list of slaves sold by georgetown university list of slaves sold by georgetown university

But the decision to sell virtually all of their enslaved African-Americans in the 1830s left some priests deeply troubled. Acknowledging the changing realities and increasing demands placed on contemporary postsecondary education, this book meets educators where they are and offers an effective design framework for what it means to move beyond equity being a buzzword in higher education. Georgetown was a prominent Jesuit priests. Your email address will not be published. He might have disappeared from view again for a time, save for something few could have counted on: his deep, abiding faith. ", New England Historic Genealogical Society, "They thought Georgetown University's missing slaves were 'lost.' [37] As censure for the scandal,[39] Roothaan ordered Mulledy to remain in Europe,[35] and Mulledy lived in exile in Nice until 1843. [3], Much of this land was put to use as plantations, the revenue from which financed the Jesuits' ministries. GSA28: William Gaston entrusts a slave named Augustus to Fr. Georgetown University announces reparations fund to benefit descendants It is also emblematic of the complex entanglement of American higher education and religious institutions with slavery. [5] The first record of slaves working Jesuit plantations in Maryland dates to 1711, but it is likely that there were slave laborers on the plantations a generation before then. 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. [43][44] In 1856, Washington Barrow sold the slaves he purchased from Batey to William Patrick and Joseph B. Woolfolk of Iberville Parish. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII. [27] The agreement provided that 51 slaves would be sent to the port of Alexandria, Virginia in order to be shipped to Louisiana. Families would not be separated. On that same day, the university rededicated two buildings previously named for former university presidents who were priests and supporters of the slave trade. At the time, the Catholic Church did not view slaveholding as immoral, said the Rev. She found out about the Jesuits and Georgetown and the sea voyage to Louisiana. [51] Other historians covered the subject in literature published between the 1980s and 2000s. Leave a message for others who see this profile. [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. Although modern slavery is not always easy to recognize, it continues to exist in nearly every country. 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. In exchange, they would receive 272 slaves from the four Jesuit plantations in southern Maryland,[5][24] constituting nearly all of the slaves owned by the Maryland Jesuits. Ashby's account book at Newtown.For a spreadsheet with all the data transcribed, seeGSA5. Roughly two-thirds of the Jesuits former slaves including Cornelius and his family had been shipped to two plantations so distant from churches that they never see a Catholic priest, the Rev. Photo by Claire Vail. The researchers have used archival records to follow their footsteps, from the Jesuit plantations in Maryland, to the docks of New Orleans, to three plantations west and south of Baton Rouge, La. A problem can is not solved without first recognizing it, discussing it and taking steps to rectify the long term damage that continues to this day. The Jesuits decided that the elderly would not be sold south and instead would be permitted to remain in Maryland. If youre already a subscriber or donor, thank you! [70], The Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen was created in 1792 to preserve the property of the. Only 206 of the 272 slaves were actually delivered because the Jesuits permitted the elderly and those with spouses living nearby and not owned by Jesuits to remain in Maryland. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, during a morning Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition, and Hope. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. What remains is what is owed to the descendants. [17], Mulledy and McSherry became increasingly vocal in their opposition to Jesuit slave ownership. The two feared that because the public would not accept additional manumitted blacks, the Jesuits would be forced to sell their slaves en masse. The next year, Pope Gregory XVI explicitly barred Catholics from engaging in this traffic in Blacks no matter what pretext or excuse.. She runs a nonprofit, Dialogue on Race Louisiana, that offers educational programs on institutional racism and ways to combat it. In 2019, 66 percent of Georgetown students voted in a referendum to add a $27.20 student fee to be. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Catholic Church were among the largest slaveholding institutions in America. A white man, he admitted that he had never spent much time thinking about slavery or African-American history. list of slaves sold by georgetown university Anyone can read what you share. All of this was new to Ms. Crump, except for the name Cornelius or Neely, as Cornelius was known. She later joined the Oblate Sisters of Providence, recognized as the oldest active Roman Catholic sisterhood in the Americas established by women of African descent. ). The grave of Cornelius Hawkins, one of 272 slaves sold by the Jesuits in 1838 to help keep what is now Georgetown University afloat.CreditWilliam Widmer for The New York Times. [19] At the congregation, the senior Jesuits in Maryland voted six to four to proceed with a sale of the slaves,[20] and Dubuisson submitted to the Superior General a summary of the moral and financial arguments on either side of the debate. 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. Cardinal McElroy responds to his critics on sexual sin, the Eucharist, and LGBT and divorced/remarried Catholics, Worried you retired too early? List of people sold by Fr. Thomas Mulledy in 1838 Georgetown Slavery It is interesting that the date was June 19th as many years later, it was on what is now recognized as Juneteenth. In all, the Jesuits sold 314 men, women and children over a 5-year period stretching from 1838 to 1843. Descendants - Georgetown University Slaves worked on the Jesuit plantations in Maryland that helped to sustain the Jesuits' religious and educational mission. Shoes and clothing were made in the North and shipped to be used by the enslaved people. Modern Countries That Still Have Slavery | The Borgen Project He addressed his concerns to Father Mulledy, who three years earlier had returned to his post as president of Georgetown. CNN In 1838, the Jesuits who ran Georgetown University sold 272 enslaved people to pay off the university's debts. This was a great cause of the wealth of the slaveowners who took advantage of land stolen from the original owners, the Native Americans who had lived here for centuries. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Join Amazon Prime Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime. 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. A photo of the slave cabins at Laurel Valley in Thibodaux is part of the GU272 Memory Project. History of slaves sold for Georgetown detailed in new genealogical website Kenney found the slaves facing arbitrary discipline, a meager diet, pastoral neglect, and engaging in vice. The worn gravestone had toppled, but the wording was plain: Neely Hawkins Died April 16, 1902.. History must be faced in order to heal and move forward! His children and grandchildren also embraced the Catholic church. At Georgetown, slavery and scholarship were inextricably linked. 2023 A Month of Tribute to 31 Women We Should All Know, Rosewood A Typical Race Riot in America. Soon, the two men and their teams were working on parallel tracks. Others, including two of Corneliuss uncles, ran away before they could be captured. [49] There was periodic and sometimes extensive coverage of both the sale and the Jesuits' slave ownership in various literature. [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. William McSherry, the college presidents involved in the sale, from two campus buildings. Were sorry registration isn't working smoothly for you. To see the posts, click here. [52] In 2014, renovation began on Ryan and Mulledy Halls to convert them into a student residence. The articles of agreement listed each of the slaves by name to be sold. Now they are real to me, she said, more real every day.. The first payment on the remaining $90,000 would become due after five years. Jesuit priests in Maryland sold 272 slaves to Louisiana plantations in 1838 to fund Georgetown . Many institutions owned slaves and Georgetown University was no exception. We ask our visitors to confirm their email to keep your account secure and make sure you're able to receive email from us. She listened, stunned, as he told her about her great-great-grandfather, Cornelius Hawkins, who had labored on a plantation just a few miles from where she grew up. It is better to prevent than to attempt to remedy. Mr. Cellini, whose genealogists have already traced more than 200 of the slaves from Maryland to Louisiana, believes there may be thousands of living descendants. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Isaac Hawkins was the first enslaved person listed in the 1838 sale document. 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. His owner, Mr. Batey, had died, and Cornelius appeared on the plantations inventory, which included 27 mules and horses, 32 hogs, two ox carts and scores of other slaves. Thomas F. Mulledy, president of Georgetown from 1829 to 1838, and again from 1845 to 1848, arranged the sale. 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. The university created the liturgy in partnership with members of the descendant community, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Society of Jesus in the United States. As a Georgetown employee, Jeremy Alexander watched as the university grappled with its haunted past: the sale of slaves in 1838 to help rescue it from financial ruin. We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. History has attempted to take the sting out of it which is impossible. The enslaved African-Americans had belonged to the nations most prominent Jesuit priests. The New York Times would like to hear from people who have done research into their genealogical history. [29], Not all of the 272 slaves intended to be sold to Louisiana met that fate. Michelle Miller reports. You can either click on the link in your confirmation email or simply re-enter your email address below to confirm it. History of slaves sold for Georgetown detailed in new genealogical 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. Georgetown University Archives The Jesuits had sold off individual slaves before. She prides herself on being unflappable. In the uproar that followed, he was called to Rome and reassigned. [48] In 1977, the Maryland Province named Georgetown's Lauinger Library as the custodian of its historic archives, which were made available to the public through the Georgetown University Library, Saint Louis University Library, and Maryland State Library. As early as the 1780s, Dr. Rothman found, they openly discussed the need to cull their stock of human. And they were sold, along with scores of others, to help secure the future of the premier Catholic institution of higher learning at the time, known today as Georgetown University. We pray with you today because we have greatly sinned and because we are profoundly sorry.. For the eighth year, the Forum was hosted by The Atlantic in partnership with the Aspen Institute. Father Van de Velde begged Jesuit leaders to send money for the construction of a church that would provide for the salvation of those poor people, who are now utterly neglected.. 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 $2.96million in 2021). WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. 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. 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. More than a dozen universities including Brown, Columbia, Harvard and the University of Virginia have publicly recognized their ties to slavery and the slave trade. The students organized a protest and a sit-in, using the hashtag #GU272 for the slaves who were sold. [24], Mulledy quickly made arrangements to carry out the sale. in Fr. As early as the 1780s, Dr. Rothman found, they openly discussed the need to cull their stock of human beings. But on this day, in the fall of 1838, no one was spared: not the 2-month-old baby and her mother, not the field hands, not the shoemaker and not Cornelius Hawkins, who was about 13 years old when he was forced onboard. Against the conditions agreed upon, families were separated due to this sale. (Slaves were often donated by prosperous parishioners.) Census of slaves to be sold in 1838 - Georgetown University Georgetown reparations plan for slaves sold by university draws The ship manifest of the Katharine Jackson, available in full at the. Maxine Crump, 69, a descendant of one of the slaves sold by the Jesuits, in a Louisiana sugar cane field where researchers believe her ancestor once worked. [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. Melvin Robert and Joya Mia Italiano look into Georgetown Universitys response on the Lip News. [30] In total, only 206 are known to have been transported to Louisiana. The Jesuits used the proceeds to benefit then-Georgetown College. However, the total number of slaves is only one way to measure the level of slavery in a country. 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. 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).