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2018

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House of the Good Shepherd BostonMA

Author: Emily Lyons

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House of the Good Shepherd Boston MA Emily Lyons

Boston College

Reverend Richard Cushing’s 1940 pamphlet on the House of the Good Shepherd exhibits his support for the nuns of the institution while sources such as the 1940 US Census and the Annual Report of the Department of Welfare signal a more objective narrative. It is telling to contrast Cushing’s narrative and the archival information from the same time, and in particular to note the following differences: 1. Ages of each “class” of women: Reverend Cushing notes the St. Mary’s class as the oldest group of women in the institution, members aging out at thirty-one or two. However, the 1940 Census records show that there are 75 “Inmates” ages forty and above with 25 of those being sixty or older. 2. Presence of the Good Shepherd House laundry in Boston: As Cushing details the average day of a woman in the House of the Good Shepherd, he mentions the work done in the laundry there. The Good Shepherd laundry, he says, “needs no word of introduction to the people of Boston.” However, there is no available evidence to support this claim as there are no advertisements found in newspapers from the time unlike for the Irish Magdalene Laundries. 3. The language regarding the House of the Good Shepherd: Reverend Richard Cushing consistently refers to the Good Shepherd House as a “reformatory” institution. Information from the 1940 US Census challenges this language as it shows women staying at the institution for long periods of time; in some cases life-long residence until their death.

Tension Between Cushing & Sources

Despite the information available, many questions remain unanswered. Here are a few critical questions that we must continue to ask: 1.  How can we continue to expand on our understanding of a

“Magdalene” woman within the context of the United States? The term “Magdalene” at many Irish Magdalene Laundry institutions signified a life-long former penitent woman whereas in the United States it signified the possibility of a group of women evolving into a separate religious congregation of contemplative nuns, some of who came from the penitent class.

2.  How did the institutionalization that these women experienced contribute to their length of stay? Secondly, if the Good Shepherd House did not offer the women “Inmates” monetary compensation for their work, were they given a fair chance at re-entering society?

3.  Did the House of the Good Shepherd act ethically at the end of each of woman’s life? If so, where are the graves for the other twenty nine Magdalene women that were at the institution in 1940 not buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury?

Critical & Ethical Questions

Founded in 1867, the House of the Good Shepherd in Boston was a refuge for women and younger girls who society considered to be penitent or delinquent at the time. It also served as a Magdalene home for those women who dedicated themselves to a religious life in the institution. This project will focus on the complicated narrative of the “Magdalenes” listed in the 1940 US Census.

What was it?

According to Reverend Richard Cushing’s 1940 pamphlet The House of the Good Shepherd, there were four “classes” of women in addition to the Good Shepherd nuns who lived at the institution: “St. Joseph’s Class” •  Ages 12-16 “St. Mary’s Class” •  Ages 16-31 or 32 “Consecrates” •  From St. Joseph’s or St. Mary’s class •  Dedicate one year of their life to Virgin Mary “Magdalenes” •  Community of penitent women living religious life •  Some of whom were Consecrates before Information from the 1940 US Census, however, blurs the lines of Cushing’s distinct groups as the ages do not match up. The women of the House of the Good Shepherd, including the nuns, fall under one of three categories in the 1940 Census: “Sister”, “Magdalene”, or “Inmate” “Sister”: •  44 women total •  Ages 26-86 •  16 from Ireland/N. Ireland “Magdalene”: •  40 women total •  Ages 21-83 •  5 from Ireland/N. Ireland “Inmate”: •  St. Joseph’s Class, St. Mary’s Class, Consecrates •  284 women total •  Ages 8-87 •  18 from Ireland or N. Ireland

Who lived there?

Lillian first appeared in the Boston House of the Good Shepherd Census Records in 1910 as an “Inmate” and subsequently appeared in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 records as a “Religious Sister,” “Subject,” and “Magdalene” respectively. She was buried in 1979 at the House of the Good Shepherd’s plot at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury which suggests that her duration of stay at the institution was at least 69 years.

