Ellen (Nellie, later Mother Theophila) was born on November 16, 1864, in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Irish immigrant parents. She later boarded at St. Margaret of Cortona Academy in Winsted, Connecticut. The school was founded when Ellen was just one year old, and staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. That must have been quite a time for Ellen, leaving her home to live at the high school.
Ellen then entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in New York state. She received the habit and her new name, Sister Mary Theophila, in 1884 at age 19.
She went on to become Mother Mary Theophila, Principal of St. Patrick's School in Buffalo, New York.
During the depression she was the head of the Sisters at St. Virgilius' in Queens, NY. Mother Theophila was the Superior/Principal of the school. As the Great Depression hit in 1929, the pastor advised her to take the Sisters back to Allegany, since he had no money to pay the Sisters’ salaries.
The collections were down, reflecting the country’s massive unemployment. The parishioners “lost their homes and were living in what had been their summer homes subsisting on the produce of their gardens and the waters surrounding them,” wrote Sr. Veronica Inez Rodrigues.
“But Mother Theophila insisted that the Sisters would stay in the parish school and share the privations with the parishioners. When the people realized that the Sisters were not receiving any salaries, they brought to the convent whatever they had. The sisters and the people of St. Virgilius Parish survived.”
She then was the Head Administrator of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in New York City, where she died in November of 1940.
She is buried at the Motherhouse of her order in Allegany, New York.
[But until I find the cemetery I am putting her here with her mother and family in St. Joseph's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.]
_____________________________________
Ellen then entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in New York state. She received the habit and her new name, Sister Mary Theophila, in 1884 at age 19.
She went on to become Mother Mary Theophila, Principal of St. Patrick's School in Buffalo, New York.
During the depression she was the head of the Sisters at St. Virgilius' in Queens, NY. Mother Theophila was the Superior/Principal of the school. As the Great Depression hit in 1929, the pastor advised her to take the Sisters back to Allegany, since he had no money to pay the Sisters’ salaries.
The collections were down, reflecting the country’s massive unemployment. The parishioners “lost their homes and were living in what had been their summer homes subsisting on the produce of their gardens and the waters surrounding them,” wrote Sr. Veronica Inez Rodrigues.
“But Mother Theophila insisted that the Sisters would stay in the parish school and share the privations with the parishioners. When the people realized that the Sisters were not receiving any salaries, they brought to the convent whatever they had. The sisters and the people of St. Virgilius Parish survived.”
She then was the Head Administrator of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in New York City, where she died in November of 1940.
She is buried at the Motherhouse of her order in Allegany, New York.
[But until I find the cemetery I am putting her here with her mother and family in St. Joseph's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.]
_____________________________________
Ellen (Nellie, later Mother Theophila) was born on November 16, 1864, in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Irish immigrant parents. She later boarded at St. Margaret of Cortona Academy in Winsted, Connecticut. The school was founded when Ellen was just one year old, and staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. That must have been quite a time for Ellen, leaving her home to live at the high school.
Ellen then entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in New York state. She received the habit and her new name, Sister Mary Theophila, in 1884 at age 19.
She went on to become Mother Mary Theophila, Principal of St. Patrick's School in Buffalo, New York.
During the depression she was the head of the Sisters at St. Virgilius' in Queens, NY. Mother Theophila was the Superior/Principal of the school. As the Great Depression hit in 1929, the pastor advised her to take the Sisters back to Allegany, since he had no money to pay the Sisters’ salaries.
The collections were down, reflecting the country’s massive unemployment. The parishioners “lost their homes and were living in what had been their summer homes subsisting on the produce of their gardens and the waters surrounding them,” wrote Sr. Veronica Inez Rodrigues.
“But Mother Theophila insisted that the Sisters would stay in the parish school and share the privations with the parishioners. When the people realized that the Sisters were not receiving any salaries, they brought to the convent whatever they had. The sisters and the people of St. Virgilius Parish survived.”
She then was the Head Administrator of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in New York City, where she died in November of 1940.
She is buried at the Motherhouse of her order in Allegany, New York.
[But until I find the cemetery I am putting her here with her mother and family in St. Joseph's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.]
_____________________________________
Ellen then entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in New York state. She received the habit and her new name, Sister Mary Theophila, in 1884 at age 19.
She went on to become Mother Mary Theophila, Principal of St. Patrick's School in Buffalo, New York.
During the depression she was the head of the Sisters at St. Virgilius' in Queens, NY. Mother Theophila was the Superior/Principal of the school. As the Great Depression hit in 1929, the pastor advised her to take the Sisters back to Allegany, since he had no money to pay the Sisters’ salaries.
The collections were down, reflecting the country’s massive unemployment. The parishioners “lost their homes and were living in what had been their summer homes subsisting on the produce of their gardens and the waters surrounding them,” wrote Sr. Veronica Inez Rodrigues.
“But Mother Theophila insisted that the Sisters would stay in the parish school and share the privations with the parishioners. When the people realized that the Sisters were not receiving any salaries, they brought to the convent whatever they had. The sisters and the people of St. Virgilius Parish survived.”
She then was the Head Administrator of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in New York City, where she died in November of 1940.
She is buried at the Motherhouse of her order in Allegany, New York.
[But until I find the cemetery I am putting her here with her mother and family in St. Joseph's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.]
_____________________________________
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
