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Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco Administration Records, 1855-1889 (bulk 1860-1880)
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Title: Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco Administration Records, 1855-1889 (bulk 1860-1880)
Dates: 1855-1889 (bulk 1860-1880)
Collection Number: Consult repository
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 1 linear foot
Repository:
Presentation Archives, Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM)
San Francisco, California 94118
Abstract: The collection contains the records of the business, governance, membership, and community affairs of the governing administration
terms for the Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco from 1855-1889. The Superiors who lead the four administrations
during this time were Mother Mary Teresa Comerford, PBVM (1855-1868), Mother Mary Xavier Daly, PBVM (1868-1874), Mother Mary
Augustine Phelan, PBVM (1874-1883), and Mother Mary Xavier Daly, PBVM (1883-1889). There are no records from the administration
of Mother Mary Joseph Cronin, the first Superior appointed to the San Francisco Sisters of the Presentation in 1854.
Language of Material: English
Collection open for research
Property rights reside with Presentation Archives. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Archivist
at Presentation Archives.
Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco Administration Records, 1855-1889 (bulk 1860-1880). Presentation Archives, Sisters
of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM)
All records were created by the institution.
Biography/Administrative History
Presentation Archives preserves, organizes, and makes accessible for research the historical records of the life and activities
of the Sisters of the Presentation, San Francisco congregation. The Sisters of the Presentation is a religious order of Roman
Catholic Sisters founded in Cork City, Ireland, in 1776, by Nano Nagle. Five sisters from Middleton, County Cork made the
first foundation in the United States in San Francisco on November 13, 1854. Within one year, three of the five returned
to Ireland and the remaining two, Mother Mary Teresa Comerford and Sister Mary Joseph Cassian established a convent on Powell
Street. They operated free schools for girls, including African and Native Americans, from 1857 to 1869. In 1879, an autonomous
convent, known as Sacred Heart Convent, was established on Taylor Street. This was followed in 1878 by a convent in Berkeley
and Sonoma in 1882. The four houses were amalgamated in 1888, and incorporated into a single entity. The sisters’ ministry
focus has historically been education with newer thrusts in areas of social and pastoral ministries. Since 1965, the congregation
has participated in hospital, parish and community development work in the United States, and in Central and South America.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection is arranged in the following series: Governance, Property and Finance, School Administration, Correspondence,
and clippings. Among the items in the collection are original and copy-correspondence between Mother Mary Teresa Comerford
to Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany; an architectural sketch of Presentation Convent, San Francisco (1855); and the Rules and
Constitutions that governed the congregation during this period. See the accompanying Guide to the collection for itemized
contents and additional collections related to the era of these administrations.
Catholic Women --Religious Life
Women--History--19th century
Education--Catholic
San Francisco (Calif.)--History
Pioneers--California
Comerford, Mary Teresa, 1821-1881
Alemany, Joseph Sadoc, 1814-1888