Margaret Haughery

Who was Margaret Haughery?

Margaret Haughery was a philanthropist known as "the mother of the orphans".

She opened up four orphanages in the New Orleans area in the 19th century. Many years later in the 20th and 21st centuries several of the asylums Margaret originally founded as places of shelter for orphans and widows evolved into homes for the elderly.

Margaret Gaffney Haughery was a beloved historical figure in New Orleans, Louisiana the 1880s. Widely known as “Our Margaret,” “The Bread Woman of New Orleans" and “Mother of Orphans,” Margaret devoted her life’s work to the care and feeding of the poor and hungry, and to fund and build orphanages throughout the city. The poor called her "Saint Margaret."

An Irish immigrant widow woman of many titles, Margaret was also commonly referred to as the “Angel of the Delta,” “Mother Margaret,” “Margaret of New Orleans,” the “Celebrated Margaret” and “Margaret of Tully.” A Catholic, she worked closely with New Orleans Sisters of Charity, associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.

A woman of unsurpassed charity, Margaret became famed for her lifelong championing of the destitute.