11-06-1959 - E-Research

She May Be First U.S. SaintMother Setorrs Faith In GodOvercame Blows Of FateThe Voice continues publication of Mother Seton'slife story. It is the fascinating, sometimes amazingnarrative of her life and works. Born of Episcopalianparents in New York City just before the onset of theAmerican Revolution, she married and became themother of five children. Then, after the death of her •husband, she Was converted to Catholicism and foundedthe American Sisters of Charity.By ED STEIMERWilliam Magee Seton was 26 years old when he marriedElizabeth Bayley, six years younger, in 1794. He was the eldestof five children born to William Seton and Rebecca Curzon, abirth which took place at sea on the sailing-ship "Edward" whichwas bringing his parents home to New York from a trip toEngland. , ——~"His family were descendantsof the Lords Seton (Seaton) ofScotland who were famed inScottish legend and history. Theelder William had come to Americaas a young man and becamea businessman in NewYork, handling much of thecity's overseas shipping tradeand becoming a prominent bankerin a day which saw the rise ofsuch financiers as John Vanderbiltand Alexander Hamilton.FATHER STARTS FIRMWilliam Seton the elder founded,the firm of Seton, Maitlandand Co. in the same year of hisson's marriage to ElizabethBayley. His son was associatedwith him in this, mercantilehouse.Young William Magee hadbeen thoroughly trained by hisfather.- He was educated inEngland for six years, andhad later been sent on a tourof the great ports and businesshouses of Europe: Barcelona,Madrid, Genoa, Leghornand Rome. At Cremona,Italy, he had acquired a violinwhich he brought home;believed to be the first genuineStradivarius in New York.After living briefly with theelder Seton at the family homeon Stone Street, the young couplemoved to their new homein the Battery, on New York'sWall Street, then a fashionableresidential area.In the four years they livedat 27 Wall St., were born Elizabeth'sfirst three children, AnnaIn Time of NeedConsult Your Catholic Funeral DirectorWhose careful and understanding service is in accord with thetraditions of Holy Mother ChurchCAREFUL CONSIDERATION, usually given tothe selection of a Professional Man jmay not bepossible in the emotional turmoil following death.CAREFULLY CONSIDER NOW our qualifications:PERSONALLY licensed by the StatePERSONALLY qualified by local experiencePERSONALLY available when your need arisesMOST CAREFULLY CONSIDER that a funeral is areligious service and Catholic Families are" bestserved by a Catholic Funeral Director. •P. A. JOSBERGERFuneral DirectorPHILIP A.FR 1-44231923 S.W. 8th St.Qualified toServe YouGreater Miami'sCATHOLICFUNERAL HOME"Services Within theMeans of All"Marie, William and Richard.Richard's birth had nearly costElizabeth her life, and just beforehe was born another trialhad been the sudden death ofGrandfather Seton, therebyplacing the affairs of Seton andMaitland upon the shoulders ofher husband.This event also left parentlesssix young children whowere the last of a total of 15children the senior Williamhad had by two wives, for hehad married again at thedeath of his first wife. Thesebecame the responsibility ofWilliam Magee, the eldest,and therefore Elizabeth becamethe "mother" of sixmore children.It was her doctor-father whodelivered Richard, who wasnamed after him. Dr. RichardBayley literally blew the breathof life into the baby's lungs.AH this was in July and Augustin 1798. Before Mrs. Setonwas fully recovered, there descendedupon New York in Septemberthe yellow fever epidemicof that year, placing heavyburdens upon Dr. Bayley ashealth officer.HUSBAND CATCHES FEVERAt their summer house in theBloomingdale area, then in thecountryside, her husband Williamcaught the fever, and thereshe stayed with her sick spouseand enlarged family. Therewere, she wrote, "18 in the family,in a house containing onlyfive small rooms." At everyturn, some small voice wouldcall to her: "Sister" or "Mother."Her husband was improving,though very weak, butthe older children were beginningto catch colds in October.With, the advent of coldweather the epidemic abated,and they could move back tothe city. As Grandfather Seton'shouse on Stone Street waspractically empty because thefurniture had been sold, shefirst had it papered, paintedand washed to remove all dangerof fever, then transferredher furniture there from WallStreet.Any housewife can imaginethe situation. The energtic littlePALM BEACH COUNTYREAL ESTATE INVESTMENTSPhilip D. Lewis, Realtor31 West 20th StreetRiviera Beach • VI 4-0201Mrs. Seton, hardly recoveredfrom childbirth, attacked pantries,closets, store-rooms, cellarand attic like a commandinggeneral, and soon was readyto send for her enlarged family.Two older