They were looked on not as humans but as collateral and sold to secure the future of this great Catholic institution that hold such a place of honor to this day. [18], The Maryland Jesuits, having been elevated from a mission to the status of a province in 1833,[17] held their first general congregation in 1835, where they considered again what to do with their plantations. What can you do to make amends?. 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. In total, there are 167 countries that still have slavery and around 46 million slaves today, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index.. Now, with racial protests roiling college campuses, an unusual collection of Georgetown professors, students, alumni and genealogists is trying to find out what happened to those 272 men, women and children. 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. When you register, youll get unlimited access to our website and a free subscription to our email newsletter for daily updates with a smart, Catholic take on faith and culture from. (The two men would swap positions by 1838.). 51 slaves were to be sent to Alexandria, Virginia, then shipped to Louisiana. The slaves were also identified as collateral in the event that Johnson, Batey, and their guarantors defaulted on their payments. [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. Georgetown was a prominent Jesuit priests. [24] He located two Louisiana planters who were willing to purchase the slaves: Henry Johnson, a former United States Senator and governor of Louisiana, and Jesse Batey. This coincided with a protest by a group of students against keeping Mulledy's and McSherry's names on the buildings the day before. He was valued at $900. Thomas R. Murphy, a historian at Seattle University who has written a book about the Jesuits and slavery. He listened . He demanded that Mulledy travel to Rome to answer the charges of disobeying orders and promoting scandal. [1] The Jesuits received land patents from Lord Baltimore in 1636, were gifted land in the some Catholic Marylanders' wills, and purchased some land on their own, eventually becoming substantial landowners in the colony. 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.. The two feared that because the public would not accept additional manumitted blacks, the Jesuits would be forced to sell their slaves en masse. [50] Curran also published Georgetown University's official, bicentennial history in 1993, in which he wrote about the university's and Jesuits' relationship with slavery. 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. On June 19, 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell 272 slaves to two southern Louisiana sugar planters, former governor Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey, for $115,000, equivalent to $2.79 million in 2020, in order to rescue Georgetown University from bankruptcy. In fact, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, University of Virginia did as well. One building was renamed for Isaac Hawkins, first on the list of the 272 human beings sold in 1838. [65], On April 18, 2017, DeGioia, along with the provincial superior of the Maryland Province, and the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, held a liturgy in which they formally apologized on behalf of their respective institutions for their participation in slavery. Were sorry registration isn't working smoothly for you. Shoes and clothing were made in the North and shipped to be used by the enslaved people. On that same day, the university rededicated two buildings previously named for former university presidents who were priests and supporters of the slave trade. Participants in this discussion are: Drew Gilpin Faust, President, Harvard University. Although the working group was established in August, it was student demonstrations at Georgetown in the fall that helped to galvanize alumni and gave new urgency to the administrations efforts. Mr. Cellini is an unlikely racial crusader. But he was persuaded to reconsider by several prominent Jesuits, including Father Mulledy, then the influential president of Georgetown who had overseen its expansion, and Father McSherry, who was in charge of the Jesuits Maryland mission. Today the Society of Jesus, who helped to establish Georgetown University and whose leaders enslaved and mercilessly sold your ancestors, stands before you to say that we have greatly sinned, said Rev. Share with your friends! [31][b] There are several reasons many slaves were left behind. Please visit ourmembership pageto learn how you can invest in our work by subscribing to the magazine or making a donation. It will challenge and change your understanding of what we were as Americans and of what we are. Chicago Tribune In this groundbreaking historical expos, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history an Age of Neo slavery that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Father Mulledy promised his superiors that the slaves would continue to practice their religion. A photo of the slave cabins at Laurel Valley in Thibodaux is part of the GU272 Memory Project. Twenty-seven years earlier, a document dated June 19, 1838, showed that Maryland Jesuit priests sold 272 slaves to the owners of Louisiana plantations. 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. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, during a morning Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition, and Hope. 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. [7], By 1824, the Jesuit plantations totaled more than 12,000 acres (4,900 hectares) in the State of Maryland, and 1,700 acres (690 hectares) in eastern Pennsylvania. We encourage you to share the site on social media. African-Americans are often a fleeting presence in the documents of the 1800s. 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. Descendants are learning new links to their pasts as a result of the project. Continue scrolling down for more amazing information, videos, books and value items. 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). [37] Roothaan was particularly concerned because it had become clear that, contrary to his order, families had been separated by the slaves' new owners. 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. The notation betrayed no hint of the turmoil on board. 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. That building is now known as Freedom Hall. [27], The articles of agreement listed each of the slaves being sold by name. [45] Patrick and Woolfolk's slaves were then sold in July 1859 to Emily Sparks, the widow of Austin Woolfolk. Families would not be separated. The first payment on the remaining $90,000 would become due after five years. Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions. [4] Many of these slaves were gifted to the Jesuits, while others were purchased. 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. Some wrote emotional letters to Roothaan denouncing the morality of the sale. Through the project, genealogists have discovered 8,425 descendants of enslaved people sold in 1838. You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. 