| Repository | Jesuits in Britain Archives |
| Ref No | ABSI/MSB/38 |
| Title | Letters from Maryland and American missionaries |
| Date | 1772-1835 |
| Level | Item |
| Description | A volume of correspondence relating to the establishment of the Maryland Province and the activities of the early missionaries. The chief correspondents are: Fr John Carroll, who became the first Archbishop of Baltimore; Fr John Ashton, Procurator at the White Marsh Mission; Fr William Strickland; Fr Leonard Neale, President of Georgetown College and later Archbishop of Baltimore; Fr Anthony Kohlmann; Fr Fidelis Grivel. Carroll's letters, in particular, provide an insight into the years of great difficulty for the Society of Jesus; in Rome Carroll describes the period before the Society was suppressed and in America his letters repeatedly turn to the theme of the Society's restoration and revival. Collectively, the correspondence provides details of the establishment of the church hierarchy in America, the creation of dioceses and the appointment of bishops as well as the establishment and progress of Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) and the novitiate. Lastly, the correspondence provides a commentary on events in Europe, particularly the war in France, the restoration of the Society and the arguments for Catholic Emancipation in England.
Please contact the Jesuits in Britain Archives for a copy of the calendar of this volume. |
| Related Material | - Maryland index cards.
- John Carroll: see index cards, particularly BN/3 which contains further letters of Carroll and BN/16 which contains material relating to the history of the Maryland Mission.
- Peter Guilday, 'The Life and Times of John Carroll' (Encyclopedia Press, 1922): BX 4384 C2
- Geoffrey Holt SJ, 'William Strickland and the Suppressed Jesuits' (London, 1988): BY 35.H |
| Format | Manuscript |
| AccessConditions | The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to archive material in the Jesuits in Britain Archives. |
| Language | French |
| Latin |