Sister Alma Regina Papers

Collection — Box: GTM Shared Box 52, Folder: 4-7

Identifier: GTM-0104

Request

Scope and Contents

Contents of this collection include numerous handwritten correspondence from Sr. Alma Regina to her editor, Father Shaundelle, the opening and middle chapters of her intended debut novel, and a completed short story named “The Magdalene.” All included documents are annotated and organized in chronological order, between the years of 1900 and 1906.

Dates

Creation: 1900 - 1906

Creator

Alma Regina, Sister, 1871-1918 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off-site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials in this collection are in the public domain. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.

Biographical Note

Sr. Alma Regina was born Margaret Kenna in 1871, daughter John Edward Kenna, a long-time American politician and the senator of West Virginia in 1893, and brother to Ed Kenna, a rising baseball star in the 1890s and a Georgetown student in ‘99, where his reputation and skill as a pitcher aided Georgetown to win its first championship crown the same year. Around this same period, Margaret Kenna entered the Covenant of St. Joseph in Berntwood, Long Island, New York in her young adulthood and became Sister Alma Regina. During her time in the covenant, Sr. Alma Regina demonstrated an interest in exploring religion through creative writing and sought to publish her novels to share them with the public. Although she never managed to achieve this goal before her death in 1918 around 46 years of age, this collection houses her annotated manuscripts, completed short story, and personal correspondence between herself and her appointed editor, Father Henry Henry T. Shaudelle S.J.