SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN:
WHILE GAZING AT PAGES OF A YELLOWED AND WEATHERED ACCOUNTING LEDGER TITLED, 1821 – 1827, in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections at Georgetown University, my eyes were drawn to a line that would lead to the untold history of Gonzaga College High School. That single line, in an almost 200-year-old accounting book, simply said, April 22, 1822 To Gabriel for weeding in the garden in time of recreation. 6 ¼ [cents]
Gabriel became our guide for two years of research as we worked relentlessly to learn and tell his story. The journey would take us to some of the darkest places in American history. Gabriel was an enslaved child who worked at the Washington Seminary as a 13-year-old boy. He was moved to Georgetown College and offered an opportunity to purchase his freedom however, this moment of great hope was stolen from him when he was sold for $450. Just a few months after believing he would be free one day, Gabriel was marched in chains to Alexandria and kept locked up in the notorious Franklin and Armfield slave pens before being shipped to New Orleans aboard the brig United States at the age of 21. Two witnesses attested to his good character and his sale was notarized in New Orleans. He was valued at $700. This exhibit is a work of love on the part of a dedicated group of Gonzaga College High School students. Their tireless efforts have revealed our school’s connection to slavery, “America’s original sin.” Gonzaga has now joined a growing list of institutions facing their past openly and honestly. We dedicate this exhibit to the five enslaved persons who worked at Washington Seminary, where Gonzaga began: Gabriel, Isaiah, Ned, Mary and Sophy, and the hundreds of enslaved men and women who toiled in Jesuit-owned and operated slave plantations, whose unpaid labor produced the funds for our school. Remember each of them as you explore the exhibit.
Edward L. Donnellan, Jr. Gonzaga College High School, Social Studies Department GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
It is fitting that this exhibit begins with the apology below you. Read it slowly. Enter it fully.
Justly aggrieved sisters and brothers: having acknowledged our sin and sorrow, having tendered an apology, we make bold to ask — on bended knee — forgiveness. Though we think it right and just to ask, we acknowledge that we have no right to it. Forgiveness is yours to bestow — only in your time and in your way. UNTIL THEN, MAY WE TOGETHER CONFRONT WITH PASSION OUR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE — AND SEEK THE COURAGE TO SEE THAT THINGS DO NOT REMAIN THE WAY THEY ARE. On this Easter Tuesday, fix our eyes on Jesus, confident — that even with your great grief and right rage, with our sin and sorrow, “All will be well and all will be well and every kind of thing shall be well” — to help all God’s children and God’s greater glory. May it be so! REV. TIMOTHY KESICKI, S.J. APRIL 18, 2017 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
THE QUESTION
THAT QUESTION INSPIRED TWO YEARS OF RESEARCH AND CHANGED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GONZAGA’S HISTORY. Adam Rothman,
of history and
of the Georgetown Slavery Archive. ARE AWAREYOUOF ANDCONNECTIONSANYBETWEENGONZAGASLAVERY? SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
On November 21, 2016, Prof. Adam Rothman spoke to the Gonzaga community about the sale of 272 enslaved persons by Georgetown University in 1838. In the preceding months, Rothman and archivists uncovered new details about Georgetown’s deep connections to slavery. Their discovery earned national attention. the presentation, Aidan Rafferty ‘18 asked Prof. Rothman: professor principal curator
Following
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
This extraordinary document is frequently requested by the descendants of the Georgetown 272 as they research their family history. The document lists the individuals and families sold to several wealthy Louisiana slaveholders in order to rescue the College from financial crisis.
THE CENSUS OF SLAVES TO BE SOLD IN 1838
Over two years, we conducted research at Georgetown University’s Booth Family Center for Special Collections, specifically within the Archives of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus that are housed there. WHAT WE DID The General Fund’s Book 1820 The Agent’s Cash Book 1820-1824 Washington Seminary Accounting Books 1848-18591821-1828 Gonzaga College, An Historical Sketch: From its Foundation in 1821 to the Solemn Celebration of its First Centenary in 1921 by Rev. John A. Conway, S.J., Rev. Owen A. Hill, S. J., and Rev. Edmund J. Burke. S.J. Georgetown College Financial Ledgers Ledger E, 1821-1831 Cash Book, 1825-1832 Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu: The Archives of the House of the Superior General 1836—Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI): Dubuisson Memorandum, Maryland 1005 II 4, p. 1-8.0 Washington, D.C., Slave Emancipation Records 1851-1863 Washington, D.C., Wills and Probate Records 1737-1952 OUR SOURCES WE ATTEMPTED TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Did the Washington Seminary, the predecessor of Gonzaga College High School, directly or indirectly benefit from enslaved persons or slave labor? Was Washington Seminary involved in any way with slave-run plantations? Did enslaved persons work at Washington Seminary? IT WAS A PLEASURE TO WATCH ED DONNELLAN AND HIS STUDENTS SORT THROUGH THE BOXES IN THE ARCHIVES. THEY STUDIED THE FILES WITH FOCUSED ATTENTION, AND LIKE ARCHAEOLOGISTS, THEY UNCOVERED HISTORY ONE PAGE AT A TIME. —Ethan Henderson Curator of Booth Family Center for Special Collections SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
AS WASHINGTON SEMINARY’S DOORS OPENED, THOUGH, THE UNITED STATES WAS EMBROILED IN A NATIONAL DEBATE OVER SLAVERY. The Washington Seminary at its original location.
GONZAGA’S FOUNDING Gonzaga College High School was founded in 1821 under the original name of “The Washington Seminary.” These names will be used interchangeably throughout the exhibit. Located on F Street between 9th and 10th Streets NW, the Seminary “opened its classrooms indiscriminately to the youth of the city who desired to follow a classical course.” Fr. Anthony Kohlmann, a well-traveled Jesuit sent to America in 1806, was appointed as the first president of the institution.
Gonzaga, originally Washington Seminary, was initially built as a novitiate, but “it was never used for that purpose.” The Seminary, instead, offered classes in grammar and rhetoric at three levels for young men in the District. Six faculty members including President Kohlmann received students beginning in 1821.
In 1807, Congress passed an Act to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States… from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” Although this Act abolished the importation of enslaved people, the domestic slave trade soon rose to take its place. A forced migration followed.
THE SEEDS OF THE SLAVEDOMESTICTRADE
ACCORDING TO HISTORIAN EDWARD E. BAPTIST: [the] amount of cotton the South grew increased almost every year from 1800, when enslaved African Americans made 1.4 million pounds of cotton, to 1860, when they harvested almost 2 billion pounds...more than 2/3 of the people transported to New Orleans between July 1829 and the end of 1831 came from the three states of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
Source: The Half has Never been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism - Edward E. Baptist
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
As the demand for cotton grew throughout the early 19th century, the need for slave labor, particularly in the deep South, increased exponentially. Without the ability to import slaves from Africa, slave traders began to buy slaves from the upper South and sell them in the deep South where huge profits and the cruelest forms of slavery awaited.
A copy of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 (left) and the Domestic Slave Trade from 1808–1865 (right) Photo Credits: (left) Tenth Amendment Center, Thomas Jefferson Signs Law Banning Importation of Slaves; (right) The Domestic Slave Trade: Migration Resources from The New York Public Library (2005)
Amid the ever-growing migration of enslaved people from the upper South to the lower South, the nation grappled with the expansion of slavery. As settlers migrated westward, the question of extending slavery into these new territories consumed the country. In 1820, President Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which “allowed [the] entrance of Missouri as a slave state but prohibited slavery North of its southern boundary at latitude 36,30 and [throughout] the rest of the Louisiana Purchase.” 1 ANATIONDIVIDED POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES2 9,638,453 ENSLAVED POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES2 1,538,022 THE COUNTRY, AS A WHOLE, WAS DIVIDED. WASHINGTON, D.C., THE NATION’S CAPITAL, FOUND ITSELF AT THE CENTER OF THIS DIVISION. THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY WAS FAR FROM RESOLVED. Sources: 1. The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition by Manisha Sinha 2. United States Census Bureau 1820 Photo Credit: Compromise of 1850 and Missouri Compromise 1820, Heritage Society SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
An entry of a Jesuit slave transaction; 1794 Bohemia Daybook 1790-1799 of the Maryland Province Collection, Box 1, Folder 1. The red boxes above locate five Jesuit plantations in Maryland: St. Thomas, Bohemia, St. Inigoes, Whitemarsh, and Newtown.
While the U.S. was divided, Maryland Jesuits were largely unified in their support of slavery. The first Jesuits arrived in Maryland in 1634 and received nearly 12,000 acres of land along the Chesapeake Bay from Maryland’s founding family, the Calverts. To support the Order’s mission in the New World, the Jesuits converted this land into plantations, initially worked by indentured servants. By the early 1700s, however, African slaves had replaced indentured servants on the plantations.
Source: Beyond the 272 Sold in 1838, Plotting the National Diaspora of Jesuit-Owned Slaves by Matthew Quallen
Based on the size and number of their holdings, the Jesuits were one of the largest slave owners in Maryland and were in the top five percent nationally. These plantations supported the Jesuits’ work in schools such as Georgetown and the Washington Seminary, as well as Jesuit formation.
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
IN MARYLAND AND D.C. THEOFSOCIETYJESUS
“ SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
6. That they should all be sent to Church on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and on the Patron Saint of the Church or place if kept with Solemnity, though of course, they be made to work the rest of the day.”
CONDITIONS ON THESE PLANTATIONS
2. Whether they are to be allowed to rear poultry or not? And hogs.
1. Let their ration be fixed. In some places they have only had one pound and a quarter of meat. Often this has not been sound.
