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Report on the Maryland Provincial Congregation, 1835.
A report on the eight postulates proposed during the Maryland Provincial Congregation, and the decisions regarding each. Postulates six and eight deal with a proposal to sell the Province's slaves and indicates the sharp debate among the Jesuits over…
"What will become of me?": Fr. Havermans reports on the anguish of the slaves, October 20, 1838 and November 12, 1838
In this letter to the Superior General, Fr. Havermans laments the "grim and displeasing" sale of the Jesuits' slaves. In a postscript dated November 12, he reports the anguish expressed by enslaved people at Newtown as they were being gathered for…
"sell all our landed property and slaves": Fr. McSherry to Fr. Roothaan, March 13, 1837
Fr. McSherry wrote to Fr. Roothaan, the Jesuit Superior General, about a conversation he had with the Archbishop of Baltimore, who suggested that the Jesuits consider selling their land and slaves and devote the proceeds "to purposes of education."…
"the sale cannot be so urgent": Fr. McSherry to Fr. Roothaan on inflation, the slave sale, and taxes, May 13, 1837
Fr. McSherry wrote to Fr. Roothaan to follow up on his previous letter urging that the Jesuits consider selling their slaves. That spring, the United States fell into the throes of the Panic of 1837. McSherry lamented that if they sold then, they…
Twenty conditions of sale, 1836
Rev. Francis Vespre, SJ records twenty distinct conditions placed on the sale of the people owned by the Jesuits. Conditions 1-8 have to do with the religious and family life of the people who are to be sold, and conditions 9-20 have to do with the…
Questions regarding slavery: Rev. Thomas Mulledy, SJ to the Jesuit Superior General, January 7, 1830
In a letter to the new Jesuit Superior General Jan Roothaan, Rev. Thomas Mulledy SJ assesses the state of Georgetown College and poses a set of challenging questions regarding the Jesuits' slaveholding in Maryland. He asks whether the Jesuits' slave…
"many of them are in very great kneed of blankets:" Fr. Fenwick to Fr. Grassi, September 22, 1816
Fr. Fenwick complains to Fr. Grassi that he does not have the resources to feed and clothe the enslaved at White Marsh. The enslaved people need blankets, clothes, and other articles. The current crop will not produce enough income to cover these…
"whose rule always is to work as little as possible": Fr. Marshall reports to Rome, March 5, 1821
Marshall reports that the Society is living beyond its means and must sell real property. No prospect that the Maryland farms will be profitable in the future due to bad management. Marshall states that the province has around 300 slaves of whom…
"most baneful to religion": Abp. Eccleston to Fr. Roothaan, June 27, 1839
In a letter to the Father General, Eccleston pleads for Mulledy to remain in the Society. He argues that the shock of his dismissal would create a scandal in the US.
Slavery at St. Thomas Manor: Fr. Grivel to Fr. Roothaan, 1831
Letter written by Father Grivel to the Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr. Roothaan, concerning his assessment of the Maryland Province, and of the property and management of St. Thomas Manor in particular, and the problem of slavery. Fr. Grivel…