Primary Source: Letters from an Acadian Nun to Her Parents, 1884–1893

Last fall, I was looking through the items in the Fonds James Valentine Stuart at the Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne. Born in Halifax in 1806, Stuart married an Acadian – Marguerite-Sophie Melanson – in 1839, and lived the remainder of his life in the port village of Church Point in the township of Clare, Nova Scotia. In the 1860s and 1870s he was a justice of the peace and the customs collector at Belliveau’s Cove, a key port at the time on St. Mary’s Bay.[1] His papers at the Centre Acadien include, among many other items, the letters of his mother-in-law, Cécile Melanson (née Murat, 1780–1855), that I discussed in a previous post. His papers also include the letters of his daughter, Anne Amelia Stuart (1852–1937), otherwise known as Sister Mary Bernard of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax (SCH). There is a total of twelve letters from Sister Bernard to her parents. Two of the letters are undated, but they otherwise range between 1884 and 1893. Here, I've selected a pair of Sister Bernard’s letters from 1886, one to each of her parents.

Sister Mary Bernard (Anne Amelia Stuart) to James Valentine Stuart, 30 August 1886. Photo by Colby Gaudet.

This albeit small collection of letters contributes to the topics of women, family, and religion in Atlantic Canadian history, as they describe a Roman Catholic woman’s – in this case, a nun’s – own perspective on subjects ranging from devotional practices to religious bureaucracy, as well as education and literacy. Because the letters are to Bernard’s parents, they also cover a range of intimate matters such as the health and sickness of loved ones, personal prayers and well-wishes for family members, as well as comments that reveal anxieties over class, reputation, status, and labour. Prayers for health and well-being predominate the latter portions of many of the letters. In noting her assiduous prayers for family members, Bernard informs us of her commitment to Catholic devotions characteristic of this period, such as those to the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Virgin Mary. She also regularly refers to the spiritual merits of suffering, typical of nineteenth-century Catholic theology. The letters, written from St. Patricks’ Convent in Halifax when Bernard was in her thirties, also inadvertently convey interesting details about late nineteenth-century travel as Bernard wrote about her visits to religious and educational institutions in the Maritimes and Quebec.[2] In both letters here, she notes her recent tour of schools in New Brunswick. She discusses her congregation’s Mother Superior in each letter, noting that Mother Mary Vincent sent a rosary and a devotional image to Bernard’s parents and that Mother Vincent had – nearly fifty years earlier – attended her parents' wedding and used to live in Clare. These and other details testify to the Roman Catholic social and institutional networks of the nineteenth-century Maritimes and wider Atlantic.

           Sister Bernard – who had joined the Sisters of Charity in 1872 – wrote the letters to her father in English, with those to her mother in French. She wrote about family concerns to both parents, while focusing on professional affairs with her father, and faith matters with her mother. The letters, overall, reference Bernard’s several siblings, especially her older sister Elizabeth, who was routinely ill and for whose health Bernard fervently prayed. She asked God to show grace to her ageing parents, and for all members of the family, including her siblings, nieces, and nephews (some of whom had emigrated to the United States), to be healthy and happy.

Letter to "Mme J.V. Stuart, Church Point, Clare." Photo by Colby Gaudet.

Sister Mary Bernard’s letters are contained in the Fonds James Valentine Stuart, MG-4, box 5, folder 37, Centre Acadien,

Université Sainte-Anne. The letters offer a valuable look into the life of one Sister of Charity whose Acadian family background makes her case all the more historically compelling. Sister Bernard would have been one of the first Acadians of Clare to join the SCH, which had established a school in Church Point in 1867. Lastly, Sister Bernard's letters provide a rare personal glimpse of SCH activity in the nineteenth century, as most of the congregation's early archives were destroyed by a fire in 1951.[3]

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LETTER #1

30 August 1886

Saint Patrick’s

Aug 30th/86

My very dear Father,

I do not know what you will think of me for not writing to you before. I left Halifax almost right after the Retreat for Saint John to spend my vacation there & thought I would write to you directly after my arrival to that place, but the fact of the matter was I could get almost no time for letter writing. Sr. Martine (Bp. Roger’s sister)[4] went with me; she had a sister (Sr. Martha), a Sister of Charity in St. John & they had not seen each other for 22 years. At the request of Bp. Rogers it was decided that Sr. Martina should pay a visit there & I was appointed to accompany her. I feared very much that a change of air would bring back my old disease, but strange to say I never felt it at all during the whole time I was away. We went as far as Fredericton by the way, Mother Vincent[5] told me to remind you that the Mayor of Fredericton is an acquaintance of yours; his name is Finnety; I think she said he was a Carpenter and learned his trade with Uncle John. He is now a [illegible]. Speaking about Mother Vincent: her name was Conway; she lived many years with the McCarthys at Meteghan. She told me she was at your wedding. She made many inquiries about you and my dear Mother. She is the foundress of the Sisters in St. John; she went there from New York a novice with two others to take charge of Cholera patients. The hardships she had to go through are almost incredible but her faith and patience are both amply rewarded. They now number 80; and have many splendid establishments. We enjoyed our trip very much; we spent most of our time visiting schools and other public Institutions. I cannot remember whether I answered your last letter or not, however, I was heartily glad to know you had received news from Robert, I hope his Summer will be profitably and satisfactorily spent. Our pupils have, so far showed very good success with their Licenses. We will have the rest of the answers before very long. I suppose the baby is growing wonderfully and getting more like its angel brother every day. I hope Jimmy feels more vigorous this Summer than last. I trust Johnnie will succeed in his new undertaking. And Mary has another little cherub which makes the 10th – is that correct? Tell my Mother the next time I write it will be in French and all for herself. I pray that all are well. Give my love to all and say to Elizabeth she does not know half the joy it gives me to think she is well again. I have a little souvenir, one for you and one for my dear Mother from Mother Vincent. I will send them as soon as possible. I was sorry I could not get to the Mount in time to see Srs. Philomena and Eulalia before they left. Asking our Lord to bless you all.