WERE HARSH. ENSLAVED PERSONS WERE BEATEN, AND MANY WERE UNDERFED.
3. Whether they are to have half of Saturday to themselves.
4. That pregnant women should not be whipped.
5. That this chastisement should not be inflicted on any female in the house where the priest lives. Sometimes they have been tied up in the priest’s own parlour, which is very indecorous.
In 1820, Fr. Peter Kenney, an Irish Jesuit sent by Rome, visited the Jesuit plantations in Southern Maryland, where he reported on the treatment of enslaved people and the profitability of the Society’s operations. Conditions on these plantations were harsh. Enslaved persons were beaten, and many were underfed.
FR. KENNEY’S REPORT
THE REALITY OF SLAVEHOLDINGJESUIT
“The above sum was expended as follows. For establishment & support of Washington Seminary—$8211.28”
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
Maryland Provincial
STREET. WITHOUT THE LABOR OF ENSLAVED PERSONS, GONZAGA MAY NOT EXIST
“By cash paid in part for finishing & furnishing Seminary in Washington, $599.00 By cash paid expenses of negroes sold by Fr. Henry Bohemia. Prison fees, $300.00”
Even before the Washington Seminary opened its doors in 1821, the were essential to its operation. Entries in various accounting ledgers connect the funding for Washington Seminary’s opening directly to two plantations: Bohemia and St. Inigoes. F AS
THE PROFITS PROVIDED BY PLANTATIONS WERE ESSENTIAL FOR FURNISHING AND FUNDING GENERAL CONSTRUCTION NEEDED TO PREPARE GONZAGA’S ORIGINAL CAMPUS ON
WE KNOW IT TODAY.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GONZAGA FUNDED BY PLANTATIONSSLAVE
plantations
“The above receipts arrived from the following source— From: St Inigoes, $900.00”
The Vatican, and the Jesuits in Rome, were well aware of the Maryland Jesuits’ reliance on slave labor to operate their farms. The foremost Vatican archival collection, the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI), chronicled letters and financial records exchanged between Jesuit priests in the Maryland Province and Rome.
isbuilt…$1066.81”“Tosupportof Wash. Sem…$2000” This document
THE ARSI VATICAN ARCHIVES AND GONZAGA
This stunning entry shows that the very ground on which the Washington Seminary was built was purchased with funds from slave-run plantations. Romanum Iesu) expended since 22 July 1820 of on which Sem. offers the testimony of Father Dubuisson, S.J., a President of Georgetown for seven months during 1825, who noted that “concerning the house in Washington that is called the Seminary.... this house was built with mission funds.”
Societatis
“Statement of Finances FromFromFromCreditsBohemia…$1500Newtown…$700St.Inigoes…$1000” (Various Dates, 1820s—Archivum
In payment of debt on purchase
ground
THESE DOCUMENTS REVEAL THE BOTHSLAVERYACCEPTANCECOMMONOFAMONGTHEJESUITS,INMARYLANDANDINEUROPE.
Wash.
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
“Has been
Washington Seminary Accounting Books also detailed the school’s connections with plantations. Food was often provided to the school from the slave labor on these plantations. Trips were frequently taken by Jesuits to the properties. GONZAGA’S BEGINNING: PLANTATIONSINTERWOVENWITH “To travelling expenses to Whitemarsh” (April 20th, 1821—Washington Seminary Accounting Book) “B. Fenwick for expenses to Whitemarsh” (October 1, 1822±Washington Seminary Accounting Book) “To travelling expenses for the Whitemarsh wagon which hauled the corn fodder” (October 23, 1822—Washington Seminary Accounting Book) “Furniture for the Seminary $13.50” “St. Inigoes Farm to general fund provisions furnished Washington Seminary: To 333 wt of Bacon at 10c per lb To 100 baskets turnip at 34 1/2 c per bushel To 91 baskets potatoes at 40 per lb To 66 1/2 lb of lard at 12 1/2 per lb To 69 lbs of beef at 8 per lb To 134 wt bacon at 10 per lb To 154 wt butter at 15 per lb To 3 doz chickens at .50 per doz To 1 doz ducks at 2$ per doz To 107 wt beef at 3 per lbs” (May-Nov. 1821--Washington Seminary Accounting Book) SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
ISAIAH: A CONNECTIONPERSONALFIRST
“To Jerome Mudd (for) Isaiah black boy for expenses to St. Thomas…$82.00” (Sep. 22, 1822-Washington Seminary Accounting Book) Here, Isaiah is being transported back to the plantation of St. Thomas by faculty member Jerome Mudd, a Jesuit-in-training.
The Washington Seminary’s involvement with the institution of slavery extended beyond just financial support. Isaiah, a “black boy,” appears in financial records in 1822. Referring to enslaved persons as “black” or “colored” was common at the time, as was identifying enslaved persons by their first names only. Isaiah is never mentioned again.
