Jesuits -- Maryland Province
Subject
Subject Source: Local sources
Found in 67 Collections and/or Records:
1. Records of the Provincial, 1805-1981
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 1, the Records of the Provincial, documents the formation of missions, Houses of Jesuit formation, colleges, and houses for the entire Maryland Province under its various iterations. The Provincial derives his authority from the Superior General In Rome and ensures that members and individual communities comply with the rules of the Society of Jesus and the directives of diocesan leaders. During its existence between 1805 and 2020, the Province included the mid-Atlantic states of...
Dates:
1805-1981
2. Records of the Procurator, 1633-1968
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 2, the Records of the Procurator, includes financial and legal documents related to the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and covers the years 1633-1968. The Procurator - effectively the treasurer of the province - had oversight of finances, and the records in this series reveal the emergence of a tobacco-centered economy in the mid-Atlantic region in the seventeenth century, its diversification beginning in the late eighteenth century, and the decline of agriculture in...
Dates:
1633-1968
3. Records of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, 1694-1956
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 3, the Records of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, documents the activity of the legal entity established in 1792 to protect Jesuit property interests in the Maryland region. The series includes minutes proceedings, by-laws, and Trustee lists from the meetings of the Corporation (1793-1956); legislative acts, property transfers, power of attorney documents, some Trustee correspondence, and the charter establishing the CRCC (1789-1918); and the wills of both Jesuits and...
Dates:
1694-1956
4. Records of the Houses, 1730-1982
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 4, the Records of the Houses, documents the development of parish life and the ministry of the Maryland Province among disparate communities in the mid-Atlantic region from the eighteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. The material in this series focuses primarily on Houses and their activities in the Washington, D.C. area, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Additional materials reflect House activity in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and West Virginia. This series also...
Dates:
1730-1982
5. Papers of the Maryland Mission, 1638 - 1958
Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of correspondence and other documents created during or pertaining to the Jesuits’ initial mission in colonial Maryland (1634-1773). Materials include correspondence of the mission’s Superiors; mission rules and agreements, including some compiled retrospectively; the applications of prospective missionaries; missionary letters and reports; obituaries and eulogies; legal and documents related to colonial Maryland; narrative histories; and spiritual writings. Materials...
Dates:
1638 - 1958
6. Papers of the Suppression and Restoration, 1713 - 1955
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 6, the Papers of the Suppression and Restoration, document the period of time in which the Society of Jesus was suppressed (by order of Pope Clement XIV in Rome in 1773) and then restored (by Pope Pius VII in 1814). These papers include the Proceedings of the General Chapter and Southern District of the Select Body of the Clergy, which include discussions related to the former Jesuits’ plantations and to slavery; letters from former Jesuits challenging the decisions of the Select Body...
Dates:
1713 - 1955
7. Papers of Individual Priests of the Maryland Province, 1790 - 2003
Series
Scope and Contents
This series consists of the fragmentary personal papers of selected Jesuit priests who were members of the Maryland Province. The Maryland Province had a longstanding practice of retaining the personal papers of its members for its Archives. In the early twentieth century, archivists selected from among these personal papers the materials they deemed of highest interest for retention within the Maryland Province Archives (because of the individuals involved in the creation of the materials,...
Dates:
1790 - 2003
8. Papers of Catholic Families, 1630 - 1907
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 8, Papers of Catholic Families, contains select records created by or pertaining to several prominent Catholic families in the mid-Atlantic region (the Brents, Brookes, Brownes, Carrolls, Fenwicks, Griffins, Neales, and Sewalls). These families were significant land and property owners, often operating their own plantations and interacting in different capacities with the Maryland Province, including bequeathing property to the Province. Several families, including the Carrols,...
Dates:
1630 - 1907
9. Province Documentation and Printed Works, 1773 - 1995
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 9, Province Documentation and Printed Works, contains biographies and obituaries of deceased Jesuits (mostly members of the Province); catalogs and directories listing houses and members at various stages of formation, books and authors, and mission activity; a microfilm copy of a msnuscript not found in the Maryland Province Archives; photographs; and publications and newsclippings (such as Jesuit newsletters, anniversary publications, and some materials related to the Jesuits at...
