 Their prioress, Mother Mary Margaret of the Angels, O.C.D., born Mary Brent in Maryland, was Neale's cousin through his grandmother, the wife of his grandfather, Oswald Neale.During the ten years Neale served this community, he maintained contact with his friends and colleagues in Maryland.Through this dialogue, the nuns were encouraged to attempt a foundation in the new nation, the United States of America, which was just emerging from the American Revolution.