Sister Sisters

Two McBride sisters: Regina, left, and Marguerite, right. [2016.103.0006]

The McBride Family came to Great Falls in 1887. Mr. McBride and his wife had 2 daughters and a son. They were a devout Irish Catholic family. Mr. P. J. McBride took care of maintenance for the original Morony Natatorium and Mrs. Mary McBride was a socialite. All the children attended school at the Mount Angela Ursuline Academy.

McBride homestead with the two sisters and James. [2016.103.0002]

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The two sisters went to New Rochelle College in New York together before splitting off to other colleges. Regina, the older sister, went to University of Montana and St. Catherine’s College. She received a bachelor’s degree in Library Science. She joined the Ursuline Order here in 1920. Marguerite, the younger sister, went to Trinity College then to University of California Berkley to get her Master’s in History. She joined the Ursuline Order in 1924.

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The brother, James, went to Annapolis after high school and received a commission in the US Navy. He went to South America, renounced his commission, and was never heard from again.

Both sisters, Marguerite now Sister Genevieve McBride and Regina now Sister Clotilde Angela, returned and lived at the Ursuline Academy here in Great Falls. When the College of Great Falls was founded, Sister Genevieve was its first Dean.

Sister Genevive at St. Ignatius [2016.103.0001]

Sister Clotilde wrote a book called “Ursulines of the West” and Sister Genevieve wrote one called “The Bird Tail”. The sisters stayed in Great Falls until their deaths. Sister Clotilde lived until 1971 and Sister Genevieve until 1991.

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SC 478 can be accessed through The History Museum Archives and contains the photos, letters, and scrapbooks that Sister Genevieve McBride left behind at her passing with the Ursuline Center. Copies of the Sisters’ books may also be accessed through the Archives.