Pioneers of the Past

Pioneers of the Past uncovers the personal history of the earliest professors and administrators of the newly chartered Seton Hill College. These ambitious and influential women laid the groundwork for their respective departments and carved a path for both future educators and students. 

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Mother Mary Joseph Havey

Kate Havey, daughter of Timothy and Ann Flanagan Havey, was born on the South Side of Pittsburgh on March 22, 1863.  Her vita card lists her education prior to entrance as 1 year of Pittsburgh High School (Normal Department), Morse Public School (Normal) 1 year, and Teacher Provisional Certificate.  At the age of 17, when Kate entered the community, she was already licensed to teach.  Her standard certificate was made permanent on January 2, 1924.  Kate entered the community at Saint John’s in Altoona.

 Sister Miriam Joseph Murphy, who was a dear friend of Mother Mary Joseph, wrote the following  in her reflection on Mother’s life for the 125th Anniversary celebration of the day Kate entered.“Kate and her brother Pat came by train from the South Side of Pittsburgh to Altoona, the day she was entering the Sisters of Charity Community.  A story is told that when they arrived at the convent no one seemed to be at the front door to welcome her, so brother Pat rang the big bell to gather the sisters to be sure his sister had a proper welcome.”                                                                           

When Kate was received on March 19, 1881, she was given the name Sister Mary Joseph.  Since she was certified to teach at the time of entrance, Sister Mary Joseph was soon employed in the Sister of Charity Schools... first as a teacher, but soon after as a principal.

Her vita record lists most of her assignments.  She taught as St. Kieran’s, Sacred Heart, St. John’s, Altoona, St. Stephen’s, Holy Cross, St. Joseph’s in Sharpsburg between the years 1888 to 1908.  In 1909 she was named treasurer of the Community and in 1915 she was elected Mother Superior, a post she held until 1921.  In 1921 until 1927 she was the Sister Servant and Principal of St. Mary Magdalen’s in Homestead.  She moved from there to Resurrection in Brookline as Sister Servant and Principal from 1927 to 1933.  Mother Mary Joseph served as the Supervisor of Schools for the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1933 to 1937 and as the Sister Servant at Swissvale from 1937 to 1943.  While she was Mother Superior she was also the first President of Seton Hill College from 1918 to 1921.

 It was also Mother Mary Joseph who arranged for the Sisters of Charity to begin to spend summer’s in New Orleans teaching the Holy Family Sisters.  Mother Mary Joseph remained active with her last mission being St. Anselm’s in Swissvale.  She lived in the convent and tutored children in the school. She suffered a broken hip in a fall on January 6, 1950 and died later that year at Pittsburgh Hospital.  At age 87 and in the 70th year of her religious life, the broken hip led to complications and she died of arteriosclerosis and heart failure.

 Mother Mary Joseph led the community through many important times. She established the Sisters of Charity at St. Kieran’s school and convent. She witnessed the 1918 Great Flu epidemic when many of the sisters entered the homes of victims and assisted in nursing them.  She helped to establish Seton Hill College.  She introduced the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill to the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans.

 Those who knew Mother Mary Joseph described her as prayerful, generous, hard working, and an excellent teacher and administrator.  Sister Miriam Joseph said, “Mother Mary Joseph was always attentive to Heaven’s first law, ORDER.”

 As Sister Miriam Joseph Murphy wrote in a summary of Mother Mary Joseph’s life,

“Our legacy from Mother Mary Joseph:

GOOD SCHOOLS, WELL-TRAINED TEACHERS, A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE, A STRONG COMMUNITY.

Advice from Mother Mary Joseph:

          WORK HARD - do everything you have to do - do it right - enjoy it.

DEVELOP YOUR TALENTS, LOVE AND SERVE GOD AND NEIGHBOR.  BE HAPPY!”       

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Sister Francesca Brownlee

Marcella Brownlee, daughter of James and Eugenia Seiffert Brownlee, was born on June 11, 1872 in Allegheny, PA.  She attended St. Joseph Academy at Seton Hill and graduated in the Class of 1890 as the Class Valedictorian.  Marcella entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill on March 19, 1892 and joined two of her older sisters in Community.  Eugenia, who entered in 1880 was known as Sister Mary James, and Marion, who entered in 1885 was known as Sister De Chantal.  Marcella received the habit on March 19, 1872 and was given the name Sister M. Francesca.

Sister Francesca received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Catholic University of America in 1931 and a Master of Arts from Catholic University in 1932.                

 Sister Francesca held many responsible positions in the Community.  She was Directress of St. Joseph Academy , Seton Hill from 1909 to 1919 and again from 1936 to 1947.  She was very instrumental in the beginning of Seton Hill College and was the Dean of Seton Hill College from 1918 until 1929.    In the year 1922, Sister Francesca received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (LHD) from Duquesne University at the June 20th Commencement exercises.  A letter from Father M.A. Hehir, C.S.Sp.to Mother Mary Raymond announcing the degree said: "It is a pleasure for me personally, as I have known this good sister for so many years, as I know her from work for your college and Community and for Catholic Education in our schools.  I am delighted at the growth of your College."