Dates:
1773 - 1995
10. Legacy Finding Aids, Catalogs, and Guides, 1905 - 1996
Series
Scope and Contents
Series 10 contains the previous finding aids, box lists, research guides, and card catalogs that archives staff have used to orient researchers to the Maryland Province Archives. In addition to these materials, there is also some correspondence regarding the establishment of the collection and exhibition catalogs pertaining to Jesuit materials that have been on display in the past at Georgetown University. Among the materials in this series is an item-level card catalog created...
Dates:
1905 - 1996
1.1 Correspondence, Chronological, 1805-1883
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
Subseries 1.1 is comprised of correspondence of the Superiors of the Mission of the American Federation (1805-1833) and Provincials of the Province of Maryland (1833-1877). Most letters in the subseries are addressed to the Provincials themselves, but the subseries also contains letters received by their advisees, including the Socius, Consultors, Procurators, and Board Members of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen. Written primarily by members of the Society of Jesus, this...
Dates:
1805-1883
1.2 Correspondence, Superior General, 1759-1935
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of letters sent by the Jesuit Superior General in Rome to the Maryland Province, and spans the years 1759 to 1935. The Superior General, the leader of the Society of Jesus elected by its General Congregation, wrote regularly to the Maryland Province to clarify the rules and regulations of the Society, interpret Papal decrees, authorize the establishment of new missions, mediate relations among Provinces, and announce the appointments of Rectors, Superiors, and...
Dates:
1759-1935
1.3 Correspondence, Circular Letters, 1759-1942
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of circular letters sent by the Provincial to the members of the Maryland Province, and spans the years 1759 to 1942. From 1759 through 1884, the circular letters are bound in three copy books; loose printed letters span the years 1881 through 1942. These letters, which were intended for wide distribution among members, variously convey directives from the Superior General, the Pope, and Archdiocesan leadership; clarify the rules of the Society related to Jesuit...
Dates:
1759-1942
1.4 Correspondence, Subject, 1813-1988
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of the correspondence subject files of the Provincial of the Maryland Province. As with other records of the Provincial, these materials address aspects of Jesuit formation, community rules, the direction of its educational institutions, the pastoral activities of the houses, relations with Archdiocesan authorities, and the financial affairs of the Province. Materials related to the Jesuit Houses of Southern Maryland document the segregation and subsequent...
Dates:
1813-1988
1.5 Correspondence, Correspondent, 1898 - 1971
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of letters received by the Maryland Provincial, primarily written by members of the Province. The responses of the Provincial or his designee are filed with these letters. The subjects concern the advancement of members, assignments of those working in other Provinces, appeals for donations for missions within and outside the Province, and conflicts between members within their communities. The letters are filed in alphabetical order by name of the...
Dates:
1898 - 1971
1.6 Membership, Vows, 1806 - 1982
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of the documents signed by each member of the Maryland Province upon taking his final vows and becoming a member of the Society of Jesus. There also is a list of the members included in this subseries (compiled September 20, 1951) and fragments of a bound volume that recorded the vows taken by members of the New York Mission within the Canadian Province from January 1, 1861 through January 7, 1887. The subseries further includes candidate renunciations of...
Dates:
1806 - 1982
1.7 Membership, Vital Records, 1755 - 1869
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists mostly of vital records of members of the Province that provide useful biographical information on members, including documents certifying membership in the Society of Jesus and ordinations to the priesthood, passports and naturalization papers, travel passes, and legal documents.**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...
Dates:
1755 - 1869
1.8 Special Visitor Peter Kenney, S.J., 1819 - 1900
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries includes documentation of Peter Kenney, S.J.’s time serving as Special Visitor to the Jesuit Missions of the United States on behalf of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus in Rome. A prominent Irish Jesuit, Kenney visited the United States from 1819 to 1820, and again from 1830 to 1833. During his visits, he was asked to address questions regarding the organization of provinces, economic viability, and the application of the rules of the Society to local...
Dates:
1819 - 1900
1.9 Missouri Mission, 1823 - 1859
Sub-Series
Scope and Contents
This subseries consists of the records of the Missouri Mission, from its establishment within the Maryland Province in 1823 until Missouri was designated a Vice-Province in 1840. Materials consist of letters addressing the transfer of Houses, churches, and schools by the diocese of New Orleans to the Society, as well as administrative documentation and financial reports. Slavery is discussed throughout the letters, as the Missouri Mission derived income from plantations near Florissant,...
Dates:
1823 - 1859
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...
Dates:
1633 - 1968