Towns of Sisters of Notre Dame in the First 50 Years in USA

Annals will apprise you of exact dates and places. For now, let’s look at the homes where one sister—Sister Justina Rickert—lived. Do any of these towns surprise you? Do you know Sisters of Notre Dame who have lived there? Can you find Sisters there now? Ask a Sister if her life sounds like that of Sister Justina.

Sister Justina and other Sisters spent their first night in the United States in Hoboken, before boarding a train to Cleveland, Ohio, the next day. Within a couple weeks Sister was sent to Covington, Kentucky, but already in September of that year she was sent back to Cleveland and from there to Rockport, Ohio. The next year found her in Burlington, Iowa. In 1877 she was sent to Toledo. Needing recuperation from a fever the next year, Sister Justina was sent to Cleveland and Millersville. From there she went to Covington and spent time in the Academy kitchen and laundry. Her next assignment was in Newport, Kentucky, where she was missioned for several years before being sent to Steelton, Pennsylvania. After several months of diphtheria, Sister was again back in Cleveland. Then she was involved in what she called “varied programs” taking her to Norwalk, Delphos, Raab, and Mount St. Mary’s (12 years) and eventually back to Toledo. She writes, “For a time I was sent here and there to little houses mostly to help out.”