| Constance and Her Companions (September 9th) are known as “The Martyrs of Memphis.” In August 1878, Memphis, TN experienced a terrible epidemic of Yellow Fever. Before quarantine was ordered, 30,000 citizens had evacuated, leaving some 20,000 to face their fate. Deaths averaged 200 daily, and by the time the disease abated more than 5,000 people had died.
During this time of panic and desolation, many clergy and laity served the victims despite the terrible risk. Especially notable were Constance, an Episcopal nun who was Superior of the Sisters of St. Mary in Memphis, and six of her fellow nuns. The Sisters had come to Memphis in 1873 to establish a Girls’ School adjacent to St. Mary’s Cathedral. When the 1878 epidemic began, Sister Constance immediately organized relief ministry. The Cathedral buildings were located in the most infected region of Memphis, and a goodly number of volunteers arrived. Known to us by name are Sister Clare, an Episcopal nun from St. Margaret’s House, Boston, the Rev. Charles C. Parsons, Rector of Grace and St. Lazarus Episcopal Church, Memphis, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler, assistant at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Hoboken, NY.
These faithful persons ministered in Christ’s name through ghastly illness and death, giving relief to the sick, comfort to the dying, and homes to orphaned children. Six of the Cathedral group died: Constance, three Sisters (Thecla, Ruth, and Frances), and Frs. Parsons and Schuyler. They are all buried at Elmwood Cemetery. The two priests are remembered by a monument above their joint grave, and the present-day High Altar at the Cathedral is a memorial to the four Sisters.
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