136
Monastery. In this group of eight were four cousins: Isabella
King, Superior, Genevieve King, Mistress of Novices, Agnes
Brent and Josephine Barber
.
Traveling incognito to avoid the anti-Catholic
sentiment rampant at the time, the eight nuns went first to
Baltimore. Presumably, for most of these young women, this
was the first journey from Georgetown in many years. By
1833, Sister Genevieve had lived inside the monastery walls
for 15 years. Did they gape and endanger their anonymity?
The trip from Baltimore to Frederick, Maryland was
by train. But this train was a railcar drawn by horses. How
strange did the conveyance appear to the eight sisters? Was
this the first prayer sent to heaven for protection and
courage? If it was, it certainly would not be the last.