1.1 Correspondence, Chronological, 1805-1883

Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

Subseries 1.1 is comprised of correspondence related to the Provincial, or head, of the Maryland Province, and spans the years 1805 to 1883. During the period of the Mission of the American Federation (1805-1833), this position was also referred to as "Superior"; by 1833, with the founding of the Maryland Province, the term "Provincial" came into use. Most letters in the subseries are addressed to the Provincials themselves, but the subseries also contains letters received by their advisees, including the Socius, Consultors, Procurators, and Board Members of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen. Written primarily by members of the Society of Jesus, this correspondence addresses most of the major issues confronting the Province as it established itself in the United States: the establishment of Houses of Jesuit formation, preparatory schools, and colleges (including Georgetown College); the administration of the Jesuit estates (plantations) in Southern Maryland and Pennsylvania, including questions related to the ownership of enslaved people; the recruitment of members of the Province; the evaluation of members' performance, fulfillment of vows and rules, and commitment to the Society of Jesus; the mediation of conflict among members, including over the treatment of enslaved individuals; the supervision of pastoral missions; relations with diocesan prelates; questions related to the expansion of the Province, including the formation of the Missouri Province; missions in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York; and the merger of the Mission of New York with the Maryland Province to form the Maryland-New York Province in 1879.

**Please note: the finding aid contains Scope and Contents notes for each folder. This folder-level description has been imported from an older finding aid. Researchers may encounter outdated or potentially offensive terminology and occasional inaccuracies. If you would like to notify Special Collections of any issues that need correcting, please contact us.**

Materials on Slavery

Some materials in this subseries contain references to slavery, slaveholding, and enslaved individuals. Some materials in this subseries address the Province's 1838 sale of 272 enslaved individuals. Relevant folders are noted in the finding aid.

Provenance and Arrangement

This subseries is comprised primarily of correspondence first selected from among the records of the Maryland Province Archives by Joseph Zwingé, S.J., in the early twentieth century. Zwingé assigned catalogue numbers to these letters, which he arranged roughly chronologically by the tenure of the Superior or Provincial. (NB: For those referencing the previous version of the MPA finding aid, most of the folders within this sub-series were part of the series titled Correspondence [202-228].)

Dates

1805-1883

Conditions Governing Access

The Maryland Province Archives is on deposit at Georgetown University and is the property of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. As stewards of the Archives, the Georgetown University Library’s Booth Family Center for Special Collections is responsible for managing access to the material based on policies set forth by the USA East Province. Researchers may view these materials in the Reading Room of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. General policies for using Special Collections can be found here.

Access to the Archives is governed by the USA East Province and is subject to all Library and Special Collections policies and procedures in addition to the specific guidelines below. These guidelines are a summary of access policies; the Archives may include materials that fall outside the scope of these general guidelines. For information on access to specific materials, please contact the Special Collections staff.

Guidelines:

1. All Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring before January 1, 1940, shall be open for review unless otherwise restricted, subject to Library policies and procedures.

2. All unpublished Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring on or after January 1, 1940, shall be open for review upon request subject to a decision by the Provincial or someone designated by the Provincial.

3. Researchers may quote from the materials.

4. Researchers may take their own photographs of the material for scholarly and research purposes. Allowing photographs is not an authorization to publish or to deposit the material in another library or archive.

5. Written permission from the USA East Province is required for the publication of substantive portions of any material or publication-quality reproductions of any material.

6. Material not yet processed is not available to researchers; permission will not be granted to access any unprocessed material.

7. Audiovisual, microfilm and other material in the Archives, the original of which is held in another archive, may be consulted and transcribed only. Written permission from the archive holding the original material is required for any duplication, reproduction, or publication of that material.

8. Use the Permission Request Form to request permission (i) to access any restricted processed material or (ii) to publish reproductions or quote substantive portions of the material. Send the completed form by email to the Booth Family Center for Special Collections (speccoll@georgetown.edu).

Extent

From the Collection: 308 boxes (212 regular boxes, 25 oversized boxes, 58 restricted regular boxes, 13 restricted oversized boxes, plus 14 card catalog drawers )