Societies

Journal of the Coloured Society of the Holy Family, c. 1843-1847

The Journal of the Coloured Society of the Holy Family can be found in the Archives of the Associated Sulpicians of the United States and. This devotional society was established by and for the black Catholics of Baltimore in 1843 and was in existence until 1845. Weekly meetings were held on Sunday evenings in Calvert Hall, the parish hall of the Cathedral of the Assumption, where members prayed together, received spiritual direction, sang hymns, and conducted official business. A lending library was established for members, as was a formal choir. Sulpician Father John F. Hickey, an assistant at the Cathedral of the Assumption during this period, was appointed director. Elected officers were: John Noel, president; Washington Ford, Nelson Moquet, and George Holly, vice presidents; and Mary Holland, Harriet London, Elizabeth C. Berry, and Margaret Howard, counsellors. The Society voted to disband in 1845 when the decision was made to use Calvert Hall for a new boys’ school (Calvert Hall College) and was no longer available as a meeting space.

The Society’s journal records the names of the close to 300 people who petitioned to join the Society. Members committed to a monthly subscription of 6^1/4 cents, which was used to pay for operating expenses and to support the Society’s charitable work. In addition to membership and subscription records, the journal also includes meeting minutes and financial records regarding donations made in the name of the Society and by individual members to the Cathedral Fund Society, which had been established to retire the cathedral’s building debt.

The journal has been digitized and a central name index has been created along with the explanatory notes of the transcriber.