1. She had five children in the first seven years of marriage. <\/strong><\/h2>\nIn addition, just two years after the birth of her youngest, she took in her husband\u2019s six younger siblings, as well. There were now eleven children under the age of seventeen living under her roof. She also fretted about her \u201csaucy boys\u201d who \u201calmost master me\u201d and anxiously sought advice from a friend about her daughter Anna Maria\u2019s stubborn will and bad temper, declaring that her daughter \u201cdespite all my endeavors is past my management.\u201d But she deeply loved her children and called them “her little darlings.”<\/p>\n
Learn more about Mother Seton\u2019s children in this three-minute video<\/a>.<\/p>\n2. Not only did she outlive two of her children, but her own life came into peril during the birth of her son Richard.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine O\u2019Donnell writes in Elizabeth Seton: American Saint<\/em>, \u201cShe had had straightforward deliveries with her two earlier children, but as the hours passed it became clear that this birth\u2026was different. \u2018My illness was so severe,\u2019 she wrote, \u2018that both Mother and child were some hours in a very doubtful situation.\u2019 When her father [a doctor] was summoned, the physician thought he might have to sacrifice his grandchild in order to save his daughter.\u201d Eventually, a safe delivery ensued.<\/p>\n3. Her sons served in the Navy <\/strong><\/h2>\nHer eldest William joined the U.S. Navy in 1817 and started his service on the USS Independence. He served 17 years. Richard was the captain\u2019s clerk on the USS Cyane. For nearly a year he was on duty off the coast of Africa before he contracted a fever and died in 1823. He was buried at sea. and served at sea. Each year, the Seton Shrine hosts the Sea Services Pilgrimage<\/a>, and Mother Seton is the Patroness of the Sea Services. Learn more about William\u2019s service in the short film, \u201cSon of a Saint<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n4. She was constantly worried about her sons\u2019 faith. <\/strong><\/h2>\nShe wrote many letters to her Richard and William when they were young men, and worried about William while he served in the Navy on a ship without access to the Eucharist. \u00a0She once wrote, \u201cI must answer for my children in judgment, whatever faith I lead them to.\u201d After her conversion, she delighted in her three daughters\u2019 ready acceptance of the faith, but feared for her sons, whose friends mocked the Church. Listen to this episode<\/a> in Friends & Followers to learn more about her son William, or listen to this episode<\/a> to learn about Richard.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/setonshrine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Screen-Shot-2023-05-05-at-12.17.40-PM-e1683904670882-1024x674.png\")
Pictured: Her daughters’ hair locks and “The Little Red Book”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n5. She wrote a book of advice for one of her daughters.<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Mother Seton was nearing death, a large concern was to prepare her daughter Catherine to face life without her mother. (Her two other daughters were already deceased). In a \u201cLittle Red Book,\u201d Mother Seton wrote advice and spirituality to help Catherine navigate the world without her mother. This \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d will be on display in the new museum this Fall, along with her daughters\u2019 hairlocks.<\/p>\n
6. Her own daughter went on to become a mother of a religious order.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. Not only did she outlive two of her children, but her own life came into peril during the birth of her son Richard.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine O\u2019Donnell writes in Elizabeth Seton: American Saint<\/em>, \u201cShe had had straightforward deliveries with her two earlier children, but as the hours passed it became clear that this birth\u2026was different. \u2018My illness was so severe,\u2019 she wrote, \u2018that both Mother and child were some hours in a very doubtful situation.\u2019 When her father [a doctor] was summoned, the physician thought he might have to sacrifice his grandchild in order to save his daughter.\u201d Eventually, a safe delivery ensued.<\/p>\n3. Her sons served in the Navy <\/strong><\/h2>\nHer eldest William joined the U.S. Navy in 1817 and started his service on the USS Independence. He served 17 years. Richard was the captain\u2019s clerk on the USS Cyane. For nearly a year he was on duty off the coast of Africa before he contracted a fever and died in 1823. He was buried at sea. and served at sea. Each year, the Seton Shrine hosts the Sea Services Pilgrimage<\/a>, and Mother Seton is the Patroness of the Sea Services. Learn more about William\u2019s service in the short film, \u201cSon of a Saint<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n4. She was constantly worried about her sons\u2019 faith. <\/strong><\/h2>\nShe wrote many letters to her Richard and William when they were young men, and worried about William while he served in the Navy on a ship without access to the Eucharist. \u00a0She once wrote, \u201cI must answer for my children in judgment, whatever faith I lead them to.\u201d After her conversion, she delighted in her three daughters\u2019 ready acceptance of the faith, but feared for her sons, whose friends mocked the Church. Listen to this episode<\/a> in Friends & Followers to learn more about her son William, or listen to this episode<\/a> to learn about Richard.<\/p>\nPictured: Her daughters’ hair locks and “The Little Red Book”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n5. She wrote a book of advice for one of her daughters.<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Mother Seton was nearing death, a large concern was to prepare her daughter Catherine to face life without her mother. (Her two other daughters were already deceased). In a \u201cLittle Red Book,\u201d Mother Seton wrote advice and spirituality to help Catherine navigate the world without her mother. This \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d will be on display in the new museum this Fall, along with her daughters\u2019 hairlocks.<\/p>\n
