This is part two of a four-part series on the history of the four primary campuses in the Province, which correspond to the locations where the four provinces that formed the Province of St. Louise had their provincial houses: Emmitsburg, MD; Albany, NY; Evansville, IN; and St. Louis, MO. Part one on the Emmitsburg campus can be found here.
January 4, 1969 would be a momentous day for the American Daughters of Charity; two U.S. provinces – one in Emmitsburg, MD and the other in Normandy, MO – were to be re-organized into five provinces. Among them, a new Northeast Province was to begin to create its own history.
Preparations for the change had been taking place for months. In October 1968, Sister Mary Basil Roarke accepted her position as the first Visitatrix of the new province and in December travelled to Jamaica, Queens, New York City to begin establishing a temporary Provincial House at the DePaul House of Study.
The Dorchester Place Provincial House, Queens, first provincial house of the Northeast Province
In 1970, the question of a permanent Provincial House was discussed, and Albany, New York was selected as the best site due to its central geographic point within the province with a long history with the community. The property in Menands was purchased from the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who were looking to downsize their infrastructural footprint due to declining numbers. The final contracts for the purchase were signed on April 19, 1971. Sisters Margaret Finnegan and Caroline Mooney oversaw the preparations of the new home, and the first moving vans left New York City for the Capital Region on July 3.
Sister Mary Basil Roarke, Visitatrix, receiving the blessing of Father Joseph Tinnelly, C.M., Provincial Director, at the opening of the new Provincial House, 1971
The house was comprised of Sisters serving in Provincial governance and Sisters who served in the Ministry of prayer (who lived in the area that became known as St. Louise House). The campus was also home to the Seminary for sisters in Formation until 1990, when an interprovincial Seminary was established for the Northeast and Southeast Provinces in Emmitsburg.
In 1995, a new office building was constructed for the Provincial Council’s and Visitatrix’s work in governance so that the St. Louise sisters could have a larger oratory and activity space. In 1998, the community saw their merger with the Canadian province of the Daughters of Charity, creating a truly binational province. Both flags fly on campus to this day.
The binational flags on campus
In 2011, the Northeast province became part of the new Province of St. Louise, along with three other provinces in North America. Facing their own declining numbers, the Albany campus began a process of transition, as the Daughters partnered with Franciscan Ministries to continue to care for the Sisters who live and serve in Albany, as well as to provide senior living space in a faith-based environment to those living in upstate New York.
The campus has been home to the Daughters for over 50 years, and to the sisters who originally came from that province, remains a deeply important place in their lives and ministries.
This is a guest post by our archival intern for the semester, Jenna Brady, Mount St. Mary’s University class of 2023.
My time at this internship has been a very enlightening experience, as it has served to not only give me more information on the history of the Daughters of Charity, but has also been extremely instructive about the processes of archival work. I have had the opportunity to work on many different projects while I have been working at the Daughters of Charity Archives including recording West Provincial Newsletters from the 1970s, transcribing Italian letters, transcribing the oral history of Sister Isidore Allain, and assisting in putting together one of the exhibits that are on display. In this post, I would like to discuss my encounters with each of these projects and highlight some of the skills I have been provided with through my work.
St. Louis, MO Marillac Provincial House, RG 11-3, Box 65, Newsletters Box
The first project that I was able to focus on during the internship was going through the newsletters from the 1970s of the West Central Province. The newsletters chronicled many important events that happened for the sisters throughout that time including the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and many important meetings that would take place in Rome that the sisters would attend. The newsletters also served to chronicle the monthly lives of the sisters and their many placements throughout the province. These newsletters showed the progression of the province as things around them began to change in the world during the 70s. I recorded all of these newsletters into an excel sheet that will provide information about people and places mentioned within the newsletters so that it is easier to pinpoint the information.
While working in the archives, I also had the opportunity to listen to and transcribe the oral history of Sister Isidore Allain. This allowed me not only to hear Sister Allain’s story through her own words but also to understand all of the work that goes into transcribing an oral history. Its an experience that will certainly stick with me as I was able to hear a firsthand account of history from the direct word of the woman who lived through it. It also helped me to see how an individual story tied into the overarching period of the West Central Province.
The final project that I want to mention working on is the exhibit that recently opened in the archives on April 26th. There are now two new exhibits open in the archives both focusing on the lives and works of the sisters of the province. The exhibit that I was able to assist with highlights all those who live and work at the Emmitsburg campus in the different departments. It was an honor learning about all of the different departments and people who assist throughout the various ministries that occur here.
Images from Exhibit at the Daughters of Charity Provincial ArchivesImages from Exhibit at the Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives
The experiences that I have had while working at the Daughters of Charity Archives have given me a deeper understanding of everything that is included in archival work and it has been an honor being able to learn so many new things. I have truly enjoyed my time here and look forward to learning even more about the sisters in the future.
