By Mindy Gordon, Archives Director
Did you know…
In 1869, with five dollars and the encouragement of her superiors, Sr. Mary Irene Fitzgibbon opened the New York Foundling Hospital as a response to the increase in infanticide and the number of destitute children in the city during post-Civil War years. A cradle placed at the Foundling’s doorstep received the abandoned anonymously.
A group portrait taken in 1888 by Sr. Mary Irene Fitzgibbon’s nephew, Father O’ Hara, includes thirty-three sisters on mission at the Foundling. Fortunately, identification information for each sister was recorded. Sr. Mary Irene Fitzgibbon, Foundress, and her assistant Sr. Teresa Vincent McCrystal, are seated in the lower row.
As one of New York City’s oldest and largest child welfare agencies, today the Foundling manages locations throughout the metropolitan area and in Puerto Rico. Programs in behavioral health, child welfare, developmental disabilities, education, and justice help individuals by providing residential, community, day services and advocacy. The Foundling’s national programs of placement, adoption and foster care have expanded to include child abuse prevention, care for children suffering from drug addiction or AIDS, and programs for the deaf and the mentally challenged.
An outgrowth of the Foundling, Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, presently known as Elizabeth Seton Children’s, opened in Yonkers in 2010 to provide specialized care for children with multiple physical and developmental handicaps.
Pictured above: Top row (I to r): Sisters Marie Consilio, Marie Annina Bradley, Mary Demetria Meara, M. Dolorosa, Teresa Gertrude Mooney, Rose Perpetua O’Brien, Cecilia Anthony Readdy, Anna Teresa McCarthy, Mary Clemens Doyle, Marie Leon Parker, Mary Donata Coffey, Mary Franceline Flattery
Middle row (I to r) Sisters Joseph Angela Moran, Teresa, Anna Michael Bowen, Marie Matthew McLoughlin, Frances Liguori Keller, Maria Joseph Tully, Mary Josita Larkin, Sara Angela Creighton, Joseph, Mary Constantia Duffy, Agnes Mary Cahill, M. Climacus, Mary Regis Lyons
Lower row (I to r) Sisters Marie Dolores Van Rensselear, Mary Bernadette Purcell, Mary Emerentia Hanaway, Teresa Vincent McCrystal, Mary Irene Fitzgibbon, Mary Frances Wallace, Mary Rosalie Lenahan, Ann Corsini Cross
What an amazing legacy to the children of the city! And all begun with five dollars and a vision of what could be. The Foundling will always carry the legacy of the Sisters, past and present.