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. 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. (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 the 1800s. 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). Within two weeks, Mr. Cellini had set up a nonprofit, the Georgetown Memory Project, hired eight genealogists and raised more than $10,000 from fellow alumni to finance their research. The 1970s saw an increase in public scholarship on the Maryland Jesuits' slave ownership. We also hope to work with you on additional opportunities for engaging with those who many not be able to attend in-person gatherings. [42], Before the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865, many slaves sold by the Jesuits changed ownership several times. To see the posts, click here. It also notes slaves who had run away, and those who had been "married off." In 1851, Thompson purchased the second half of Johnson's property, so that by the beginning of the Civil War, all the slaves sold by Mulledy to Johnson were owned by Thompson. The condition of slaves on the plantations varied over time, as did the condition of the Jesuits living with them. Other industries made loads of money indirectly. Eventually, Roothaan removed Thomas Mulledy as provincial superior for disobeying orders and promoting scandal, exiling him to Nice for several years. 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. The Jesuits decided that the elderly would not be sold south and instead would be permitted to remain in Maryland. 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. [63][38], The College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, of which Mulledy was the first president from 1843 to 1848, also began to reconsider the name of one of its buildings in 2015. Youll never know where you came from, said Mlisande Short-Colomb, a descendant of the group of slaves, in a statement about the project. 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. ). They recognize that despite their principals, they recognized the theft of labor, the destruction of families and the long term devastation that this inflicted on an entire race of people. 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. 272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. -- 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 . [34] In the years after the sale, it also became clear that most of the slaves were not permitted to carry on their Catholic faith because they were living on plantations far removed from any Catholic church or priest. Her great-uncle had the name, as did one of her cousins. Michelle Miller reports. Joseph Zwinge (identified as "J.Z.") However, the total number of slaves is only one way to measure the level of slavery in a country. 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. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. Wondering why we ask for your email, or having trouble registering. Leaders in policy, business, technology, science, history, arts and culture engaged with top journalists on the most consequential issues of our time. Other slaves were sold locally in Maryland so that they would not be separated from their spouses who were either free or owned by non-Jesuits, in compliance with Roothaan's order. Slavery was much more than the theft of labor; it was the deprivation of liberty for which this country professes so loudly. Isaac Hawkins was the first enslaved person listed in the 1838 sale document. The hope was to eventually identify the slaves descendants. Jesuit priests in Maryland sold 272 slaves to Louisiana plantations in 1838 to fund Georgetown . We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website. . One building is now named in honor of a slave who was 65 years old when he was sold in 1838. The plantation would be sold again and again and again, records show, but Corneliuss family remained intact. in Fr. Slaves worked on the Jesuit plantations in Maryland that helped to sustain the Jesuits' religious and educational mission. [27] The agreement provided that 51 slaves would be sent to the port of Alexandria, Virginia in order to be shipped to Louisiana. They also knew that life on plantations in the Deep South was notoriously brutal, and feared that families might end up being separated and resold. [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. The institution came under fire last fall, with students demanding justice for the slaves in the 1838 sale. [15], While Roothaan decided in 1831, based on the advice of the Maryland Mission superior, Francis Dzierozynski, that the Jesuits should maintain and improve their plantations rather than sell them, Kenney and his advisors (Thomas Mulledy, William McSherry, and Stephen Dubuisson) wrote to Roothaan in 1832 about the growing public opposition to slavery in the United States, and strongly urged Roothaan to allow the Jesuits to gradually free their slaves. None of those conditions were met, university officials said. Leave a message for others who see this profile. [3], Much of this land was put to use as plantations, the revenue from which financed the Jesuits' ministries. For the eighth year, the Forum was hosted by The Atlantic in partnership with the Aspen Institute. To comment or make suggestions on future posts, use Contact Us. Many have been located; however, it is difficult to determine exactly how many were exploited by the University in this financial transaction. WASHINGTON The human cargo was loaded on ships at a bustling wharf in the nations capital, destined for the plantations of the Deep South. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, during a morning Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition, and Hope. But the revelations about her lineage and the church she grew up in have unleashed a swirl of emotions. They also established schools on their lands. [27] Johnson allowed these slaves to remain in Maryland because he intended to return and try to buy their spouses as well. Her ancestors, once amorphous and invisible, are finally taking shape in her mind. They were heading to the only Catholic cemetery in Maringouin. . To pay that debt, the Jesuits who ran the school, under the auspices of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, sold 272 slaves -- the very people that helped build the school itself.. And she would like to see Corneliuss name, and those of his parents and children, inscribed on a memorial on campus. Close to half of them remain alive. Against the conditions agreed upon, families were separated due to this sale. Of the sum, $8,000 was used to satisfy a financial obligation that,[23] following a long-running and contentious dispute, Pope Pius VII had previously determined the Maryland Jesuits owed to Archbishop Ambrose Marchal of Baltimore and his successors. Advertisement In Bayonne-Johnson's hands,. [5] In October of that year, Mulledy succeeded McSherry, who was dying, as provincial superior.