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. Documents provide the factual framework, but people supply the human story.. 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. John DeGioia, President, Georgetown University. [41] The Jesuits never received the total $115,000 that was owed under the agreement. 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. [136] Eufrosina Hinard (born 1777), a free black woman in New Orleans, she owned slaves and leased them to others. 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. Login to post. The internal slave trade in the United States, also known as the domestic slave trade, the Second Middle Passage and the interregional slave trade, was the term for the domestic trade of enslaved people within the United States that reallocated slaves across states during the Antebellum period.It was most significant after 1808, when the importation of slaves was prohibited. ALL OF THE PEOPLE LISTED ON THIS PAGE HAVE PROFILES. 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. An inspector scrutinized the cargo on Dec. 6, 1838. A photo of the slave cabins at Laurel Valley in Thibodaux is part of the GU272 Memory Project. The slaves were also identified as collateral in the event that Johnson, Batey, and their guarantors defaulted on their payments. Joseph Zwinge (identified as "J.Z.") By the end of December, one of Mr. Cellinis genealogists felt confident that she had found a strong test case: the family of the boy, Cornelius Hawkins. Georgetown University (Daniel Slim/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) Article A genealogical organization launched a free website Wednesday to help those who want to learn more about the. 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. Against the conditions agreed upon, families were separated due to this sale. Georgetown was a prominent Jesuit priests. [7] As early as 1814, the trustees of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen discussed manumitting all their slaves and abolishing slavery on the Jesuit plantations,[10] though in 1820, they decided against universal manumission. Why am I being asked to create an account? The U.S. Department of State defines modern slavery as "the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled . The New York Times would like to hear from people who have done research into their genealogical history. The two feared that because the public would not accept additional manumitted blacks, the Jesuits would be forced to sell their slaves en masse. [48] It is one of the most well-documented slave sales of its era. Alfred "Teen" Blackburn (1842-1951), one of the last living survivors of slavery in the United States who had a clear recollection of it. In addition to becoming physically dilapidated, all but one of the plantations had fallen into debt. In the case of Amazon, please use our links whenever you shop. In 1870, he appeared in the census for the first time. The students organized a protest and a sit-in, using the hashtag #GU272 for the slaves who were sold. [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. However, the history of the sale and the Jesuits' slave ownership was never secret. Many have been located; however, it is difficult to determine exactly how many were exploited by the University in this financial transaction. Logging in will also give you access to commenting features on our website. 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. [24] When he returned in November to gather the rest of the slaves, the plantation managers had their slaves flee and hide. A white man, he admitted that he had never spent much time thinking about slavery or African-American history. In all, the Jesuits sold 314 men, women and children over a 5-year period stretching from 1838 to 1843. He listened . [24], Johnson was unable to pay according to the schedule of the agreement. 2023 A Month of Tribute to 31 Women We Should All Know, Rosewood A Typical Race Riot in America. In the list are links to affiliate partners. Ms. Crump is a familiar figure in Baton Rouge. And the 1838 sale worth about $3.3 million in todays dollars was organized by two of Georgetowns early presidents, both 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. (Ms. Bayonne-Johnson discovered her connection through an earlier effort by the university to publish records online about the Jesuit plantations.). This was only a portion of the slaves bought and sold by the Maryland Jesuits over time.[1]. Through the project, genealogists have discovered 8,425 descendants of enslaved people sold in 1838. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, during a morning Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition, and Hope. So Judy Riffel, one of the genealogists hired by Mr. Cellini, began following a chain of weddings and births, baptisms and burials. Use our links to Amazon anytime you shop Amazon. Check out some of the. Georgetown has renamed one of its buildings Isaac Hawkins Hall named after the first enslaved on the list of the account of the sale. [12], One of the Maryland Jesuits' institutions, Georgetown College (later known as Georgetown University), also rented slaves. 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. . And the money raised by the sale would not be used to pay off debt or for operating expenses. Jan Roothaan, who headed the Jesuits international organization from Rome and was initially reluctant to authorize the sale. However, the total number of slaves is only one way to measure the level of slavery in a country. 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. [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. The university itself owes its existence to this history, said Adam Rothman, a historian at Georgetown and a member of a university working group that is studying ways for the institution to acknowledge and try to make amends for its tangled roots in 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. In 1844, Henry Johnson sold a share of Chatham and would eventually sell the remainder of his land and enslaved people to John R. Thompson in 1851. 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. What can you do to make amends?. Were sorry registration isn't working smoothly for you. Their panic and desperation would be mostly forgotten for more than a century. [36], Soon after the sale, Roothaan decided that Mulledy should be removed as provincial superior. Slaves were often threatened with having family members sold away, splitting parents from even infants because of minor infractions as determined by the slave owner. To see the full listing of posts, click on our Blog list, For Black History Month 2020, we posted daily. He addressed his concerns to Father Mulledy, who three years earlier had returned to his post as president of Georgetown. [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. James Van de Velde, a Jesuit who visited Louisiana, wrote in a letter in 1848. [27] Johnson allowed these slaves to remain in Maryland because he intended to return and try to buy their spouses as well. Isaac Hawkins was the first enslaved person listed in the 1838 sale document. Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 03:24, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, abolition of slavery in the United States, Slavery at American colleges and universities, "Where were the Jesuit plantations in Maryland? (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. Now, for the first time, Ms. Crump understood its origins. [3], Much of this land was put to use as plantations, the revenue from which financed the Jesuits' ministries. 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. We have been here since the founding of this country, and we are a significant part of the American experience.. ). Your email address will not be published. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. [29], Not all of the 272 slaves intended to be sold to Louisiana met that fate. We can't do it without youAmerica Media relies on generous support from our readers. Some slaves suffered at the hands of a cruel overseer. Cardinal McElroy on radical inclusion for L.G.B.T. 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. Interview: Whats it like to photograph Pope Francis? 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. The grave of Cornelius Hawkins, one of 272 slaves sold by the Jesuits in 1838 to help keep what is now Georgetown University afloat. 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. [68], Georgetown University also extended to descendants of slaves that the Jesuits owned or whose labor benefitted the university the same preferential legacy status in university admission given to children of Georgetown alumni. The hope was to eventually identify the slaves descendants. For the eighth year, the Forum was hosted by The Atlantic in partnership with the Aspen Institute. The first payment on the remaining $90,000 would become due after five years. The Jesuits ultimately received payment many years late and never received the full $115,000. What Does It Owe Their Descendants? 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. [70], In 2019, undergraduate students at Georgetown voted in a non-binding referendum to impose a symbolic reparations fee of $27.20 per student. The presidents of Harvard University and Georgetown University discuss their institutions historic ties to slavery in a conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates. A Reflection for Saturday of the First Week of Lent, by Christopher Parker. Close to half of them remain alive. Georgetown University Archives The Jesuits had sold off individual slaves before. It would be better to suffer financial disaster than suffer the loss of our souls with the sale of the slaves, wrote the Rev. 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. Mismanaged and inefficient, the Maryland plantations no longer offered a reliable source of income for Georgetown College, which had been founded in 1789. [56] An undergraduate student also brought this to public attention in several articles published by the school newspaper, The Hoya between 2014 and 2015, about the university's relationship with slavery and the slave sale. Meanwhile, Georgetowns working group has been weighing whether the university should apologize for profiting from slave labor, create a memorial to those enslaved and provide scholarships for their descendants, among other possibilities, said Dr. Rothman, the historian. The 1970s saw an increase in public scholarship on the Maryland Jesuits' slave ownership. 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. Examined and found correct, he wrote of Cornelius and the 129 other people he found on the ship. William McSherry, the college presidents involved in the sale, from two campus buildings. We have committed to finding ways that members of the Georgetown and Descendant communities can be engaged together in efforts that advance racial justice and enable every member of our Georgetown community to confront and engage with Georgetowns history with slavery.. After the Jesuits vacated the buildings, Ryan and Mulledy Halls lay vacant, while Gervase Hall was put to other use. In November, the university agreed to remove the names of the Rev. The site includes a searchable database with genealogies of descendants who have died. More than half were younger than 20, and nearly a third were not yet 10 years old. 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. 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. (Slaves were often donated by prosperous parishioners.) 272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. Colleges and universities have placed greater emphasis on education equity in recent years. 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. Ms. Crump, 69, has been asking herself that question, too. The sale of 272 slaves in 1838 rescued the College from crushing debt. Alfred Francis Russell (1817-1884), 10th President of Liberia. To see the posts, click here. It is interesting that the date was June 19th as many years later, it was on what is now recognized as Juneteenth. 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. [51] Other historians covered the subject in literature published between the 1980s and 2000s. Thomas Lilly reported. Thomas Hibbert (1710-1780), English merchant, he became rich from slave labor on his Jamaican plantations. A few priests expressed qualms about the morality of human trafficking to Jesuit authorities, although most were concerned with the threat a heavily Protestant South would undoubtedly present to the slaves Catholic faith, it reads. [35] He ordered McSherry to inform Mulledy that he had been removed as provincial superior, and that if Mulledy refused to step down, he would be dismissed from the Society of Jesus. We shop for the best values for you. And they are confronting a particularly wrenching question: What, if anything, is owed to the descendants of slaves who were sold to help ensure the colleges survival? 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. 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. Slavery was much more than the theft of labor; it was the deprivation of liberty for which this country professes so loudly. Some of that money helped to pay off the debts of the struggling college. Ashby's account book at Newtown.For a spreadsheet with all the data transcribed, seeGSA5. 