Sister Ellen Murphy Papers

Ellen Murphy was born February 16, 1916, at the family homestead near Niagara, North Dakota, in Agnes Township, Grand Forks County. She was the second child of Charles J. and Helen Normand Murphy. She began her education at  Dominican Convent School in Grafton, North Dakota, in September 1922. Ellen attended various schools and graduated from eighth grade in May 1930 from a one-room schoolhouse in District 102 of Agnes Township. In June 1934, she received her high school diploma from St. James Academy in Grand Forks. A few months later, Ellen entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a candidate for the Sisterhood, she attended the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and received her religious vows on March 19, 1937, at St. Joseph's Novitiate, also in St. Paul. Sister Ellen attended several colleges and universities including the University of Notre Dame, the University of North Dakota and DePaul University. Her primary fields of study were elementary education, religion and literature. Sister Ellen contributed to these fields by writing educational articles, poetry, and short stories, many of which have been published. She taught at several schools, including St. Michael's Catholic School in Grand Forks, as well as teaching catechism in Thompson, North Dakota. She died April 16, 2004, at Bethany Convent, St. Paul, Minnesota.

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