Constance and Her Companions: Martyrs of Memphis
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As Tennesseans and as Episcopalians we honor the precious memory and steadfast faith of Constance and Her Companions - also known as the Martyrs of Memphis.
This group of women devoted themselves to helping the sick and suffering during a deadly 19th-Century yellow fever outbreak in Memphis, Tennessee. In doing so, they lost their lives to the very disease they were trying to help others recover from.
Churches in the Worldwide Anglican Communion observe September 9th as a day to remember and celebrate their selfless commitment to help the sick and dying in the 1878 epidemic.
Constance and Her Companions were members of the Community of St. Mary. Founded in New York 1865, the sisters became the first indigenous Anglican order in the United States. At the request of Bishop Quintard of the Diocese of Tennessee, a few members of the order relocated to Memphis in 1873 to operate the St. Mary's School for Girls located at St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis.
Just two years prior to the arrival of the sisters, St. Mary's Church was re-purposed to serve as the Cathedral of the Diocese of Tennessee - thus becoming the first Episcopal cathedral in the Southern United States. (At the time, the Diocese of Tennessee covered the entire state.)
In the 19th Century, Memphis and other cities along the Mississippi River were prone to occasional outbreaks of yellow fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection. The Year 1878 became an epidemic year when the disease spread so quickly that it wreaked terrible havoc on the people of Memphis.
The 1878 outbreak put the entire city of Memphis under horrific duress with as many as 200 people dying each day. Some 15,000 residents fled the city to avoid exposure while the city's government ceased to operate. The Tennessee General Assembly, in fact, pulled the city's charter.
All five of the nuns serving at St. Mary's stayed within the city and help the sick rather than escape. From their base of operation near the cathedral, the sisters operated the Church Home Orphanage while also delivering meals, medicines and supplies to an estimated 80 sick residents each day.
The exhausting work and the constant exposure to illness took its toll on the dedicated group of workers at St. Mary's. On September 9, 1878, Sister Constance, superior of the order at Memphis, died from the complications of yellow fever. In the following days three other members of the order died: Sister Ruth, Sister Thecla, and Sister Frances. Two Episcopal priests who were assisting the relief effort lost their lives as well: The Rev'd Charles Parsons and The Rev'd Louis Schuyler. Sister Hughetta also fell ill, but managed to survive.
In 1888 and at the direction of Bishop Quintard, the Sisters of St. Mary relocated to Sewanee and established a new St. Mary's Preparatory School for Girls on a bluff overlooking the town of Cowan. The school closed in 1968 and the remaining students transferred into Sewanee Academy, but the order continues a ministry of prayer and outreach to this day.
The former school now serves as the St. Mary's-Sewanee Retreat Center and the nuns reside in a convent near the original campus.
In 1981, the Episcopal Church officially added Constance and Her Companions to the Calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts to be celebrated on September 9th.
This group of women devoted themselves to helping the sick and suffering during a deadly 19th-Century yellow fever outbreak in Memphis, Tennessee. In doing so, they lost their lives to the very disease they were trying to help others recover from.
Churches in the Worldwide Anglican Communion observe September 9th as a day to remember and celebrate their selfless commitment to help the sick and dying in the 1878 epidemic.
Constance and Her Companions were members of the Community of St. Mary. Founded in New York 1865, the sisters became the first indigenous Anglican order in the United States. At the request of Bishop Quintard of the Diocese of Tennessee, a few members of the order relocated to Memphis in 1873 to operate the St. Mary's School for Girls located at St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis.
Just two years prior to the arrival of the sisters, St. Mary's Church was re-purposed to serve as the Cathedral of the Diocese of Tennessee - thus becoming the first Episcopal cathedral in the Southern United States. (At the time, the Diocese of Tennessee covered the entire state.)
In the 19th Century, Memphis and other cities along the Mississippi River were prone to occasional outbreaks of yellow fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection. The Year 1878 became an epidemic year when the disease spread so quickly that it wreaked terrible havoc on the people of Memphis.
The 1878 outbreak put the entire city of Memphis under horrific duress with as many as 200 people dying each day. Some 15,000 residents fled the city to avoid exposure while the city's government ceased to operate. The Tennessee General Assembly, in fact, pulled the city's charter.
All five of the nuns serving at St. Mary's stayed within the city and help the sick rather than escape. From their base of operation near the cathedral, the sisters operated the Church Home Orphanage while also delivering meals, medicines and supplies to an estimated 80 sick residents each day.
The exhausting work and the constant exposure to illness took its toll on the dedicated group of workers at St. Mary's. On September 9, 1878, Sister Constance, superior of the order at Memphis, died from the complications of yellow fever. In the following days three other members of the order died: Sister Ruth, Sister Thecla, and Sister Frances. Two Episcopal priests who were assisting the relief effort lost their lives as well: The Rev'd Charles Parsons and The Rev'd Louis Schuyler. Sister Hughetta also fell ill, but managed to survive.
In 1888 and at the direction of Bishop Quintard, the Sisters of St. Mary relocated to Sewanee and established a new St. Mary's Preparatory School for Girls on a bluff overlooking the town of Cowan. The school closed in 1968 and the remaining students transferred into Sewanee Academy, but the order continues a ministry of prayer and outreach to this day.
The former school now serves as the St. Mary's-Sewanee Retreat Center and the nuns reside in a convent near the original campus.
In 1981, the Episcopal Church officially added Constance and Her Companions to the Calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts to be celebrated on September 9th.
The St. Mary's Connection to St. Agnes' in Cowan
The Sisters of St. Mary played a pivotal role in establishing an Episcopal congregation in Cowan, Tennessee.
