San Mateo, CA 1930 U.S. Federal Census http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/ca/sanmateo/1930/ This Census is being transcribed and proofread by a team of volunteers for the USGenWeb Census Project®, http://www.us-census.org/ Copyright (c) 2010 by Transcription Team ========================================================================== USGENWEB (US-CENSUS) NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================== Formatted by USGenWeb Census Project® File Manager, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. ========================================================================== TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: ED: 41-62 - Novitiate of Sisters of Mercy The name of the Superior General is found on the first line of this census record however the ink is very splotchy and some of the letters have bled together. I contacted the Sisters of Mercy in Burlingame, CA and they informed me that in their archives files they found the name of the Superior General in 1930 to be Mother Mary Pascal Magee. The following information is found on the Sisters of Mercy website and used here with permission. Catherine McAuley, a wealthy Irish heiress, began caring for poor women and children in Dublin, Ireland in 1827. In order that her service to the poor might thrive and endure, Catherine founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. When millions of Irish laborers emigrated to the United States, the Sisters of Mercy came with them. One was Mary Baptist Russell who, in 1854 at the age of 25, led seven young women to San Francisco. They arrived to find a city populated with gold prospectors, fortune hunters, and many victims of such opportunists. In 1855 a cholera epidemic struck. The Sisters provided round-the-clock care and soon established St. Mary's Hospital. By 1892 Sisters were also staffing four schools in San Francisco and Oakland and some social service agencies. After the earthquake of 1906 destroyed St. Mary's Hospital, the Sisters of Mercy set up a tent hospital adjacent to Golden Gate Park. They bought the Kohl Mansion in 1924, which became the Motherhouse for the region which included California and Arizona. Mercy High School Burlingame was founded in Kohl Mansion in 1931. In 1952 Mercy High School San Francisco opened. By the mid-fifties, 25 elementary schools in California were staffed by Sisters of Mercy. In addition to the schools the sisters also operated six hospitals in California and Arizona at that time. The Kohl Mansion can be found in the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by architects Howard and White, the Kohl Mansion was built in 1914. The property originally included a carriage house, a rose garden, a tennis court, and a 150,000 reservoir. It was sold to the Sisters of Mercy in 1924 and was used as a Motherhouse and Novitiate until 1931 when the added a wing of four classrooms on the northeast side and opened Mercy High School. Another wing of 13 class- rooms was added in 1956. In 1982 a complete restoration of the mansion's exterior was begun. Kohl Mansion is now operated by the Sisters of Mercy as Mercy High School for Girls and as a site for community and private events. ==========================================================================