[1] The religious community of the Sisters of Charity was founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1809 in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In 1829, four Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg traveled 15 days by stage coach to Cincinnati, Ohio, at the request of Bishop Fenwick.
[4] Superiors at Emmitsburg decided in 1850 to establish formal affiliation with the Daughters of Charity based in France, but seven Sisters in Cincinnati, including Superior Margaret Cecilia Farrell George, voted to decline affiliation on the basis that their foundress, Elizabeth Seton, intended that the community she founded be based in America.
[6][7] In 1854 the Sisters founded Mount St. Vincent's Academy, Cedar Grove, Price Hill, which later became Seton High School.
In 1852, Archbishop John Purcell recognized the need for a hospital that would provide care to people who couldn't afford medical treatment.
A local banker, Joseph C. Butler, had referred a man with typhoid fever to St. John's and offered to pay for his care.
[10] Sister Anthony O'Connell, SC (15 August 1812 – 8 December 1897), served with distinction as a nurse on the front lines of the American Civil War.
Some describe Sr. Anthony's word as being law with officers, doctors, and soldiers once she had established herself as a prudent and trusted administrator and nurse.
She and other sisters often were picked to treat wounded prisoners of war since they showed no bias in serving rebel, yank, white, or black soldiers.
As the community continued to grow it was able to offer assistance in the establishment of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania (1870).
The congregation sponsors the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio,[11] along with Bayley Place, a continuing care retirement community.