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. What has emerged from their research, and that of other scholars, is a glimpse of an insular world dominated by priests who required their slaves to attend Mass for the sake of their salvation, but also whipped and sold some of them. Although modern slavery is not always easy to recognize, it continues to exist in nearly every country. [30] In total, only 206 are known to have been transported to Louisiana. The articles of agreement listed each of the slaves by name to be sold. In 2017, Georgetown University held aday of remembranceduring which the president of the Jesuit order apologized to more than 100 descendants attending a contrition liturgy. [71] The university instead decided to raise $400,000 per year in voluntary donations for the benefit of descendants. Copyright 2023 America Press Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Required fields are marked *. 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. At the time, the Catholic Church did not view slaveholding as immoral, said the Rev. (Best for messages specifically directed to those editing this profile. And she would like to see Corneliuss name, and those of his parents and children, inscribed on a memorial on campus. The plantation would be sold again and again and again, records show, but Corneliuss family remained intact. Continue scrolling down for more amazing information, videos, books and value items. If you login and register your print subscription number with your account, youll have unlimited access to the website. [5] In October of that year, Mulledy succeeded McSherry, who was dying, as provincial superior. 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. Jesuit Father Hans Zollner will be a consultant for the Diocese of Romes office dedicated to safeguarding minors and vulnerable people. Amazing! The truth was closer to home than anyone knew", "272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown. 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. You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. American Ancestors announced the new GU272 Memory Project website on Wednesday (June 19), the anniversary of Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when some American slaves learned they had been freed. Now comes the task of making amends. In 2019, 66 percent of Georgetown students voted in a referendum to add a $27.20 student fee to be. Many of them baptized Catholic, they were bought by planters to work. 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. If youre already a subscriber or donor, thank you! You dont have to purchase the item in the link but using the link helps both of us and we thank you for your support. It is necessary to keep in mind that these people were free in their native country and enslaved once they got to America. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [37] As censure for the scandal,[39] Roothaan ordered Mulledy to remain in Europe,[35] and Mulledy lived in exile in Nice until 1843. One building was renamed for Isaac Hawkins, first on the list of the 272 human beings sold in 1838. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII. Revealed: The Slave Sold to Save Georgetown by Stacy M. Brown March 22, 2017 Frank Campbell was sold in 1838 to help save Georgetown. Wondering why we ask for your email, or having trouble registering. One-hundred-seventy-eight years ago, Georgetown University was free to everyone who was able to attend; it was also massively in debt. While the school did own a small number of slaves over its early decades,[13] its main relationship with slavery was the leasing of slaves to work on campus,[14] a practice that continued past the 1838 slave sale. What remains is what is owed to the descendants. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Catholic Church were among the largest slaveholding institutions in America. [32] An unknown number of slaves may also have run away and escaped transportation. Mr. Cellini was on the line. [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. Anyone can read what you share. list of slaves sold by georgetown university. GU272 descendent Carolyn Smith gestures toward gravestones of descendants of enslaved people in Houma, La. Join Amazon Prime Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime . [11] On some plantations, the majority of slaves did not work because they were too young or old. A Jesuit reports on the slaves' religious life in Louisiana, 1848, Chatham Plantation, Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Keynote || Radcliffe Institute WELCOME Lizabeth Cohen, Dean, Radcliffe Institute, and Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, Harvard University OPENING REMARKS (12:07) Drew Gilpin Faust, President and Lincoln Professor of History, Harvard University KEYNOTE (15:51) Ta-Nehisi Coates, Journalist; National Correspondent, the Atlantic: Author, Between the World and Me (Spiegel & Grau, 2015) and The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood (Spiegel & Grau, 2008) Conversation between Ta-Nehisi Coates and Drew Gilpin Faust (34:37). [34] During the controversy, Mulledy fell into alcoholism. Twenty-seven years earlier, a document dated June 19, 1838, showed that Maryland Jesuit priests sold 272 slaves to the owners of Louisiana plantations. Shoes and clothing were made in the North and shipped to be used by the enslaved people. She prides herself on being unflappable. 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. To comment or make suggestions on future posts, use Contact Us. 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. It is also emblematic of the complex entanglement of American higher education and religious institutions with slavery. We ask our visitors to confirm their email to keep your account secure and make sure you're able to receive email from us. (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. The condition of slaves on the plantations varied over time, as did the condition of the Jesuits living with them. Books and Textbooks One of the greatest ways to advance your life choices and future. Richard Cellini, the chief executive of a technology company and a Georgetown alumnus, hired eight genealogists to track down the slaves and their descendants. Kenney found the slaves facing arbitrary discipline, a meager diet, pastoral neglect, and engaging in vice. Freedom Hall became Isaac Hawkins Hall, after the first slave listed on the articles of agreement for the 1838 sale. Thomas F. Mulledy and the Rev. [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. His children and grandchildren also embraced the Catholic church. [16] Mulledy in particular felt that the plantations were a drain on the Maryland Jesuits; he urged selling the plantations as well as the slaves, believing the Jesuits were only able to support either their estates or their schools in growing urban areas: Georgetown College in Washington, D.C. and St. John's College in Frederick, Maryland.

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