girls were sentto boarding school. Two otherstook charge of the younger children,and Elizabeth found herself,a school-teacher, educatingthree small girls.'FRIEND OF MY SOUVAt these times of trial, therehad come to Mrs. Seton's rescueher husband's sister Rebecca,who became her closestfriend. Six years apart in age,Jhe two were together able tocope with the wholesale readjustmentsin family life. In RebeccaSeton the harassed youngwife and mother found "thefriend of my soul."Whatever time she couldspare from her domestic andsocial duties, young Mrs. Setonused in prayer, readingHoly Scripture and meditatingupon religion.Adversity turned" herthoughts upon the true remedyfor earthly trials: the happy exchangeof transient suffering foreternal joy, as an extract fromone of her prayers in that harrowingyear shows:"Almighty giver of all mercies,Father of all, Who knowestmy heart and pities itsweakness and errors, Thouknowest that the desire of mysoul is to do Thy will. Itstruggles to wing its flightto Thee, its Creator, andsinks again in sorrow for thatimperfection which draws itback again to earth ... INOTHING COULD BE FINERCOACH COMPANYBOCA RATON, FLORIDAbow to ' Thee, my God, incheerful hope that, confidingin Thy infinite mercy and assistedby Thy powerful grace,I shall -soon arrive at. thathour of unspeakable joy."But if it is Thy will that thespirit shall yet contend with itsdust, assist me to conduct myselfthrough this life so as notto render it an enemy, but aconductor to that happy statewhere all mortal contentions aredone away, and where Thyeternal presence will bestoweternal felicity."Within two years, as she andher husband got settled withtheir own and the orphaned children,the Seton-Maitland firmcame upon difficult times. ShipsMother Seton Teaching at Emmitsburg, Md., isthe title of this stone tympanum to be" seen onthe outer west wall of the National Shrine ofthe Immaculate Conception which will be dedicatedNov. 20 in Washington, D. C. The beatificationof this famed American religious who maybe the first U. S. citizen saint is being sought andprayed for in the United States. (NC Photos)and cargoes were lost in the"undeclared war" with France,and to sea pirates; connectingfirms in London, Hamburg andelsewhere failed; the comp" v> y'spayments were being s idin England, where James Seton,William's brother, was havingtrouble collecting bills, andAmerican banks were stoppingpayments also.William's health was rapidlydeclining. By the summerof 1803 the family had a financialcrisis.(Next week • the thirdpart of this series iMll narratethe travels of MotherSeton in Italy and returnhome after the death ofher husband at Pisa.)Mother Seton's Life ProvesSanctity American ProductCINCINNATI (NC) — MotherSeton showed the worUOhat"sanctity of life can be an Americanproduct," according toMsgr. Joseph B. Code of NewYork, author of half a dozenbooks on the life and work ofthe foundress of the Sisters ofCharity.He declared: "Mother Setonblazed a trail of holiness Inthe wilderness of those daysand . . . symbolizes the highestaspirations of AmericanCatholicism."He spoke at a luncheon inSeton High School following SolemnPontifical Mass in St.Peter~~in Chains' cathedralmarking the 150th anniversaryof the founding of the U.S.Sisters of Charity.Archbishop Karl J. Alterofficiated at the Mass andpreached the sermon. He alsoread a message conveying tothe Sisters the greetings ofthe Holy Father arid his apostolicbenediction, as well as amessage from Domenico CardinalTardini, Vatican Secretaryof State and founder ofVilla Nazareth, orphanage inRome conducted by the CincinnatiSisters of Charity.Archbishop Alter cited theSisters of Charity as "pioneersin charitable and educationalwork," and said they "might•properly be credited with beingthe founders of the parochialschool system in our country."Communities of religiouswomen, like the Sisters ofCharity, "alone have made itpossible to develop the Catholicschool system," the Archbishopsaid.He praised the Sisters fortheir "patriotic service" inkeeping religion in education.He warned: "When religion isblotted out of education, it isblotted out of human life." Thisleads to substitution of the stateas the only source of humanrights, he added, and "whenthat happens, all liberty is endangered."Msgr. Code, spiritual counselorof Manhattan College, NewYork, declared Mother Setoii'slife is "attracting the attentionof many outside the Church, ofthose who are recognizing thathere is a story of love and holinessaltogether unusual, if, 'textraordinary; that here .story of one of America's mostcharming women, a story ofholiness so heroic that shestands out gloriously triumphantin these days of a sick andincreasingly secularisticAmerica."Page 16 THE VOICE Miami, Fla. November 6, 1959