separate entity from the Sisters of Charity still based in Maryland. Mother Elizabeth Boyle was the first Mother Superior, succeeded by Mother Jerome Ely. They became the Sisters of Charity of New York. This was not unusual, in that several other groups of Sisters founded by Seton established themselves as independent diocesan entities once their communities reached maturity. The novitiate of the New York community was opened at St. James's Academy, 35 East Broadway, and later moved to the new motherhouse on an estate purchased at Mcgown's Pass, situated within the limits of the present Central Park. Here, in 1847, the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent had its foundation. In the late 1850s the sisters bought the Edwin Forrest estate called Font Hill and the Motherhouse and academy relocated to the Riverdale section of the Bronx. In 1849 four sisters were sent from Mount Saint Vincent to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Sisters of Charity of Halifax became an independent congregation in 1856. In 1890 the Sisters of Saint Martha of Antigonish evolved from the Halifax congregation as an order initially devoted to housekeeping and nursing duties at St. Francis University. In 1856, under Mother Mary Xavier Mehegan, a local community was formed of the sisters then labouring in the Diocese of Newark. As immigrants arrived in poverty during the 19th century, the sisters became known for accepting newborns at the doorsteps of the convent. The Sisters in New York established The New York Foundling in 1869, an orphanage for abandoned children but also a place for unmarried mothers to receive care themselves and offer their children for adoption. (New York immigrant communities were plagued by prostitution rings that preyed on young women, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies were a severe problem in these communities.) New York Foundling continues its work today and is noted for its work with babies and young children infected with HIV, and also with severely handicapped children. In 1855, Archbishop John Hughes' sister, Mary Angela Hughes became Superior of the Sisters in New York. It was during Mother Angela's tenure that the Sisters of Charity of Newark branched off as a separate congregation. The cholera epidemic of 1849 impelled the Sisters to open St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan (closed 2010), the first Catholic hospital in New York City. St. Vincent's Hospital became the centerpiece of an extensive health care system under the Sisters' care that included St. Vincent's