| East Dubuque Local Area History Project | |
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| Mary
Francis Clarke founded the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary F.Clarke was born on March 2, 1803 in Dublin Ireland Bishop Mathias Loras gave Mary an invitation to come to Dubuque. A group of four women helped Mary F. Clarke found the Sisters of Charity. They moved from Philadelphia to Dubuque, which was a pioneer town of fur traders and lead miners. They wanted to establish one of the first women's boarding schools west of the Mississippi River. On July 5,1843 St. Mary's Female Academy opened in Dubuque. St.Mary's Academy, was three years old when Iowa became a state in 1846.The Academy owned several locations during its younger years. Clarke College is named for her. |
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| Sister Clarke was elected "Superior General" forever of the Sisters of Charity, a teaching order whose educational pursuits stretched hundreds of miles throughout the Mid West. Upon her death, Sister Clarke was buried near the first headquarters of the order in an area known as St. Joseph's Prairie. Her remains were moved in 1898. In 1910 they were finally placed in a crypt at Mount Carmel. | |
| In 1978 Philp Mihalakis, operator of the Ecology Control Corporation scrap yard, found a 9-by 12-inch grave marker later identified as that belonging on the first grave of Sister Clarke. The order announced plans to restore the 6.25 pound plaque. Sister Mary Francis Clarke was added to the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame August 27, 1984. | |
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Bibliography Interview with Sister Kevin Gallhager B.V.M. |
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