Charles H. Stonestreet
SJ | |
---|---|
24th President of Georgetown University | |
In office 1851–1852 | |
Preceded by | James A. Ryder |
Succeeded by | Bernard A. Maguire |
Personal details | |
Born | Port Tobacco, Maryland, U.S. | November 21, 1813
Died | July 3, 1885 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 71)
Alma mater | Georgetown University (BA) |
Orders | |
Ordination | July 4, 1843 |
Charles Henry Stonestreet
As provincial superior, Stonestreet worked with Anthony Ciampi in the aftermath of the devastating fire at the College of the Holy Cross, and addressed growing anti-Catholicism. Owing to violence from the Know Nothings, he forbade Jesuits from wearing their clerical attire in public or being addressed by their ecclesiastical titles. He later became president of Gonzaga College, where he oversaw the establishment and construction of St. Aloysius Church, of which he became the first pastor. In 1863, Stonestreet was involved in the legal incorporation of Boston College, and testified in court as to his knowledge of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, specifically Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd. Later, he was assigned to Georgetown, parishes throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., including as pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, and Holy Cross, where he lived out his last years.
Early life and education
Charles Henry Stonestreet[1] was born on November 21, 1813, in Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland.[2] His father was a distinguished lawyer who intended for Charles to enter the legal profession. Charles attended a classical school run by Philip Briscoe in St. Mary's County, before enrolling in Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated in 1833.[3][4]
There, he was a member of the
Early career
Stonestreet then became a professor and prefect at Georgetown.[3] As the prefects were only slightly older than the students among whom they enforced discipline, Stonestreet complained that the students were so disobedient that discipline would sometimes come to mutual blows between the prefect and students, comparing himself to a "prizefighter."[12] During this time, James Curley was working on establishing the Georgetown Astronomical Observatory. While working on acquiring all the instruments needed to outfit the building, he informed Stonestreet in the winter of 1841 that he would need to purchase a meridian circle.[1][13] Stonestreet offered him the $2,000 (equivalent to $59,000 in 2023)[14] that his mother had bequeathed to him, which Curley used to obtain the instrument and begin using the observatory.[15] On one occasion, Stonestreet was accompanying a group of thirty students on their annual vacation to St. Inigoes, Maryland. En route, their stagecoach overturned due to a reckless driver. All the passengers suffered only minor injuries, except Stonestreet, who was badly injured and sent back to Georgetown.[16]
On July 4, 1843, Stonestreet was
Georgetown University
Stonestreet assumed the
Administration of the university by the generally lax Stonestreet was praised by the
Maryland provincial
The provincial superior of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, Ignatius Brocard, died suddenly in the summer of 1852,[28] and Stonestreet was named by the Superior General, Jan Roothaan, as his replacement, taking office on August 15.[29] He was the first Marylander to hold the office who had not been trained in Rome.[30]
Holy Cross disaster
Stonestreet took office in the immediate aftermath of a disastrous fire at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, on July 14, which destroyed the college's main building, Fenwick Hall, and most of its contents.[31] The school's president, Anthony F. Ciampi, vowed to rebuild, while another influential Jesuit there, Joseph Aschwanden, was staunchly opposed to reopening the school.[32] Stonestreet traveled to Worcester to mediate the controversy, and he reassigned the twenty Jesuits at the school, leaving only Ciampi and Peter J. Blenkinsop to attend to the ruined school and farm.[29] Stonestreet discussed with Thomas Mulledy whether the Jesuit constitution allowed him to close the school, to which Mulledy responded that it did not. Stonestreet finally wrote to Roothaan, concluding that the school should be rebuilt, even if it meant assumption of much of the school's debt by the Jesuit province.[33] Roothaan eventually delegated the decision on whether to rebuild to Stonestreet.[34]
Management of the province
For many years, the Jesuit leadership had discussed establishing a scholasticate for the education of new Jesuits. They sought to separate it from Georgetown, which educated lay students as well as scholastics, and required that the scholastics teach alongside their studies. The new Superior General, Peter Beckx, proposed in 1855 that Georgetown be transformed into such a scholasticate for training all the Jesuits in the United States, and cease educating lay students. Stonestreet objected to this proposal and eventually, the focus turned to establishing a dedicated scholasticate elsewhere.[35]
Stonestreet responded to increasing
Gonzaga College and St. Aloysius Church
Upon the selection of
As president of Gonzaga, Stonestreet led the
