Jose A. Lopez, SJ Papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-20210614
The Jose A. Lopez, SJ Papers contain correspondence, official documents, and manuscripts relating to Lopez's careers as parish priest and army chaplain in Mexico; tutor to the children of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of Mexico; chaplain of the Visitation Convent in Georgetown; and Acting President of Georgetown College. There are also materials collected by Lopez that do not directly pertain to his own work. Items include a copy of a letter from Simon Bolivar to the Marquis de Lafayette (March 20, 1826); directions as tutor to the Iturbide children (1822); and “Manifesto al Mundo de Agustín de Yturbide,” Emperor Agustin’s holograph justification of his conduct in Mexico, written after his dethronement in 1822. Correspondence (1811-1840) includes letters from John England, the Iturbides, Ambrose Marechal, James Whitfield, and Con Ciriaco de Llano y Garay. There are also papers related to Lopez’s service at Georgetown.
Most documents are written in Spanish, though there are some in Latin and English.
Materials are arranged alphabetically by folder title, and then by date.
The collection was previously part of University Archives (prior to 1970).
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
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.
Jose Antonio Lopez was born in Michoacán, Mexico in 1779. After studying canon law, he became chaplain and tutor to the family of Agustín de Iturbide, a colonel and general from a prominent Spanish family in Mexico. Lopez followed Iturbide to Spain in 1816, serving as his attorney and political informant. Lopez returned to Mexico as Iturbide fought for Mexico’s independence from Spain, and during Iturbide’s brief period as Emperor of Mexico. When Iturbide was exiled to Italy, Lopez accompanied the family, and after Iturbide’s execution in 1824, Lopez escorted his widow, Ana Maria Huarte, and their children to the United States. Lopez eventually settled in Georgetown. He became chaplain to the Georgetown Visitation School, then entered the Society of Jesus in 1833; this is likely when he took on his anglicized name, Joseph Anton Lopez. He taught at Georgetown College, eventually becoming minister of the college and then, for a brief period in 1840, its Acting President (after William McSherry, S.J.’s death, and before the appointment of James Ryder, S.J.). When Lopez became ill, he was sent to the Maryland Province plantation of St. Inigoes. He died there in October 1841.
0.4 Cubic Feet
English
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository