Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, S.C., (28 August 1774 – 4 January 1821) was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church (September 14, 1975). She established the first Catholic school in the nation, at Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the first American congregation of Religious Sisters, the Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth was born on 28 August 1774, the second child of a socially prominent couple, Dr. Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton of New York City. The Bayley and Charlton families were among the earliest colonial settlers of the New York area. Her father's parents were prominent French Hugenots living in New Rochelle, New York. He later served as the Chief Health Officer for...