USA > Ohio > Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state, Volume II > Part 9
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In one of these letters he wrote of the Notre Dame Sisters, whom he visited in 1846:
"We cannot sufficiently admire the heroism with which these Sisters, with the humble but confident hope of being useful to religion and society, disregarded the fears of the "Maumee" fever, from which, through the divine blessings on such devotedness as theirs, they have experienced that there was nothing to fear ... The Sisters of Notre Dame will not be forgotten in future years when the earliest and most efficient pioneers are commem- orated." Sister Louis de Gonzagues, who headed the original band of eight from Namur, became superior of the Toledo mission group.
The Sisters remained only two years in Toledo and returned to Cin- cinnati. A year later, in 1849, they received a call to teach in schools in Boston and Roxbury, Mass.
One of the five who went to Toledo. Sister Aloysius was appointed superior of the group sent to Massachusetts, and quite unconsciously she made history when, in 1854, she publicly and vigorously opposed proposed legis- lation in the Massachusetts State Legislature, which, if passed, would permit violation of the rights of convent groups.
So valiantly did she defend the right of privacy for the Religious Sister- hoods that many Protestants rallied to her support and the bill was defeated.
In the period of 40 years, from 1845 to 1886, the original foundation expanded from one convent to 28, its members from eight Sisters to 800, and its pupils from 30 to 23,000.
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Today in the United States, convents that have branched from the Cincinnati motherhouse have a total of 2,080 Religious. They conduct 45 high schools ; three colleges; four teachers training schools, and teach in 100 elementary schools. They teach a total of 52,842 children in the United States. In Ohio they teach in 33 grade schools; six high schools. Three of these high schools are in Cincinnati, and others are in Reading, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio.
The Summit Country Day school, located on East Walnut Hills, has gained national renown for its progressive methods of education. This site was purchased by the Sisters in 1888.
In 1860 the attractive site at Reading, Ohio, now the Motherhouse, was purchased.
An important part in the almost phenominal growth and expansion of the Religious Institute's program prior to and since 1886, when she became superior, was played by SUSAN MeGROATY of Cincinnati, who was one of the first pupils in the Sixth St. Convent, in 1840. She was the very first Ohioan to enter this Religious Institute for service in Religion. She became known in religion as Sister Julia.
She it was who visioned an even broader expansion of educational opportunities for women, when in 1900 she established Trinity College in Washington, D. C. The site for this was purchased in 1897 and consisted of thirty-three acres of land, located in Brookland, D. C., a suburb of Wash- ington and in close proximity to the Pontificial University, known as Catholic University.
The first class of 22 students enrolled on Nov. 7, 1900. In this class was a Youngstown, Ohio woman, FLORENCE RUDGE McGAHAN, who, upon her graduation, became one of the compilers for the Catholic Encyclopaedia and translated much of the research material for the many volumes of information from French into English. One of the chief works in which the Sisters were pioneers from the very founding of the Institute in France, has been to train and to instruct children for reception of the Blessed Eucharist and today in Ohio Sisters are engaged in this extra curricula activity of in- structing in religion, children who do not attend parish schools.
Another work worthy of note was the thirty years service of the Sisters headed by SISTER FRANCIS REGIS, Cincinnati, among the colored children of St. Ann's parish. This work was carried on from 1897 until 1927, when the Blessed Sacrament Sisters, founded by Katherine Drexel, of the famous Drexel Banking family of Philadelphia, took over the work. The present Madonna High School was once the Notre Dame academy conducted for the colored boys and girls. The Sisters now teach the colored children of St. John's high school, Dayton.
In the letters of Mother Julie Billiart, carefully preserved in the mother- house at Namur, Belgium, are to be found admonitions and injunetions to
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the various superior of the convents over which she presided as General Superior. Some of these letters, which portray gems of wisdom and educa- tional ideas far in advance of her time, merit recording here. They not only throw light upon the great qualities of mind and soul of Blessed Julie, but they serve also to emphasize the importance which she placed upon religion as necessary in the full education of the child.
"The teachers of Our Institute must have but one aim in education, to train up Christian mothers and Christian families."
"Courage, my dear good Daughters, make use of every moment that you have to improve yourself. Go on with the studies that are useful, even necessary for you."