“Mr. Jerome Mudd, S.J., Teacher of Second Grammar” (Gonzaga College: An Historical Sketch--published by the College in 1922) GONZAGA’S
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN:
HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
cents
It
While Isaiah was mentioned only once, another enslaved person, appeared more frequently. practice of tipping enslaved people was common. masters would attempt to incentivize young enslaved persons with a few at a falsely leading them to believe that they could eventually buy their freedom. was initially difficult to verify Gabriel’s role at Seminary, but records discovered later would soon confirm his status as an enslaved person.
time,
we
The
AS THE STORIES OF ISAIAH AND GABRIEL EMERGED, WE REALIZED THAT THE WASHINGTON SEMINARY’S CONNECTION WITH SLAVERY WAS DEEPER THAN INITIALLY ANTICIPATED. “To Gabriel for weeding in the garden in time of recreation…$0.0625” (April 22, 1822—Washington Seminary Accounting Book) “To Gabriel…$0.20” (Oct. 14, 1824- Washington Seminary Accounting Book) “Gabe…$0.12” (January 26, 1825—Washington Seminary Accounting Book) SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
GABRIEL: IN THE GARDEN
Gabriel,
Washington
Slave
“Mrs. Margaret Fenwick by Hillary’s wages from May 1, 1825 (Hillary arrived at the college about the end of April, 1825) to the 13th of Oct 1827 (when Gabe a black boy from the Seminary of Washington took Hillary’s place) at $1.00 off month.”
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
After spending several years working at the Seminary, Gabriel was moved to Georgetown, but his transfer was not under the direction of the Jesuits. He was owned by Margaret Fenwick. Benedict Fenwick, noted previously for travelling to Whitemarsh, was her second-oldest son, and a Jesuit.
One entry in a Georgetown accounting ledger confirmed Gabriel’s status. He is referred to as “a black boy from the Seminary of Washington.”
As to why the Fenwicks initially leased Gabriel to the Washington Seminary, two theories exist. They may have sought tuition reduction for their youngest son George Ignatius, but no Washington Seminary accounting records confirm this arrangement. Alternatively, the Fenwicks could have sought to make extra money without having a son in attendance.
GABRIEL: MOVING GEORGETOWNTO
WHEN GABRIEL WAS TRANSFERRED TO GEORGETOWN, HE ARRIVED EXPLICITLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF TUITION REDUCTION “AT $1.00 OFF [PER] MONTH.” It is probable that George Ignatius, the family’s youngest son who was born in 1801, was enrolled at the time. In leasing Gabriel, the Fenwicks retained ownership of the young slave.
Gabriel’s freedom seemed within reach.
SEARCHING
WHEN THE TERMS FOR GABRIEL TO PURCHASE HIS FREEDOM WERE ENTERED INTO THE LEDGER BOOK AT GEORGETOWN COLLEGE IN 1828, HE FOUND HIMSELF IN A PROMISING POSITION. HE HAD WON THE OPPORTUNITY TO AFFECT HIS OWN FREEDOM. SELF-PURCHASE WAS A CENTRAL PATH TO FREEDOM FOR ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE TERMS ON WHICH HE COULD ‘BUY HIMSELF FREE’ WERE FAIRLY COMMON IN THE PERIOD. UNFORTUNATELY, GABRIEL’S EVENTUAL SALE ALERTS US NOT ONLY TO THE POSSIBILITY PRESENTED BY SELF-PURCHASE, BUT ALSO THE INCREDIBLE DIFFICULTIES AFRICAN AMERICANS FACED IN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THE PROCESS.
“Negro Gabe In the beginning of March 1828 he obtained leave to buy himself free, on the following terms; he has to pay $8 every month for his hire, and has besides to lay every month something aside until he collects of the sum of $400 which he has to pay for his freedom.”
GABRIEL: THE CHANCE FOR FREEDOM
—Dr. Julia Bernier, professor at University of North Alabama FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
A year later, in March 1828, at the age of 20, Gabriel was offered the chance to buy his own freedom. The arrangement required him to pay his owner “$8” a month for the opportunity to contract himself out. He could then set aside any remaining money “until he collects…$400.”
Gabriel’s savings abruptly ended in April.
“$450.” MR.
On May 17, 1829, she died. Gabriel likely became the property of her eldest living son, Benedict, who was a Jesuit at Georgetown. This change in ownership would be devastating for Gabriel.
HONORING MARGARET’S
WITH GABRIEL,
AGENT
LARGEST AND MOST PROFITABLE SLAVE TRADING FIRM
MR. PURVIS
At the time of this arrangement, Gabriel was owned by Margaret Fenwick, a prominent Catholic and mother of two Jesuits.