                                                I am your aff. child in J.C.

                                                                         Sr. M. Bernard

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LETTER #2

26 September 1886

Couvent St. Patrice

le 26 Septembre 86

Ma bien chère Mamman

Voici qu’il est bien temps que je m’efforce à remplir la promesse que je vous ai faite il y a quelque temps passé de vous écrire avant longtemps; j’avais pensé de faire beaucoup de choses durant la vacance, mais, comme d’accoutume la vacance s’a passé avant que je m’en suis apperçue. Comme vous le savez j’ai fait une visite à St Jean où j’ai eu en compagnie de la Sr. Martine, beaucoup de Plaisir. Nous avons visité toutes les écoles à St Jean aussi bien qu’à Fredericton. La Mère Vincent m’a donné une paire de Chapelet indulgencié pour mon père et une petite image pour vous que je vais renfermer dans cette lettre; il faudra que j’envoie le Chapelet dans une petit boîte. Vous ne savez pas chère Mamman le Plaisir que ce me fait de savoir que votre santé demeure bonne j’espère que le Bon Dieu vous accordera cette grande faveur aussi bien qu’a mon cher Père, jusqu’à la fin, et quoique on ne peut pas gagner le Ciel sans souffrir avec patience mille contradictions ici bas cependant je ne peus [sic] m’empêcher de demander avec beaucoup d’ardeur pour vous tous la grâce d’une bonne santé; et puis si c’est la sainte volonté de Dieu de vous éprouver autrement puisse-t-il vous donner tout le courage et toute la patience nécessaires pour souffrir tout pour son amour et mériter par là une bienheureuse Eternité.

            Il y a eu ici dernièrement beaucoup de morts subites; presque tous les jours on entend parler de quelque chose de la sorte. J’ai eu [illegible] de visiter une dame qui pour quelques années passées a eu de temps en temps beaucoup de maladie à souffrir, son mari qui paraissant toujours en bonne santé et qui travaillait dûr pour la soutenir a été trouvé mort l’autre jour à son ouvrage. C’est plus souvent ceux qui sont en bonne santé qui meurent ainsi.

            Bien, ma chère Mamman voici qu’il est temps que je finesse. Bientôt nous allons commencer le beau mois du Rosaire. Vous penserez à moi de temps en temps en récitant votre Chapelet, et soyez bien assurée que moi je ne vous oublirai point durant la Ste. Bénédiction. J’espère qu’Arcade aime son travail et qui [qu’il] donne beaucoup de satisfaction. Faites mes plus tendres souvenirs à toute la famille et si vous voyez le frère de la Soeur Andrea dites-lui que l’on oubli point de prier pour lui. Je suis Chère Mamman

                                                Votre Enfant affectueusement

                                                                                    Sr. M. Bernard

[1] The Baptist historian Edward Manning Saunders conducted interviews with a ninety-year-old Stuart that were published as a trio of vignettes in a Halifax newspaper, see: Saunders, “James Valentine Stuart at the Acadian School,” The Halifax Herald (8 September 1897); Saunders, “Halifax in the Early Days of James Valentine Stuart,” The Halifax Herald (10 September 1897); Saunders, “History Received from James Valentine Stuart,” The Halifax Herald (16 September 1897). For more details of Stuart's family, see also Alphonse Deveau, ed., Journal de Cécile Murat (Yarmouth: Éditions Lescarbot, 1980), 70.

[2] Mary Olga McKenna, “An Educational Odyssey: The Sisters of Charity of Halifax,” in Changing Habits: Women’s Religious Orders in Canada, ed. Elizabeth Smyth (Ottawa: Novalis, 2007), 69–85.

[3] Accessed 19 April 2026: https://schalifax.ca/archives/

[4] James Rogers, Bishop of Chatham, New Brunswick. See Laurie Stanley, “Rogers, James,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, v. 13.

[5] Elizabeth McGahan, “Conway, Honoria, named Mother Mary Vincent,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, v. 12.