This is a distinctive collection, which documents an unusual aspect of women's lives. It is very rare for a religious order to permit its internal records to be read or copied for outside research. The collection includes CORRESPONDENCE, CORPORATE RECORDS, YEARBOOKS, DIARIES, and a few OTHER RECORDS. Most of the records pertain to activities of the order in Fond du Lac and Providence, but occasional reports of mission work in other locations are included.
Most of the General Correspondence originated during the first forty years of the order's existence and covers such topics as founding the order, relations with other bodies of the church, activities of scattered missions, details of the rules, and religious communications from the bishops and mothers superior. The correspondence contains many handwritten copies and has many gaps. The Special Correspondence consists of handwritten and typescript copies of a series of letters between the Sisterhood and the Society of St. Margaret concerning reconciliation for the sisters who left the Society in 1882, congratulatory letters to Bishop Grafton upon publication of his Catholic Atlas in 1908, and several printed communications including two letters to the Society of St. John the Evangelist from Bishop Grafton concerning his relations with that order.
In the CORPORATE RECORDS, the Acts of the Corporation contain minutes of annual meetings where business consisted of electing officers, purchasing and transferring property, and a few financial matters. The Acts of the Chapter and Acts of the Council discuss similar topics including the election of officers, admission of new novices, promotions within the order, changes of the rules, and some financial matters. An interesting discussion of the question of allowing Negro women to join the Sisterhood appears in the July 17, 1948, entry in the Acts of the Chapter.
The YEARBOOKS provide annual income and expenditure statement as well as annual reports of the activities of many chapters and mission houses on the east and west coasts as well as in Wisconsin.
Some of the DIARIES were kept by the sisters living at the Oneida Indian Mission. They contain daily reports of activities such as attending mass, relief work, routine tasks, visitors, and meetings. The diary excerpts consist of typescript copies of entries describing some of the major changes in the order, formal events and some special activities. Additional diaries copied by the archives later in 1978 consist of thirty-two bound volumes from the order's mother house in Boston, 1882-1887, Providence, 1887-1905, and Fond du Lac, 1905-1971; and of the Mission House of Visitation in Fond du Lac, 1890-1905. The diaries from the mother house contain daily entries which report on the routine activities of the sisters, the celebration of masses and the minister in charge, visitors, travels by the sisters, the acceptance of postulants, matters of concern to friends and acquaintances of the order, and retreats. In addition, the diaries from the mission house report on trips to the Oneida reservation. The diaries are complete, except for the period from April 1889 to November 1890 when no journal was kept at the mission house. The records indicate that a journal covering this period was pieced together from journals and notes kept by the sisters, but it is not included in the collection. When the order moved to Fond du Lac on June 7, 1905, the diary of the mission house was merged with that of the mother house.
The OTHER RECORDS include one volume of annual reports from the Sisterhood in Providence detailing their activities; memorabilia, such as printed programs from building dedications, funerals, and other formal events; a few newspaper clippings; and miscellaneous historical materials outlining major developments in the order.
