Lathrop, Rose Hawthorne

From Salem Links and Lore

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop(1851-1926),daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American Roman Catholic religious sister and social worker.

She married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871. Sadly, their only son died at age 5 in 1881.

They both converted to Roman Catholicism in 1891. After George's alcoholism became worse, the couple separated. He succumbed to his disease in 1898.

She was known for her service near and within New York City, caring for impoverished cancer patients by founding St. Rose's Free Home for Incurable Cancer in the Lower East Side. After the death of her husband, she became a nun, and as Mother Mary Alphonsa, she founded a community of Dominican religious, now known as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. They still operate in New York state.

See Also

  • "Hawthorne daughter famous in her own right for work with impoverished patients with cancer"

Salem News, Dec. 13, 2010, p. 4