The Story of St. Margaret - A Review
By
James Wudarczyk - posted September 24, 2006.

The Story of St. Margaret by Mary Brignano (Pittsburgh: UPMC St. Margaret, 1998)

Mary Brignano is a skillful writer who makes a historical institution breathe with life and a sense of purpose. The cover of her well-written and beautifully photographed book displayed a portrait of a beautiful, young Margaret Cust Shoenberger, looking more like a Grecian goddess than a pious saint.

When Margaret Shoenberger died in 1878 of breast cancer, the Post Gazette described her as “a lady of singular beauty and character.” With this tribute, Brignano begins her book. “There was not a better known mover in benevolent matters in the city.”

The book goes beyond a commercial for the hospital. It is an exceptional history filled with photographs and numerous facts. It would be an understatement to simply describe this work as enjoyable reading. The book is spectacular in terms of quality of design and execution of text and illustration. This book alone should establish Mary Brignano as one of Pittsburgh’s most important historians.

According to the author, John Shoenberger’s name spelled success as Pennsylvania’s biggest and most aggressive iron manufacturer. His family was credited with the creation of the massive Juniata Iron Works.

Included in the book is a beautiful photograph of Shoenberger’s Lawrenceville home, believed to have been designed by the noted architect John Chislett. While the Lawrenceville home served as his country villa, the Shoenbergers also maintained a home in downtown Pittsburgh, which fortunately was spared from the devastating fire of 1845. John Shoenberger developed a keen interest in art, music, and the Episcopal Church. He helped in the founding of the Episcopal Home in Lawrenceville, and generously supported this institution that sheltered the elderly and orphaned children. Shoenberger also served as a vestryman in the Episcopal Church, and he contributed one-half of the $200,000 needed to build the Episcopal Cathedral. In addition, he generously left the cathedral with an endowment of $100,000, so that the pews would be free forever.

Shoenberger also served as one of the original incorporators of Allegheny Cemetery. However, his greatest act of philanthropy was bequeathing $800,000 for a hospital named in honor of his beloved wife, Margaret Cust Shoenberger. Brignano noted that the sum bequeathed would be equivalent to $10 million today. She also contended that Pittsburgh never before had a hospital named for a woman. Being impressed with Saint Luke’s Hospital in New York City, Shoenberger stipulated that St. Margaret should be modeled after that medical facility.

The Brignano history of St. Margaret is a fascinating account of an institution that continuously struggled with finances, expansion, and modernization. She augmented the book with an account of the School of Nursing founded in 1921 under the capable direction of Elizabeth H. Shaw and Adele M. Polk. Also, the author demonstrated how the hospital created a special ward for children in 1923, established a “Free Bed Fund” during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and became a leader in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Her chronology traced the background of the hospital’s first home in Lawrenceville through the move to its present home near Aspinwall. Writing with extreme clarity, the Brignano account of this extraordinary institution unfolded like a fast paced novel.