Timeline of One “Magdalene” from 1940 Census

Year of death is recorded from each Magdalene’s grave if known. Approximate length of stay based on each Magdalene’s presence in previous Census records as well as year of death if applicable.

All “Magdalenes” from 1940 Census

Information regarding the finances of the House of the Good Shepherd is accessible from sources such as the Annual Reports of the MA Department of Welfare. These reports detail the House of the Good Shepherd’s finances for the years of 1933, 1934, 1935, and 1937. Accordingly, the House of the Good Shepherd made an earning of $74,183 in the year 1937. Most of the institution's earnings came from the work of the women who lived there. The “Inmates” daily routine centered on manual labor, mainly laundry. The full Annual Report from 1937 is pictured below.

Laundry Receipts/Annual Reports

House of Good

Shepherd Boston opens

1867 First

appeared in Census Records at HGS

1910 Year of death 1979

1910

1920

1930

1940

For each year that the Department of Welfare reported on the House of the Good Shepherd, there were only 10 paid employees. This suggests that the women “Inmates” were not given monetary compensation for their manual labor. Did the institution profit off the work the women did, such as the sewing and laundry work?

Despite their long hours of work, the women in the House of the Good Shepherd received no salary. The institution may have aimed to reform these women by teaching them useful work skills but it did not necessarily facilitate their re-entrance into society as, without earnings, they had no foundation to successfully live independently. If the earnings from the Good Shepherd House were not given to these women, where did the money go?

Magdalene Age in 1940 In HGS Since Year of Death Approx Length of StayFrances 73 1900 Unknown 40+ yearsElizabeth 83 1900 Unknown 40+ yearsMary 67 1900 Unknown 40+ yearsMargaret 70 1900 1968 68 yearsAnnie 60 1910 Unknown 30+ yearsMary 60 1910 Unknown 30+ yearsWinifred 76 1910 Unknown 30+ yearsMary 50 1910 1971 61 yearsMary 52 1910 1980 70 yearsLillian 52 1910 1979 69 yearsGenevieve 57 1910 1969 59 yearsElla 52 1920 Unknown 20+ yearsAnnie 44 1920 Unknown 20+ yearsMarie 41 1920 Unknown 20+ yearsMatilda 40 1920 Unknown 20+ yearsRose 40 1920 Unknown 20+ yearsElla 40 1920 1980 40 yearsAlma 30 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsElizabeth 34 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsLouise 39 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsMary 36 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsGertrude 33 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsCatherine 29 1930 Unknown 10+ yearsMary 48 1930 1980 50 yearsRuth 36 1930 1978 48 yearsBertha 34 1930 1974 44 yearsPauline 26 1940 Unknown >1 yearMary 28 1940 Unknown >1 yearHelen 46 1940 Unknown >1 yearSusan 26 1940 Unknown >1 yearRose 24 1940 Unknown >1 yearOlive 28 1940 Unknown >1 yearElinor 29 1940 Unknown >1 yearEvangeline 26 1940 Unknown >1 yearRoma 23 1940 Unknown >1 yearCorrine 30 1940 Unknown >1 yearAlice 21 1940 Unknown >1 yearCatherine 28 1940 Unknown >1 yearElinor 36 1940 1988 48 yearsDorothy 29 1940 1971 31 years

1940 US Census:

Emily Lyons House of the Good Shepherd Boston MA

Bibliography “1940 Census” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, 1940census.archives.gov/search/?search.result_type=image&search.state=MA&search.county=Suffolk+County&search.city=Boston&search.street=Convent-House+of+the+Good+Shepherd#searchby=location&searchmode=browse&year=1940 Cushing, Richard. The House of the Good Shepherd: an Invitation to Become Acquainted with the Heroic and Christ-like Work of the Good Shepherd Nuns of Boston. Convent of the Good Shepherd. Boston: n.p., 1940. Department of Public Welfare. “Annual Report of the Department of Public Welfare for the Year Ending November 30, 1937, Parts I, II, and III.” DSpace Home, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dept. of Environmental Quality Engineering, Office of Planning and Program Management, 1 Jan. 1970, archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/757210.