FRANKLIN AND ARMFIELD,
TIME. GABRIEL’S HOPES FOR FREEDOM VANISHED. GABRIEL: A CRUEL HOAX “To cash from Mr. Purvis for Gabe…$450” SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
ON JUNE 18, 1829, GEORGETOWN, INSTEAD OF PREVIOUS ARRANGEMENT SOLD HIM TO FOR PURVIS WAS AN OF THE AT THE
Anthony McElroy Witness to the transaction and to Gabriel’s character Brother of Georgetown Jesuit John McElroy Joshua Millard Witness Parent of Washington Seminary and Georgetown student Edward Millard
Richard W. McSherry Seller Brother of a Georgetown Jesuit and future school President, William McSherry
GABRIEL:
“The day personally appeared before me, a Justice of the Peace of the County aforesaid Anthony McElroy and Joshua Millard whose names are subscribed to the foregoing certificate and solemnly declared on oath on the Holy Evangels, that they have known the said slave named Gabriel in the foregoing certificate mentioned, for several years, and that he has not, within their knowledge, been guilty or convicted of any crimes, but that he has a good moral character and is not in the habit of running away. Sworn to before me this 20th day of June 1829.” Gabriel’s bill of sale is formalized with legal and religious language.
James R. Franklin Buyer
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
Two days later, on June 20, 1829, the District of Columbia issued a Bill of Sale, confirming that Georgetown sold Gabriel to Franklin and Armfield. VANISHEDFREEDOM
“We the subscribers Anthony McElroy, and Joshua Millard freeholders of the County of Washington in the District of Columbia, do hereby certify that negro Gabriel aged about twenty one years of the male sex, about 5 feet 3 inches high, a black man of complexion was purchased in the District aforesaid by James R. Franklin from Richard W. McSherry of Georgetown College: In Witness whereof we have signed this certificate, at the city of Washington District aforesaid this 20th day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.”
Nephew of Isaac Franklin, who was co-founder of Franklin and Armfield
Photo Credit: Library of Congress: LC-DIG-cwpb-01472 (digital file from original neg. of left half) LC-DIG-cwpb-01471 (digital file from original neg. of right half) SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
To sail south, Gabriel’s (5) last name was listed as “Dorsey,” a common Southern Maryland name. Shipping laws required slaves be identified with a full name. His physical descriptions match those on the Bill of Sale.
GABRIEL: ABOARD THE UNITED STATES
After arriving in New Orleans, Gabriel’s value to Franklin and Armfield rested solely in his ability to command top dollar at market. Once inside the port, William Boswell, a notary, set Gabriel’s valuation at $700, a $250 increase from his previous sale price. This was the last mention of Gabriel in New Orleans. The domestic slave trade claimed another victim.
Franklin and Armfield Slave Pen
With his owner’s death, Gabriel lost his chance at freedom and faced a future he could not have imagined only months before.
On November 6, 1829, after spending weeks in a slave pen in Alexandria, Gabriel was led in chains onto the brig United States. Captained by Henry C. Bell, the ship was headed for the Port of New Orleans, where Gabriel would soon encounter the city’s infamous slave markets.
—Joshua D. Rothman, The Ledgerand the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America This document from the New Orleans Notarial Archives includes the names of the 34 persons who were brought from Alexandria and sold in New Orleans for $18, 375. Each enslaved person listed in the document was assigned a monetary value they were expected to bring on the sales market.
Among them was a twenty-one year old man named Gabriel, who was shipped to New Orleans on the Brig United States in the fall of 1829 and valued at $700. James Franklin Purvis purchased Gabriel in Washington, DC in June 1829. Purvis died in 1880.HisobituarymakesnomentionAprilofhiscareerintheslavetrade.
“Gabriel, a negro of light complexion age twenty one years, valued at seven hundred dollars” He is buried in Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland. There is no record of where Gabriel is buried.
SEARCHINGFORTRUTHINTHEGARDEN:GONZAGA’SHISTORYWITHSLAVERY
SLAVEHOLDERS AND SLAVE TRADERS WOULD HAVE US REDUCE ENSLAVED PEOPLE LIKE GABRIEL TO NUMBERS ON A PAGE. IT IS OUR JOB TO SEE PAST THEIR FOCUS ON THE MONEY INVOLVED AND REMEMBER THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PRICES.
GABRIEL AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER ENSLAVED AMERICANS WERE FORCED TO PAY THE TOLL OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC EXPANSION. IT WAS A TOLL PERPETUALLY EXTRACTED, FROM MOMENTS OF RUPTURE FROM HOMES AND LOVED ONES, TO CONFINEMENT IN CARGO HOLDS TUMBLING DOWN THE ATLANTIC, AND THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF LIVES SPENT IN PLACES THAT WERE NEVER ‘HOME.’ —Jennie Williams, Johns Hopkins Ph.D. candidate This certificate of merit shows that on October 2, 1828, the United States carried 202 enslaved persons to New Orleans. SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
GABRIEL: THEPAYMENTFINAL “By
Georgetown College accounts ledger F,
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
(March
Even after Gabriel vanished from record books in New Orleans, he remained the subject of a transaction in Georgetown almost four years later. On March 20, 1833, Edward Millard, a former student at Georgetown and the Seminary, received $22.50 from a 5% commission on the $450 sale of Gabriel. One explanation suggests that Millard’s father, Joshua, who was listed as a witness on Gabriel’s bill of sale, may have been promised a reward for his testimony. commission on sale of $450 at 5%...$22.50” 20, 1833 - 1831-1838)
Gabe for
VOICES OF
From the time the Washington Seminary opened until the dawn of the Civil War, a growing chorus of voices spoke out against slavery in the United States.
