November 25, 2024 · 11:21 am

My archivist internship experience with the Daughters of Charity

This is a guest post by Andrew Cogswell, Mount St. Mary’s Class of 2025.

I recently completed a six-week internship with the Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives. Initially, I was introduced to the staff, some sisters, the general history of the Daughters of Charity, and learned what my tasks would be. My first project was compiling clippings of newspaper articles regarding the work of Daughters of Charity from 1998 to 2011 in Indiana. These articles were originally collected by staff at the Evansville campus and document the  sisters’ contributions in Indiana. Here I spent many hours cutting out articles, reading them, and putting them in folders based off their connection to the Daughters of Charity at their ministries in the area.

Tools and setup for my Newspaper project

This was only one of a few projects. My next main job was assisting with re-appraisal of artifacts that arrived when the current province was created. This specific task was quite fun, as I got to  see what lies within these cases of artifacts and learn about the material culture of the Daughters. In this project, I got to see what sisters deemed as important, including many relics of saints (Mostly St Vincent de Paul, St Louise de Marillac, and St Elizabeth Anne Seton.), and even artwork made by the sisters. Additionally, being able to catalog and appraise these artifacts feeds into my interest of museums and how they gather artifacts for display and preservation.

My next major task was transcribing an oral history interview from Sister Sandra Goldsborough. While the video of her interview was important, the transcription helps to make the interview far more usable for researchers in the future. While the transcription process took quite a few hours for a hour-long interview, it really showed at the heart what the Daughters of Charity is. Through the many trials and hardships Sr. Sandra faced, she never faltered on her duty or love to God. For her a challenge was just part of the condition of life that she was grateful for. Which being able to listen to this interview, showed me how true to her order and to Christ she really was.

Sister Sandra circa 1963 and in 2011

While in this internship I dealt with a few different types of archival work, I found a much greater reason in it all. Seeing the work of the Daughters of Charity in Evansville, viewing the artifacts they left behind, and listening to Sr. Sandra’s interview, I have come to the conclusion that these sisters truly live out their motto. Their motto being, “The Charity of Jesus Crucified Urges Us,” is clearly reflected in everything I saw, confirming their deep love for Christ and for others. That through massive changes in all their lives and the differences the church has gone through, they have not changed their core principles one bit. Each and every sister truly is a disciple of Christ and are truly an example of holiness. If anyone wants to learn about the archival world, see some cool artifacts, and more importantly learn about the Daughters of Charity’s impact, this is a great experience one should not pass up.

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November 11, 2024 · 9:21 am

Father Burlando

In the United States, there was never a more influential Provincial Director than Father Francis Burlando.

The position of the Provincial Director is always held by a Vincentian priest.  He is meant to invoke the spirit of the community’s founders in the Daughters within a province, play a role in the formation of the Sisters, have a vote in Council decisions, and ensure that the Daughters of Charity live the spirit of their vows of poverty.  Father Burlando was born in Genoa, Italy in 1814.  He volunteered to go to America shortly before his ordination as a priest in 1837.  He taught in Perryville, Missouri, and was pastor at St. Vincent’s Parish in St. Louis, where important gatherings and Masses are still celebrated for the Daughters today.

Father Burlando, circa 1870
American Vincentians, 1870, Father Burlando at right

In 1849, he accompanied Father Mariano Maller to Emmitsburg.  Father Maller was set to take his position in 1850 as the first Provincial Director for the Daughters of Charity in the United States, after Mother Seton’s community formally merged with Daughters in 1850.  Father Burlando was to be the Sisters’ confessor but returned to St. Louis for health reasons.  In 1853, Father Maller was appointed as Director for the Daughters’ Province in Brazil, and Father Burlando was appointed as the Provincial Director in the United States.

Father Burlando had the responsibility of completing the transition of the Sisters of Charity into Daughters of Charity.  Although the blue and white habit of the Daughters had begun to trickle into the United States, Father Burlando oversaw the completion of the change across the entire country through 1854. When the Civil War passed through Emmitsburg and the Sisters’ grounds became host to marching armies, Father Burlando worked to keep both Sisters and students safe, using their status as religious to make sure no accidental firing occurred.  When the Battle of Gettysburg subsided on July 3, 1863, Burlando personally led the Sisters to Gettysburg to begin their nursing duties there.  After the War, he helped shape the historical record by encouraging the Sisters to write their accounts of what they experienced.  Today, these accounts are some of the greatest treasures in the Archives.

With regard to St. Joseph’s Academy, Burlando oversaw an expansion of the school and the construction of his namesake building.  Having learned of architecture and building from his father in Italy, a plumber, he co-designed what would become his namesake building, which still stands as part of the FEMA Fire Academy.

Someone only identified as “An Old Pupil” described his relationship with the students at the Academy: 

Father Burlando took the most active interest in the studies of the pupils of St. Joseph’s and in everything pertaining to their comfort and welfare, always planning how to give them increased pleasure in their recreation, and in return the pupils loved him with a sincere affection, regarding him as a most tender Father. His practical mind was always suggesting something new for their future benefit, and as he fully realized the influence of [a] woman in her home, he labored to direct the education of those under his care to that end, introducing the study of domestic economy at St. Joseph’s, that the young ladies might be trained to fulfil properly the important duties of life. For this alone he is entitled to everlasting gratitude.