This is the first of our three-part celebration for Black History Month 2022, focusing on elements of African American history within the Daughters of Charity archives collection.
Particularly in the 19th century, there can be a sparsity of details about the lives of many individual people. Although the Daughters’ collection tries to gather as much information as possible about individual sisters and their works, there are many times where the only information we have about a sister is the barebones about the important dates in her life and the places she was sent on mission. When it comes to finding details of laypeople and lay associates, this often becomes even more difficult.
It speaks to his influence on the members of the community that the archives contain numerous individual references about James Augustine Briscoe of Emmitsburg, MD. It is even more notable that Augustine, as he was called, was able to have this influence as an African American in the 19th century United States.
When Augustine died in 1897, the provincial annals – or chronicles of the community – included a lengthy newspaper obituary pasted from the Catoctin Clarion newspaper. Titled, “Death of an old Employee,” the clipping describes him as “James Augustine Briscoe, colored, who died at St. Joseph’s academy, Wednesday, had been a faithful employee at that institution for many years…”
Provincial Annals, 1897, page 6
The article is written in the somewhat condescending way of the time period that many white publications used towards African Americans, with lines such as “Like most of his race, of a sanguine temperament, he recognized and enjoyed the bright side of life, being scarcely impressed by gloom or sorrow.” However, the article does contain important tidbits about his life. Firstly, that his full name was James Augustine Briscoe, which was helpful in finding information about his life in other sources. The Daughters collections usually refer to him exclusively as “Augustine” or “Gustin.” It also reveals that he was a longtime member of the Academy’s teamsters and that he had health problems during the last year of his life, as “the once erect and stalwart frame bowed under the weight of years, had been struggling against growing infirmities.” And, finally, it shows the esteem in which he was held by the large number of employees who attended his funeral.
The first mention of Briscoe in the collections is found in the provincial annals on March 1, 1839: “After dinner Sr. Mary Felix [McQuaid] & Sr. Margaret [unknown] went on an errand of charity sent by our Rev. Sup. To the family of the Miller’s (odd people) went also to see a poor black fellow, Augustin Briscoe, very ill but good & piously disposed.”
Provincial Annals, 1836-1841, page 89
Sister Mary Felix McQuaid was later a nurse during the Civil War, and likely went to provide some care for Augustine when he was very ill. In a portion of the annals written by a community member after his death in 1897, Sr. Mary Felix apparently told the story of how she met Augustine: “He was so badly crushed by an encounter with the animals, a stampede or something, that he nearly lost his life on the way, and arrived home in a most critical condition. The Sisters went to see him – Sr. Felix McQuaid amongst the number, who remembers the occasion well. He slowly recovered, and after that came to live & die at St. Joseph’s. He was born in 1820.”
Outside of the Daughters collections, Augustine can be found for the first time in the 1820 census as a single tally mark in Frederick County under “Free Colored Persons – Males – Males under 14 years”. The name he falls under is James Briscoe, because the census at the time only listed the head of the household rather than all names. James is likely an uncle or a grandfather, although it may be his father (more on that in a bit). The household contained 13 people, all of them listed as “Free Colored Persons.”
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
On February 15, 1844, the parish ledgers from St. Joseph’s Church in Emmitsburg lists, in Latin, that a son of Briscoe and a daughter of the family Dunstan were married. Although this does not specify which Briscoe or Dunstan, the 1850 census lists James (29) and Mary Ann Briscoe (31) living together, alongside two other African American individuals, Margaret Coates (34) and Andrew Dorsey (46). James and Andrew are listed with the occupation “Laborer,” while Margaret is designated with an out-of-date term for living with a disability. All of them are marked as being unable to read or write.
The entry immediately preceding theirs is another Briscoe family, which implies nearness of homes, John (age 71) and Jane (age 57). Per the 1897 written obituary for Augustine: “All of [Augustine’s] life nearly has been passed on St. Joseph’s Farm. His mother, black jane, worked here & Augustine came to work here when he was nine years of age.” These two are his parents, who apparently were caring for a younger Mary Jane Briscoe, age 15. Unlike John, Jane, and Augustine, Mary Jane could apparently read and write. (You can even see the “odd people,” the Millers, down the page!)
The elder Briscoe passed away the following year, per the St. Joseph’s Parish registers, at age 73. The entry provides some more history of the Briscoe family, as he “came to Emmitsburg in the year 1800, & was for 57 years a member of this congregation.”
Courtesy Baltimore Roman Catholic Parish Burials, Maryland State Archives
In 1858, James and Mary Ann had a son, John, who begins to appear on the payroll of St. Joseph’s Academy in the early 1870s. Some of the later censuses begin to correct errors in the earlier ones, as by 1880, it is indicated that, although Many Ann cannot write, she does know how to read.
