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Volume 074-3 - July 2020 (8 pages)
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Page: of 8
NCHS Bulletin July 2020
recruit additional help. He returned in October 1864
with three Irish recruits, and a fourth Sister who transferred from Sacramento. He promptly began construction on what would become a three story building that
would house the Sisters and the girl orphans. The Sisters moved into the still unfinished convent on March
20, 1866. By the end of the year they were caring for
ninety-nine orphans.’
A Pecuniary Embarrassment
Aside from the occasional donation or fundraising
assistance from the diocese, the Sisters were expected
to assume responsibility for their own livelihood. This
necessitated continuous fundraising, and managing
relationships with bankers, merchants and local politicians, Catholics and non-Catholics.
Like other groups of women religious, the Sisters
engaged with the wealthier
members of the community to provide an outlet for
their philanthropic impulses
without the need for them to
have personal contact with
the poor. Businesses donated goods for auctions and
fairs, and the wives of the
St. Patrick’s Orphanage (California State Library)
financial straits as creditors pressed them to retire their
debts. An alarmed Bishop Eugene O’Connell contemplated relocating the girl orphans to another area, and
selling the convent building to the state for a military
barracks. Only the intervention of Father Dalton, and
Mother Mary Baptist Morgan, recently arrived from
San Francisco, prevented the sale.’
A number of fundraising initiatives were undertaken
between 1865-1870. The Sisters held a series of fairs
that were well supported by the community. In anticipation of a Christmas fair on December 21, 1865 the
Union urged its readers to spend liberally reminding
them that: “The orphan child of a Protestant father and
mother will be as readily taken in and as kindly cared
for as those who are Catholic.” When another fair
was held in April 1866 the editor reminded his readers
that the orphans were “...the children of those who
=~ were our friends and neighbors.” Indeed, the editor
urged his readers to view
the orphanage with a sense
of civic pride: “An ornament alike to Grass Valley
and the county of Nevada,
as well as a desideratum
(necessary condition) to our
rapidly growing section of
the country, we trust that the
community’s business leaders served on fundraising
committees and hosted events. Although the Sisters
were occasionally able to negotiate loans from the
Bishop, they also needed to secure loans from local
banks and persuade merchants to provide goods and
services on credit. The Sisters’ gracious “Thank You
Cards” published in the Union read like a Whos Who
of Nevada County.
The Sisters’ expenditure books show the range of
products and services needed to sustain their operations. Carpenters, painters, gardeners and laborers
maintained the convent’s expanding buildings and
grounds. Josiah Glasson shoed their horses, Gallagher
Brothers provided their candles, and Gladding, McBean & Company in Lincoln made their flower pots.®
However, with an ever expanding demand on their
services the Sisters soon found themselves in dire
institution will be liberally
sustained by our people.””!!
In 1866 Father Dalton sent the parish priests on a
“begging campaign” throughout the region that netted
substantial donations. But the most innovative approach came from Mother Mary Baptist Morgan. She
proposed adding a tuition-based “Select Day School
for Young Ladies.” The school would teach all manner of English studies, French, German and vocal and
instrumental music. Local residents could have their
daughters educated at home rather than sending them
to Sacramento or San Francisco. The school would
also accept boarders.
Her proposal was a natural extension of the commitment of Catholic nuns and sisters to the education of
girls and young women in America. In the early 19"
century women religious established convent academies
along the East Coast and in the South. In many regions,