Early Life
Frances Schervier (German: Franziska) was born into a wealthy family in Aachen, Germany. Her father, Johann Heinrich Schervier was a wealthy needle factory owner and the vice-mayor of Aachen. Her French mother, Maria Louise Migeon, the goddaughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria provided a strict home environment. After the death of both her mother and two sisters from tuberculosis when she was thirteen, Frances become the homemaker for her father, and developed a reputation for generosity to the poor, from her growing awareness of their desperate conditions.
In a dispute over the rights of the Church in 1837 (Kölner Wirren), the Prussian government imprisoned the Archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August von Droste-Vischering, causing a great public reaction; the repercussion was a revival of religious spirit, especially in Westphalia and the Rhine country. In the wake of this spiritual awakening, some prominent Aachen ladies started a society for the relief of the poor and approached Johann Schervier to permit Frances to join. He agreed at first, but later demurred when Frances began to nurse the sick in their homes, fearing that she might carry the disease into his own house. Rather than respond vigorously to her father's objection, Frances discreetly continued to visit the sick until he gradually became accustomed to her involvement; her father later recalled that his daughter grasped how to emancipate herself.
The Reverend Joseph Istas, who was curate at Saint Paul Parish in Aachen and founder of "Saint John's Kitchen" for the poor, deeply impressed Frances, who began to work very closely with him; but their friendship ended abruptly with Istas' premature death in 1843. The following year she entered the Third Order of St. Francis .
Read more about this topic: Mary Frances Schervier
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892?)
“On the Coast of Coromandel
Where the early pumpkins blow,
In the middle of the woods
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
Two old chairs, and half a candle,
One old jug without a handle,
These were all his worldly goods:
In the middle of the woods,”
—Edward Lear (18121888)
“Ma, sooner or later there comes a point in a mans life when hes gotta face some facts. And one fact Ive got to face is whatever it is women like, I aint got it.”
—Paddy Chayefsky (19231981)