Father Mulledy promised his superiors that the slaves would continue to practice their religion. They found the last physical marker of Corneliuss journey at the Immaculate Heart of Mary cemetery, where Ms. Crumps father, grandmother and great-grandfather are also buried. We see that slavery was MUCH more than depriving people of their liberty and theft of their services, it was the cruel and long lasting emotional devastation of selling away loved ones, taking indecent liberties, cruel and inhumane treatment and so much more. Georgetown and the Society of Jesus Maryland Province have issued an apology for their role in this action to more than 100 descendants who had been traced at the time of the apology. Upon receipt of these 51, Johnson and Batey were to pay the first $25,000. We encourage you to use these links as we receive a small royalty paid by the partner allowing you to help us without cost to you. [27], The articles of agreement listed each of the slaves being sold by name. Isaac Hawkins was the first enslaved person listed in the 1838 sale document. Your email address will not be published. [36], Soon after the sale, Roothaan decided that Mulledy should be removed as provincial superior. Families would not be separated. While it would seem as if there would be some mention of this in history, it remained largely unknown. This is the original list of slaves from the Jesuit plantations compiled in preparation for the sale in 1838. With time, Georgetown professors, students and alumni are taking a look at this portion and tracking the people sold to finance the institution. Kenney found the slaves facing arbitrary discipline, a meager diet, pastoral neglect, and engaging in vice. Slaves Transported on the Katherine Jackson of Georgetown, Arriving New Orleans 6 Dec 1838, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1838_Jesuit_slave_sale, https://slaveryarchive.georgetown.edu/items/show/9, https://gu272.americanancestors.org/family/all-families, https://gu272.americanancestors.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/GMP%20Ancestor%20Database%202019%2002%2008%20%281%29%20%281%29.xlsx, Send a private message to the Profile Manager, Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Slave Owners, Iberville Parish, Louisiana, Slave Owners, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, Public Comments: Her ancestors, once amorphous and invisible, are finally taking shape in her mind. The two women drove on the narrow roads that line the green, rippling sugar cane fields in Iberville Parish. [56][62] In 2016, The New York Times published an article that brought the history of the Jesuits' and university's relationship with slavery to national attention. Other industries made loads of money indirectly. The second is now named for a free African-American woman who founded a school for Catholic black girls in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since 2015, Georgetown has been working to address its historical relationship to slavery and will continue to do so, a Georgetown spokesman said in a statement to Religion News Service on Friday. The website is part of a collaboration between Boston-based American Ancestors, also called the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Georgetown Memory Project, which was founded by Georgetown alumnus Richard Cellini. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. There was no need for a map. What Does It Owe Their Descendants? [32] An unknown number of slaves may also have run away and escaped transportation. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII. As early as the 1780s, Dr. Rothman found, they openly discussed the need to cull their stock of human beings. Colleges and universities have placed greater emphasis on education equity in recent years. [50], In 1981, historian Robert Emmett Curran presented at academic conferences a comprehensive research into the Maryland Jesuits' participation in slavery, and published this research in 1983. The remainder of the slaves were accounted for in three subsequent bills of sale executed in November 1838, which specified that 64 would go to Batey's plantation named West Oak in Iberville Parish and 140 slaves would be sent to Johnson's two plantations, Ascension Plantation (later known as Chatham Plantation) in Ascension Parish and another in Maringouin (Iberville Parish). He addressed his concerns to Father Mulledy, who three years earlier had returned to his post as president of Georgetown. Are You A Liturgist With A Passion to Form Young Adults? We encourage you to visit our website, call us at (202)-687-8330, or email us at descendants@georgetown.edu if you are interested in learning more or sharing your ideas and reflections. [42], Before the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865, many slaves sold by the Jesuits changed ownership several times. In 2013, Georgetown began planning to renovate the adjacent Ryan, Mulledy, and Gervase Halls, which together served as the university's Jesuit residence until the opening of a new residence in 2003. On Juneteenth, the debate comes to Congress. By the 1830s, however, their physical and religious conditions had improved considerably. [58] In November of that year, following a student-led protest and sit-in,[59] the working group recommended that the university temporarily rename Mulledy Hall (which