6. Her own daughter went on to become a mother of a religious order.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Her sons served in the Navy <\/strong><\/h2>\nHer eldest William joined the U.S. Navy in 1817 and started his service on the USS Independence. He served 17 years. Richard was the captain\u2019s clerk on the USS Cyane. For nearly a year he was on duty off the coast of Africa before he contracted a fever and died in 1823. He was buried at sea. and served at sea. Each year, the Seton Shrine hosts the Sea Services Pilgrimage<\/a>, and Mother Seton is the Patroness of the Sea Services. Learn more about William\u2019s service in the short film, \u201cSon of a Saint<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n4. She was constantly worried about her sons\u2019 faith. <\/strong><\/h2>\nShe wrote many letters to her Richard and William when they were young men, and worried about William while he served in the Navy on a ship without access to the Eucharist. \u00a0She once wrote, \u201cI must answer for my children in judgment, whatever faith I lead them to.\u201d After her conversion, she delighted in her three daughters\u2019 ready acceptance of the faith, but feared for her sons, whose friends mocked the Church. Listen to this episode<\/a> in Friends & Followers to learn more about her son William, or listen to this episode<\/a> to learn about Richard.<\/p>\nPictured: Her daughters’ hair locks and “The Little Red Book”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n5. She wrote a book of advice for one of her daughters.<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Mother Seton was nearing death, a large concern was to prepare her daughter Catherine to face life without her mother. (Her two other daughters were already deceased). In a \u201cLittle Red Book,\u201d Mother Seton wrote advice and spirituality to help Catherine navigate the world without her mother. This \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d will be on display in the new museum this Fall, along with her daughters\u2019 hairlocks.<\/p>\n
6. Her own daughter went on to become a mother of a religious order.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. She was constantly worried about her sons\u2019 faith. <\/strong><\/h2>\nShe wrote many letters to her Richard and William when they were young men, and worried about William while he served in the Navy on a ship without access to the Eucharist. \u00a0She once wrote, \u201cI must answer for my children in judgment, whatever faith I lead them to.\u201d After her conversion, she delighted in her three daughters\u2019 ready acceptance of the faith, but feared for her sons, whose friends mocked the Church. Listen to this episode<\/a> in Friends & Followers to learn more about her son William, or listen to this episode<\/a> to learn about Richard.<\/p>\nPictured: Her daughters’ hair locks and “The Little Red Book”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n5. She wrote a book of advice for one of her daughters.<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Mother Seton was nearing death, a large concern was to prepare her daughter Catherine to face life without her mother. (Her two other daughters were already deceased). In a \u201cLittle Red Book,\u201d Mother Seton wrote advice and spirituality to help Catherine navigate the world without her mother. This \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d will be on display in the new museum this Fall, along with her daughters\u2019 hairlocks.<\/p>\n
6. Her own daughter went on to become a mother of a religious order.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. She wrote a book of advice for one of her daughters.<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs Mother Seton was nearing death, a large concern was to prepare her daughter Catherine to face life without her mother. (Her two other daughters were already deceased). In a \u201cLittle Red Book,\u201d Mother Seton wrote advice and spirituality to help Catherine navigate the world without her mother. This \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d will be on display in the new museum this Fall, along with her daughters\u2019 hairlocks.<\/p>\n
6. Her own daughter went on to become a mother of a religious order.<\/strong><\/h2>\nCatherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Catherine joined the Sisters of Mercy and received the habit on April 6, 1847, and was given the name “Sister Mary Catherine”. In her later years in the order, she was referred to as \u201cMother.\u201d Years earlier, in in 1812, Mother Seton\u2019s eldest daughter Anna Maria took vows to become a Sister of Charity, as she was dying.<\/p>\n
7. She lost her own mother at a young age.<\/strong><\/h2>\nMother Seton\u2019s blended family actually began when she was three years old and her mother died. One year later, her little sister also passed away. Her father remarried but her stepmother did not accept young Elizabeth and often sent her away to live with relatives.<\/p>\n
8. She once wrote, \u201cI will be the mother of many daughters\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n
9. She struggled early during her conversion with her relationship with the Blessed Mother.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cI am at peace in the midst of fifty children,\u201d she wrote in the years following her opening of St. Joseph\u2019s Academy. \u201cI am as a Mother encompassed by many children of different dispositions\u2026 bound to love, instruct, and provide for the happiness of all, to give the example of cheerfulness.\u201d In addition to the school children, Mother Seton\u2019s religious order grew to include many young women before her death and continued to expand long after throughout North America.<\/p>\n