Catherine Seton

Catherine Josephine Seton (28 June 1800 – 3 April 1891) was the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the American branch of the Sisters of Charity. Catherine was the first American to join the Irish Sisters of Mercy. Biography Early life Catherine Josephine Seton was born in 1800, on Staten Island, New York, the fourth of five children of William Magee and Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton. Both her maternal grandmother and an aunt who had died young were named Catherine. Her father was a partner in the import firm Seton, Maitland, and Company. The Seton family fortunes waned during the volatile economic climate preceding the War of 1812. The United Kingdom's blockade of France, and the loss of several of his ships at sea, forced William Seton into bankruptcy. The Setons lost their home at 61 Stone Street in lower Manhattan. Elizabeth and the children stayed with her father, Richard Bayley, who was the health officer for the Port of New York. In August 1801, Dr. Bayley contracted yellow fever while inspecting a ship that had just arrived. In her anxiety for his salvation Elizabeth offered to God the life of her infant daughter Catherine. Bayley died on August 17, 1801.