opened during Mulledy's presidency in 1833)[60] to Freedom Hall, and McSherry Hall (which opened in 1792 and housed a meditation center)[61] to Remembrance Hall. Start Free Trial Now Our membership program offers special benefits for just $99 per year: *Unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows, *FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, *Unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs and more Prime benefits, Join Amazon Prime Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime Start Free Trial Now. [47], While the 1838 slave sale gave rise to scandal at the time, the event eventually faded out of the public awareness. This has made people reluctant to see the past and this has had a long term harm by remaining hidden and allowed to fester. Central concepts and key points are illustrated through campus examples. Wondering why we ask for your email, or having trouble registering. Articles in the Woodstock Letters, an internal Jesuit publication that later became accessible to the public, routinely addressed both subjects during the course of its existence from 1872 to 1969. [24] When he returned in November to gather the rest of the slaves, the plantation managers had their slaves flee and hide. Behind her are sugar plantations and the sugar mill where her ancestors worked. To see the posts, click here. Census of slaves to be sold in 1838 This is the original list of slaves from the Jesuit plantations compiled in preparation for the sale in 1838. The New York Times would like to hear from people who have done research into their genealogical history. (Courtesy of Ellender Library) In 1838, two priests who served as president of Georgetown University orchestrated the sale of 272 people to pay off debts at the school. Georgetown University was an active participant in the slave trade selling upwards of 272 slaves from their Maryland run plantation to the deep south in an effort to support the then struggling university in 1838 according to The New York Times. Many of them baptized Catholic, they were bought by planters to work. At the time, the Catholic Church did not view slaveholding as immoral, said the Rev. In all, the Jesuits sold 314 men, women and children over . [12], One of the Maryland Jesuits' institutions, Georgetown College (later known as Georgetown University), also rented slaves. in Fr. Login to post. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, during a morning Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition, and Hope. While they continued to support gradual emancipation, they believed that this option was becoming increasingly untenable, as the Maryland public's concern grew about the expanding number of free blacks. Others, including two of Corneliuss uncles, ran away before they could be captured. They could then make 40% on the labor of the slave and pay the bank 8%. Georgetown Jesuits enslaved her ancestors. In 1838, the Jesuit priests who ran the countrys top Catholic university needed money to keep it alive. ALL OF THE PEOPLE LISTED ON THIS PAGE HAVE PROFILES. In 1996, the Jesuit Plantation Project was established by historians at Georgetown, which made available to the public via the internet digitized versions of much of the Maryland Jesuits' archives, including the articles of agreement for the 1838 sale. [53], With work complete, in August 2015, university president John DeGioia sent an open letter to the university announcing the opening of the new student residence, which also related Mulledy's role in the 1838 slave sale after stepping down as president of the university. The presidents of Harvard University and Georgetown University discuss their institutions historic ties to slavery in a conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates. The U.S. Department of State defines modern slavery as "the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled . Another building has been renamed Anne Marie Becraft Hall in honor of a free Black woman who established a school in the town of Georgetown for Girls of color. This sale was overseen by Provincial Superior William McSherry and Friar Thomas Mulledy. [43][44] In 1856, Washington Barrow sold the slaves he purchased from Batey to William Patrick and Joseph B. Woolfolk of Iberville Parish. A notation on the second page indicates that it was discovered by Fr. Georgetown was a prominent Jesuit priests. Revealed: The Slave Sold to Save Georgetown by Stacy M. Brown March 22, 2017 Frank Campbell was sold in 1838 to help save Georgetown. Joseph Carberry, 1824 GSA29: Priscilla Queen petitions for her freedom, 1810 GSA30: Edward Queen petitions for his freedom, 1791 GSA31: Proceedings of the General Chapter at White Marsh, May 1789 GSA32: Fanny & her family, 1815 To see information on Juneteenth, click here. Cardinal McElroy responds to his critics on sexual sin, the Eucharist, and LGBT and divorced/remarried Catholics, Worried you retired too early? Some of that money helped to pay off the debts of the struggling college. The students organized a protest and a sit-in, using the hashtag #GU272 for the slaves who were sold. We shop for the best values for you. Her great-uncle had the name, as did one of her cousins. The college relied on Jesuit plantations in Maryland to help finance its operations, university officials say. If youre already a subscriber or donor, thank you! Since youre a frequent reader of our website, we want to be able to share even more great, As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important, Georgetown students voted to pay for reparations. Interview: Whats it like to photograph Pope Francis? So Judy Riffel, one of the genealogists hired by Mr. Cellini, began following a chain of weddings and births, baptisms and burials. But six years after he appeared in the census, and about three decades after the birth of his first child, he renewed his wedding vows with the blessing of a priest. New England ship builders made ships to bring people to this country. The students organized a protest and a sit-in, using the hashtag #GU272 for the slaves who were sold. Slaves worked on the Jesuit plantations in Maryland that helped to sustain the Jesuits' religious and educational mission. And she would like to see Corneliuss name, and those of his parents and children, inscribed on a memorial on campus. During this time, the Jesuits funded some of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in America in part through profits earned on their plantations. Georgetown University Sold Hundreds of SlavesDoes That Still Matter? Dr. Rothman, the Georgetown historian, heard about Mr. Cellinis efforts and let him know that he and several of his students were also tracing the slaves. [18] The province was sharply divided, with the American-born Jesuits supporting a sale and the missionary European Jesuits opposing on the basis that it was immoral both to sell their patrimonial lands and to materially and morally harm the slaves by selling them into the Deep South, where they did not want to go. The remainder of the slaves were accounted for in three subsequent bills of sale executed in November 1838, which specified that 64 would go to Batey's plantation named West Oak in Iberville Parish and 140 slaves would be sent to Johnson's two plantations,[27] Ascension Plantation (later known as Chatham Plantation) in Ascension Parish and another in Maringouin in Iberville Parish. (RNS) A genealogical association has launched a new website detailing the family histories of slaves who were sold to keep Catholic-run Georgetown University from bankruptcy in . What Does It Owe Their Descendants? -- Georgetown University has announced that descendants of 272 slaves, from whose sale the school profited in 1838, will receive "an advantage in the admissions process" as part of a larger . Georgetown owned these human beings and they had been used to build the institutions physical buildings, tend farms and perform hard labor under rigid control. The Jesuit leaders running the institution that would later become Georgetown University sold the 272 enslaved men, women and children in 1838 to settle mounting debts threatening the. WASHINGTON The human cargo was loaded on ships at a bustling wharf in the nations capital, destined for the plantations of the Deep South. Anyone can read what you share. [10], Due to these extensive landholdings, the Propaganda Fide in Rome had come to view the American Jesuits negatively, believing they lived lavishly like manorial lords. Enslaved, marginalized and forced into illiteracy by laws that prohibited them from learning to read and write, many seem like ghosts who pass through this world without leaving a trace. The Rev. [4][a] Several of the Jesuits' slaves unsuccessfully attempted to sue for their freedom in the courts in the 1790s. As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important Americas voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. [69] Several groups of descendants have been created, which have lobbied Georgetown University and the Society of Jesus for reparations, and groups have disagreed with the form that their desired reparations should take. (The two men would swap positions by 1838.). Georgetown University in Washington, seen from across the Potomac River. This indispensable guide presents academic administrators and staff with advice on building an equity-minded campus culture, aligning strategic priorities and institutional missions to advance equity, understanding equity-minded data analysis, developing campus strategies for making excellence inclusive, and moving from a first-generation equity educator to an equity-minded practitioner. Our membership program offers special benefits to college students including: * Unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping (with no minimum order size), * Exclusive deals and promotions for college students, Georgetown University confronts its history with slavery. Participants in this discussion are: Drew Gilpin Faust, President, Harvard University. Although modern slavery is not always easy to recognize, it continues to exist in nearly every country. He was allowed to continue paying well beyond the ten years initially allowed, and continued to do so until just before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, during the Civil War. [27] Johnson allowed these slaves to remain in Maryland because he intended to return and try to buy their spouses as well. [28], Anticipating that some of the Jesuit plantation managers who opposed the sale would encourage their slaves to flee, Mulledy, along with Johnson and a sheriff, arrived at each of the plantations unannounced to gather the first 51 slaves for transport. We pray with you today because we have greatly sinned and because we are profoundly sorry. This message was delivered to more than 100 descendants of the original enslaved people who had been sol to finance the institution. The Society of Jesus, whose members are known as Jesuits, established its first presence in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Thirteen Colonies alongside the first settlers of the British Province of Maryland, which had been founded as a Catholic colony and refuge. 