Albert A. Beckwith, SJ Papers
Collection — Box: GTM Shared Box 44, Folder: 1-5
Identifier: GTM-20241126
Correspondence to Fr. Albert A. Beckwith, SJ, while he was a theological student at Woodstock College (Maryland) between 1937 and 1941. Senders include his cousin Nellie M. Morgan of Wilcox, Pennsylvania; his godmother May Barry of Warwick, New York; his nephew Albert C. Beckwith of Goshen, Pennsylvania; and his sister Marie Beckwith of Jersey City, New Jersey. They primarily contain family updates and reference personal matters.
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.
Fr. Albert A. Beckwith (1909-1983) was born in Poughkeepsie to parents Albert F. and Susan G. Morgan Beckwith (1871-1955) alongside siblings Marie I. (1895-1986), Joseph A. (1894-1973), and Charles Morgan (1900-1979). His family moved to Brooklyn by 1915 and by 1920 Albert was living with relatives in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1927 he entered the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson (Poughkeepsie, 1927-1931) and then went to Weston College for his philosophical studies (1932-1934). After briefly being stationed at Georgetown University as a lecturer (1935), he then taught grammar at Brooklyn Preparatory School (1936) and Loyola High School (Baltimore, 1937) before transferring to Woodstock College for his theologate (1938-1941). Fr. Beckwith was ordained there in 1940.
In 1942 Fr. Beckwith became a chaplain in the US Army and was assigned to the station hospital at Camp Pickett (Virginia) and then Harvard Chaplain School in early 1943. Afterwards he was promoted to the rank of captain and then stationed at the Valley Forge General Hospital (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) through August 1944 when he was sent to the European theatre. By late August 1945 he was back in the US at Camp Sibert (Alabama) before transferring to Fort Bragg (North Carolina) and then to the Welch Convalescent Hospital (Daytona Beach) in April 1946. In September 1946 he was sent to the Pacific theatre as a part of the 473rd Quartermaster Group and was in Korea’s 1st Replacement Depot that December. Returning to the US in early 1947, Fr. Beckwith was promoted to the rank of major and subsequently became inactive in the military.
Between 1948 and 1949 he was at Saint Louis University studying economics and eventually became a lecturer on the topic at Le Moyne College (Syracuse, 1950). Fr. Beckwith was next a professor of economics at Canisius College (Buffalo, 1951-1961) and St. Peter’s College (Jersey City, 1962-1963) before becoming assistant director of the Institute of Industrial Relations (SIR) in Jersey City (1964-1967). He was promoted to the position of director of SIR in 1968, a position which he held until the school closed in 1974. From 1974 to 1979 he continued working at St. Peter’s Preparatory School and from 1980 to 1983 he was stationed in North Miami under the New Orleans Province. Fr. Beckwith died in 1983 at Fordham University.
0.1 Cubic Feet (5 folders)
English
Gift of Charles D. Theobald, Jr., 2024
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository