The Orphans’ Teacher

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Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.

 

SisterMaryRussell

 

Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.

Sister Mary Baptist Russell and four other nuns from the Sisters of Mercy Convent weaved their way around a parade of scruffy miners, traveling salesmen, and saloon girls crowded on a sturdy dock that was hugging a shore in San Francisco. Wearing black habits complete with scapulars, veils, and coifs, the women stepped aboard the steamer that was splattered with mud and dirt. The deck of the vessel was aswarm with prospectors en route to their diggings down river. Some were sleeping, others were playing cards or discussing their mining claims. The sisters inched their way to a clear spot near the bow and grabbed hold of the railing as the small craft moved slowly away from the landing.

The scene around the bay in August 1863 was chaotic. News of the discovery of gold north of the city had prompted people of every kind and description to pour into the place to gather supplies before rushing to the hills. Men, women, and children were living in shacks, or sleeping on the ground under blankets draped over poles. The noise and pandemonium lessened considerably as the boat continued on past abandoned ships, old square-riggers, and new vessels anchored and waiting patiently for more eager passengers to come aboard.

 

To learn more about Sister Mary Russell, the Sisters of Mercy, and the school they founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.