Kate (Sister Mel Marie) O'DONOVAN

Kate O'Donovan was the daughter of Margaret LEE and Patrick O'DONOVAN

Sister Mel Marie was born 15 August 1890 as Kate DONOVAN per the 1901 census

On October 27, 1904, at the age of 14 years, Catherine Donovan arrived at Ellis Island, New York

The 1 March 1905 census for Wichita, Kansas, finds "K Donovan", age 14, at the Sister Joseph Orphanage. The building was a dual purpose building. Because of the location on the top of a hill, the Convent portion was called My St. Mary's and the Orphanage portion was called the Sisters of St. Joseph Orphanage. It was destroyed by fire in 1913.

Here is Catherine (aka Sister Mel Marie) O'DONOVAN's U.S. Natiralization Card

Here is Catherine's(AKA Sister Mel Marie) USA Declaration of Intention  from 10 January 1941.  From this document we learn Kate was born 15 August  1890 in Mitchelstown, Ireland. She is residing at 320 E. Central, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas,USA. She is a teacher, age 50, female, white, dark complexion, grey eyes, brown hair, 5' 2" tall, weighing 116 poinds, race Irish, Nationality British. (Why not Irish in 1940?)  She had signed a previous "Declaration of Intention on 25 April 1923 in Wichita, Kansas U.S. District Court and her last foreign address was Mitchelstown, Ireland she immigrated to the USA from Queenstown, Ireland and her lawful entry iuto the USA was at New York City, New York under the name of Catherine O'Donovan on October 27, 1904 on the ship S. S. Carpathia. Signed by Catherine O'Donovan(Sister Mel Marie) at the Clerk of the Court at Wichita on 10 January 1941.

Here is the obituary of her brother Father Michael O'DONOVAN, which mentions his sister Mel Marie

Here is the 1940 census record for sister Mel Marie in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA

Here is the 1950 census record for sister Mel Marie in Kansas

In the late 1950's Sister Mel Marie travelled from her home in Wichita, Kansas, to visit her relatives in San Francisco.
Sister Mel Marie visited her first cousin Mary Ellen LEE Gleeson(b.1898) and her family, Mary Ellen's family consisting of herself, her daughter also a Mary Ellen, the daughter's husband Gerald(Jerry) MURPHY, and some of their Murphy children. The eldest Murphy child remembers Sister Mel Marie coming for a visit along with another nun(they always travelled in pairs).

From the booklet titled "Our Sisters Who Have Journeyed Home" we find Sister Mel Marie O'Donovan (1962, Wichita) the fifth sister listed as passing away on May 4th.

Sister Mel Marie is buried at Mount Saint Mary's Convent Cemetery, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA





This page was last updated on November 22, 2022