About
This digital project is part of a larger campus initiative to study the historical relationship between the Vincentians and slavery. Materials from three record groups in the Vincentian Archives were digitized in 2023 and 2024 to enhance access to sources documenting how a Catholic religious organization participated in the injustice of slavery. Selected records from St. Vincent's College at Cape Girardeau, Missouri; St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri; and correspondence collected by Charles L. Souvay, which contains letters written by Bishop Joseph Rosati, the first Bishop of St. Louis, are included in this project.
Records were selected for their likelihood of containing evidence of slaveholding. Across the three collections, materials date to the nineteenth century, during the period of American slavery. Records from St. Vincent's College and St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary document daily operational and financial transactions at their respective institutions, where, given the economic rationale for enslavement, references to enslaved people were considered most probable. The letters from the Rev. Charles L. Souvay, C.M. papers provide a more detailed view of the establishment of St. Mary’s of the Barrens and frequently contain direct references to enslavement at the Seminary.
Visitors to this site will notice that some records date beyond the slavery period—into the Reconstruction Era and later. This broader inclusion was intentional. The goal of the Slavery Acknowledgement Project is not only to increase the accessibility of records containing direct evidence of Vincentian slaveholding, but also to put the focus on the individuals most impacted by the institution of slavery—the enslaved and free Black members of the Cape Girardeau and Perryville communities—whose presence at St. Vincent’s College and St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary did not end with the Civil War.
The records available here, as well as records from additional years and other Vincentian institutions, are open for in-person research use at DePaul University Special Collections and Archives in Chicago, Illinois. Everyone is welcome.
If you see content that needs to be corrected, please reach out to us using the contact form here.
About
This digital project is part of a larger campus initiative to study the historical relationship between the Vincentians and slavery. Materials from three record groups in the Vincentian Archives were digitized in 2023 and 2024 to enhance access to sources documenting how a Catholic religious organization participated in the injustice of slavery. Selected records from St. Vincent's College at Cape Girardeau, Missouri; St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri; and correspondence collected by Charles L. Souvay, which contains letters written by Bishop Joseph Rosati, the first Bishop of St. Louis, are included in this project.
Records were selected for their likelihood of containing evidence of slaveholding. Across the three collections, materials date to the nineteenth century, during the period of American slavery. Records from St. Vincent's College and St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary document daily operational and financial transactions at their respective institutions, where, given the economic rationale for enslavement, references to enslaved people were considered most probable. The letters from the Rev. Charles L. Souvay, C.M. papers provide a more detailed view of the establishment of St. Mary’s of the Barrens and frequently contain direct references to enslavement at the Seminary.
Visitors to this site will notice that some records date beyond the slavery period—into the Reconstruction Era and later. This broader inclusion was intentional. The goal of the Slavery Acknowledgement Project is not only to increase the accessibility of records containing direct evidence of Vincentian slaveholding, but also to put the focus on the individuals most impacted by the institution of slavery—the enslaved and free Black members of the Cape Girardeau and Perryville communities—whose presence at St. Vincent’s College and St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary did not end with the Civil War.
The records available here, as well as records from additional years and other Vincentian institutions, are open for in-person research use at DePaul University Special Collections and Archives in Chicago, Illinois. Everyone is welcome.
If you see content that needs to be corrected, please reach out to us using the contact form here.