In 1860, he sent his resignation as president of the school to the Jesuit Superior General,[47] relinquishing the presidency as well as his pastorate of St. Aloysius Church.[46] William Francis Clarke was appointed as his successor.[48]
Civil War era and aftermath
Following his term at Gonzaga College, Stonestreet was appointed prefect of schools and a professor of
On March 31, 1863, the Massachusetts General Court incorporated Boston College. Stonestreet was named in the charter as one of five Jesuits who were the officers of the corporation.[51] In 1864 and 1865, he ministered to the mission church congregation of St. Mary's in Hagerstown, Maryland.[52]
Trial of the Lincoln conspirators
In 1865, Stonestreet testified in the trial of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He stated that he had known Mary Suratt, a parishioner of St. Aloysius Church, for more than 20 years and that while he had only infrequently seen her in the past 14 years, he had never known her to espouse treason. This testimony occurred against the backdrop of growing suspicion of Catholics, as several suspects proved to be Catholics; some who were suspicious of Catholics went so far as to accuse the Catholic Church of involvement in the assassination.[53]
He was also called to testify about Samuel Mudd, the physician who attended to John Wilkes Booth's fractured leg.[54] He asserted that in 1850, Mudd was a student at St. John's Literary Institution, during Stonestreet's presidency of the school, and that he did not know whether Mudd remained at the school during the Christmas vacation of December 1850.[55]
Later years
Stonestreet returned as a parish priest to St. John the Evangelist Church in Frederick in the late 1860s.[56] When the president of Gonzaga College and rector of St. Aloysius Church, Bernardin F. Wiget, fell ill in 1868, Stonestreet was temporarily again appointed to the two offices, until August 1869 when James Clark became the permanent replacement.[57]
While the health of Bernard Maguire, the president of Georgetown, worsened in 1869, Stonestreet was considered again as president. The new provincial superior, Joseph Keller, decided against the nomination, due to his age; instead, John Early was appointed.[58] Stonestreet became the pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown in 1870, where he remained for four years.[59] Finally, Stonestreet was made spiritual father at the College of the Holy Cross in 1880. Before long, his health deteriorated around 1883,[60] and he died on July 3, 1885.[2][3]
References
Citations
- ^ a b Dunigan 1852, p. 9
- ^ a b Buckley 2013, p. 100
- ^ a b c d e f Shea 1891, p. 177
- ^ a b c d e Curran 1993, p. 157
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 103
- ^ Easby-Smith 1907, p. 91
- ^ Easby-Smith 1907, p. 262
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 96
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 109
- ^ Woodstock Letters 1885, p. 401
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 112
- ^ Curran 1993, pp. 181–182
- ^ Easby-Smith 1907, p. 78
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 138
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 134
- ^ Easby-Smith 1907, p. 92
- ^ Williams & McKinsey 1997, p. 447
- ^ The Catholic Church in the United States of America 1914, p. 93
- ^ Stanton 1900, p. 74
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 172
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 174
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 175
- ^ a b Shea 1891, p. 176
- ^ Curran 1993, pp. 196–197
- ^ a b Curran 1993, p. 172
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 179
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 158
- ^ a b Kuzniewski 1999, p. 85
- ^ Curran 2012, p. 139
- ^ Kuzniewski 1999, p. 80
- ^ Kuzniewski 1999, p. 81
- ^ Kuzniewski 1999, p. 86
- ^ Kuzniewski 1999, p. 87
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 258
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 137
- ^ Croce 2017, p. 14
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 58
- ^ a b Devitt 1935, p. 46
- ^ Hill 1922, pp. 61–62
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 65
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 62
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 67
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 55
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 72
- ^ a b Devitt 1935, p. 47
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 71
- ^ Hill 1922, p. 73
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 226
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 403
- ^ O'Connor 2011, p. 17
- ^ The Catholic Church in the United States of America 1914, p. 96
- ^ Chamlee 1990, p. 341
- ^ Long, Kat (April 14, 2015). "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: How Samuel Mudd Went From Lincoln Conspirator to Medical Savior". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ Pitman 1865, p. 213
- ^ Stanton 1900, p. 75
- ^ Devitt 1935, p. 50
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 280
- ^ Devitt 1935, p. 41
- ^ Woodstock Letters 1885, p. 402
Sources
- Buckley, Cornelius Michael (2013). Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson, S.J. (1786–1864) and the Reform of the American Jesuits. Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 978-0-76186-232-1. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019 – via Google Books.
