Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is known as the first native born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Even though not initially being Catholic, she later converted. Many schools and churches are named after her works. The way in which she lived her life will forever have an impact on the world today, in the past, and in the years to come.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born on August 28, 1774, to Dr. Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton in New York. Both of her parents were non-Catholic and raised Bayley in the Episcopal Church. She was born in what was known as the “cream” of New York. Bayley was born into a socially prominent house, but this did not stop marriage disputes to not surface. Her mother, Catherine, died when she was three years old. There is some skepticism that the death of Catherine indirectly caused the death of the couple’s last child who was also named Catherine Bayley. Her father then married Charlotte
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The couple had five children together, Anna Maria; William II; Richard; Catherine; and Rebecca Mary. Shortly after marriage, they moved to a prominent residence on Wall Street where they belonged to the Trinity Episcopal Church. Elizabeth began to nurse the sick and dying. After becoming influenced by her father, she became a member of The Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children in 1797. When the eldest Seton died, the family’s fortune began to disappear which later led the family into bankruptcy. After losing their home, William Seton’s stress level increased dramatically. Elizabeth, William, and their eldest daughter were sent to Italy on request of William’s doctor to lower his stress level in hopes of helping his tuberculosis. After landing in Italy, they were placed in quarantine because authorities feared they may had brought yellow fever with them from New York. William later died in 1803, causing Elizabeth to become a