Evening star., 1937-01-03
INVENTORY AT c. j.
ARCHIVES FINISHED
Material Stored During 15O'
Year Period CataIogued by
W,P. A. Researchers.

GEORGETOWN University over period
of nearly $50 years has been COM
pleted after weeks of painstaking Ia
Dor by a group of w. P. A. researchers,
It was announced yesterday.
The cataloguing at Georgetown was
done in cooperation with university
officials as a part of the historical
records survey being sponsored in
every State as Federal writer's
project. When finally completed,
this Nationwide survey will place
in the possession of the Federal and
State governments record OF Amer
icana that should prove invaluable
to students and writer's of history.
DR.. Wilfrid j. Parsons, S. J., for
merly editor of America, who was
recently appointed archivist at George
town University, was greatly pleased
with the work done by the w. P. A.
writer's. The hidden treasures OF
the Georgetown archives are con-
sidered among the priced collections
in the United States. Since the
founding of Georgetown College in
1889, all papers and documents COM
Ing into the possession OF the lnstl-
tuition have been faithfully recorded.
Available to Public.
While the inventory at George
town brings no new material to hght'
the records of the survey will be-
come available to the public. After
its completion, Nelson R. Burr, field
supervisor of the historical recordS
Survey, informed the university tnat
.'we consider the inventory OF tne
GEORGETOWN manuscripts as one OF
the definite and worthy accomplish
ments of the survey in the District
OF Columbia"
Aside from the American docu-
ments. which run into the thousands
the university archives contains one
of the most important collections 10
be found in this country OF records
dealing with Europe. Canada. Mexico
and South America. Some 5o'ooo
documents and papers in all are
stored in the vaults Of the archlVeS
in the Healy Building.
Among the letters catalogued by
the w. P. A are one or more written
bv practically every President OF the
United States. At least a score are
in the handwriting of George Wash
ington. The museum in the archives
contains also a number of articles
belonging to the Washington family,
including the wine chest used by the
first President
The Americana in the archives
cover priced documents relating to
the early history of the Catholic
church in America, as well as one
of the best collections OF Maryland
Colonial documents. Most priced
among these are manuscripts and let
ters of Archbishop John Carroll,
founder of the university and the
first Catholic prelate in the United
States.
Shea Data Included.
The John Culinary Shea collection,
included in the inventory, contains
5,54O books, 5,003 pamphlets, l,1o5
UNBOUND magazines, with several
thousand manuscripts or authentic
copies highly valuable to those inter-
ested in the early history of the Cath
olic church in America. Shea was
regarded in his lifetime as the best
authority on Americana Cathoncs.
UNIQUE among the volumes Of this
collection are books illustrating 79
Indian dialects. There are 3O2 VOL
unes in various Indian tongues and
nearly 400 Indian grammars and vo-
cabularies. Most of these were pro-
duced by early Catholic and Jesuit
missionaries among the Indians.
The collections of American manu-
scripts and letters bear the names OF
nearly every important American who
figured in the front page news" OF
the day. Early newspapers of Wash
ington and old Georgetown also afford
interesting bits of historical lnforma-
. ton. There are also numerous church
registers, important for genealogical
reasons. and early land deeds of
Maryland Diaries kept by prominent
churchmen, early citizens and former
presidents of Georgetown University
also are priced among the collections.
DR.. Parsons was assigned TO the
duties of archivist soon after his trans
fer to Georgetown last Summer. He is
professor of church history in the
graduate school and one of the best
authorities on the history and prob
lens of the Catholic church. Since
1925 he had been editor of America,
one of the most important Catholic
reviews.
Took Courses in Theology.
A graduate of the famous Gregorian
University of Rome and former
graduate student of the University of
Cambridge in England DR.. Parsons is
one of the most known educators and
publicisits in the Jesuit order. After
being admitted to the order, he took
his courses in philosophy and theology
at Woodstock College, Md.
; The Georgetown archives are not
open to the public. Permission. how
ever. may be obtained from the uni
versity authorities to examine their
contents. For safekeeping, the thou
sands of documents are stored in fire.
proof vaults There are numerous
display cases filled with rare articles
and a very fine collection of Bibles
and valuable books in Spanish.
The Bibles date back almost from
the very beginning of printing. They
are part Of the Shea collection.
Among other rare editions is Thomas
More'S Utopia printed in 1916.
More was canonized about two years
ago by Pope Plus XI.
The archives Go not contain all the
historical material at Georgetown
University by any means. There are
rich collections in the Riggs Library,
the Dubuisson Liturgical Museum, the
Coleman Museum, which is rich in
collections pertaining to the District
OF Columbia, and other individual
collections displayed in various rooms
of the UNIVERSITY