144:. Sometime beforehand, Harriet moved to Brooklyn where she sang in the Grace Church choir and taught music. Harriet planned to move to California, and began to say her good-byes to family members but shortly before embarking in 1855, she learned that Catherine had died. This "became the crisis of her life". She later recalled, "I can look back to one period of my life when I scarcely knew whether the sun rose or the sun set; when for days there seemed to be no one in the world but myself." Forty years later, Cannon still came to tears when she talked about her sister and stated that if Catherine had lived, she would not have become a sister and mother of the church.
428:
census counted 107 inmates at the House of Mercy, and listed its capacity as 110. Courts continued to sentence prostitutes to the facility, which trained them for domestic service, in part by operating a laundry. By 1912, most of the commitments were of victimized children, many previously abandoned to life on the streets. The Bureau of Social
Hygiene reported that only four adult prostitutes were sent to the House of Mercy, but 57 girls had been sentenced to indefinite terms at the facility. However, funding had dried up, and by 1921, the
440:, and sold the Manhattan property in sections to the City of New York between 1915 and 1926. By 1933 the structures had become decrepit, although a caretaker had moved in (with his family of 10 children). Squatters also moved in: some farming the grounds, others establishing a colony with houseboats on the Hudson River. The city government drove out the squatters and tore down the main building in 1933. The caretaker and his family moved out when his cottage collapsed on December 9, 1933. The property became
195:...he found a young probationary Sister, rocking, as he lay wrapped in a blanket within her arms, a little boy, very ill with the loathsome disease. She was singing a hymn for him, and the poor child smiled as he looked up in her face and forgot his pain and restlessness. Dr. Muhlenberg came down from the ward enamored of the picture—'The very ideal of a Sister of Charity.'
31:
221:(CSM), followed a modified Benedictine rule. It concentrated its efforts upon helping women, the homeless and orphans. By year's end it accepted its first novice. During her lifetime and afterwards, the Community developed girls’ schools, hospitals, and orphanages in New York, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
241:
It better integrated with the rest of
Manhattan when street car lines extended into the area in 1906, significantly after Mother Cannon's death. Controversies also ensued, as discussed infra, and the order transferred many of its services to other facilities, although some functions continued at the
129:
where they were raised. The sisters had an especially close relationship as well as joined their aunt's five children. Harriet was described as cheerful, well-mannered, intelligent, and a proficient artist and musician. She taught music and art to children who were friends or relatives. Harriet lost
427:
brought a lawsuit, charging that while she was visiting her sister in New York, her father kidnapped and wrongfully committed her to this facility, where she was fed bread and molasses and occasionally gagged. Another sensational parental kidnapping case generated headlines in 1902. Still, the 1910
325:
overlooking the beach. She returned to the
Peekskill motherhouse in good spirits, but fell gravely ill shortly after a retreat on Passion Sunday. She died about noon on Easter Day, 1896, surrounded by her community. She was buried in the convent cemetery in Peekskill. Mother Cannon is remembered in
125:. Seventeen-month-old Catherine Starr and three-year-old Harriet were orphaned. Sally's brother-in-law, Captain James Allen had stopped in the port of Charleston about that time. He rescued the girls, brought them aboard his boat, and took them to their maternal aunt, Mrs. Fowler or Mrs. Hyde in
237:
held an elaborate consecration service. Courts began assigning girls there, and families also brought their wayward daughters. The new structure, built to house 154 "fallen" women, had three divisions: the House of Mercy, St. Agnes’s House, and a division for penitents. Iron gratings barred the
191:. Dr. Muhlenberg described the deaconesses as "the centre around whom the others are to rally, carrying out her directions and deriving through her, in return, supplies, protection, and all needful provision for their comfort." During this time, he also described a visit as attending physician:
432:
leased the building while it built a permanent home on Fifth Avenue between 105th and 106th
Streets. Children had previously been jailed with adults or at stationhouses pending judicial action. The following year, the average daily population was 152 and the average stay eight days.
366:
In
Peekskill, the order built a new convent in 1905 and a new school building in 1911. In 1977 the order closed the school and sold the land to a private developer. In 2003, the religious community left the Peekskill motherhouse and chapel in Westchester County and moved to rural
233:. The mansion had been turned into a home for "abandoned and troubled women" by Mrs. William Richmond, a rector's wife. By 1891, Cannon had overseen the building of a 200-room castle-like brick structure on the still-rural site and renamed it the "House of Mercy". Bishop
375:, offering spiritual retreats as well as raising cashmere goats. Ginsburg Development acquired the remainder of the Peekskill site, which it proposed to develop as "The Abbey at Fort Hill", but after the gutting the buildings, stalled as a result of the 2008 recession.
