Joseph Mannard - The Two Worlds of Ann Gertrude Wightt

The Two Worlds of Ann Gertrude Wightt by Joseph Mannard is the first biography of the remarkable historical figure who challenged perceptions of women's experiences in the early American Republic. Read on for a Q&A with the author to learn more

What drew you to explore Ann Gertrude Wightt’s story in the historical context of so many other cases of “runaway nuns?”

I first became aware of Ann Gertrude Wightt in the early 1980s when I was conducting reconnaissance for my PhD dissertation research at the University of Maryland, College Park. Although I was familiar with alleged “escaped nuns” like Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk, I had never heard of any “runaway nun” by the name of Sister Gertrude Whyte. I filed her name away for further investigation when I finished the dissertation.

While working at the Archives of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1985, I discovered the original letter written by Sister Gertrude to Archbishop James Whitfield, in which she explained the reason for her abrupt departure. In the years since, I turned up more sources, but only when I found myself in need of a paper topic for a scholarly conference in 2016, did I finally get around to a serious investigation of the story of Ann Gertrude Wightt. Since that time, I have researched her life in earnest.

You mention a lack of primary sources in your research posing a significant challenge in reconstructing Ann Gertrude Wightt’s life–how did you navigate these gaps in information?

One the biggest challenges for anyone attempting a biography in women’s history is locating sufficient sources on their subject to complete the project. While constructing a timeline of Wightt’s life, I identified some frustrating gaps in the records. The spottiness of sources for some periods means that this volume cannot be a conventional biography in the sense of chronicling every year of the subject’s adult life or recording her thoughts about every important event she experienced. Despite the few sources authored by the subject, I am heartened by the belief that I have found enough primary and secondary sources to analyze in detail key parts of her life and to sketch the broad outlines of others.