The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. VIII, 1909

by Various

CARTER DAY NURSERY. GIFT BY MR. PATRICK CARTER, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, IN HONOR OF DECEASED SON.

Ceremony Takes Place at Handsome Building, Corner Pine and Byron Streets, in Presence of Clergy, Prominent Business Men and Representatives of Religious Denominations.

BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL.

In the presence of members of the clergy, prominent business men and representatives of various religious denominations, the new Day Nursery, erected at Pine and Byron streets as a memorial to Edward A. Carter, by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Carter, was formally transferred to Bishop Matthew Harkins at 11 o’clock yesterday morning. Previous to this ceremony there was a low Mass, at which Bishop Harkins was the celebrant, Rev. Austin Dowling, also a member of the American Irish Historical Society, acting as his assistant, at which time the building was blessed.

A large audience assembled in the hall on the second floor to witness the transfer of the keys, the deed and other documents to the Bishop. It numbered men and women prominent in the business and social life of the city, as well as others interested in charitable work.

After Bishop Harkins, wearing the purple robes of his office, had taken a seat on the stage, with Fr. Dowling on his right and Rev. William Pyne on his left, Mr. Carter made the following speech in presenting the structure to the Bishop:

MR. CARTER’S ADDRESS.

“Bishop Harkins: In my own name and that of Mrs. Carter I have great pleasure in handing over to you this morning, as the representative of Nazareth home and the head of the diocese of Providence, the keys of the Edward A. Carter Memorial, the receipted bills for its cost and a paid-up five years’ policy of insurance on the building for $15,000.

“I am sure it is a happy moment for Mrs. Carter and for me; I may say, the proudest moment of our lives, to be in a position to commemorate in this way our son who gave such promise in his youth, and who was taken from us so suddenly.

“A little more than a year ago we laid him away in St. Francis Cemetery and with him the hopes that we had built upon, but the money which would have been his to invest in business had he lived we have resolved to lay aside for his memory in another kind of investment.

“This is our only stipulation—that it be administered prudently, scientifically, but with mercy and in the spirit of Christian charity.

“We have no fear, Bishop, that the money which we have given to the Nazareth Home will ever be diverted from the purpose for which we intend it. We require no bonds from you, for your high standing makes the ordinary safeguard of business in this case unnecessary. Into whatever hands you entrust it, we feel certain that they will execute what we plan.

“You, ladies of the Queen’s Daughters, honor us with your presence here today. You have presided at the formation of this work; your ideas are here incorporated and you have pledged yourselves to its support; therefore, may I be the first to welcome you to its hospitality.

“Let me then, Bishop Harkins, in closing, hand over to you these evidences that the building so happily completed is entirely unencumbered; and let me assure you that while in doing so I now resign the responsibility which has been my preoccupation and pleasure for several months, still, while either Mrs. Carter or myself live, our hearts are in this building, both for the name it bears and for the work which we have confidence it will never fail to do in our community.”

RESPONSE OF BISHOP.

In response Bishop Harkins said in part: “Mr. and Mrs. Carter, I receive very willingly and gratefully these evidences of your generosity. I express to you my thanks and those of the entire community. There may have been other cases in the United States like this, but this is the first case that has come to my knowledge where a memorial of this kind has been reared to an apparently lost, but not really lost, son.

“This is a very special, a very peculiar case. It shows not only a very strong affection, but a very lively faith. It is that faith that is necessary, a faith in the future, a realization that death does not end all.

“Your son was a Cathedral boy, and when I say that I speak with a considerable degree of pride. He was one of us and we knew him and loved him. You determined that he should live on in a certain way and live just about where he lived when he was here. So you have made your boy to live; you have given him a kind of earthly immortality, if I may use that term.

“He will live in the persons of the poor children who will be cared for here. They will have the uplifting influence of the good sisters, the Queen’s Daughters, the clergy, and all who can help them in any way. Yet it will be he who will be living here.

“I thank you in my own name and in the name of the diocese of Providence. I am sure that all those here present agree that no better example can be given a community than that given here today. There is gratitude in the hearts of all the citizens of Providence for this gift.

“In the name of the sisters who will have charge of this institution, I wish to thank you. I welcomed them to our city here in Providence, for I knew that I could not do greater service than to bring here the wise and careful administration of charitable work they have always shown. They will be mothers to the children. They will try to give, and will well-nigh succeed in giving, all the maternal love that is given children in the most favored homes. They will train them not only in their duties to the church, but in every duty they must perform in civil life.”

In conclusion Bishop Harkins paid a tribute to the Queen’s Daughters, the organization which has assumed the maintenance of the institution.

DONORS ARE HONORED.

After the Bishop’s address, Miss Mary A. McArdle, President of the Queen’s Daughters, made a brief address, in which she stated that Mr. and Mrs. Carter had been elected honorary members of the Daughters of the Queen of Heaven, concluding by presenting to Mrs. Carter a bouquet of roses, in number the same as the years of life of the son in whose memory the structure was given.

Mr. Carter responded briefly and the visitors then inspected the building, many registering in the book provided for that purpose.

Among those present were: Mgr. Thomas F. Doran, Vicar General of the diocese; Rev. Owen F. Clarke, Rev. Edward E. Seagrave, Rev. D. F. Lowney, Rev. James C. Walsh, Rev. M. J. McCabe, Mayor P. J. McCarthy, Mayor-elect Henry Fletcher, Attorney-General William B. Greenough, Assistant Attorney-General Harry P. Cross, Cyrus P. Brown, Col. Cyrus M. Van Slyck, Judge Frank E. Fitzsimmons, Judge Thomas Z. Lee, John E. Canning and Thomas F. Monahan.

MODEL INSTITUTION.

This nursery, said to be one of the finest institutions of its kind in the country, has been erected for the accommodation of poor children, regardless of race, creed or color. The Queen’s Daughters, a body of Catholic women with a membership of 700, which was organized in January of the present year for the performance of charitable works, has assumed its maintenance. The organization is affiliated with the Queen’s Daughters of St. Louis, formed in 1889 by thirty-two women of that city for charitable purposes.

The Sisters of the Holy Ghost, also known as the White Sisters, to whom the institution was donated, first came to work among the sick poor in this city in September, 1907. In their errands of mercy they found that a day nursery was very much needed in the section in which their home is located. The two day nurseries already established have been unable to take care of all the children, both having long waiting lists, and the building blessed yesterday will relieve the situation to a considerable degree.

The building is admirably arranged, the purpose for which it will be used having been taken into careful consideration by the architects, Stone, Carpenter & Sheldon, and the ideas of the architects being faithfully carried out by the builder, M. J. Houlihan.

VICTOR HERBERT.
Of New York.
The Eminent Composer and High Authority on Music.
A New Member of the Society.

Mr. Carter’s intelligent liberality has rendered possible in Providence a charity of peculiar value. The handsome building is a better monument to his son’s memory than the most costly sarcophagus would be. It bids fair for many years to come to minister to the needs of great numbers of children of tender age whose parents cannot care for them during the working hours of the day; and the community would have double reason to congratulate itself if the example set by these donors were to inspire other citizens of Providence to similar generous gifts. There are twenty-three thousand women in this city who are employed in gainful occupations, and many of them are married, with small children to provide for. It is difficult to think of a more useful institution than one that helps to lighten the domestic anxieties of these workers during their enforced absence from home.

Mr. Carter is a member of the American Irish Historical Society and of its Executive Council and served on the Reception Committee at the events in Washington January 16, 1909.