615:
301:
291:
outbreak (along with
Episcopal priests Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons and Rev. Louis S. Schuyler). The outbreak killed 5,150 Memphians and this depopulation caused the city to lose its charter. On the following
286:
to establish a school for girls and an orphanage. The new order was recognized for its good works seven years later, after four sisters (Constance, Thecla, Ruth, and
Frances) died while nursing victims of
320:
Three weeks before her death, Mother Cannon traveled to New York City to check on St. Mary's
Hospital. Realizing her fondness for the sea, she established her last facility, a summer home for children in
429:
262:, trained by the order in Peekskill and New York City, took religious vows at the Peekskill motherhouse on a Marian feastday in 1884, and returned to Canada to found a similar order, the
415:, now specializing in caring for children with special needs or life-limiting conditions. St. Mary's remains a vibrant hospital, but is no longer affiliated with the Episcopal Church.
168:
nuns. For the probationary three-year period, Cannon was expected to support herself financially. She cared for seriously ill patients, including some quarantined or victims of
213:
In 1863, conflicts with Ayres led Cannon and four other sisters to leave and establish a new order, initially called the
Sisters of St. Catherine. On February 2, 1865, Bishop
788:
631:
Donald S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum, An
Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians (Church Publishing Company, 2000) p. 121.
803:
133:
While in New York visiting relatives, Harriet was confirmed in 1844. A relative, however, described her as a "great society girl, and not at all religious."
217:(1802-87) formally received Cannon, Jane Haight, Mary Heartt, Amelia Asten, and Sarah Bridge as the "Sisterhood of St. Mary". The new order, now called the
507:
The Sisters of St. Mary at Memphis: with the Acts and Sufferings of the Priests and Others Who Were There with Them during the Yellow Fever Season of 1878.
258:. Novices, sisters and Mother Cannon (when she was not traveling) lived in a converted farmhouse on the site for decades as the complex was slowly built.
184:
250:
In 1868, Mother Cannon, renowned for her good humor, established a school as well as headquarters for the new community on a site overlooking the
338:
The Community of St. Mary continued following Mother Cannon's death. In 2008 the Community of St. Mary merged with the American branch of the
813:
687:
327:
808:
384:
643:
A Sermon preached upon the Occasion of a Eucharistic Commemoration of the Clergy and Sisters Who Fell Victims to the Fever in the South.
263:
383:
The Memphis branch closed St. Mary's Preparatory School for Girls after the 1967-68 term, but now operates a retreat center near
717:
541:
445:
339:
703:
372:
342:, notwithstanding their slightly different religious rules. The Sisters of Charity using one modeled upon that of St.
180:
157:
477:
Harriet Starr Cannon: First Mother Superior of the Sisterhood of St. Mary. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co. 1896.
368:
107:
51:
110:
to stock broker William and Sally Hinman Cannon. The Cannons were a merchant family whose ancestors were wealthy
371:
in Washington County. They share a 620-acre Washington County facility with the Spiritual Life Center of the
424:
188:
126:
91:
69:
238:
windows, and persons assigned to one division were not allowed to mingle with those in other divisions.
218:
164:. The order was somewhat controversial; detractors criticized their attire and mission for resembling
798:
793:
388:
355:
322:
141:
351:
255:
234:
437:
309:
279:
259:
95:
76:
683:
542:"May 7: Harriet Starr Cannon, Religious, 1896 | Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music"
412:
230:
718:"St. Marys Hospital for Children Inc. in Bayside, New York | US News Best Nursing Homes"
448:(WPA) during the Great Depression. By 1950 the park had been extended into the Hudson River.
441:
305:
283:
343:
229:
In 1863 the new religious order took over the former Howland Mansion on what was then the
165:
115:
772:
Ten Decades of Praise: The Story of the Community of Saint Mary during Its First Century,
590:
656:
520:
472:
297:
293:
214:
782:
176:
30:
641:
505:
288:
267:
251:
122:
308:
lauded their efforts, and they are now honored liturgically on September 9 as the
677:
400:
130:
one eye in a childhood accident when she moved while her hair was being combed.
152:
On March 6, 1856 Harriet Cannon became a probationer of the Episcopal order of
347:
161:
137:
387:. The CSM's western province continues to offer retreats at Mary's Margin in
121:
On September 29 and 30, 1824 William and Sally Cannon, respectively, died of
266:. In 1892, St. Gabriel's chapel was dedicated in Peekskill, overlooking the
169:
153:
764:
Harriet Starr Cannon: First Mother Superior of the Sisterhood of St. Mary,
111:
423:
In August 1896, months after Mother Harriet's death, Laura Forman from
770:
569:
396:
392:
278:
In 1871 Mother Cannon sent Sister Constance and several others to
738:
430:
New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
242:
location which ultimately became Inwood Park for decades.
