Maryland Province Archives - News

Our work to digitize the Maryland Province Archives is ongoing. Materials are available on DigitalGeorgetown, and are also linked directly to the new finding aid.

Please check this page for regular updates!

The new MPA finding aid is complete!

The new finding aid to the Maryland Province Archives is now available in its entirety.  This new finding aid represents a complete reorganization of the Maryland Province Archives, as well as the addition of 90 boxes of Addenda materials and the integration of a previously separate collection (the Maryland Province Collection). 

The finding aid reflects a new series arrangement, new scope and content notes, updated folder descriptions, and cross-references to both the previous finding aid and the Georgetown Slavery Archive.  The new finding aid also clearly labels all folders that contain materials pertaining to Jesuit slaveholding and the 1838 sale. 

This finding aid replaces the former finding aid (GTM119). If you need assistance locating materials using older citations, please contact staff at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections.

Digitization is ongoing.  Digitized materials are being added to the finding aid as they are completed.

Processing and Digitization

Since October 2019, efforts have been underway to reorganize and digitize the Maryland Province Archives.  The new finding aid is now complete, and work continues on the digitization of all pre-1900 materials in the collection.

Our goal is for researchers to able to search the collection more efficiently, better locate materials of interest (especially those related to slavery), and view digital images online through DigitalGeorgetown, the university's digital collections portal. Two library staff members are dedicated to this project: Archivist Cassandra Berman and Digital Production Coordinator Theodore Mallison.

Series 1 (Records of the Provincial), Series 2 (Records of the Procurator), and Series 3 (Records of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen) have been digitized. Materials are available on DigitalGeorgetown and linked through the new finding aid.

Publications, Presentations, and Media Coverage

Slavery's Archive: Confronting Jesuit Slaveholding at Georgetown UniversityPerspectives on History, American Historical Association

Accessibility and the Archives of Slavery: Reprocessing and Digitizing the Maryland Province Archives at Georgetown University, Universities Studying Slavery Conference, University of Virginia

Key Materials Related to Jesuit Slaveholding and the 1838 Sale Now Available in DigitalGeorgetown, Georgetown Library News

Digitizing the Maryland Province Archives: Confronting Jesuit Slaveholding and Providing Access for Diverse CommunitiesDigital Library Federation Online Forum

First Subseries of Maryland Province Archives Available in DigitalGeorgetown, Georgetown Library News

Celebrating Juneteenth with the Library's Special Collections, Booth Family Center for Special Collections Blog

Hail Columbia: Contesting Slavery in the Maryland Province Archives, Booth Family Center for Special Collections Blog

Women on the Margins in the Maryland Province Archives, Booth Family Center for Special Collections Blog

Collection Highlight: Maryland Province Archives, Blog of the Women’s Collections Section of the Society of American Archivists

Maryland Province and Georgetown Enhance Access to Archives with New Archivist, Georgetown University News

Cassandra Berman, Archivist for the Maryland Province Archives, reviews materials in the collection.