Snowsuit from Roselia Boarding Baby
Item
Dublin Core
Title
Snowsuit from Roselia Boarding Baby
Subject
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (Greensburg, Pa.)
Sisters-Religious life
Hospitals-Maternity services
Orphans and orphan-asylums
Social service-Religious aspects-Catholic Church
Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Maternity homes-Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Orphanages-Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Children
Adopted children
Adoption
Women
Pregnant Women
Sisters-Religious life
Hospitals-Maternity services
Orphans and orphan-asylums
Social service-Religious aspects-Catholic Church
Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Maternity homes-Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Orphanages-Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
Children
Adopted children
Adoption
Women
Pregnant Women
Description
Description
A baby left on a convent doorstep on March 17, 1884 initiated the journey for the Sisters of Charity in Pittsburgh to establish their first healthcare institution, a medical facility and boarding home for foundlings and unwed pregnant women. With the help of Roselia and Charles Donnelly and other benefactors, the sisters opened a small house in July 1891. By the end of the first month, the admission of nineteen infants stressed the limits of the building. The need for additional space prompted Mr. Donnelly to purchase the old Ursuline Academy in the Hill District. It became known as Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital. From 1891 until its closure in 1971, over 27,000 orphaned and temporarily boarded children came through Roselia.
Nearly 50 years later, John Smith* contacted the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill to learn more about Roselia and for clues into his beginnings. John’s connection to the Sisters of Charity, though brief, hints at the influence the Sisters of Charity can and have had on children.
After his mother abandoned him at birth, infant John was sent to Roselia as a boarding baby in 1938. The Sisters of Charity in charge there lovingly cared for him for nine months. He was later formally adopted by his paternal grandparents. For 80 years, the outfit the Sisters delivered John home in was preserved in the family. The snowsuit includes the note: “Johnnie, You were so small your little feet were inside this little suit.”
Thankful for the love and care of the sisters and for the opportunity to live a full and rich life, John donated this snowsuit to the archives of the Sisters of Charity, along with the story of his upbringing and family. It serves as a symbol of the warmth and love the Sisters have had for children, particularly foundlings, adopted children, and infants. The Sisters of Charity hold the records of Roselia and continue to field research requests related to birth parents and children.
*Name anonymized to protect identity.
A baby left on a convent doorstep on March 17, 1884 initiated the journey for the Sisters of Charity in Pittsburgh to establish their first healthcare institution, a medical facility and boarding home for foundlings and unwed pregnant women. With the help of Roselia and Charles Donnelly and other benefactors, the sisters opened a small house in July 1891. By the end of the first month, the admission of nineteen infants stressed the limits of the building. The need for additional space prompted Mr. Donnelly to purchase the old Ursuline Academy in the Hill District. It became known as Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital. From 1891 until its closure in 1971, over 27,000 orphaned and temporarily boarded children came through Roselia.
Nearly 50 years later, John Smith* contacted the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill to learn more about Roselia and for clues into his beginnings. John’s connection to the Sisters of Charity, though brief, hints at the influence the Sisters of Charity can and have had on children.
After his mother abandoned him at birth, infant John was sent to Roselia as a boarding baby in 1938. The Sisters of Charity in charge there lovingly cared for him for nine months. He was later formally adopted by his paternal grandparents. For 80 years, the outfit the Sisters delivered John home in was preserved in the family. The snowsuit includes the note: “Johnnie, You were so small your little feet were inside this little suit.”
Thankful for the love and care of the sisters and for the opportunity to live a full and rich life, John donated this snowsuit to the archives of the Sisters of Charity, along with the story of his upbringing and family. It serves as a symbol of the warmth and love the Sisters have had for children, particularly foundlings, adopted children, and infants. The Sisters of Charity hold the records of Roselia and continue to field research requests related to birth parents and children.
*Name anonymized to protect identity.
Creator
Unknown
Source
Source
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Publisher
N/A
Date
ca. 1938
Contributor
N/A
Rights
Courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Archives, Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Relation
N/A
Format
Costume (mode of fashion)
Clothing & dress
Clothing & dress
Language
N/A
Type
Physical object
Coverage
1938-2018
Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Citation
Unknown, “Snowsuit from Roselia Boarding Baby,” Sisters of Charity Federation Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, https://scfederationarchives.org/items/show/119.
Comments