Mother Mary Alphonsa
| Mother Mary Alphonsa, OP | |
|---|---|
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| Religious Sister, Social Worker, Foundress | |
| Born | Rose Hawthorne May 20, 1851 Lenox, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | July 9, 1926 (aged 75) New York City, New York, US |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (May 20, 1851 – July 9, 1926) was an American writer. As Mother Mary Alphonsa in the 1900s, she was a Roman Catholic religious sister and social worker.
Mother Alphonsa was born on May 20, 1851 to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia, and baptised as Rose Hawthorne. Sophia was assisted in the birth by her grandfather, Dr. Nathaniel Peabody. Hawthorne wrote about it to his friend, Horatio Bridge, comparing her to a book: "Mrs. Hawthorne published a little work, two months ago, which still lies in sheets; but, I assure you, it makes some noise in the world, both by day and night. In plain English, we have another little red-headed daughter—a very bright, strong, and healthy imp, but, at present, with no pretentions to beauty." On July 28, 1851, Sophia took Rose and her older sister, Una, to visit relatives in West Newton, Massachusetts.
Growing up, Rose lived in Massachusetts, Liverpool, London, Paris, Rome, and Florence. The family returned to Concord, Massachusetts in 1860. There, her older brother, Julian, was enrolled in a school run by Franklin Benjamin Sanborn. Though their friend, Ellery Channing, recommended the Hawthorne girls attend the same school, neither Una nor Rose were enrolled, despite it being coeducational. Sophia wrote, "We entirely disapprove of this commingling of youths and maidens at the electric age in school. I find no end of ill effect from it, and this is why I do not send Una and Rose to your school." Two years after Nathaniel's death in 1864, Rose was enrolled at a boarding school run by Diocletian Lewis in nearby Lexington, Massachusetts, though she disliked the experience.
Later, the family moved to Germany, then England. Sophia and Una died there in 1871 and 1877, respectively.
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