 Sister Francesca died on November 18, 1949 of chronic myocarditis.  A solemn funeral mass was sung in St. Joseph's Chapel November 21st by Reverend William Granger Ryan.  Interment was in the Sisters' Cemetery at Seton Hill.  The first ALUMNAE QUARTERLY published in the Spring of 1950  was dedicated to Sister Francesca, the first Dean of the College.  The issue contained many pages of tributes to Sister Francesca  from  the Sisters of Charity and from her students. In 1965, a new residence hall built at the College was named BROWNLEE  HALL in honor of Sister Francesca.  

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Sister Angelica Rooney

Born 1860 in Altoona, PA, Margaret Rooney was the daughter of Bernard Rooney and Ann Cullen Rooney. She graduated from St. John’s Academy and entered the Sisters of Charity in 1878.

After attending Bush Conservatory to study Music, Sr. M. Angelica served as the Directress of the Music Department at the Academy and Seton Hill College for over 37 years. She founded the School of Music and composed many of the college musical traditions, including the Seton Coronation Ode (for commencement day). In addition to her duties at Seton Hill College, Sr. Angelica became the Assistant Mother from 1897-1900 and the Alumnae Coordinator from 1920-23.

Sr. Angelica died in 1923. In The Setonian, a poem written by F.W.B. exclaims that “Sister Angelica played upon the souls of all of us to elicit from each his peculiar harmony.”

As “one of the most distinguished and beloved members of the community,” it was only fitting that the College would honor her. In 1932, they unveiled a tablet in memory of Sr. Angelica in Cecelian Hall. In addition, the alumni of St. Joseph Academy created a $25,000 scholarship fund for the Sisters and Seton Hill students to receive musical education.

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Sister Beatrice Gority

Sr. Beatrice Gority, the daughter of Hugh Gority and Ann Halton, was born in Altoona, PA as Julia Gority in 1862. Three of the eleven children in her family became Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, including her sisters, Sister Marie Louise and Sister Ernestine. After entering the community at the age of 16, Sr. Beatrice went on to earn degrees in Latin and Music from Seton Hill College, as well as an M.A. in Latin from the University of Pittsburgh. Although she taught in multiple schools throughout the diocese, she is listed as a “founding member” of Seton Hill College faculty. Sr. Beatrice died in 1943. 

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Sister Cecelia Schwab (former)

Mary Schwab was born in 1876 in Loretto, PA to John Schwab and Pauline Farabaugh. Her brother, Charles Schwab, became a noted industrialist who assumed the presidency of Carnegie Steel, United States Steel, and Bathelehem Steel. Charles Schwab would lose most of his great fortune in the Crash of 1929.

A talented musician, Sr. Cecelia earned degrees in Music from Bush Conservatory and Fontainebleau Conservatory. She later earned a B.A. in English and German from Seton Hill College.

Although Sr. Cecelia served as Chair of the Music Department from 1924-1928, she left the community that final year to enter the Carmelites in Altoona. 

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Sister Evangelist Yahl

Born in 1879 in Waynesburg, PA, Catherine Yahl was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Wirtz Yahl. Sr. Evangelist entered the community in 1901 and, shortly thereafter, earned a B.A. in English and Theoretical Art from Seton Hill College. She was an alumni of St. Joseph Academy.

Having studied with prominent regional artists, Martin B. Leisser and Christian Walter, Sr. Evangelist worked in plastic art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Additionally, she worked with artists Vincent Novotny of the Cincinnati School of Art and Charles Webster Hawthorne of Provincetown. Utilizing her unique artistic talents, Sr. Evangelist taught art at the college from 1919 until her death in 1937.

In The Little Graveyard, a Sister of Charity writes of Sr. Evangelist: “In all work she instilled into her pupils a special devotion to the Sacred Heart. Her great ambition was to erect a shrine to the Sacred Heart facing Maura Hall.”

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Sister Anita McGinnis

Mary McGinnis, the daughter of Anthony and Mary McVietty McGinnis, was born in 1872 in Pittsburgh, PA. She entered the community of the Sisters of Charity in 1889. Although she only served as the Head of the Art Department for two years before her untimely death, Sr. Anita’s legacy lived on.

Sr. Mary Xavier Farrell wrote, “Dear Sister Anita! The hands once so busy with pencil and brush now lie folded on her pulseless breast. For her, the canvas and colors have been laid aside forever. The studio shall know her presence no more. But the sweet recollection of her saintly life shall live a golden link in memory’s chain which even death cannot sever.”

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Sister Maria Francesca Urnauer

Sister Maria Francesca lived quite an interesting life. Born in Uttenweiler, Wurtenberg, Germany in 1879 to Bernard and Thecla Haid Urnauer, Sr. Maria Francesca entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in 1899. Her brother, Father Sebastian, a Carmelite scholastic, made arrangements for Maria to come directly from Stuttgart, Germany to America. She did not know any English.

