In 1794, Elizabeth Ann Bayley married William M. Seton. They had five children.

William died while he and Elizabeth were on a business trip in Italy, and there Elizabeth became acquainted with the Catholic faith.

In 1808, she founded the Sisters of Charity in America and is often credited with founding the Catholic School System. Before her death in 1821, she sent four of her sisters to Cincinnati. They lived at Cedar Grove and were the original members of a new congregation: The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. In 1975, Elizabeth Seton became the first canonized saint born in the United States of America.