"Children are not disciplined in a day. Consolation will come. But do not be in a greater hurry than God. He is so patient with us all. Let us follow His example. What matter if few seem to profit by the Grace of God? Let us go on sowing the seed, it is God who gives the increase. A little patience, and you will see the fruit."
"The Christian schoolmistress must before all else be pious; but hers must be piety which unites the soul to God, makes it lean on God only, work for God, and always in His presence. Remember all your life if you are not 'interior,' you may seem to yourself to have done a great deal for the welfare of the children committed to your care, but you will have made a noise-nothing more. A single word spoken by an interior soul, is worth more than the longest sermon in the world."
"The dignity of the child must never be lost sight of in the exercise of authority. Above all things, speak with respect to the children if you wish them to respect and love you."
"If you do not look after temporal things, I shall always say that your piety cannot be genuine; for we are made up of soul and body and both must be cared for. In the boarding schools the food should be wholesome, the cooking well done; above all, give the children good bread. Teach them to love nature and let them have little gardens to care for."
"In your instructions often say : 'A woman ought to be able to do every- thing for herself. She should be ready, if necessary, to do without all service and know how to make use of everything. If you are not obliged to work for yourselves, work for the poor. There are always unfortunate people who need help.' "
"Teach your children all kinds of needlework from the elements of sewing and the making of garments to church work embroidered in gold and silver."
"Needless to say, a Sister of Notre Dame's highest ambition should be to give solid instruction in Christian Doctrine and in Christian Ethics."
The Sisters of Notre Dame have faithfully cherished these admonitions of Blessed Mother Julie, written more than a century ago. They have not
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only cherished them, but obeyed them. In order to adequately prepare theni- selves for the high and noble profession of teaching, the Sisters pursue higher studies in Universities. It is a rule of the Institute in Ohio that any Sister showing a special talent shall be encouraged to pursue higher studies for necessary development.
The educational facilities of Cincinnati afforded through the Athenaeum, the Archdiocesan College, Xavier University, The University of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati College and the Cincinnati Museum of Art, are used by the Sisters. Others have studied in Trinity College and Catholic University, Washington, D. C .; Notre Dame University, Loyola and De Paul Universities, Chicago; University of Dayton; St. Mary's of the Springs, at Columbus. Still others have worked at Columbia University, New York ; and Western Reserve in Cleveland.
One of the favorite sayings of Blessed Julie, and one which is repeated daily in the spiritual readings of the Sisters is this:
"A Sister of Notre Dame must leave God a completely free hand in dealing with her."
Because the original eight Sisters who left their motherhouse in Namur had such implicit faith in God and resigned all else to His will, Ohio gen- erally and the field of education particularly, have been the beneficiaries of a heritage that is beyond human ability to evaluate.
SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
Another branch of Notre Dame nuns who look to Mother Julie Billiart as their foundress, have provincial houses in Cleveland and in Toledo. In 1874 eight Sisters came from Coesfield, Germany and located in Cleveland. The German foundation had been established in 1850 by two women, Alde- gonda Wolbring, known in religion as SISTER MARY ALOYSIA and Lisette Kuehling, in religion, SISTER MARY IGNATIA. They had received their training for the religious life in the convent of the Nuns of Notre Dame de Namur, located in Amersfoert, Holland, and immediately following their religious profession came to their native Coesfield at the invitation of their pastor, the Rev. Theodore Elting, to establish a convent there.
The religious persecution of Bismarck's which began in 1871, caused the Sisters to look elsewhere for fields of service and Bishop Richard Gilmour of Cleveland graciously extended the hospitality of his diocese, in 1874. It is from this Cleveland foundation that two other provincial houses have been established, one in Covington, Ky., and the other in Toledo, Ohio.
In the Toledo convent, located at Secor and Monroe Sts., resides SISTER JUSTINIA, an 88 year old nun, who observed her 70th anniversary of re- ligious profession in March, 1939. She was one of the exiled nuns who came to America in 1875, a year after the Cleveland convent was opened.