2023 A Month of Tribute to 31 Women We Should All Know, Rosewood A Typical Race Riot in America. list of slaves sold by georgetown university. [34] Many Maryland Jesuits were outraged by the sale, which they considered to be immoral, and many of them wrote graphic, emotional accounts of the sale to Roothaan. The sale prompted immediate outcry from fellow Jesuits. Some tips for making the most of your twilight years. Most of the 314 enslaved people were sent to Louisiana, but about a third remained in Maryland or were sold to other locations, according to an article on the website. [8] These consisted primarily of the plantations of White Marsh in Prince George's County, St. Inigoes and Newtown Manor in St. Mary's County, St. Thomas Manor in Charles County, and Bohemia Manor in Cecil County. [28] Most of the slaves who fled returned to their plantations, and Mulledy made a third visit later that month, where he gathered some of the remaining slaves for transport. One building is now named in honor of a slave who was 65 years old when he was sold in 1838. The number of slaves transported to Louisiana (206) and the number left in Maryland (91) add up to 297, not 272, because some of the 272 slaves initially identified to be sold were substituted with replacements. In 1836, the Jesuit Superior General, Jan Roothaan, authorized the provincial superior to carry out the sale on three conditions: the slaves must be permitted to practice their Catholic faith, their families must not be separated, and the proceeds of the sale must be used only to support Jesuits in training. The plantation would be sold again and again and again, records show, but Corneliuss family remained intact. [27] The agreement provided that 51 slaves would be sent to the port of Alexandria, Virginia in order to be shipped to Louisiana. A photo of the slave cabins at Laurel Valley in Thibodaux is part of the GU272 Memory Project. 272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. Descendants are learning new links to their pasts as a result of the project. Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address. It has been stated that value of slaves in America was more valuable than all the industrial and transportation capital of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. Cardinal McElroy on radical inclusion for L.G.B.T. Having descendant voices present alongside historical documents is an essential part of the GU272 narrative, said Claire Vail, the projects director for American Ancestors, in an announcement about the website. We receive a small royalty without cost to you. This admissions preference has been described by historian Craig Steven Wilder as the most significant measure recently taken by a university to account for its historical relationship with slavery. It is better to prevent than to attempt to remedy. [4] Many of these slaves were gifted to the Jesuits, while others were purchased. Now shes working for justice. To pay that debt, the university sold 272 slaves the very people that helped build the school itself. When the Society of Jesus was suppressed worldwide by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, ownership of the plantations was transferred from the Jesuits' Maryland Mission to the newly established Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen. [33], Almost immediately, the sale, which was one of the largest slave sales in the history of the United States,[28] became a scandal among American Catholics. Ms. Crump is a familiar figure in Baton Rouge. Remembrance Hall became Anne Marie Becraft Hall, after a free black woman who founded a school for black girls in the Georgetown neighborhood and later joined the Oblate Sisters of Providence. In letters written to Jesuit superiors in Maryland, one priest who accidentally crossed paths with the slaves in Louisiana after the sale bemoaned the fact that the slaves couldnt practice Catholicism.. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. [2] As the sole ministers of Catholicism in Maryland at the time, the Jesuit estates became the centers of Catholicism. As part of Georgetown University's Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation initiative, students in Professor Adam Rothman's fall 2019 UNXD 272 class researched buildings and sites on Georgetown's campus to provide historical context for understanding their significance. [72][70] Georgetown also made a $1million donation to the foundation and a $400,000 donation to create a charitable fund to pay for healthcare and education in Maringouin, Louisiana. [29] Some of the initial 272 slaves who were not delivered to Johnson were replaced with substitutes. On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two Louisiana planters, Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000 (equivalent to approximately $2.96 million in 2021). Slaves were collateral and could be used to mortgage land and other goods.