San Francisco’s Magdalen Asylum

Irish nuns from the Sisters of Mercy order ran San Francisco’s Magdalen Asylum, later the St. Catherine’s Home, between 1856 and 1932. For much of that time, it operated as a prison for “wayward” teen girls, whose offenses were often no more than being difficult at home, wanting to marry the “wrong” person, or being homeless or orphaned. It also served as a maternity home, alcoholism recovery clinic, and mental hospital for hundreds of women and girls.

Some ways to use this page:

  • Search for the name of an ancestor you’re looking for.

  • Search for today’s date (month and day) and read an entry with that date.

  • Search for a common female name (Mary, Elizabeth, Bridget, etc.) from the era and see how many are listed.

  • Search for a specific age (12, 15, 17, etc.) and see how many people of that age are listed.

  • Scroll through until a name calls to you. Read their entry.

  • Scroll through the list of names and be overwhelmed by how many were deemed unfit for society.

Read my article about the history of this Magdalen Asylum at this link, and my essay on researching the potential for mass graves at this link. Below, find out more about the women and girls who lived in the asylum.

 

Articles about the asylum

“Fallen Ones,” San Francisco Examiner, March 7, 1886

“The Magdalen Asylum,” San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 10, 1871

“Riotous Magdalens,” Daily Alta California, March 3, 1884

Collected articles, 1865 to 1932

“Tales Told By Wayward Girls,” San Francisco Examiner, Dec. 12, 1897

“Mother Russell is at Rest,” San Francisco Examiner, Aug. 7, 1898

Obituaries of Mother Superior Gabriel (1898) and Sister Mary Bernard O’Dwyer (1869)


Names project: Inmates and patients

Magdalen Asylum (1856-1903)

Total: More than 1,101 names in this section. Scroll down to see the names of inmates and patients in St. Catherine’s Home, which the Magdalen Asylum became in 1904.

Sources: U.S. Census, contemporary newspapers, registers kept by the nuns (Register 1, 1857-1872: spreadsheet | PDF), transcribed by Beth Winegarner and Pati Traktman. Also: Read the note from the end of Register 1.


St. Catherine’s Home (1904-1932)

In the early 1900s, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd took over management of the institution, and in 1904 it was renamed The St. Catherine’s Home. Below are the names of inmates and patients during that period. Sources: U.S. Census records, registers kept by the nuns (Register 2, 1904-1921: spreadsheet | PDF, transcribed by Beth Winegarner).

Deaths in St. Catherine’s Home (1904-1916)

Julia Cullumber, Death date: May 30, 1904

Mrs. Graham, Death date: October 15, 1904

Mrs. Aspin, Death date: November 17, 1904

Nora Barron, Death date: (blank)

Margaret Burke, Death date: March 1, 1905

Mrs. Curtin, Death date: August 9, 1905

Mrs. Kelly, Death date: November 12, 1905

Mrs. [Margaret] Van Tassle, Death date: February 14, 1906

Augusta Ohm, Death date: May 28, 1906

Mary Cain, Death date: July 7, 1906

Miss Canny, Death date: July 25, 1906

Mrs. O'Brien Rhodes, Death date: November 27, 1906

Mrs. Stinson, Death date: September 6, 1906

Mrs. Conly, Death date: January 27, 1907

Lena Schuyler, Death date: January 27, 1907

Mrs. Culver, Death date: February 16, 1907

Martha Wilson, Death date: February 27, 1907

A. Duffy, Death date: March 21, 1907

Ann Maguire, Death date: April 5, 1907

"Esther,” Death date: August 1907

Mary Kearney, Death date: July 18, 1907

Mary Close, Death date: November 6, 1907

Christine Dick, Death date: January 9, 1908

Mary Murphy, Death date: January 31, 1908

Julia Ryan, Death date: February 20, 1908

Jane McLaughlin, Death date: April 8, 1908

"Irene,” Death date: March 1, 1908

Margaret McLaughlin, June 7, 1905

"Jennie,” Death date: May 14, 1908

"Pelagia," Catherine Madden, Death date: June 2, 1908

Ann Collins, Death date: November 26, 1908

Mrs. Brown, Death date: 1905

Catherine Spenser, Death date: August 16, 1908

Mary Bohan, Death date: September 9, 1908

Mary Culligan, Death date: 4 a.m. October 10, 1908

Mary E _____ "Bertha,” Death date: November 6, 1908

Mary Lennon, Death date: November 26, 1908

Ann Nuhn, Death date: January 11, 1909

Catherine Fay, Death date: April 26, 1909

Josephine Poussal, Death date: May 3, 1909

Delia Pfaff, Death date: June 16, 1909

Mary Holland, Death date: August 10, 1909

Mary McAuliffe, Death date: September 9, 1909

Bridget Farrell (Polly), Death date: September 17, 1909

Mrs. Rhodes (O'Brien), Death date: November 27, 1906

Mary O'Brien, Death date: December 21, 1909

Mary Geraghty, Death date: February 2, 1910

Ann Kelly, Death date: August 10, 1911

Julia McCarthy, Death date: May 5, 1915

Margaret Price, Death date: May 3, 1916

 

San Francisco’s Magdalen Asylum, later the St. Catherine’s Home. It was on Potrero Avenue, near 21st Street, within today’s SF General Hospital campus.

Newspaper illustrations (for photos with names, find their details in the list, right)

Glossary

Badges (blue, brown, black): Awards for good behavior 

Bagnio, house of ill fame, resort: Brothel

Confinement: A period of rest after giving birth

Dissipated: “To be extravagant or dissolute in the pursuit of pleasure; especially: to drink to excess.” (Merriam-Webster)

Enceinte: Pregnant

Industrial School: Juvenile prison, opened in San Francisco in 1859. Girls sentenced to the Industrial School were housed in the Magdalen Asylum beginning in the 1860s.

July 22: Feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene. The Asylum appears to have held badge ceremonies on this date each year.

Sent to a situation: Hired out as a servant in someone’s home.