The Sisters of Notre Dame are primarily an order of teachers and con- sequently every advantage is afforded them to fully qualify for this important
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role. As early as 1874, when the first group of eight Sisters came to Cleveland, six of these were fully accredited teachers and in the several years which followed, when the fury of the Kulturkamp forced nuns of all religious orders to flee Germany, of the 200 who came to Cleveland in 1875 and 1876, all of them were fully accredited teachers-only the English language was foreign to them, but this barrier was soon eliminated.
Notre Dame's first school in Ohio was St. Peter's school in Cleveland and other parish schools, mostly of German people, were soon staffed by these Sisters. They became known in the present area of the Toledo diocese in 1876 when Sisters took charge of St. Joseph's school, Fremont and St. John's school, Delphos.
Sister Mary Aloysia who was one of the founders of the German con- vent, was among the eight who came to Cleveland in 1874. She was the daughter of a metallist, who was financially able to give his daughter every educational advantage. Because she had a desire to work among poor children, she enrolled in the Teacher Training College at Muenster conducted by Ber- nard Overberg. She successfully passed the State Teachers examination and was engaged in school work in Coesfield before entering upon the religious life.
MOTHER MARY CHRYSOSTOM superior of the German convent at the time of her exile, was the foundress of the American foundation in Cleveland. She was the daughter of J. C. Heck, musical director and virtuoso, and she, too, had been given an excellent education. She excelled in the arts and languages. Music, French and fancy needlework were studied under private tutors. She received her formal schooling from the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, a religious order already known to Ohio. Mother Chrysostom also had a Teachers certificate upon her arrival in America.
It was under such well trained leaders that the Notre Dame Sisters began their work in Ohio and in Kentucky, and to this day the same high standards of teaching qualifications are maintained.
In the Cleveland provincial house, of the 577 members, 179 hold Bachelor degrees, 47 Masters, six Doctors of philosophy and two registered Nurses with Bachelor of Science degrees.
In the Toledo convent of 260 members, many hold bachelor and masters degrees, two are now working towards their doctorate degrees. One of these SISTER M. IMMACULATE has initiated the movement to teach Latin in the elementary schools of the Toledo diocese and has already completed the fourth in the series of text books for this special work.
The Cleveland Sisters are in charge of the model elementary school which is an important part of the Teachers Training School of the Catholic Uni- versity, Washington, D. C.
Among the first pupils of the Cleveland foundation, were two who rose to high positions in the Notre Dame order. One MOTHER MARY EVARISTA,
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the present provincial superior of the Cleveland convent, and MOTHER MARY FERDINAND, who was provincial superior from 1931 to 1934 of the Toledo provincialate, established in Toledo in 1924. Mother Evarista was Anna Harks. Her parents, of pioneer German families of Cleveland, were among those who extended hospitality to the exiled nuns upon their arrival in Cleveland in 1874.
In 1877, under Mother Chrysostom's leadership, the first convent was erected on Superior Ave. and 17th Sts., Cleveland. It continued to be the property of the Notre Dame nuns, and for many years served as a girl's academy. It is now a residence hall for business women and serves also as a down town religious center for week end spiritual retreats for women. The Provincial house is now located in Ansel Rd., on a site overlooking Rockefeller Park.
The Cleveland sisters also conduct Notre Dame Academy and Notre Dame College in Cleveland; teach in 14 parochial schools in Cleveland, five of which have high schools in connection with the elementary schools. Within the Cleveland diocese, but outside of Cleveland, they teach in parish schools in Avon, Canton, Elyria, Independence, Lorain, Massillon, No. Ridgeville, Sheffield, Suffield, Warren and Youngstown. They conduct junior high and elementary schools at Canton and Warren. Some of their members are on the faculty of Catholic Sisters College, Cleveland.
In 1923 a group left for Brazil to engage in missionary and educational work, and on three different occasions since, others have left the Cleveland convent to join the original group. They conduct also St. Joseph's orphanage at Superior, Wis., and are in charge of the domestic work at Holy Cross Seminary, Notre Dame, Ind. They conduct schools in Huntington Park, Watts, Maywood and Hollywood in California and St. Thomas' school, Memphis, Tenn.
