Saint Dominic’s Family Services
(Over 100 years of history)
The origins of today’s Saint Dominic’s Family Services of Blauvelt, NY began on September 17, 1843 with the birth of the 7th daughter of a family of humble means in Terryglass, County Tipperary, Ireland. On that date the woman who later became its founder, Mother Mary Ann Sammon was born to Esther and Martin Sammon. A few years later, during the Great Famine, thousands in Ireland died, including Mary Ann’s mother. Wanting to give his daughters the chance for a better life, her father set history in motion by sending Mary Ann, at the age of seven, and two of her sisters to America accompanied by their uncle. Typical of immigrants of that time, she never saw her father or the rest of her family again.
As a young teen, Mary Ann followed her older sister “into service” caring for the children of a German family. Through this family, she met the German-speaking nuns at the Saint Nicholas Parish School in Brooklyn, NY. At the age of 26, Sister Mary Ann Sammon entered the cloistered convent of the Holy Rosary. Caring for the children who were abandoned and living on the streets of New York City became her primary work. As the only English-speaking Sister in the convent, she became the main connection between the local community and the German-speaking Dominican Sisters.
In 1875, the same year that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was established, Sister Mary Ann received the Dominican Habit. The government was finally recognizing that laws to protect children were needed as was housing and other programs for youngsters who were homeless. The Holy Rosary Convent applied for and received a license to care for a limited number of children.
Cardinal John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, asked the Sisters of Holy Rosary Convent to find a place in the country to house and school the children. Sister Mary Ann accompanied by Mother Hyacinth traveled north to view some land that belonged to the Parish of Saint Catharine in Blauveltville. Determining that the cost of building on the land would be too great, the Sisters were en route back to the rail station, when they saw a large house with a FOR SALE sign on it. The family invited them into the Eustace Mansion where Sister Mary Ann observed a 6-ft. tall painting of Saint Dominic raising a child to life. She determined this was a sign from God declaring, “Here we shall be.”
Almost three years later, on November 5, 1878, the nuns officially opened Saint Joseph’s Orphan Home, moving in with nine little girls who accompanied them from New York City. Over the years, as the number of children grew, the money was generated to build a much-needed expansion including a school. By 1884, the Sisters were caring for 389 children.
In 1881, a three-year infectious eye disease and tuberculosis epidemic struck the entire City area including the Home. A young physician specializing in eye diseases, Dr. Oatman, came to their rescue at the request of Mother Mary Ann. He helped to control the spread of the eye infections by separating the children according to the seriousness of the disease. This required raising funds to build separate cottages on the grounds of the Home where the children, once healed, could safely return. Four of these cottages, now renovated, are still in use. Due to his vigilance, only one child and three Sisters lost their eyesight; however, 12 Sisters and 30 children died due to “consumption,” what today is called tuberculosis.
Dr. Oatman, also a student of architecture, planned a sewage disposal system for the Home that became the envy of the State. He also designed a small chapel, based on one he had seen in Bavaria. Later, the installation of stained-glass windows from the Bavarian Institute in Munich added to the beauty of the Chapel.
By the early 1880’s, as the numbers of children in care continued to grow, public as well as private monies helped to support the Home. During these years, many local children, called “the road kids,” also attended the Home’s school. In 1884, a proposed constitutional amendment, stopping public funds given to the social services operated by religious institutions, was defeated in New York. After one of the State’s required inspections, the Sisters were given the mandate to acquire more land. Following a struggle with the local community’s attitudes about expanding the Home, they were able to buy 108 acres of adjoining farmland to grow crops and raise chickens to feed their growing community.
In 1890, as more children needing care and schooling poured out of the tenements of New York City to the town that we now call Blauvelt, Mother Mary Ann and the Sisters determined that their mission had become different from that of their Motherhouse, Holy Rosary Convent. That year they separately incorporated to become the Asylum of Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt.
In 1901, Mother Mary Ann’s health had deteriorated due to the strain of her responsibilities. Her physical condition was so weak she was relieved of all duties, but she continued baking bread for the children. It is believed that she became ill with a cold that developed into pneumonia after going from the hot kitchens out into the cold air. At the age of 57, Mother Mary Ann Sammon died having successfully accomplished her life’s primary mission, educating and caring for children in need.
As the years passed, Saint Dominic’s provided a home and an education for thousands of children with the Sisters responding always to society’s changing needs. During World War II, the US Government purchased 68 acres for use as a POW camp and a debarkation station for American troops. Other requests for some of the land came from NY State, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Rockland Light and Power and St. Catharine’s Parish, reducing the property to almost the original 16 acres.
The late 1960’s and 70’s brought many significant changes to the Home. Saint Dominic’s Family Services was separately incorporated in 1962. In 1969 a Multi-Purpose Unit for children needing short-term psychiatric care was developed and a City Office to provide more convenient services for families and the first Bronx group home opened.
In 1979, the same year that the previous Executive Director was appointed, New York officials decreed that the City children should stay in the City. The Board then faced a crucial decision to either terminate the Blauvelt campus or diversify to meet the needs of other children and adults and diversify they did! After educating and caring for thousands of youngsters through the years, the Blauvelt campus of Saint Dominic’s Family Services was transitioned to serve children with special needs. About the same time, St. Dominic’s School was changed to a New York State 853 School for day students with emotional disabilities. Additionally, in 1979, Saint Dominic’s agreed to care for Indochinese Unaccompanied Minors, “The Boat People,” by providing two residential units on their arrival followed by foster care.
In 2023, 145 years after Mother Mary Ann Sammon’s meager beginnings but sustaining mission to care for children in need, more than 700 staff members direct the 40 programs of Saint Dominic’s caring for almost 1,000 people daily in the Lower Hudson Valley and the Bronx. These include a school for children with emotional disabilities, early childhood learning centers, enhanced family foster care, community-based prevention services, and congregate care programs for adults with developmental disabilities or mental illness. Mother Mary Ann’s 19th Century vision lives on in the commitment and determination of the Sisters, the Board and the staff as they respond to new challenges for Saint Dominic’s Family Services in the 21st Century.