In prior years an evangelical organization known as St. Mark's Guild planted Episcopal congregations throughout the Sewanee Mountain region. The group mentioned plans as early as 1877 to start a congregation in Cowan, but took no official action as far as we know.
However, in 1894, the St. Mary's Sisterhood, having just relocated to Sewanee a few years earlier, took the lead in getting a Cowan congregation together. The small church, named St. Saviour's Mission, met in a small house above Boiling Fork Creek.
As the congregation grew, the Sisters of St. Mary solicited help from the St. Agnes' Sisterhood at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City. With their help, the congregation acquired a building in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and moved it to Cowan by railroad in 1899. The Cowan congregation then took the name St. Agnes' to honor the sisters in New York City for their generous contribution.
St. Agnes' was under the blessed ministrations of St. Mary's Sisterhood for several years thereafter. Nuns in the convent assisted the local priest while also teaching a weekly Sunday school. St. Agnes' was also under the direct administrative oversight of St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis until the late 1920's when the Diocese of Tennessee upgraded the congregation from a mission station to an organized mission.
In the following decades and through today, St. Agnes' Church in Cowan has maintained a beautiful relationship with the Community of St. Mary in Sewanee. We are blessed to know one another and work together for the sake of the holy gospel.
The Sisters of St. Mary played a pivotal role in establishing an Episcopal congregation in Cowan, Tennessee.
In prior years an evangelical organization known as St. Mark's Guild planted Episcopal congregations throughout the Sewanee Mountain region. The group mentioned plans as early as 1877 to start a congregation in Cowan, but took no official action as far as we know.
However, in 1894, the St. Mary's Sisterhood, having just relocated to Sewanee a few years earlier, took the lead in getting a Cowan congregation together. The small church, named St. Saviour's Mission, met in a small house above Boiling Fork Creek.
As the congregation grew, the Sisters of St. Mary solicited help from the St. Agnes' Sisterhood at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City. With their help, the congregation acquired a building in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and moved it to Cowan by railroad in 1899. The Cowan congregation then took the name St. Agnes' to honor the sisters in New York City for their generous contribution.
St. Agnes' was under the blessed ministrations of St. Mary's Sisterhood for several years thereafter. Nuns in the convent assisted the local priest while also teaching a weekly Sunday school. St. Agnes' was also under the direct administrative oversight of St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis until the late 1920's when the Diocese of Tennessee upgraded the congregation from a mission station to an organized mission.
In the following decades and through today, St. Agnes' Church in Cowan has maintained a beautiful relationship with the Community of St. Mary in Sewanee. We are blessed to know one another and work together for the sake of the holy gospel.
The Prayer of Constance and Her Companions - September 9th:
We give thee thanks and praise, O God of compassion, for the heroic witness of Constance and her companions, who, in a time of plague and pestilence, were steadfast in their care for the sick and dying, and loved not their own lives, even unto death. Inspire in us a like love and commitment to those in need, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.
We give thee thanks and praise, O God of compassion, for the heroic witness of Constance and her companions, who, in a time of plague and pestilence, were steadfast in their care for the sick and dying, and loved not their own lives, even unto death. Inspire in us a like love and commitment to those in need, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Scripture Lessons assigned for the remembrance of Constance and Her Companions
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Psalm 116: 1-8
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, * because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him. 2 The cords of death entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; * I came to grief and sorrow. 3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: * "O Lord, I pray you, save my life." 4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; * our God is full of compassion. 5 The Lord watches over the innocent; * I was brought very low, and he helped me. 6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul. * for the Lord has treated you well. 7 For you have rescued my life from death, * my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. 8 I will walk in the presence of the Lord * in the land of the living. |
II Corinthians 1: 3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. John 12: 24-28 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. 27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ |
St. Mary's Cathedral, Memphis,Tennessee
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St. Mary’s in Memphis began in 1857 as a mission congregation. It then became the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee in 1871 making it the first Episcopal cathedral in the Southern United States.
Episcopal churches located in the West Grand Division of the state formed the Diocese of West Tennessee in 1983, at which point St. Mary's became the cathedral church of the Diocese of West Tennessee. The enormous English Gothic Revival structure includes a small side chapel built in 1880 for the Sisters of St. Mary to use as part of the St. Mary's School for Girls. The high altar of the cathedral, consecrated on Whitsunday 1879, was commissioned by Bishop Quintard to memorialize the Sisters of St. Mary who died while tending the sick during the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. Inscribed on the altar steps are "Alleluia Osanna," the last words of Sister Constance, the superior of the order and the first member to succumb to illness during the epidemic. Sister Hughetta (Snowden) survived the plague and, when she died in 1926, her name was added to the steps. The reredos (altar backdrop) is also a memorial to Sister Hughetta. |
Yellow Fever Martyrs Memorial Park and Mass Grave
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The 1878 Yellow Fever epidemic claimed the lives of 5,150 people and caused another 15,000 to flee the city to escape the mosquito-borne disease.
The city buried 1,500 of its dead in a mass grave on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. On January 3, 1971, the mass grave site was dedicated as Martyrs Park. At the center is an eye-catching memorial consisting of two pillars that depict the bodies of the deceased victims rising toward heaven. A plaque at the memorial's base extols "the heroes and heroines of Memphis... who gave their lives serving the victims of Yellow Fever". Martyrs Park is located on Channel 3 drive near downtown Memphis. For a complete history of Yellow Fever in Memphis and related subjects, log on to the following link at HistoricMemphis.com. |