The teaching personnel in the Toledo convent numbers 200 and includes 10 Sisters who are on the faculty of Central Catholic High School, Toledo; two as full time instructors and one full time librarian at DeSales College, Toledo. They conduct Notre Dame academy and "Ladyfield" private school in Toledo and teach in 25 parish elementary and five parish high schools in the Toledo diocese. Ten of these are located in Toledo and one each is in Delphos, Fremont, Peru, Maumee, Napoleon, Norwalk, Crestline, Fostoria, Sandusky, Monroeville, Leipsic, Shelby Settlement, Raab, Momeneetown, Bellevue and Defiance.
LAYWOMEN
The laywoman's part in early days of the Catholic Church in Ohio was hidden for the most part but throughout the history of the church in Ohio there is evidences of the persuasiveness, the loyalty, the devotion, and the zeal of Catholic women. While their work in pioneer days consisted mainly of the faithful performance of their duties, yet. in such performance, there
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were deeds worthy of remembrance, even though they were accepted as mere performance of duties.
Catherine Dittoe in 1818 need not have signed away the title to 320 acres of land to be used for Church purposes, yet she did so willingly, solely for the purpose of establishing a permanent foundation for the Catholic Church in Ohio.
Were it not for the records in the Perry County Court, this act of hers might have gone on down virtually unknown through the ages and her praises for this generous act remained unsung. The land still remains today in posses- sion of the Order of Saint Dominic, a religious order of men, founded in the thirteenth century, whose American foundation in Springfield, Kentucky in 1818, was due to the efforts of Father Fenwick, its first superior.
The influence of this act of Catherine Dittoe has been felt throughout Ohio. Neighboring cities of Lancaster, Chillicothe and other nearby places had the opportunity for religious services because of her act which made it possible for a permanent foundation to be laid for the Catholic Church in Ohio.
It was from this center at Somerset, Ohio, that missionaries, priests of the Dominican Order, traveled to the remote corners of Ohio and even into Michigan, preaching the Catholic Faith. Even today, more than a century later, the Somerset foundation of the Dominican Order, made possible through the gift of Catherine Dittoe, continues to wield a great influence in the reli- gious life of Ohio. Her act might well be likened to the cornerstone, upon which is being built in Ohio today a great superstructure of religious ideals like the cathedrals of Europe which were centuries in the building. Each generation of women, since her day has offered its own contribution of service and achievements, keeping in mind always the objective towards which they are striving and obediently and graciously responding to the call of their spiritual and civic leaders.
MARIA BOYLE, who was to do her part in the generation which fol- lowed Catherine Dittoe, was brought up in the home of her aunt, SUSAN GILLESPIE BEECHER and Uncle Philomen Beecher, following the death of her mother when Maria was a small child. Maria's parents, Hugh Boyle and Ellen Gillespie Boyle and the Beechers had preceded the Dittoes to Ohio by a few years, and considered themselves neighbors even though there was a difference of eighteen miles. The Dittoes lived at Somerset and the Boyles and Beechers at Lancaster.
The fact that there was a church at Somerset, and that a log cabin church had also been erected at Lancaster with the permanent pastorate at Somerset, from which center priests visited Lancaster once a month, was another bond that brought these families closer together.
Meanwhile Maria Boyle became of age, and in due time married Thomas Ewing, a lawyer. He had practiced law in Lancaster following his graduation from Ohio University at Athens and was one in the first class of two to be graduated from Ohio University in 1815. During the five years that intervened
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between his graduation and his marriage, on Jan. 7, 1820, Ewing established a reputation as a distinguished barrister. He prospered in this profession, and so was able to provide a very comfortable home for his wife.
He was instrumental in establishing the famous Coon-skin library of Athens County, which was made possible by a donation of ten skins from Ewing and skins from others in the county. The first collection of skins brought in a total of $73.50 when sold in Massachusetts and with this money as many books of the classics as the money would buy were obtained.
Mr. Ewing had for a sponsor Charles Sherman, a lawyer, and father of Civil War General Sherman. He was one of the trustees of Ohio University who with his wife Mary Hoyt, a graduate from an Eastern school, had come on from Connecticut to settle in Lancaster. MARY HOYT SHERMAN was about ten years older than Maria Boyle Ewing, but despite this difference in ages they were very close friends, and when William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820, Maria Boyle Ewing was the first to greet the new babe and his mother.
