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William McSherry

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The Very Reverend
William McSherry
SJ
Black and white portrait of William McSherry
Portrait of William McSherry
18thPresident of Georgetown College
In office
1837–1839
Preceded byThomas F. Mulledy
Succeeded byJoseph A. Lopez
Personal details
Born(1799-07-19)July 19, 1799
Charlestown, Virginia,U.S.[a]
DiedDecember 18, 1839(1839-12-18)(aged 40)
Georgetown,District of Columbia,U.S.[b]
Resting placeJesuit Community Cemetery
Alma mater

William McSherrySJ(July 19, 1799 – December 18, 1839) was an AmericanCatholicpriest andJesuitwho became thepresident of Georgetown Collegeand a Jesuitprovincial superior.The son of Irish immigrants, McSherry was educated atGeorgetown College,where he entered the Society of Jesus. As one of the first Americans to complete the traditional Jesuit course of training, he was sent toRometo be educated for the priesthood. There, he made several discoveries of significant, forgotten holdings in the Jesuit archives, which improved historians' knowledge of the early European settling ofMarylandand of the language ofIndian tribesthere.

McSherry became the first provincial superior of the Jesuits'Maryland Provincefrom 1833 to 1837, and laid the groundwork for thesale of the province's slavesin 1838. He then briefly became the president of Georgetown College in 1837, and was simultaneously made provincial superior for a second time in 1839, despite suffering illness to which he would succumb several months later.

Early life[edit]

William McSherry was born on July 19, 1799, inCharlestown, Virginia(today part ofWest Virginia),[2][a]to Anastasia "Anne" Lilly and Richard McSherry.[4]He was named after his father's twin brother.[5]His father was born inSt. John's Pointin County Down,Ireland,[6](today part ofNorthern Ireland) and had emigrated to the United States in the 1780s,[5]after a prosperous stint in commerce inJamaica;upon settling in the United States, he purchased an estate—naming it "Retirement" —and became a farmer oftomato,okra,and fruit.[6]McSherry's mother was also ofIrish ancestry,[7]and met Richard in the United States, where they married on July 31, 1791.[4]

Following his two older brothers, William enrolled atGeorgetown Collegein Washington, D.C., on November 6, 1813,[6]and entered theSociety of Jesusat Georgetown as a novice on February 6, 1815. He was then sent toRometo studyphilosophyandtheologyin June 1820,[8]alongside five other young Jesuits who would go on to hold prominent positions within the American Jesuit order; they were:Thomas Mulledy,Charles Constantine Pise,James Ryder,John Smith, and George Fenwick.[9]In Rome, he wasordainedapriest,likely in 1825 or 1826.[2]

Campus of Georgetown College in 1829
Georgetown College in 1829

While in Rome, McSherry discovered in the Jesuit archives the previously forgottenRelatio ItinerisbyAndrew White,which is the most comprehensive account of the journey of theArkand theDove,and published it.[2]He also rediscovered manuscripts in the archives which contained the only extant writings of the Indian tribes of Maryland.[10]He spent time at thePontifical Gregorian University,[11]before being appointed the minister of the literary and medical colleges of theCollegio del CarmineinTurin,[11]whose rector wasJan Roothaan,[2]where he remained from 1826 to 1828.[12]

Eventually, McSherry leftLivornofor the United States on a treacherous voyage that lasted 171 days, and caused some in the United States to fear that the three Jesuits aboard had perished. He arrived at Georgetown on December 22, 1828.[13]The following year, he became a professor ofhumanitiesat Georgetown, and was named the minister for the school,procurator,andconsultorone year later.[14]He also served as a professor of theology during this time,[15]and as head of the lower classes.[16]From October 1831 to June 1832, he was appointed thesocius(assistant) toPeter Kenney,who was theapostolic visitorto the Jesuits inSt. Louisand theMissouri Valley.[14]McSherry was recalled to Rome in 1832, where he professed hissolemn vowsto the Jesuit order, making him one of the first American Jesuits to complete the traditional Jesuit course of training.[2]

Maryland provincial[edit]

St. Stanislaus Jesuit Novitiate in Frederick, Maryland
St. Stanislaus Novitiate in Frederick was established in 1833.

