The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-10-26

HfHIttfOH U UHIH III
CATHOLIC HISTORIAN
John Culinary Shea Honored by Me
mortal Tablet Unveiled at Newark
on October 12-Brief Sketch of His
Life and Labors.
The bronze memorial tablet erected
to John Culinary Shea on the wall of
st. Patricks Cathedral at Newark,
N. j., was designed by Dominic A.
Walsh of Belleville. Under the aus
pices of the Monsignor Doane Assem-
bly, of the Knights of Columbus it was
unveiled with appropriate ceremony
on October II. It gives fitting express
sion to the recognition of Doctor
Shea's great service in the important
field of historical researches.
The ceremony of dedication began
with an invocation by Mgr. Whelan,
Rector of st. Patrick's Cathedral,
after which Miss Emma Shea, daugh-
ter Of the historian, withdrew the
flag which covered the tablet. Bishop
O'Connor formally blessed the me-
mortal, after which addresses were
delivered by Doctor James J. Walsh
of Fordham University and James J.
Hopkins, principal of the Jersey City
High School.
Educational Training and Early Writ
II ings.
DR.. Shea was a native of New York
City, where he was born on July %,
1924. At the age of thirteen he en-
tered the Office of Spanish merchant
to embark on mercantile career. He
learned Spanish, and at the age of
fourteen wrote an article on the Sol
dier- Cardinal Alvarez de Albornet,
which attracted the attention of
Bishop Hughes.
Ii Later he took up the study of law
and was admitted to the, bar in 1886
The following year he entered the
novitiate of the Society of Jesus at
Fordham and remained until 1852,
when he came to the conclusion that
he did not have a vocation to the
priesthood.
While in the Society he was closely
associated with Father Martin, Rector
of st. Mary's College, Montreal, and
from him received an impetus to lit
erary and historical study. He spe-
cialized on early Indian mission in
America, and in 1853 issued his vol
ume, "The Discovery and Exploration
of the Mississippi Valley with the
Original Narratives of Marquette, Al
louez, Mambre, Hennepin, and Ana
stase Douay." This gave the author a
standing among the historians of the
world. Shea then devoted himself to
the study of Indian languages, and in
1860 published the first series of his
Indian Linguistics," in thirteen vol
umes. Prior to that time he had pub
lished his "Cramoisy" series of Jesuit
Relations in twenty volumes, all of
which were prepared from original
manuscripts.
With the sanction of Cardinal Nc
Closkey he reprinted the original edi-
tion of Challoner's Bible in 174O, COM
pairing the text three times with the
Vu1gate
In 1855 he wrote his History of the
Catholic Missions Among the Indian
Tribes of the United States" which
run through many editions and was
translated into German. He was edi-
tor of the United States Catholic Mag
azine and of the Catholic News, and
contributed to many other pub1ica-
tions.
His Chief Work.
The elimination of his life-work is
his History of the Catholic Church
in the United States" 1t is a monu-
ment to Catholic scholarship, research,
and historical investigation Tt was
written between the years 1886 and
1892. 1t is in four volumes, the first
of which deals with "The Catholic
Church in Colonial Days, 1521-1763."
1AC SCNOAu t1CdtS III LAC LlIC
and Times of the Most Reverend John
Carroll, 1763-1815." The third and
fourth volumes deal with the events
between 1916 and 1866. It was fin
ished shortly before his death, which
occurred at his home in Elizabeth, N
J., on February %, 1892.
In 1888 the University of Notre
Dame bestowed on him the first Lac
tare Medal, and when in 1889 George
town University gave him the Degree
of Doctor of Laws, it awarded him
also the gold medal for his work on
the Life and Times of Archbishop
Carroll"
Dr. Shea's valuable library is in
the possession of Georgetown Univer-
sity. 1t is especially rich in Ameri-
cana, including many rare manu-
scripts and editions of the Bible of
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