739:"About | St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children"
90:(May 7, 1823 – April 5, 1896) was a nun who founded the
704:"Convent of St. Mary, Abbey and Chapel, Peekskill, NY"
501:
499:
497:
495:
493:
491:
489:
487:
485:
483:
622:
Yonkers, NY. February 4, 1965. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
136:
Her sister married John Ruggles in 1851 and moved to
94:, one of the first orders of Augustinian nuns in the
75:
65:
57:
45:
40:
21:
657:"Harriet Starr Cannon, by Morgan Dix; The Passing"
510:New York, 1879, as transcribed by Elizabeth Boggs.
611:
609:
607:
193:
118:about 1632 and lived in New York City by 1693.
98:and which remains dedicated to social service.
591:"Dedication of the Convent of St. Mary (1905)"
391:. Since 2002, the order has another branch in
467:
465:
463:
461:
8:
646:Washington, D.C.: Beresford, Printer, 1878.
564:
562:
560:
558:
544:. Liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com. 2011-05-07
346:, and the CSM rule having been written by
334:Community of St. Mary after Cannon's death
29:
18:
444:with the assistance of workers from the
789:19th-century American Episcopalian nuns
616:"Sisters of St. Mary's: 100 years Old."
457:
804:Clergy from Charleston, South Carolina
682:. Church Publishing, Inc. 2019-12-01.
270:and built from stone quarried onsite.
328:Episcopal Church's Calendar of saints
175:The deaconesses assisted the poor in
140:. Moreover, the Hyde family moved to
7:
385:Sewanee, The University of the South
160:, founded about a decade earlier by
14:
593:. Anglicanhistory.org. 1905-02-11
411:St. Mary's Hospital continues in
406:
264:Sisterhood of St. John the Divine
521:"Anglican Faces: Harriet Cannon"
187:, and had recently helped found
158:Sisterhood of the Holy Communion
148:Sisterhood of the Holy Communion
720:. Health.usnews.com. 2014-04-29
523:. The Living Church. 2012-08-24
1:
741:. Stmaryskids.org. 2012-09-27
570:"Inwood's old House of Mercy"
446:Works Progress Administration
814:19th-century American clergy
679:Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018
407:St. Mary's Hospital, Bayside
282:at the invitation of Bishop
185:Church of the Holy Communion
809:Burials in New York (state)
373:Episcopal Diocese of Albany
350:and founding Cowley Father
181:William Augustus Muhlenberg
179:under the auspices of Rev.
830:
572:. Myinwood.net. 1933-12-09
108:Charleston, South Carolina
52:Charleston, South Carolina
35:Mother Harriet Cannon, CSM
200:Sister Mary Hilary, CSM,
28:
775:Racine, Wisconsin, 1965.
769:Sister Mary Hilary CSM,
395:as well as a mission at
425:Asbury Park, New Jersey
127:Bridgeport, Connecticut
474:Birth and Early Years.
231:rural tip of Manhattan
206:
92:Sisterhood of St. Mary
70:Episcopal Church (USA)
659:. Anglicanhistory.org
620:The Herald Statesman.
436:The Society moved to
333:
219:Community of St. Mary
209:Community of St. Mary
202:Ten Decades of Praise
706:. 16 September 2011.
389:Mukwonago, Wisconsin
356:Rule of St. Benedict
323:Norwalk, Connecticut
142:Milford, Connecticut
114:who fled France for
88:Harriet Starr Cannon
23:Harriet Starr Cannon
618:Westchester Today!
369:Greenwich, New York
352:Richard Meux Benson
256:Peekskill, New York
235:Henry Codman Potter
189:St. Luke's Hospital
106:Cannon was born in
438:Valhalla, New York
340:Sisters of Charity
310:Martyrs of Memphis
300:and the rector of
280:Memphis, Tennessee
274:Memphis, Tennessee
260:Hannah Grier Coome
96:Anglican Communion
689:978-1-64065-234-7
413:Bayside, New York
302:St. John's Church
85:
84:
66:Venerated in
821:
750:
749:
747:
746:
735:
729:
728:
726:
725:
714:
708:
707:
700:
694:
693:
674:
668:
667:
665:
664:
653:
647:
638:
632:
629:
623:
613:
602:
601:
599:
598:
587:
581:
580:
578:
577:
566:
553:
552:
550:
549:
538:
532:
531:
529:
528:
517:
511:
503:
478:
469:
442:Inwood Hill Park
316:Death and legacy
306:Washington, D.C.
