May 16, 2002: Picture courtesy of Taylor Kennedy:



May 14, 2002:

From my paper for History 356:

Sister Elizabeth Bruyere arrived in Bytown from Montreal in 1845 and established the 
"Grey Nuns" to administer to the sick and destitute. This Catholic religious order provided 
private welfare and social services (and the General Hospital) to the Irish Catholic and 
French-speaking community. In general, churches of all denominations were opposed to 
government-sponsored welfare schemes. The churches believed that charity came under its 
domain and the Grey Nuns worked hard to serve their clientele. The General Hospital was 
non-denominational. However, it was perceived to be too "Catholic" and a few years later, 
the "Protestant" hospital (the forerunner to the Ottawa Civic Hospital) was established. 
A complete discussion of the accomplishments of Sister Elizabeth Bruyere and the general 
provision of health and welfare services in Bytown / Ottawa can be found in Elizabeth 
Bruyere's Great Legacy: Health Care and Education in Bytown, published by the Historical 
Society of Ottawa. There's a copy in the Carleton University Library, 5th Floor, 
call # FC 3096.35.B96 N.27. The Ottawa Citizen of May 14, 2002 contains an article 
concerning the Mother House, built in 1846 for the Grey Nuns and still in use today -- 
it's one of Ottawa's most famous architectural structures.
August 13, 2002:
Hospital History in Canada from The Canadian Encyclopedia.
History of the Grey Nuns.
November 25, 2002:
Hi Al, I wish your story of this old hospital building and the story of Eliz
Bruyere would be on your website so we could read it, (or send it to me).  I
lived there in that building around 1950 for several months and it was then
run by Les Soeurs Grises de la Croix or Grey Nuns of the Cross. So it's
still there, and still in use? It was on Rue Bruyere, if I remember
correctly at that time.  What a beautiful chapel the sisters had! What more
can you tell me about that branch of the Grey Nuns, those of Bytown founded
by Sr Elizabeth Bruyere? Thanks for the best picture of Marguerite
d'Youville I've seen in a long while.  Oh, yes, my husband's first cousin is
a Christopher and my husband's great grandfather was Dennis or Denis O'Brien
(Brine, etc) from County Kilkenny, b 1805 and his wife Margaret Doyle of
Parish Graig, Kilkenny, b c1819, came to Prince Edward Island--as did the
Christophers, their related by marriage. 
Cheers, Marie in PEI
___________________________
Marie:

I don't have a copy of the history of the Grey Nuns here but will try to get one from the 
library. I do have a copy of an article from the Ottawa Citizen from last year which
describes the Grey Nuns today. If you send me your snail mail address (privately) I'll 
mail you a copy of the two items.

Were your Christophers and O'Briens from the Ottawa area at one time? I think that all of
the Christophers in Ottawa, who were Catholic, are related.

... Al
December 11, 2002:
Hi!, 
If you want more information on Elisabeth Bruyere and the Grey nuns of Ottawa, this is the 
address:  
Les Soeurs de la Charite d'OTTAWA, 
9 rue Bruyere Ottawa, ON 
K1N 5C9.
 February 16, 2003:
Dear colleagues -
 
Your e-mail address was given on the website for the Grey Nuns of Ottawa. There was also
a separate address for C. Malette but she told me I had the wrong e-mail address!
 
I decided to send the corporate - you my request.
 
For research on the Bruyere family, in hopes of obtaining details to prepare a family
history of a friend, I am interested in knowing the parents of Sr. Elizabeth Bruyere,
where they came from, etc.
 
It appears she was the sister of Napoleon Bruyere who married a Sophie (. ....?) in 
parts unknown.
 
For your information, I had three relatives (now deceased) who belonged to the Grey
Nuns of Nicolet.
 
Thanks for the help. 
George Christian (Dominican) 

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