In 1889, the Sisters at Saint John's Convent in Johnstown, who lost their own home in the Johnstown Flood, stayed in the stricken city to provide healthcare to other flood victims.
Twenty years after their foundation in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Seton Hill Sisters of Charity, with diocesan approval, partnered with Mrs. Charles Donnelly, wife of a prominent businessman, to initiate a foundling home.