Robert A. Parsons, SJ Papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS31
The Robert A. Parsons, SJ Papers contain material related to his work as a military chaplain, including office files and routine correspondence as well as baptismal and marriage forms for soldiers and their intended brides at Camp Blanding, Florida. Most of Parson's paperwork pertains to obtaining dispensations for interfaith marriages, getting proof of previous baptism, and baptizing those who wished to be married.
There is also correspondence with the Military Ordinariate in New York, the Diocese of St. Augustine, and parish priests throughout the country as well as a series of monthly reports sent to the Military Ordinariate. Further, there is material on providing religious services to the German Catholic POWs whose compound was adjacent to Camp Blanding (box 1 folder 12). Also included is Fr. Parsons' early military registration paperwork (box 1 folder 1) and ephemera/correspondence related to his golden jubilee in 1959 (box 1 folder 14).
The Robert A. Parsons, SJ Papers are on deposit at Georgetown University and are 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 All unpublished Archives materials dated or bearing solely on events occurring on or after January 1, 1940, shall be open for review upon request subject to a decision by the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).
Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.
Robert A. Parsons, SJ (1892-1968) was born in Philadelphia to parents Paul J. (1857-1935) and Alice C. Avery (1859-1955, m. 1881) with his sisters Elsie (later Sister Wilfrid SNDdeN, 1881-1970) and Margaret M. (1894-1997) as well as brothers J. Wilfrid (1887-1958), Paul F. (1890-1939), and Louis R. (1899-1915). He attended the Gesú School (1898-1904), St. Joseph’s High School (1904-1907), and St. Joseph’s College (1907-1909) before entering the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson (Poughkeepsie, 1909-1913). His brothers Wilfrid, Paul, and Louis also entered the Society in 1903, 1907, and 1915, respectively, although Paul later left in 1916.
After completing his noviceship in New York, Robert studied philosophy at Woodstock (1914-1916) and was a lecturer in chemistry, geology, and astronomy at Boston College (1917-1920). He did his philosophy at Woodstock (1921-1924) where he was also ordained in 1923, spent a brief period at St. Joseph’s College (Philadelphia, 1925), and was stationed at St. Andrew-on-Hudson for his tertianship (1926). Robert took his final vows in 1927 and became a dean at Georgetown University (1927-1928) and St. Joseph’s College (1929-1931). Between 1932 and 1938 he was an instructor in history at St. Peter’s College (Jersey City) and regent of the School of Social Sciences at St. Joseph’s College (Philadelphia) from 1939 to 1943.
Robert was appointed to the US Army 12-2-1943 and trained at Harvard Chaplain School (1-2-1944 – 2-9-1944) before being stationed at the Camp Blanding, Florida, hospital (2-1944 – 12-1944); the 8th Replacement Depot in Montopoli, Italy (1-1945 – 9-1945); and Camp Lee, Virginia (9-1945 – 4-1946). He was promoted to the rank of Captain 12-18-1945 and reverted to inactive status 6-8-1946. After the war, Fr. Parsons returned to Georgetown University as athletic director and professor of philosophy (1946-1953) before becoming parish priest at Old Saint Joseph’s Church (Philadelphia, 1953-1963). Beginning in 1963 he was professor emeritus of history at Wheeling College, where he died in 1968.
0.4 Cubic Feet (1 box)
English
The collection was previously part of the University Archives (prior to 1970). Correspondence from Fr. Parsons in box 1 folder 15 indicates that his papers may have already been in the University Archives by 1966.
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository