James Rice to William DuBourg, 12/18/1797, bulk: 1797 - 1797

The William DuBourg Papers consist of 0.25 linear feet of correspondence (mainly to DuBourg), invoices, and other documents dating between 1796, the year DuBourg assumed the presidency of Georgetown College, and 1833, the year of his death. The papers are arranged in chronological order; a number are in French.

The bulk of the papers dates from 1796 to 1798, the period of his Georgetown College presidency, and reflects the role of the president at that time as a procurer of goods needed by the institution. Letters and accompanying invoices itemize books ordered by DuBourg for the College library, as well as other supplies such as cloth, the purchase of which may have been necessitated by DuBourg’s introduction of uniforms for students. Most of the letters/invoices present are from Baltimore merchants James Rice and David Williamson. Also included from the time of DuBourg’s presidency is a financial statement for the College dated October 1797. A number of entries in this reflect the presence of enslaved persons on campus.

Only six items in the papers postdate DuBourg’s departure from Georgetown; of these, two postdate his return to France in 1826. Of especial note among these later documents is a letter dated April 10, 1823, written by DuBourg from Wheeling, Virginia, to Enoch Fenwick, President of Georgetown College, in which DuBourg documents the route to be taken by Jesuit novices travelling from Maryland to establish a mission in Missouri.

Additional correspondence of DuBourg’s and other materials relating to him can be found in the Archives of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus which are on deposit in the Booth Family Center for Specials Collection in the Georgetown Library.