However, Sister persevered and earned her B.A. in German and History from Seton Hill College in 1924. Five years later, she received her M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. Affectionately called “Schwester” (Sister in German), Sr. Maria Francesca taught first at St. Joseph Academy beginning in 1912.

During WWI, she knitted socks and gloves for the Red Cross to distribute to soldiers. Sr. Maria Francesca Urnauer became a naturalized citizen in 1929. During WWII, she made thousands of scapulars of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for American soldiers.

She died in 1965. 

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Sister Clementine Oler

Sr. Clementine was born in Bedford, PA as Esther Oler in 1879 to Alexander and Louisa Oler. After entering the community in 1903, Sr. Clementine earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from Catholic University in 1914 and an M.S. in Mathematics from Notre Dame University in 1922. Sister taught Mathematics at the College from 1919 until 1924. She was a pioneer faculty member of the College, having also helped Sister Francesca Brownlee obtain the charter for the college. She headed the Chemistry Department from 1913-1922.

Sr. Clementine died in 1937. 

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Sister Electa Boyle

Sr. Electa, born Josephine Agnes Boyle in 1881 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, was one of six children of poor Irish immigrants. Influenced by her older biological sister, Sister Sara Fidelis, Electa joined the Sisters of Charity community in 1899. With a scholar’s mind and an adventurer’s heart, Sister Electa valued educational opportunities for herself and her students. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Modern Language and History from Duquesne University in 1915. She then went on to earn an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1920 and a Ph.D. from Fordham University in 1925. It was quite an education for a coal miner’s daughter at that time.  

In 1912, Sr. Electa helped to found the Seton Hill Junior College and was among its first faculty teaching English, history, and mathematics, among other courses. The writing of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill community history was assigned to Sr. Electa by the Mother Superior in 1919 because of her natural gift for the written word and her love of history. It would take Sister nearly 30 years to research and publish her work, Mother Seton’s Sisters of Charity in Western Pennsylvania (1946). This historian’s journey to document and publish the community history would subsequently lead to her appointment as Archivist.

In the meantime, Sr. Electa served as Professor of English and Chair of the English Department, as well as Librarian, of the College. She also worked as Academic Dean from the mid-1940s through 1952.  She was also recognized for her lovely singing voice. Sister Thecla, S.C. (1968) wrote this of Electa, “beyond the literary specialty of her doctorate, for which she was affectionately dubbed “Madame Eglantine,” she was a wonder of versatility.”

Even as a young novice, Electa recognized the importance of preserving the community history. In the early 1900s, an annotated copy of Elizabeth Ann Seton’s The Following of Christ was borrowed from the community in Greensburg by another Sister of Charity. It was never returned. Sister Electa, stubborn and determined, personally sought the return of the book. In the years following, Sister kept the book close to her. In fact, she not only slept with it under her pillow, but she sewed a tiny book pocket into her habit to keep it with her at all times. This little book would later serve as the only written evidence of baptism for Elizabeth Ann Seton’s canonization. It seemed as though Sister Electa could do anything she set her mind to.

It is no wonder, then, that Mother Claudia Glenn asked Electa to continue her dedication to the history of the congregation in a new way. In 1954, the Board of Directors of Seton Hill College announced the establishment of the Department of Archives with Sister Electa Boyle as its first head. In support of the new Archives the Board wrote, “with deep feelings of indebtedness and gratitude the Directors acknowledge that they know the members of the college administration and staff will have the warmest interest in the new department and give it loyal cooperation.”

Sister Electa Boyle passed away from breast cancer on December 26, 1967. On her Death Memorial Card is a quote from Proverbs 31, “Strength and dignity are her clothing….And let her works praise her.”

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Sister Marie Elise Blouin

Sr. Marie Elise was born in 1886 as Marie Henriette Wilhilmine Edmee Blouin in Montmagny, Quebec, Canada to Dr. John Blouin, a surgeon, and Marie Henriette Helmina Dionne Blouin. She came to the U.S. knowing very little English, but endeavored to learn as quickly as possible. She specifically came to Seton Hill to learn English in the U.S. while teaching. She initially worked as a French teacher at St. Joseph’s Academy beginning in 1909.

Sister Marie Elise entered the Sisters of Charity in 1911. She attended Seton Hill College, McGill University, and the University of Montreal for a PhD in Philosophy. She was the first woman to receive a degree from the University of Montreal. In addition, she studied at the Sorbonne (University of Paris) in France. Sr. Marie Elise taught French and was Chair of the Department from 1919 to 1961. In 1939, the French government bestowed her the title Officier d’Academie (Silver Palm in the Order of Academic Palms) for teaching French language and culture. She was also deemed a Knight (Chevalier) in the French Legion of Honour.

A well-published scholar of French and the methodologies of teaching foreign language, Sr. Marie Elise also founded La Cercle Gaulois, a society for Franco-Americans in western Pennsylvania. She was the first president of the Catholic Association of Religious Modern Foreign Language Teachers.

She became a U.S. citizen in 1929.

At her eulogy in 1974, Monsignor Gaughan recalled, “A French girl came to the Hill in 1909 and stayed for eternity…”