Joseph, Mother (1823–1902)
Joseph, Mother (1823–1902)
Canadian-born American nun who built schools and hospitals across the Pacific Northwest . Born Esther Pariseau in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in 1823; died in 1902.
Referred to by the American Institute of Architects as "the Pacific Northwest's first architect," Mother Joseph was one of four Providence Sisters who journeyed from Montréal, Québec, to the Washington Territory in 1856. Over the course of the next 46 years, she designed and built hospitals and schools across the region, from Oregon to Alaska, using carpentry skills she had learned from her father. Her institutions were available to all faiths and were financed by funds she raised in "begging tours" through the Army posts and mining camps that dotted the area. In 1977, Mother Joseph was the first American nun honored with a statue in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.