- The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Vol. 3. New York: Catholic Editing Company. 1914. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Chamlee, Roy Z. Jr. (1990). Lincoln's Assassins: A Complete Account of Their Capture, Trial, and Punishment. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-89950-420-5. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Croce, Carmen R. (August 2017). "Welcome to Saint Joseph's University and to Barbelin Hall" (PDF). Saint Joseph's University Library. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- Curran, Robert Emmett (1993). The Bicentennial History of Georgetown University: From Academy to University (1789–1889). Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: ISBN 978-0-87840-485-8. Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- Curran, Robert Emmett (2012). Shaping American Catholicism: Maryland and New York, 1805–1915. Washington, D.C.: ISBN 978-0-8132-1967-7. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Devitt, Edward I. (February 1, 1935). "History of the Maryland-New York Province: LXIV, Gonzaga College and St. Aloysius' Church" (PDF). Woodstock Letters. LXIV (1): 41–57. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Jesuit Archives.
- Dunigan, Edward (1852). Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Georgetown College, D.C. Vol. 1. New York: Edward Dunigan & Brother. OCLC 13403375. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Easby-Smith, James Stanislaus (1907). Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, 1789–1907. Vol. 1. New York: Lewis Publishing Company. OCLC 633425041. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Hill, Owen Aloysius (1922). "Chapter VIII: Rev. Charles H. Stonestreet (1858–1860)". Gonzaga College, an Historical Sketch: From Its Foundation in 1821, to the Solemn Celebration of Its First Centenary in 1921. Washington, D.C.: Gonzaga College. pp. 61–72. OCLC 1266588. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Kuzniewski, Anthony J. (1999). Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843–1994. Washington, D.C.: ISBN 978-0-81320-911-1. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- "Obituary: Father Charles H. Stonestreet" (PDF). Woodstock Letters. XIV (3): 400–403. November 1, 1885. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via Jesuit Archives.
- O'Connor, Thomas H. (2011). The Spirit of the Heights (PDF). Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts: Linden Lane Press at Boston College. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- Pitman, Benn (1865). The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators (PDF). New York: Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- OCLC 612832863. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Stanton, Thomas J. (1900). A Century of Growth, Or, The Church in Western Maryland. Vol. 2. Baltimore: John Murphy Company. OCLC 223768695. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Williams, Thomas John Chew; McKinsey, Folger (1997). History of Frederick County, Maryland. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-80637-973-9. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
External links
- Charles H. Stonestreet at Find a Grave
- Works by Charles H. Stonestreet at Open Library
- Appearance in the records of the Georgetown Slavery Archives
- "An Act to incorporate Gonzaga College, in the City of Washington and District of Columbia", 11 Stat. 265
- "An Act to Incorporate the Trustees of the Boston College". Act No. 123 of April 1, 1863. pp. 441–443.