Counting down: Seven days and seven random Indiana facts from 1840

There are only seven days remaining before the grand opening of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s Shrine.

In 1840, Mother Theodore Guerin and her five sister companions traveled to the United States from France to establish a Congregation of women religious, which eventually became known as the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

In 1840, the state of Indiana was in its infancy. Here are seven random historical facts from the state at that time:

• In 1840, the largest populated city in the state was New Albany with 4,226 residents. The state capital, Indianapolis, was second with 2,692. Richmond was third with 2,070,

• Samuel Bigger was elected the seventh governor of the state on Dec. 9. He was the last politician from the Whig party to win the gubernatorial nomination,

• William Henry Harrison was elected the ninth president of the United States of America in December 1840. In 1801, Harrison had been elected the first governor of the Indiana Territory, an office he occupied until 1812,

• Frances Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson, otherwise known as Fanny Stevenson – wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, author of “Treasure Island,” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” – was born on March 10, 1840, in Indianapolis,

• Mother Theodore Guerin and her five sister companions arrived at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, at 7 p.m., Oct. 22, 1840,

• On All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 1840, all of the sisters’ baggage arrived at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in perfect condition. There was also a jar of butter and a jar of Chalais preserves included in the baggage, and

• The first annual retreat at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods took place on Nov. 29, 1840.