On August 14, 1832, McSherry was elected the first procurator of the Jesuitmissionin the United States; soon thereafter, Kenney requested that theJesuit Superior Generalelevate the mission to the status of a province. This request was granted on August 28, and McSherry set sail for Rome from New York City so he could receive instructions on how to establish the new province. The territory of the new province was defined according to the borders of the state of Maryland,[17]and the province was officially established on February 2, 1833.[18]

On February 7, 1833, McSherry was made the first provincial superior of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus.[10]He officially assumed the position on July 8, 1833,[19]but was soon confronted with a considerable debt that Georgetown College had accrued, as well as disciplinary issues within the institution.[18]At the same time he was provincial, McSherry was alsopastorof St. Ignatius Church atSt. Thomas Manorfrom 1834 to 1837.[20]

As provincial, McSherry advocated for the relocation of the Jesuitnovitiatefrom Georgetown toFrederick, Marylandbecause this would reduce expenses, which were of great concern because the novitiate was in significant debt as well; although this relocation was not complete until after his term ended, the first efforts at relocation were made during this time,[21]so that St. Stanislaus Novitiate had a presence in Frederick by 1833.[22]

By the end of his tenure, the province's schools were under strain due to a lack of Jesuits to staff them.[23]Despite this, the province operated several missions throughout rural Maryland, Virginia, andPennsylvania,whose successes were largely attributed to McSherry. In order to support them, McSherry unsuccessfully sought to obtain the Superior General's approval to sell some of the Jesuits' land and farms in 1835,[24]which totaled 13,500 acres (5,500 hectares) across Maryland by 1837.[25]The Second Provincial Council of Baltimore in 1833 entrusted to the province a new mission to thefreed blackswho hadreturned to Liberia.However, the already-shorthanded province was unable to perform the task.[26]The province's financial difficulties were further compounded by the fact that the farms, worked by slaves, had become unprofitable.[27]As a result, McSherry and Mulledy together impressed upon the provincial congregation of 1835 the need to sell the province's slaves.[28]

Slave sale[edit]

Main article:1838 Jesuit slave sale

In 1836, McSherry and the province's leadership were seriously considering selling all the nearly-300 slaves who remained under the ownership of the Maryland Province. A formal assessment of the moral and economic advantages and disadvantages of the proposed sale was drawn up byStephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson.[29]The financial concerns become acute due to the increasing unprofitability of the farms and the growing debt accrued by Georgetown's recent construction projects.[30]

After the leadership returned a vote of six to four in favor of sale, the Superior General Jan Roothaan approved the transaction on October 27, 1836, on the condition that the purchasers guarantee the right of the slaves to practice their Catholic faith, that their families not be separated, and that those who were old or ill be allowed to remain with the Jesuits and be cared for.[31]During this period, McSherry began to experience symptoms that later proved to bestomach cancer,and was occasionally unable to discharge his office.[32]

Following his requests to be relieved of the office, Roothaan permitted his resignation in October 1837.[33]Thomas Mulledy replaced McSherry as provincial superior, and McSherry assumed Mulledy's role as thepresident of Georgetown.[34]In addition to McSherry's petitions, this swap was motivated by Roothaan's dissatisfaction with McSherry's failure to keep him apprised of the province's affairs—which was largely due to his worsening illness—and his lack of confidence in Mulledy's administrative abilities.[35]Due to thePanic of 1837,[36]the sale was not executed until the following year.[34]In total, 272 slaves were sold to Jesse Batey and Henry Johnson ofLouisianaon June 19, 1838,[37]and much outrage within the Jesuit order over the morality of the sale ensued; this outrage was reflected also by Roothaan, whose orders on which the sale was conditioned were not followed.[38]

Georgetown College[edit]

Photograph of McSherry Hall from the southwest
McSherry Hall was renamed Anne Marie Becraft Hall in 2017.

McSherry was appointed the president of Georgetown College, and despite suffering from cancer, entered office on December 25, 1837.[6][32]He inherited a large debt of almost $48,000, (~$1.34 million in 2023) accrued during the presidency of his predecessor. McSherry reduced the debt by increasing enrollment and eliciting a large donation, reducing it to a still-significant, but more manageable, $24,000.[39]In 1839, Roothaan ordered McSherry to suspend Mulledy from his duties as provincial superior due to fallout over the slave sale scandal. After Mulledy left to answer to the authorities in Rome, the Maryland Jesuits elected McSherry, who was still the president of Georgetown, provincial superior for a second time. Roothaan, unaware of McSherry's greatly debilitated and pain-ridden state, confirmed the appointment.[40]

Death and legacy[edit]

