October 8-10 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. At that time, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet operated St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum in Chicago, Illinois. Sister Mary Incarnation McDonough later wrote about the tragic event. She had only been in Chicago for about five or six weeks when the fire erupted. Mother Mary Joseph, the director of St. Joseph’s, and her staff of 14 sisters (including Sister Incarnation) were in charge of 280 children between the ages of three weeks and 18 years old, many with physical disabilities.
Late in the evening on October 9, Sisters Incarnation and Michael noticed the bright glow of fire in the sky. Sister Incarnation wrote that “the noise and restlessness of the people gave us to understand that it was no ordinary fire.” The sisters woke and dressed the children while being “careful not to mention the word ‘fire’ in order to prevent a panic.”
After successfully evacuating nearly 300 people from the building, they “formed a close line of march” starting northward and traveled all night by foot. Each sister carried two infants each, and the older children looked after the younger ones until they reached safety outside the city limits around 4 a.m.
Sister Incarnation’s account of that fateful night is part of the Carondelet Consolidated Archives.
How very brave and courageous were those Sisters who literally saved their lives and those of the poor orphan children in the Chicago fire. Their good deeds live after them, giving glory to God.
I have been looking for the identity and history of one Mother Louis. I do not know her birth name, and I am not sure of her full Sister’s name. She adopted my great grandmother Julia Ann Shae who was born in St. Louis, MO. The nun was supposedly my great grandmother’s aunt. My great grandmother and my grandmother called her Mother Louis. Mother Louis adopted my great grandmother in St. Louis, but took her to Chicago and raised her there. There was a large church, a convent, and a Catholic school. Mother Louis might have been in Chicago at the time of the Great Chicago Fire. I believe Mother Louis was of Irish descent. She was perhaps born in Maryland, USA. If anyone knows how I can find this woman, please send me an email.