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
In the “Talks of our Ancient Sisters,” taken between 1877 and 1902, some of the memories of the longest living sisters and St. Joseph’s Academy students were written down for the first time. In these, Sister Helena Elder told how Mother Etienne Hall would help provide the Briscoes with things like linen shirts. As a symbol of gratitude, Augustine named his daughter Etienne. However, she does not appear in any censuses, so we are not sure if something happened to her, or if Etienne is, like Augustine, a name that she was referred to rather than what would appear on a formal document. We simply do not have a document that provides one of these keys, like the newspaper obituary that calls Briscoe “James Augustine.”
In his years at St. Joseph’s, we know that Augustine did a large amount of work with the horses and the carriages. In 1886, he was tasked with chauffeuring Cardinal James Gibbons when he visited campus. We also know that he was entrusted with a certain amount of the banking and money-keeping for the community and would be the point person to conduct financial transactions at the bank in Gettysburg where the sisters held their accounts.
In 1896, Augustine finally retired. His account page shows that he received $15 per month in wages at this point. On February 20, there is a note that Augustine’s due wages be “transferred to John Briscoe’s acct.” On December 14, instead of his monthly wage, Augustine received “Pocket money” of $2 per month. On November 14, 1895, it is written “Augustine’s Wages stopped but he has a home for life. Augustine Died Jan. 20, 1897.”
Ledger 124, page 329
As a brief digression about Augustine’s son John, he received $12 per month in 1895. For comparison, the next page of the ledger for John Topper, whom the 1900 census also identifies as a laborer and as White. The two Johns, White and Black, received equal wages.
Perhaps the most impressive information in the collections regarding Augustine is that the “Talks of the Ancient Sisters” include Augustine’s words themselves, which allows him to speak for himself: his own memories, interests, and abilities and knowledge. For an African American, who lived in the 19th century and was unable to read or write, this is a rare feature prior to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects of the 1930s. Included here, in his own words, is a sample of Augustine’s knowledge and love for horses and horseracing.
September 4, 1886 – “Dolly is May’s mother, isn’t she Augustine?” And Dolly it was that ran away with Father Mandine.”
“Yes, Sister,” and Augustine laughed.
“That was a great race, Gustin; you saw it?”
He laughed again. “Yes, Sister, I saw it. I was in that race. I’ll tell you how it was. The wind was so bad Fitz couldn’t go by himself, so I went in with him on the mule, and Fitz was on Dolly, leading Jenny Grant. Father Lavezeir was to come out but when Father Mandine heard that two horses were there, he said he would come too. So Father Mandine got on Dolly and he was riding up and down, up and down there before the Sisters’ house saying, “Are you ready? Are you ready?” And Father Lavezeir got on Jennie and then Fitz got behind me on the mule; and Father was calling out “are you ready? are you ready?” Then we started; Father ahead and Father Lavezeir next, and I after, with Fitz behind me on the mule. It was a sight, but when we got there by the haystacks, Father Lavezeir lost his scarf and Fitz got down to get it; meantime Father went off ahead. It was a sight! If it had been daylight and anybody had seen us, they’d died a laughing. Well when I got up to the sacristy door, there was Dolly a standing, and Father in the sacristy. The next thing I heard was he was sick. And Gustin used to horses and their capers all his life, took a good laugh. (It was a serious affair, however.)
“Wait, Sister he continued, until we get down here a bit, and I’ll tell you a joke on Father Maller [the Vincentian priest-Director of the Sisters, 1850-1853].” So after a little when we had reached a smooth part of the road and the mules were trotting along finely, he resumed “you know Father Maller was superior here and lived in town. We had some sheep down there in the graveyard woods, and a cross ram among them ran at him to butt him. He saw it and stepped aside; it ran at him again and he stepped aside; and he stayed there a little while teasing it; every time it would run at him, he’d step aside; so presently the ram go’, tired and went away, and Father began saying his office again, walking along. Presently the ram came up behind him and gave him a butt that threw him down. He got up, his cassock all muddy and dusty and came to the house. The Sisters wanted to know what happened to his cassock, but he only said he’d got mud on it and wouldn’t tell them how. but he told me, and said, sometime you can tell the Sisters how it was I got muddy!”
Other members of the Briscoe family are scattered around the census and church records and would require further research to properly create a family tree (unless of course, somebody reading this has already done so and would like to reach out to us).
The St. Joseph’s Provincial House collection contains voluminous financial records from the 19th and early 20th centuries, which could assist those in the area researching their genealogies. Some laypeople even get further mention in other documents in the archives that provide a fuller story to their ancestors. It is a notable event that one for whom the most can be discovered is a member of the historic community of free African Americans in the north of Frederick County.
