Title

White Marsh

Description

Inherited from James Carroll in 1729, White Marsh sits near the head of the Patuxent River, roughly 18 miles from Washington, D.C. and 22 miles from Baltimore. The original bequest included land in both Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. It is the nearly 2,000 acres in Prince George's county that became known as White Marsh. As the individual recipient of the bequest, George Thorold, SJ, is thought to have taken up residence on the property in 1741. His work there was continued by a number of successors after his death in 1742. In 1764, John Lewis, SJ, took up oversight of the estate. He was assisted by John Ashton, SJ, who lived there until 1801. In the 1760s and for fifty years afterward, White Marsh was the home to many more enslaved people than any other Jesuit plantation. In 1783, the estate served as the meeting site for the priests who eventually formed the Corporation for Roman Catholic Clergymen.

(Edward Devitt, "History of the Maryland-New York Province, VII," Woodstock Letters LXII, no. 2 (1933): 170-175.)

Date

1729

homeLocation

White Marsh