Biographical sketch of the Most Rev. John Carroll, first archbishop of Baltimore:

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Preface

In presenting to the patronage of the public the following Biographical Sketch of the Most Rev. John Carroll, first Archbishop of Baltimore, the editor deems it proper to make a few preliminary remarks.

Having come into possession of the unfinished manuscript of the late Daniel Brent, (Consul of the United States for Paris, France,) the nephew and , executor of the distinguished subject of this Memoir, the subscriber considered it an act of duty, as it Jias become one of love, to carry into execution the original intention of its author, thus unfortunately interrupted by his death. He is well aware of the difficulty of the task, viii PREFACE.

owing to the time that has elapsed since the demise of the Archbisjiop, the scattering and destruction of many of his papers, and the consequent inability, on his part, to treat the* subject as fully as he would desire, and as the nature of it would demand. But, urged on by a wish to do tardy though inadequate justice to the memory of a prelate whose services in the cause of religion, and attachment to his native land, should never be forgotten, and cheered by the hope of being able to contribute his mite for the benefit of the first congregation the Archbishop established in this country, to the repairing of whose church he will devote a portion of the proceeds, — the undersigned has ventured to undertake a task which, however incomplete, may induce some one more competent to apply himself to the composition of a more detailed Biography.

It has been deemed proper, in order to afford the reader an opportunity of forming

PREFACE. IX

his own estimate of the style and literary productions of Archbishop Carroll, to introduce a part of his journal in Europe, one or two of his sermons, and a few of his controversial writings and letters.

In order to insure a good engraving of the portrait of the Archbishop, the editor has secured the services of the best artists in this country; and he thinks it sufficient to mention, that it is from a faithful and creditable copy by the Messrs. Bogle, of Baltimore, of the original portrait by Stuart, now in the possession of Lloyd N. Rogers, Esq. of Druid Hill, who kindly gave the use of it for that purpose.

He finally returns his most sincere thanks to the Rev. gentlemen of Georgetown College, to whom he is indebted for much valuable information, and to those of the Roman Catholic clergy, who have evinced an interest in a work which they feel assured is for the benefit of that religion of which they

X PREFACE.

are such zealous pastors ; in proof of which, he adds the approbation of the Most Rev. Samuel Eccleston, the present Archbishop of Baltimore, and a copy of a letter from the Very Rev. William Matthews, rector of St. Patrick's church, in this city.

John Carroll Brent.

Washington city, D. C, December, 1842.

" The Sketch of Archbishop Carroll's Life, written

by the late Daniel Brent, Esq., will, in the absence of

a more extended Biography, be read with interest and

edification."

f Samuel, ■Archbishop of Baltimore.

John Carroll Brent, Esq.

Dear Sir: I have attentively perused your very interesting memoir of the Most Rev. Archbishop Carroll, and from my intimate acquaintance with him, know it to be correct. The Catholic community in parts of the United States have long and anxiously expected this highly important work, and will hail with great satisfaction its forthcoming.

Your humble servant, (Signed) W. Matthews.

Washington city, D. C, January 19, 1842.

E RBATA.

The following errors have escaped the notice of the editor, owing lo his being at a distance from the city during the course of publication. For "of," in 11th line of 31st page, read " from." Before "done," in 10th line of 106th page, read "had." For "was," in 14th line of 118th page, read "were." For " Deux Ponts," in 8th line of 256th page, read " Newbourg."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Daniel Carroll, the father of the subject of this biography, belonged to a Roman Catholic family of high respectability in Ireland, which had forfeited its property to the crown on account of its religion.

At a very early period of his life this gentleman migrated to the then colony of Maryland, to seek his fortune, or rather to procure the means of living, and with the hope of experiencing by the change some relief from the multiplied privations under which the Catholics of Ireland were at that time suffering. He settled at Upper Marlbro' oh the Patuxent, where he established himself as a merchant, and under the guidance of a sound and excellent judgment, by steady industry, unshaken probity, and scrupulous punctuality in his dealings, acquired a competent estate 2 before his death, always conciliating to himself in a high degree, the esteem and consideration of all who knew him.

Witftin a few yea*rs after his settlement at Marlbro', Mr. Carroll married Eleanor, daughter of Henry Darnall, esquire, a Roman Catholic gentleman of the neighborhood, who had inherited the family seat of the Woodyard and adjoining lands to an immense extent ; — but which were then partly, and afterwards entirely, alienated from his family, through the improvident management and easy disposition of the proprietor.

