Sisters of Charity Federation Archives

Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

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The Provinces of the Daughters of Charity in the United States began to establish Archives in the 1970’s.  Under the guidance of Sister Elaine Wheeler, the Provincial Archivists developed a Classification System (record group numbering system) that would determine the organization of the five Provincial Collections.

Provincial Archivists attended Conferences of Society of American Archivists to learn the basics for establishing their Archives according to professional standards.  Provincial Archivists then attended annual/biannual meetings held in their various Provincialates.  During the 1980s, Provinces moved into electronic cataloguing and in the 1990s, some Provinces began using Access Database to create a Sister Personnel database as well as Collections databases.

In 1986, the Province of the West constructed Archives Rooms according to archival standards with the guidance of Sister Elaine Wheeler.  

This is the current location of our Archives (Province of Elizabeth Ann Seton in Los Altos Hills, California.) We have specialty in early California history, 1850s-1870ss, early Nevada history, 1860s-1890s, and the San Francisco earthquake and fire, 1906. Our goal for the future is to have as many as possible of our archival files in digital format.

The items below are the submissions selected by the Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton archivist for the History of the Sisters of Charity Federation Communities in Objects collaborative exhibit:

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This figurine was likely hand-carried across the Isthmus of Panama by the Pioneer Sisters traveling from Emmitsburg to San Francisco, California in 1852. It was among the contents from the original Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum placed in the new 1873 building. (This figurine is property of Local Archives).
Click on the image to learn more about each object's significance.
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Pioneer Sisters traveled from Emmitsburg to Los Angeles, California in early 1856. This early painting on tin depicts the Sisters leading the Children of Mary procession in Los Angeles, California. The work was presented to the Seton Provincialate Archives by Sister Elizabeth Hurley of Maryvale, Rosemead, California. (This painting is property of Local Archives.)