Above: a newspaper clipping about Archbishop Williams Memorial

FROM THE ARCHIVES:
A Legacy of Love in Action: Archbishop Williams Memorial

Ava Doogue, CSJ Archivist

Near Waushakum Pond stood “a magnificent house of 16 rooms, a barn and stable stocked with grain and hay, a fine hennery… and a power plant”¹. This ‘magnificent house’ belonged to the benevolent Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, who opened his home to Catholic Children to aid their escape from the congested city. He named this home Archbishop William Memorial, after Archbishop John Joseph William, the first archbishop of Boston. Archbishop William’s episcopate includes founding the first conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and many Catholic charities and unions to benefit the influx of Catholic immigrants to the city².  

In October of 1912, Fitzpatrick partnered with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and provided them with the home. The society selected children from various parishes and provided transport from the city to the home. From July to August, alternating every two weeks, boys and girls from the “congested” city travelled to the country to stroll through the woods and fields, play on the swings and baseball diamonds, see live animals, and learn about nature.  

How did the children travel from Boston to Framingham and finally to the Fitzpatrick estate? According to a news article published August 17, 1913, by the Boston Sunday Post: “Arriving at the South Framingham station, they are transported to the farm, a distance of about one and half miles, the boys in a hay cart, the girls in carriages.” The children were selected from different parishes to spend two weeks at the estate. According to the same news article, “[t]hose who are poorly nourished and rather weak are chosen instead of the robust who can better endure the confinement of the congested city”³.  

From the very start, The Sisters of St. Joseph oversaw the home (preparing meals, cleaning the house, laundry), and Boston Public School teachers watched over the children as they frolicked in the fields by Waushakum Pond. However, “the sisters have taught the boys and girls to wash dishes and also to make up their beds, this relieving the sisters of long and tiring work…the virtue of cleanliness is strongly impressed upon them”⁴. The first three sisters assigned at the Memorial were Sister M. Elizabeth Herdman, who was Superior and Sister M. Regina Wall and Sister M. Dominica O’Brien who assisted with the other charges. 

In 1916, the property changed ownership again, and became an Archdiocesan property under the auspices of Archbishop O’Connell⁵. Patients had to pay for convalesce, from 1916-1918 ‘patients’ paid $7 per week, and in the “1923 are [paying] $15 per week. It accommodates about ten guests”⁶. In 2026, this equates to $450. 

In 1922, “Sister Jovita [Crowne] came with the girls from the Daly Industrial School and arranged good programs for summer recreation for children”⁷. In the 1930s, known as the Guest House era, the property was as a “safe place for women who had to live alone”⁸. This is considered the Guest House era; in the 1940’s the home provided a few sisters an opportunity to bring their mothers, for rest and relaxation (Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135). 

Towards the end of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s, the former home found a new purpose: A Community Sewing Project. Sister Laetitia Gibbons wrote a short history of Archbishop William Memorial and noted that a group of talented sisters made necessary clothing for the community, “[t]he Sisters appreciated this since all were busy in the apostolic endeavors of the Archdiocese and had no time for making the linens.” Sister Emerita Geary was Superior and Sisters St. Genevieve White, Leonardine McGovern, Paola Ricca and Zita Elliott were some of the first seamstresses to volunteer⁹. 

Consecutively, during the construction of the St. Tarcisius convent, a couple of sisters lived at the memorial until January 1960, when the convent was ready for occupancy (Sister Edwardus Bulger, Principal, and Sister Martha Marie Baker, first grade teacher¹⁰. The building was demolished in 1959-1960 because the Memorial was outdated, and of no use, the Congregation made the difficult decision to demolish the building.  

For 75 years, the home, estate and grounds offered comfort, scenic views and enjoyment for scores of children, sisters, and family members. Through the benevolence of the Fitzpatrick family, and care of the sisters, Archbishop Williams Memorial allowed for a deeper connection to nature and God, and a haven for rest and relaxation. 

Sources

1 (1914, August 23. Little Ones of City Frolic in Green Fields. Boston Sunday Post)

2 (Williams, John Joseph | Encyclopedia.com. (2026). Encyclopedia.com https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/williams-john-joseph)

3 (1913, August 17. Little Ones of City Frolic in Green Fields. Boston Sunday Post)

4 (1913, August 17. Little Ones of City Frolic in Green Fields. Boston Sunday Post)

5 (Historical Account of Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1923, Boston CSJ Archives, 637 Cambridge St., Brighton, MA 02135)

6 (Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135)

7 (207/N088-Fol. 1- Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135)

8 (207/N088-Fol. 1- Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135)

9 (207/N088-Fol. 1- Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135)

10 (207/N088-Fol. 1- Sister Laetitia Gibbons, Archbishop Williams Memorial, 1988. Boston CSJ Archives, Brighton, MA 02135)