Shaping of America 1783-1815 Biographies | Elizabeth Ann Seton Biography

Born August 28, 1774 (New York, New York)
Died January 4, 1821 (Emmitsburg, Maryland)

Educator, religious leader

Elizabeth Ann Seton was a convert to Roman Catholicism who formed a religious community and opened a school for poor children in Maryland. In 1809, she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's, the first religious order of women in the United States. In 1813, Seton was elected mother superior, or head, of the Sisters of Charity—the same year the organization set up a national Catholic school system. By 1814, Mother Seton and her Sisters of Charity were also managing the first Catholic orphanage in the United States.

In 1828, shortly after Seton's death, the Sisters of...