Sister Ann Alexis Shorb (1805-1875) of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (born Harriet C. Shorb) was a nurse, educator, and hospital administrator. Through her work serving the poor in schools and as a nurse, Shorb helped to break down anti-Catholic prejudice. She was known as the "Servant of the Poor." Before becoming a sister, she was a member of St. Aloysius Church in

Littlestown, Pennsylvania Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census. Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named "Petersburg". German settlers in the area came to call the t ...

Orphans

Shorb arrived in Boston on May 2, 1832 at the request of Bishop Benedict Fenwick who had requested the assistance of the Daughters of Charity. Once Shorb arrived with Sisters Blandina Davaux and Loyola Ritchie, they began caring for orphaned girls. They set up a school and taught religious education classes. By March 1843, the

Great and General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, w ...

granted them a charter as the St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum. It was the first Chatolic charitable organization in the state. The Asylum cared for girls between 3 and 10 without regard to their religion. Shorb ran the Asylum for the next 40 years. When the asylum was too small to take in more children, she organized a fair that raised $10,000 in two weeks. In 1866, the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

founded the St. Mary's School and Asylum at what was formerly the

Norfolk House Norfolk House, 31 St James's Square, Westminster, was built between 1748 and 1752 as his London townhouse by Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (1686–1777) to the design of Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769), "the Elder", and was demolishe ...

in Dedham, Massachusetts. Shorb, along with two others, purchased the property for $1 by Martin Bates who, out of a "spirit of vindictiveness," gave it to the Sisters because the Town of Dedham would not purchase the run down building from him at his asking price.

Nursing and hospital administrator

Shorb was the first administrator at

Carney Hospital Carney Hospital is a 159-bedhttp://www.caritaschristi.org/oth/Page.asp?PageID=OTH000334 community teaching hospital in Dorchester, Massachusetts, affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center. The hospital had its ...

, the first Catholic hospital in New England, at the request of founder Andrew Carney. She served in that role from 1863 to 1870. She was also an incorporator the St. John's Hospital in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. Shorb was the head nurse at Satterlee General Hospital.

Legacy

Shorb is featured on the Nine Notable Women of Boston mural, painted by Ellen Lanyon in honor of Boston's 350th anniversary.

References

Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shorb, Ann Alexis 1805 births 1875 deaths 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition People from Boston Educators from Massachusetts Nurses from Massachusetts