And while these important subjects shall occupy the columns of the FREEDOM’S JOURNAL, we would not be unmindful of our brethren who are still in the iron fetters of bondage. They are our kindred by all the ties of nature; and though but little can be effected by us, still let our sympathies be poured forth, and our prayers in their behalf, ascend to Him who is able to succour them.”
“WE PROTEST AGAINST EVERY SLAVEHOLDING PROFESSOR OF RELIGION, WHETHER HE IS A MEMBER OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, OR OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WHETHER HE IS A PRESBYTERIAN, A METHODIST, REFORMER, OR AN OLD SIDE METHODIST.”
-A COLOURED BALTIMOREAN A letter to the editor in the first edition of Freedom’s Journal, published November 23, 1827, the same week as Gabriel’s lease at Georgetown March 16, 1827 First issue of Freedom’s Journal, the first African American newspaper in the United States: “Useful knowledge of every kind, and everything that relates to Africa, shall find a ready admission into our columns; and as that vast continent becomes daily more known, we trust that many things will come to light, proving that the natives of it are neither so ignorant nor stupid as they have generally been supposed to be.
One of the most common responses from people who learn about our research is, “What did you expect to find?” or “That’s just the way it was.” Those sentiments may be true, but it is also true that many courageous voices spoke out against slavery. We share some of those voices here.
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
DISSENT
DISSENT SEARCHING FOR
—David Walker’s Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World September, 1829 Frederick Douglass was the most prominent American abolitionist in the 19th century. His autobiographies were widely read and he traveled the country and the world speaking out against the evils of slavery. The following excerpt is from perhaps his most famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” on July 5, 1852. STANDING WITH GOD AND THE CRUSHED AND BLEEDING SLAVE ON THIS OCCASION, I WILL, IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY WHICH IS OUTRAGED, IN THE NAME OF LIBERTY WHICH IS FETTERED, IN THE NAME OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BIBLE, WHICH ARE DISREGARDED AND TRAMPLED UPON, DARE TO CALL IN QUESTION AND TO DENOUNCE, WITH ALL THE EMPHASIS I CAN COMMAND, EVERYTHING THAT SERVES TO PERPETUATE SLAVERY — THE GREAT SIN AND SHAME OF AMERICA! VOICES OF TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
Source: Documenting the American South, UNC David Walker was part of the free black community in Boston. His Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World was written in large part for enslaved blacks in the South. His fiery language called on church-going people to see the evils of slavery.
IT IS INDEED SURPRISING, THAT A MAN OF SUCH GREAT LEARNING, COMBINED WITH SUCH EXCELLENT NATURAL PARTS, SHOULD SPEAK SO OF A SET OF MEN IN CHAINS. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO COMPARE IT TO, UNLESS, LIKE PUTTING ONE WILD DEER IN AN IRON CAGE, WHERE IT WILL BE SECURED, AND HOLD ANOTHER BY THE SIDE OF THE SAME, THEN LET IT GO, AND EXPECT THE ONE IN THE CAGE TO RUN AS FAST AS THE ONE AT LIBERTY.
William Lloyd Garrison was the founder of the abolition newspaper, The Liberator. Garrison saw no compromise with the issue of slavery. The very first edition of The Liberator has two major connections to Gonzaga’s history.
January 1, 1831: first edition of The Liberator contains a story about slavery in DC and the shipping of slaves from Alexandria.
YES, LET IT BE KNOWN TO THE CITIZENS OF AMERICA, THAT AT THE VERY TIME THE PROCESSION WHICH INCLUDED THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND HIS CABINET WAS MARCHING IN TRIUMPH TO THE CAPITOL, ANOTHER KIND OF PROCESSION WAS MARCHING THE OTHER WAY, AND THAT CONSISTED OF COLORED HUMAN BEINGS, HANDCUFFED IN PAIRS, AND DRIVEN ALONG BY WHAT HAD THE APPEARANCE OF A MAN ON A HORSE! A SIMILAR SCENE WAS REPEATED ON SATURDAY LAST; A DROVE CONSISTING OF MALES AND FEMALES CHAINED IN COUPLES, STARTING FROM ROBEY’S TAVERN ON FOOT, FOR ALEXANDRIA, WHERE, WITH OTHERS, THEY ARE TO EMBARK ON A SLAVE-SHIP IN WAITING TO CONVEY THEM TO THE SOUTH. District of Columbia
“What do many of the professed enemies of slavery mean, by heaping all their reproaches upon the south, and asserting that the crime of oppression is not national? What power but Congress — and Congress by the authority of the American people — has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia? That District is rotten with the plague, and stinks in the nostrils of the world.” GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
VOICES OF DISSENT SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN:
While this was happening in 1848, a little-known Congressman, named Abraham Lincoln, was serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1847, he voted in favor of the Wilmot Proviso, a measure that would have prevented slavery from expanding to any territory gained by the United States in the Mexican-American War.
