2.1 Subject Files, 1633 - 1968

Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

Subseries 2.1 is comprised of Subject Files related to the Province’s finances, dating from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. These records were organized by the Provincial Procurator (treasurer) out of loose collections of financial correspondence, deeds and land surveys, invoices, receipts, statements, and contracts. The Subject Files subseries also contains many of the key legal and financial documents related to the Maryland Province’s sale of 272 enslaved individuals in 1838. These documents include the census identifying the enslaved people who were sold and the mortgage agreements providing the terms of the sale.

Other topics covered in Subseries 2.1 include: the founding of parishes, colleges, and houses (St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., Boston College, and houses in Manresa and Keyser Island in New York); the emergence of short-lived houses (such as Deer Creek, Md.; Paradise, Pa.; and Claremont, N.H); bequests made to the Province; tenant contracts and correspondence; claims made by Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal upon the property of White Marsh; and Civil War claims.

Several folders document the chain of title for the province’s Southern Maryland estates, houses, and mission churches. These folders include deeds and other legal papers documenting the trustee relationships that enabled Jesuit missionaries to sidestep Maryland laws restricting property ownership by Catholic clerics after 1645, and the subsequent transfer of title to the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen (CRCC) in 1783. They also include records of other real estate purchases and the improvements made to the buildings for houses, mission churches, and educational institutions established after the founding of the CRCC.

Finally, this subseries contains financial documents created by Procurator Joseph Zwingé, S.J. and his successors, including invoices, receipts, account statements, and correspondence related to Provincial functions (such as the medical care of members, payments of tuition fees for members who attended schools administered by other Provinces, and financial measures taken during World War I).

**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 Researchers may encounter outdated or potentially offensive terminology and occasional inaccuracies.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

Most of the materials in this subseries were compiled by Joseph Zwingé, S.J., who served as Procurator from 1903 to 1920, a time in which the Provincial properties underwent significant change. These changes included removing houses from Conewago and Goshenhoppen (both in Pennsylvania); transferring the novitiate from Frederick, Maryland to St. Andrews-on-the-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, New York.; transferring the houses located on the historic estates of St. Inigoes and White Marsh, Maryland to nearby towns; opening Georgetown Preparatory School in Garrett Park, Maryland.; and rationalizing the bookkeeping systems to meet the demands of the Jesuit Curia. To prepare for and execute these changes, Zwingé brought Provincial records together to help him appraise the assets of the Province and make recommendations for reorganization. In addition, Zwingé used many of the materials in Subseries 2.1 to inform his research for the historical studies he wrote and published in the Jesuit journal the Woodstock Letters.

Materials are arranged alphabetically and 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

1633 - 1968

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 )