Mary E. Peterson, Sister Mary of the Cross
At the beginning of September 1897, Sisters Benedict, Mary of the Passion, Mary of the Cross, and Joseph Calasanctius left Holy Cross on the steamer Alice for Dawson. The Yukon Flats was very shallow, and it snowed eight inches on September 11. The Alice reached Fort Yukon on the 12th where they were met with the news of immanent starvation in Dawson. The captain went ahead in a canoe to sound the river and on his return decided to return downriver. The sisters were ordered to disembark at Nulato and set up a school, but when Sister Joseph became ill they all travelled back to Holy Cross. Father Judge ran the hospital in Dawson himself all winter.1)
Brother Bernard I. Cunningham, Sisters Mary of the Cross, John Damascene, Joseph and Stephen set off for Dawson in the spring on 1898 on the Alice’s first trip. In August 1898, Sister Zephyrin, superior, arrived in Dawson with other nuns from Holy Cross. Sister Zephyrin showed a lack of assertiveness and leadership and she was often ignored in favour of Sister Mary of the Cross who was young, a natural leader, and a daring innovator. Her willingness to share in extra patient care made her a valued nurse.2) During the winter of 1899 the sisters travelled to Bonanza Creek to ask the miners for money to help pay the hospital debt run up by Father Judge. In May, Sisters John Damascene and Mary of the Cross were on the creeks for twenty-eight days asking for financial help. They covered 475 miles and raised $10,000. In Dawson, Sister Mary of the Cross took on the task of teaching the Catholic faith to the hospital interns.3)
During the year she retreated from socializing with the other sisters and grew closer to a faith-seeking intern. Father Gendreau worried that she was reconsidering her commitment to the Sister of St. Ann. In response, the General Superior visited Dawson in the early summer and Sister Mary of the Cross requested leave of the Congregation so she could marry her intern. She left Dawson and, after the expiration of her vows, married. This was very unusual in 1899. The couple returned to Dawson but left when they were not accepted by the community.4)