WASHINGTON SEMINARY CLOSES, REOPENS 20 YEARS LATER
On September 25, 1827, the Washington Seminary closed due to a financial dispute. Previously, in violation of Society regulations, the Jesuits of Washington Seminary had indirectly accepted tuition from their students. Washington Seminary faculty would be transferred to Georgetown.
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
THE WASHINGTON SEMINARY HAD RETURNED TO USING, AND LEASING, SLAVE LABOR.
In September 1848, however, under new orders from the Superior General of the Jesuits, The Washington Seminary reopened with the understanding that it could now accept tuition. Father John Blox was appointed as president. Soon after the school’s revival, a familiar institution found itself intertwined with the re-opened school.
December 1848 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
NED: HONEST, CAREFUL & EASY TO GOVERN “Rev.
“Stanislaus
Gentlemen, I send my servant Ned. He can remain with you one week on trial. And if he should suit you (which I sincerely hope he will!) you can house him at 8 off per month. Yours truthfully, Stan. Murray Nov. 20, 1848” Murray on account of his col. serv. Ned” 1848/1849 Murray, for 1 month hire, to date, of his col. Serv. Ned (according to his letter Nov. 20/ 48… $8.00”
As soon as the Washington Seminary reopened in 1848, it returned to its previous reliance on enslaved labor. In November 1848, Washington Seminary hired Ned, an enslaved person belonging to Stanislaus Murray. Ned is identified as a “colored servant” twice in letters sent to Rev. Blox. Mr. Blox, My Servant Ned (the bearer) is for hire by the year — I understood yesterday that you wished to hire a good honest careful man. If so, I believe Ned will suit you he is honest...careful, and easy to govern very truly, Stan. Murray Nov. 18, 1848”“Rev.
Yours
“Stanislaus
SOPHY: A CONTINUEDLEGACY The Washington Seminary’s lease of Ned may have been the first case after 1848, but it certainly wasn’t the last. In October of 1849, The Washington Seminary paid a local resident, Emma Berry, “$18.00” in exchange for “3 months hire of her servant Sophy.” According to two entries from the Seminary’s accounting books, Sophy was a “colored servant” who worked as a “cook.” These financial ledgers detail several occasions in which the school tipped Sophy “$1.00” for her work. “By Sophy hired col. Serv. for 1 month to date of private wages… $1.00” August 1849 “By Sophy, for 1 month private wages to date… $1.00” December 1849 “By Emma E. Berry, for 3 months hire of her serv. Sophy… $18.00” October 1849 “Sophy, col. cook servant (hired from Mrs. Emma Berry)” 1849/1850 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
September 1850 - June 1852
March
September 1850
“by gratification to Mary col. Cook for extra work… $1.00” 1852
“by cash to Mary, to go to Georgetown & visit her former Mistress… $0.50”
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
Mary’s final wages in March 1855
Personal connections and attachments were common despite the nature of slavery.
July 1851
“By Mary col. Serv. of Gregory Ennis who said to pay the wages directly to her… $7.00”
MARY: A FAMILIAR FACE
“Mary col. serv. of Gregory Ennis who said to pay the wages to her”
Mary was the Washington Seminary’s third enslaved person leased after 1848, continuing their use of slave labor. Mary, having spent approximately five years on The Washington Seminary’s original campus, is also the enslaved person with the longest tenure at Washington Seminary. She was known as a cook but likely performed other tasks around campus, such as washing. Mary was owned by Gregory Ennis, a prominent slave owner with significant holdings. Because Ennis had many slaves, he instructed the Seminary to pay Mary directly, who then passed on the money to Ennis.
“by cash to Mary for the extraction of a tooth… $0.50” 1851
December
Joshua Rothman, University of Alabama History Chair
Vincent Golden, American Antiquarian Society
Joe Boland Keegan Grealish ‘19 Matthew Johnson ‘19 Hameed Nelson Daniel Podratsky Design by capizzidesigns.com
‘19
Lynn Conway, Georgetown University Archivist
‘19
Elsa Barraza Mendoza, Georgetown University Ph.D. Candidate
Adam Rothman, Georgetown University Professor Cory Young, Georgetown University Ph.D. Candidate
Jennie Williams, Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. Candidate
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
Julia Bernier, Assistant Professor at North Alabama University We are also grateful to the Gonzaga Mothers Club for their support along this incredible journey.
