sister
Mary Xavier. Bishop O'Connol
preaching the sermon. Sister Mary
Xavier was professed April 10, 1S45
The Sisters opened their frs
school in the Penn street convent
In 1914, and next year they opened
ST. Xavier's Academy with fifteer
. pCothtios thCn iOiloWtu ING oNcu
ing OF their hospital, orphan asylum
and House Of Mercy, and man.
other accessions came TO theil
ranks. including Miss Elizabeth Nc
caffrey. OF Cleveland, daughter o.
DR.. McCaffrey, OF Cleveland; Mis-
Eliza Wynne, daughter OF Maio
Wynne. of Pittsburgh; the Missel
Mary and Catherine McGirr, daugh
tiers OF DR.. McGirr. Of Youngstown
Miss Frances Brown, OF Washington
county; Miss Mary Fennessy. o
Harrisburg. and others.
The Sisters Hospital was Il
charge OF Mother Mary Xavier Tier
nan when In 1S4S came the epidemic
OF typhus fever. and her attendance
on the victims exhausted a delicat'
constitution and she was attacke,
by virulent erysipelas. from whicl
she had not the strength TO rally
and she went to her reward Marcl
|l9. 1S4S. Hers was the first rea
lCatholic funeral In Pittsburgh
Bishop. priests. students and lait
walking professionally to the GENE
terry where her remains were lai'
: At rest. later to be reinterred In 81