Emily Malbone Morgan, with the support of Harriet Hastings, was the founder of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (SCHC), in 1884. Begun as a community of Episcopal laywomen rooted in disciplined devotion, the society became both a faithful community of discipleship and prayer, and a strong force for social justice reform during the social gospel era around the turn of the twentieth century.

Emily Malbone Morgan was born on December 10, 1862, in Hartford, Connecticut. Her family were prominent Hartford citizens and their Anglican roots ran deep on both sides of her family.

A primary inspiration for Morgan was her friendship with Adelyn Howard. Howard was homebound and because of her confinement sought Morgan’s support for both spiritual companionship and as a means by which she could offer intercessory prayer for others. In response to her friend’s need, Morgan called together a small group of women for prayer and companionship. From that beginning, the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross came into being.

Morgan had a particular concern for working women who were tired, restless, and who had little hope for a vacation. In response, Morgan, with the help of a growing number of her Companions, developed summer vacation houses across the Northeast where working women and their daughters could have some time away for physical and spiritual renewal and refreshment.

In 1901, the Society established a permanent home in Byfield, Massachusetts. With the construction of new facilities on the site in 1915, it took the name Adelynrood, which continues to exist as the headquarters and retreat center of the Society.

Morgan never married; she and her sisters in the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross lived a life of prayer, contemplation, and social justice, particularly for women. She died on February 27th, 1937.