A EFFECTLASTING
With deep gratitude, we would like to thank the following historians and archivists who helped us along the way:
Although this part of our history transpired over 200 years ago, the effects live on today through the descendants of Isaiah, Gabriel, Ned, Sophy, Mary, and the hundreds of enslaved people who worked the Jesuit plantations providing The Washington Seminary with invaluable resources. Using databases such as the Washington, D.C., Slave Emancipation Records 1851-1863 and Washington, D.C., Wills and Probate Records 1737-1952, we attempted to find their descendants. We spent countless hours in this pursuit. Although our efforts failed to identify any descendants, we continue the search.
MANY THANKS
Stephen J. Ochs, Georgetown Prep Lawlor Chair of History
Ethan Henderson, Georgetown University Curator of Rare Books
Scott Taylor, Georgetown University Manuscript Archivist
‘19
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
GARDEN:
By Day BY JOSEPH WETÉ ‘19 pain-filled love echoes ever proudly across your purple and white lined scars, your own stigmata. my Brother Gabe wears shackles, not vans. my brother Gabe packs brick, not tobacco. my brother Gabe sings sorrow, his own alma mater. hail, marchGabriel.on. Gabriel’s Alma Mater BY WINSTON LESLIE ‘18
Garden: Gonzaga Poets Respond to the Slavery Research Project came into being as a result of much reflection and discussion. We hope this collection of poems, a student-teacher collaborative effort, will honor Gabriel, Isaiah, Ned, Sophy, Mary and all the enslaved people who helped make Gonzaga the school we love today. We also hope these poems will move us all to learn more and to act in support of racial justice in our country. Co-Editors
Over the course of the 2017 – 2018 school year, Gonzaga Poets & Writers, along with many students and teachers, discussed, considered, and wrote about this important part of our school’s past. We felt our best response to this new information would come from offering our own creative work to honor the lives of the enslaved people who made Gonzaga possible. We also felt a particular call to address our poetry to those individuals whose names the student-researchers brought to us.
Joseph Fondriest ‘19 / Marcus Stackhouse ‘19
SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION GONZAGA POETS RESPOND TO THE RESEARCHSLAVERYPROJECT I dug through dirt, you smelled the flowers. I wiped soiled tables, you sat and laughed. I was tipped, you were entitled and gifted. I prayed, you prayed. the garden grew. I could not.
I wish I aknewbutIIbecauseconfusionItspeechless.No,angry.Ishocked.Isurprised.waswishIwaswasnotIwaswasn’talreadyknew.hadnoproof,apartofmethiswaspartofmyschool. Reaction BY KYLE BROWN ‘18 ChainsChains. bonding bricks. Bonding brothers — bonding blood. ChainsChains. dragging bodies. Dragging backpacks — dragging us. Chains rip through the pages of history. Where the weakest link is trust. Trust we don’t walk where slavers walked. Shame to know we must. Sin of the ChainsChainsChains.forTodeterminedordainedtodetain.chainandmaimpersonalgain.linkustogether.breakingusapart. Chains BY JOE MILLER ‘18 forced to be outside countlesslookingexhaustedblisteringworkingheatforreliefhoursof labor four hours of sleep a day to recognize the men and women who built this dwelling we call moretoexcruciatingoftwo-hundredinsteadsecrecyinsteadexcuseshomeofanswersoftruthsyearsliesdesireknow Isaiah BY MYLES DREAD ‘18 Over 200 years ago you toiled daily. How could we forget you? We were unable to see but now we the light sees us. Our imagination cannot andmisery,thecomprehendagony,heartache you endured. Thank you. For your service to others when others did not serve you. Without ridicule, you accepted six and a quarter cents pay. you lived the “Creed.” You Were Here BY AARON DAVIS ‘19 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
Our Biggest Shame is Not a Shame BY LUCAS JUNG ‘19 Gabriel Is JOSEPH ENGLISHROSS,DEPARTMENT SEARCHING FOR TRUTH IN THE GARDEN: GONZAGA’S HISTORY WITH SLAVERY
isHowour biggest shame one thoughtnot of as an aretheplaceshouldWheretoincanideaWhichinrejoiceascomewillWhenandItwhichtocouldWhoracialstilldoWhywasthatwillWhatembarrassment?endthesentimentSlaveryanecessarywrong?peoplebelieveinsuperiority?bethefinalethishorridepichasplaguedus?willreawakenkillusallthestatuesdownweunderstanding?bringthosetheshadeofignoranceseethevibranttruth?we,thepeoplethisshame?onewenotashamedof?
is garden is growing and grown is back bent to earth is silent, is work is slave and bought is slave and sold is moved from one plantation to another is not asked is not own is sweat is skin like a believer is angel-named is messenger of God we barely know is groan and spit is undocumented is law and is against the law is breath and cough is gasp is sun and sky is muscle is hands in soil is soil is winged is graved is bound to earth is bound is earth is conjured here is name on paper is seed-sown future is soil-born past is present