Thomas Ewing had prospered as a lawyer and his business sent him on many trips throughout the State so that he was absent from home a great deal. He had built what was regarded as a mansion on the site of a hill and this home served as a house of hospitality to Father Fenwick on the occasion of his visits to Lancaster.
A small log cabin church had been built in Lancaster but no resident priest had been assigned as pastor. Father Fenwick and his nephew, Father Dominic Young, would visit Lancaster once a month, remain a week in the Ewing home, instructing adults and children and on these occasions the Ewing home not only became a house of hospitality for the priests but became also a religious school for the children and adults of the neighborhood. On the intervening Sundays Mrs. Ewing would pile as many people as possible nto her carriage and drive the eighteen miles to Somerset, Ohio to attend Mass and religious instructions. Mr. Ewing, when away, would hurry home so as to accompany his wife to Somerset for Mass though he was not a Catholic.
While the Ewings prospered, the Shermans experienced financial reverses, und in June 1829 Charles Sherman died, leaving his widow and a family of ·leven children impoverished. The Ewing children and the Sherman children grew up together and were inseparable. In the desire to ease a burden, Thomas Ewing proposed to Mrs. Sherman, that "Cump" Sherman, as William 'ecumseh Sherman was known, be allowed to come to live with the Ewings nd to share the home with the six Ewing children.
Among the Ewing children was Ellen Ewing, born October 4, 1824. Ellen nd "Cumpy" were playmates, later sweethearts, and together they have ritten another interesting chapter in the history of Ohio and the nation.
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Ellen's mother had received her education in a private school in Lancaster taught by a James Hunter and later studied in Washington, D. C. in one of the convents there. Among the well-to-do of that period, the convent school training for non-Catholic as well as Catholic girls was most popular.
To Mrs. Ewing, perhaps, must go the credit for establishing the first Ladies Aid Society in the Catholic Church in Ohio. The group which she organized really had no name; it was just a group of her neighbors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, whom she had invited to meet with her in her home to sew and to assist in the work of the small Catholic Church of Lancaster.
Mr. Ewing, in 1831, was elected Ohio Senator and was required to spend much of his time in Washington, D. C., while the family home was still con- tinued in Lancaster. Ellen was her father's favorite. Thomas Ewing by his eloquence and his learning had won the affection and admiration of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay and these two men were frequent visitors in the Ewing home at Lancaster. Ellen and "Cumpy" often were eavesdroppers to the arguments and discussions concerning the Constitution and the Union, and although still mere babies, what they heard impressed them.
The Ewing home was the scene of many social gatherings and on one occasion, Mrs. Thomas Ewing made the society page of the newspapers when mention was made of a party which the Ewings gave for their distinguished visitor, Daniel Webster. This was in 1835, so, even in those days, the society page editor had come into being.
A frequent visitor to the Ewing home was a cousin of Mrs. Ewing's, James G. Blaine, who was years later, in 1884, to oppose Grove Cleveland for the presidency. Of the Ewing hospitality he said, that he had never visited any home where he was made to feel so welcome.
During Mrs. Ewing's residence in Washington, her house was the center also of many notable social gatherings in which distinguished guests took part, among them men whose names are famous in history, John Quincy Adams. John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and others.
John Calhoun wrote in her album: "I obey with pleasure your command to record my name in this album, accompanied with my best wishes for your health and happiness." On another occasion Daniel Webster wrote: "I am happy, my dear Mrs. Ewing, to have an opportunity of placing among the contents of this little volume the assurance of my sincere regard and warm wishes for you and yours."
General William H. Harrison, who was the successful Whig candidate for the presidency in 1840, was another to add his name and his greetings to Mrs. Ewing's album. He wrote, "Accept dear Madam, my best wishes for your own happiness and that of your interesting family."
Mr. Ewing was named Secretary of the Treasury in President Harrison's cabinet, and his 16 year old daughter Ellen had the pleasure of attending with her father the inauguration of President Harrison.
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When the Ex-Emperor Iturbide of Mexico sold his household goods at auction in Washington, Thomas Ewing attended the sale, and among the treasures he purchased for his wife and which he had sent on to Lancaster were a small rosewood piano with candle rests on either side; some oil paint- ings, inlaid tables, silver, and other luxuries.
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