In 1839, McSherry was permitted to resign the presidency due to his rapidly worsening health. He was succeeded byJoseph A. Lopez.[41]By November of that year, McSherry had become bedridden,[33]and on December 18, he died.[42]Francis Dzierozynskisucceeded him as interim provincial.[40]The painfultumorin his stomach was discovered during anautopsy,which was performed because the physicians of the time did not understand the cause of his death.[43]He was buried in theJesuit Community Cemeteryat Georgetown.[44]

McSherry Hall at Georgetown University was temporarily renamed Remembrance Hall in 2015 over the namesake's involvement in the 1838 slave sale.[45]In 2017, university presidentJohn DeGioiaannounced that the building would be given the permanent name ofAnne Marie BecraftHall.[46]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abAt the time, Charles Town, West Virginia was spelled as a single word. It was located in theCommonwealth of Virginia,as theState of West Virginiahad not yet been created.[3]
  2. ^Georgetownwas a separately chartered city within theDistrict of Columbiauntil the consolidation of the district's governments into a single entity, Washington, D.C., with theOrganic Act of 1871.[1]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^Dodd 1909,p. 40
  2. ^abcdeJudge 1959,pp. 378–379
  3. ^Perks, Doug."History in Brief".City of Charles Town, West Virginia.Archivedfrom the original on January 27, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 27,2019.
  4. ^abRyan 1904,p. 14
  5. ^abCurran 1993,p. 108
  6. ^abcdShea 1891,p. 118
  7. ^Easby-Smith 1907,p. 75
  8. ^Curran 1993,p. 89
  9. ^Kuzniewski 2014,p. 1
  10. ^abShea 1891,p. 119
  11. ^abCodignola 2019,pp. 137–138
  12. ^Curran 1993,p. 109
  13. ^Shea 1891,p. 77
  14. ^abKuzniewski 2014,p. 20
  15. ^Easby-Smith 1907,p. 66
  16. ^Easby-Smith 1907,p. 67
  17. ^Judge 1959,pp. 376–377
  18. ^abJudge 1959,p. 381
  19. ^Judge 1959,p. 378
  20. ^"Pastors of St. Ignatius Church".St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Chapel Point.Archived fromthe originalon July 25, 2011.
  21. ^Judge 1959,p. 383
  22. ^Campbell 1903,p. 141
  23. ^Judge 1959,p. 384
  24. ^Judge 1959,pp. 385–386
  25. ^Judge 1959,p. 390
  26. ^Judge 1959,p. 388
  27. ^Judge 1959,p. 391
  28. ^Kuzniewski 2014,p. 23
  29. ^Judge 1959,p. 395
  30. ^Judge 1959,p. 396
  31. ^Judge 1959,pp. 397–398
  32. ^abKuzniewski 2014,p. 24
  33. ^abCurran 1993,p. 121
  34. ^abJudge 1959,p. 399
  35. ^Buckley 2013,pp. 235–236
  36. ^Curran 1993,p. 120
  37. ^"Articles of agreement between Thomas F. Mulledy, of Georgetown, District of Columbia, of one part, and Jesse Beatty and Henry Johnson, of the State of Louisiana, of the other part".Georgetown Slavery Archive.Georgetown University. June 19, 1838.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 27,2019.
  38. ^Kuzniewski 1999,p. 29
  39. ^Curran 1993,p. 119
  40. ^abKuzniewski 2014,p. 26
  41. ^Shea 1891,p. 123
  42. ^Shea 1891,p. 121
  43. ^Ryan 1904,p. 16
  44. ^Burgoa, Lisa (August 8, 2018)."Human Remains Found During Construction of Arrupe Hall".The Hoya.Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 27,2019.
  45. ^Hung, Toby; Puri, Ashwin (November 17, 2015)."Heeding Demands, University Renames Buildings".The Hoya.Archivedfrom the original on June 15, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 28,2019.
  46. ^Scoville, Ian (March 24, 2017)."University to Rename Freedom Hall".The Hoya.Archivedfrom the original on March 28, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 28,2019.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWilliam McSherry.
Academic offices
Preceded by 18thPresident of Georgetown College
1837–1839 		Succeeded byas Acting President
Catholic Church titles
New office 1stProvincial Superiorof theJesuit Maryland Province
1833–1837 		Succeeded by
Preceded by 12th Pastor ofSt. Ignatius Church
1834–1837 		Succeeded by
Aloysius Mudd
Preceded by 3rdProvincial Superiorof theJesuit Maryland Province
1839 		Succeeded byas Vice-Provincial Superior

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