3.1 Minutes and Proceedings, 1793 - 1956

Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

Subseries 3.1, Minutes and Proceedings, contains the records of meetings held by the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen (CRCC), and dates from 1793 to 1956. Materials record decisions about the transfer of assets, the election of Board members, and changes in by-laws. These records also document actual and potential sales of enslaved people held by the Province. Between 1793 and 1820, the CRCC continually deliberated the need to reduce the number of enslaved laborers on the Province’s plantations, resolving in 1813-1814 to sell the majority of enslaved individuals, repealing this decision in 1820, and then resolving again in 1833 to sell “superfluous slaves” to pay debts. These discussions focused on several possibilities, including the sale of enslaved people from Bohemia, Deer Creek, and White Marsh, and the manumission of large numbers of enslaved people throughout the Province’s plantations. The CRCC also issued a reprimand of the Superior at White Marsh for selling enslaved individuals independent of the CRCC.

This subseries is comprised of the meeting minutes and proceedings of the CRCC (1793-1943), by-laws, and lists of members. The latter includes a list compiled by Joseph Zwingé, S.J., and Charles Kleinmeyer, S.J. of all CRCC Board members between 1792 and 1956.

**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 Researchers may encounter outdated or potentially offensive terminology and occasional inaccuracies.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. Relevant folders are noted in the finding aid.

Provenance and Arrangement

The materials in this subseries are drawn from both the original collection placed on deposit at Georgetown in the 1970s, as well as from the Addenda, which was deposited at Georgetown at a later date. Materials are arranged alphabetically by subject and date.

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

1793 - 1956

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 )