284:Charles Quintard
204:
33:
19:
829:
828:
824:
823:
822:
820:
819:
818:
779:
778:
759:
757:Further reading
754:
753:
744:
742:
737:
736:
732:
723:
721:
716:
715:
711:
702:
701:
697:
690:
676:
675:
671:
662:
660:
655:
654:
650:
639:
635:
630:
626:
614:
605:
596:
594:
589:
588:
584:
575:
573:
568:
567:
556:
547:
545:
540:
539:
535:
526:
524:
519:
518:
514:
504:
481:
470:
459:
454:
421:
409:
381:
364:
344:Vincent de Paul
336:
318:
276:
248:
227:
211:
205:
199:
150:
116:New Netherlands
104:
50:
36:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
827:
825:
817:
816:
811:
806:
801:
796:
791:
781:
780:
777:
776:
767:
758:
755:
752:
751:
730:
709:
695:
688:
669:
648:
640:J. Jay Joyce,
633:
624:
603:
582:
554:
533:
512:
479:
456:
455:
453:
450:
420:
419:House of Mercy
417:
408:
405:
380:
377:
363:
360:
335:
332:
317:
314:
298:James De Koven
294:All Saints Day
275:
272:
247:
244:
226:
225:House of Mercy
223:
215:Horatio Potter
210:
207:
197:
149:
146:
103:
100:
83:
82:
79:
73:
72:
67:
63:
62:
59:
55:
54:
47:
43:
42:
38:
37:
34:
26:
25:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
826:
815:
812:
810:
807:
805:
802:
800:
797:
795:
792:
790:
787:
786:
784:
774:
773:
768:
765:
761:
760:
756:
740:
734:
731:
719:
713:
710:
705:
699:
696:
691:
685:
681:
680:
673:
670:
658:
652:
649:
645:
644:
637:
634:
628:
625:
621:
617:
612:
610:
608:
604:
592:
586:
583:
571:
565:
563:
561:
559:
555:
543:
537:
534:
522:
516:
513:
509:
508:
502:
500:
498:
496:
494:
492:
490:
488:
486:
484:
480:
476:
475:
468:
466:
464:
462:
458:
451:
449:
447:
443:
439:
434:
431:
426:
418:
416:
414:
404:
402:
398:
394:
390:
386:
378:
376:
374:
370:
361:
359:
357:
354:based on the
353:
349:
345:
341:
331:
329:
324:
315:
313:
311:
307:
303:
299:
295:
290:
285:
281:
273:
271:
269:
265:
261:
257:
253:
245:
243:
239:
236:
232:
224:
222:
220:
216:
208:
203:
196:
192:
190:
186:
182:
178:
177:New York City
173:
171:
167:
163:
159:
155:
147:
145:
143:
139:
134:
131:
128:
124:
119:
117:
113:
109:
101:
99:
97:
93:
89:
80:
78:
74:
71:
68:
64:
61:April 5, 1896
60:
56:
53:
48:
44:
39:
32:
27:
20:
771:
763:
762:Morgan Dix,
743:. Retrieved
733:
722:. Retrieved
712:
698:
678:
672:
661:. Retrieved
651:
642:
636:
627:
619:
595:. Retrieved
585:
574:. Retrieved
546:. Retrieved
536:
525:. Retrieved
515:
506:
473:
471:Morgan Dix.
435:
422:
410:
382:
365:
337:
330:on April 5.
319:
289:yellow fever
277:
268:Hudson River
252:Hudson River
249:
240:
228:
212:
201:
194:
174:
151:
135:
132:
123:yellow fever
120:
105:
87:
86:
16:American nun
799:1896 deaths
794:1823 births
401:Philippines
362:Motherhouse
154:deaconesses
49:May 7, 1823
783:Categories
745:2014-05-07
724:2014-05-07
663:2014-05-07
597:2014-05-07
576:2014-05-07
548:2014-05-07
527:2014-05-07
452:References
348:Morgan Dix
162:Anne Ayres
138:California
102:Early life
246:Peekskill
170:small pox
112:Huguenots
198:—
183:and the
166:Catholic
399:in the
379:Memphis
686:
397:Sagada
393:Malawi
41:Mother
766:1896.
81:7 May
77:Feast
684:ISBN
326:the
58:Died
46:Born
304:of
254:in
785::
606:^
557:^
482:^
460:^
403:.
358:.
312:.
296:,
172:.
156:,
748:.
727:.
692:.
666:.
600:.
579:.
551:.
530:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
