Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation at Lauinger Library

Woodstock College Archives Mission Records — St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church

Dates: 1886-1943

Extent: 0.5 linear feet

Finding aid: Missions of Woodstock College 

The Jesuits of Woodstock Theological College, including its students, ministered to St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Parish in Woodstock, Md. Black people, including employees of Woodstock College and descendants of those enslaved by the Jesuits, were a significant part of the parish. Yet, the parish was segregated. The Woodstock College Archives includes the records of some of the pastoral institutions created for and by the Black people of the parish: 

• St. Peter Claver Sunday School journals and diaries (I.P 3.1-3.11, 3.13, 4.1; 1886-1839) consist of weekly entries, written by a Jesuit who served as head instructor, that detailed the activities of the Sunday school.  
• St. Peter Claver Sodality Register and Programs (3.12, 3.15; 1889-1894, 1915-1922, 1932-1943) includes records of a religious fraternity devoted to deepening members’ devotion to St. Mary. A name index is available in the finding aid.
• St. Joseph’s Beneficial Society Diary (4.2, 1891-1914) is a record of the weekly meetings, income, and expenses of a mutual aid society established by Black parishioners. Although a Jesuit officially served as the director of the Beneficial Society, the secretary, chosen among the Black membership, recorded most entries. A name index is available in the finding aid.

Woodstock College Ledgers

Dates: 1869-1970

Extent: 8 linear feet

Finding aid: Office of Father Procurator

The financial records of Woodstock Theological College that detail monthly and daily transactions of the college include records of payments and other transactions with workers, many of whom were Black and included the descendants of the people enslaved by the Maryland Province. Some of these records can be found within the Procurator Series within the Woodstock College Archives. As other ledgers are identified, they will be described within this series.

John Brosnan, S.J., Photograph Collection

Dates: 1923-1950

Extent: 87.5 linear feet

Digital Georgetown: John Brosnan, S.J., Photograph Collection

John Brosnan, S.J., (1880-1948) who taught chemistry at Woodstock Theological College, served as the de facto photographer for the Maryland-New York Province. His subjects included schools, churches, important events, and the graduating classes of Jesuit scholastics. The black and white photographs in this collection, preserved on glass plate negatives, include images of former plantation sites, including St. Inigoes and St. Thomas Manor, and Black congregants from Southern Maryland, particularly those ministered by Jesuits residing at Chaptico and Ridge. This collection is searchable and posted on Digital Georgetown.