Burlando Building at St. Joseph’s Academy, Emmitsburg, circa 1871

Burlando also provided guidance on business matters, with his template for establishing ministries as incorporated institutions, which helped guide the community as it established some of its most long-lasting works.  Drafted in 1870, his guidelines provided uniform structure and procedure for the next 80-plus years, ensuring the longevity and independence of the Daughters’ ministries. 

Father Burlando died suddenly in 1873 of a stroke.  Along with his importance, the suddenness of his death probably contributes to the voluminous accounts of his funeral.  Father Burlando is one of the priests, or even non-Sisters, to be buried in the Old Cemetery in Emmitsburg, in a place of honor directly around the mortuary chapel.

The Provincial Archives contains much of his personal and business correspondence, the notes that he used to compile the history of the community mergers in 1850; and his notes that were used to re-construct the Provincial Annals for the 1850s, 1860s, and early 1870s; and many of his retreats, which began in 1856.  Among the accounts of his death and funeral are poems written by Sisters and students alike:

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October 9, 2024 · 10:21 am

The Setons at the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration is the repository of all official documents of the United States government.  With Mother Seton and her family’s long history in the United States, particularly in the United States Navy, the Seton family appears in many different places in our nation’s official government repository.

First, it is also worth noting that the ancestral Seton family have their own collection in the National Records of Scotland from Glorious Revolution through 1785.

The most obvious place that the family is represented is in the census records, with Elizabeth Ann and William Magee Seton appearing in the earliest censuses in New York City, and then Mother Seton appearing in Emmitsburg in 1810 and 1820.  The census records provide massive volumes of information related to demographics and are used most immediately for congressional apportionment and for funding for public services.

Listing for Mother Seton and the community in the 1810 census under “E. Seton”

William Seton III, one of Mother Seton’s surviving sons, is among the most represented due to his career in the Navy.  Military records, for both genealogists and veterans, are among the most used and requested materials in the National Archives.  Within the collection “Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library,” there is a series called “Letters Received from Commissioned Officers Below the Rank of Commander and from Warrant.”  This series contains various letters documenting official correspondence of enlisted sailors and their interaction with superior officers.  Among these are 19 letters including requests for leave, administrative documents, and reports from William Seton reporting to his commanding officers.  They span from his time on the Macedonian during its tour of the Pacific (and whose log is in the possession of the Daughters’ Archive).  Many others request shore leave or ask for extensions of leave.

William’s sister Catherine makes an appearance in one of his requests.  On October 9, 1828, William requested leave to travel in Europe due do “the continued ill health of my sister, to whom the Phisicians [sic] have recommended that course, as the only hope of renovating her constitution.”  This occurred during Catherine’s “World Traveler” era, when she was making extended stays in Europe, before eventually becoming a religious Sister of Mercy.  His letters stretch through his return to Norfolk in 1833 and return to civilian life.

William Seton to the Secretary of the Navy, October 9, 1828:  “Sir[,] I had the honor a few days past, to apply to you for permission to travel in Europe.  I beg leave to state that my reason for doing so was the continued ill health of my sister, to whom the Phisicians [sic] have recommended that course, as the only hope of renovating her constitution”

William Seton Maitland, nephew of Elizabeth and William Magee, also appears in the military records during the Seminole Wars in Florida. 

In the more modern day, and as a preview of things to come, the National Archives is also in possession of the official proclamations from the U.S. government about Mother Seton’s canonization.  Under Press Secretary William Baroody’s files, held at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, is the official proclamation of Elizabeth Ann Seton Day, alongside a signed thank you letter from Sister Mary John Lindner for the community’s replica copy, signed by President Ford.  This replica will be on display next year (2025) for our exhibit “One of Us” at the Seton Shrine, celebrating the 50th anniversary of this event!

As a reminder of the vast scale of the National Archives, and the complexity of archival research, these records are among those that are digitized and available remotely to researchers.  This totals a mere 2% of the National Archives’ holdings, and there may well be other materials that one day are accessible without a trip to your nearest NARA branch.  William Seton IV, Mother Seton’s grandson, appears in Civil War veterans records, but his company, the New York 16th Artillery, have not been digitized yet. 

As an example of records which need to be visited in-person, these scans were lent to us by our friend and colleague Dr. Catherine O’Donnell and come from the National Archives branch in Kansas City, where Record Group 21 “Records of District Courts of the United States” reside.  Less than 0.5% of these records are scanned and online as of this time, but among them are early records of the United States bankruptcy court.  It is in these documents that the Setons’ life in New York City began to unravel, as the Seton-Maitland shipping company ran out of money, and the Setons were forced to sell their assets.

Front cover of 1800 bankruptcy filing
First page of Seton Family’s assets during bankruptcy case

Archivists at NARA are working hard to make more materials available, both in-person and remotely.  A way that you can help is to make more materials more searchable.  Their Citizen Archivist program allows anyone with an Internet connection to apply metadata and transcription to documents that have been scanned and made available.  These tags help make more materials searchable, so that that needle in haystack – that one stray name in a vast file – can turn up with a few strokes of a keyboard.

The records in the National Archives are the property of the American people.  Make use of your records, and help others make use of them too!

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