William DuBourg to Enoch Fenwick, 4/10/1823, bulk: 1823 - 1823
Scope and Contents Note
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.
Dates
- 4/10/1823
- Majority of material found in 1823 - 1823
Conditions Governing Access
All published documents housed in the University Archives are open for use. Unpublished documents are governed by the following use restrictions: unpublished material dating from 1971 and later may only be consulted with the permission of the office which created it; unpublished material dating from 1970 or before may be used with the permission of the Archivist or the creating office, unless otherwise restricted.
Extent
From the Collection: 0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Container Summary
Letter dated 4/10/1823 from William DuBourg, Bishop of New Orleans, Wheeling, Virginia, to Father Enoch Fenwick, President of Georgetown College, informing Fenwick that DuBourg has arrived in Wheeling and secured passage down the Ohio River for himself and the “expected recruits", a reference to Jesuit novices who travelled from Maryland in 1823 to establish a mission in Missouri. DuBourg gives detailed instructions for the “Gentlemen” Fenwick is sending to him: to stop and rest eight miles before Wheeling with Mr. [Jonas ?] Johnson, son-in-law of the late George King of Georgetown, and then to find “a good Quaker, Michael Graham, my friend” at Wheeling who will help them travel to Louisville where Mr. M'Gillycuddy “an excellent and wealthy Catholic” will direct them for the balance of their journey to Florissant, Missouri.
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Archives Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu