2.2 Correspondence, 1833 - 1967

Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

This subseries consists of correspondence related to the Province’s property, finances, and the office of the Provincial Procurator. While the Province generally retained few of the letters sent by the Provincial Procurator himself, those letters that do survive, located in this subseries, provide insight into the Province’s handling of financial and property-related matters, including the purchase, treatment, and sale of enslaved people. These letters are, therefore, especially important in documenting the Province’s sale in 1838 of 272 enslaved individuals, including payments from their purchasers Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey. Letters dated 1833-1835 and 1839-1845, recorded in two letterbooks, address expectations of servants, the sale of land, and relations with tenants, in addition to the 1838 sale. Joseph Zwingé, S.J. (Procurator from 1903 to 1920) also used the blank pages in the second letterbook to record letters sent regarding capital improvements, particularly investments in land and buildings, from 1883 to 1908. The subseries also contains letters from loose papers organised by the Provincial related to farms owned by the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, including published epistles written in Latin and English (1858-1900), letters sent to the Provincial by Zwingé (1908-1920), correspondence and a survey related to Provincial property disputes and improvements, and correspondence between Francis Breen,S.J. and the Reverend Constantino Cassaneti.

**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 Researchers may encounter outdated or potentially offensive terminology and occasional inaccuracies.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 of materials sent as part of the addenda, after the initial deposit of materials in 1977. Materials are arranged chronologically by subject.

Conditions Governing Access

Most materials dated 1900 and later have not been digitized. Materials dating 1900-1939 are available for research use at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. All materials dated 1940 and later are restricted.

Dates

1833 - 1967

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 )