By this union, however, Mr. Carroll acquired a treasure far beyond the value that mere riches could confer. In his young wife were blended all the qualities calculated to render the conjugal state delightful. With an excellent and discriminating mind were united in the, character of this lady the best accomplishments that a finished education, assisted by a natural graciousness of temper,* could impart; — her father having at a vepy early period of her life placed her in '^Select school in France, where she. continued with correspondent advantage till she had completed her education, when she returned to Maryland.

In all the domestic and social relations of life, the virtues of this lady shone forth with peculiar lustre, exhibiting her in the various characters of daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend, in the most amiable and edifying lights; a spirit of genuine and unostentatious piety incessantly co-operating with, and aiding, the native benevolence of her heart, in the exercise of all the charities and offices growing out of her station in society.

Many years afterwards, having lived to see her son, who had closely imitated the virtues, and profited by the lessons and examples of his parents, elevated by the Holy See to the highest dignity of the Church in this country, she closed her eyes in peace, at an age, but seldom attained by man. In a letter of May 23, 1796, to his intimate friend, the Rev. Charles Plowden, the Bishop thus announces the loss he had recently encountered : " I likewise have to tell mine to you — my good and venerable mother closed her long, and I may add, her holy life, on the 3d of February, in the full possession of her intellectual faculties, till she^ased to speak an hour or two before her death. She was in the 93d year of her age." *

The following anecdote, showing the cause and motives of the first emigration of the Carroll family to this country, was related by the late venerable and illustrious Charles Carroll of Carrollton :

" It is stated that one of his ancestors was secretary to lord Powis, a leading minister of James II. Remarking to his lordship one day, that he was happy to find that public affairs and his majesty's service were proceeding so prosperously, the secretary received for answer ' You are quite in the wrong, affairs are going on very badly ; the king, is very ill advised.' After pausing a few minutes his lordship thus addressed Mr. Carroll : ' Young man, I have a regard for you, and would be glad to do you a service — take my advice ; great changes are at hand : go out to Maryland — I will speak to lord Baltimore in your favor.' He did so, obtained some government situation with considerable grants of land, and left his family among the largest proprietors of the Union."

John, the subject of this biography, and the third son of Daniel and Eleanor Carroll, was born at Upper Marlbro' on the 8th of January, in the year 1735.

We have no traces of his boyish days, except in traditionary accounts of a promising development of genius, and uncommon docility of manners and disposition.

At the very early age of twelve years he was sent to a grammar school at Bohemia, in Maryland, from which he was soon afterwards transferred to the college of St. Omer, in French Flanders, under the exclusive direction of the Jesuits. In this school, so justly celebrated for the learning of its professors, and for the indefatigable care and assiduity with which they cultivated the minds of their pupils, our young American became conspicuous for capacity of mind, attention to his studies, and the docility and kindness of his character.

After having gone through the usual course of a collegiate education, with eminent advantage and distinction, during the six years he passed within the walls of this institution, he was advanced to the study of the higher branches of science and literature in a college at Liege, under the direction of members of the same society. Here he perfected himself in these studies, and it was in this school that he formed the resolution of going through an 2* ecclesiastical course, with a view to the priesthood, and to the devoting of himself to the service of the Church.

After having, in consequence, passed through the novitiate, he was ordained priest in 1769, became a professed father in 1771, renouncing beforehand, in favor of his brother, Daniel Carroll, esquire, (who died in 1796, and was well known throughout the revolutionary war, and since the adoption of the federal constitution, as a member of the highest councils of this nation,) and of his two youngest sisters, the estate which had been bequeathed to him by his father, who died some years before.

The following sketch of this eminent and useful statesman, will, it is deemed, be not out of place here, as connected in an intimate degree with the subject of our memoir:

Daniel Carroll, the brother of the subject of this sketch, was born at Upper Marlbro' in the State of Maryland, on the 22d July, 1730.

The excellent attainments and talents of Mr. Carroll did^ not fail to recommend him to the favorable notice* of his countrymen, as soon as the shackles were removed, which had .been placed upon the Roman Catholics of his native state, by the hand of bigotry and intolerance, and they were admitted to a free participation of the political distinctions and emoluments of office, and placed in all other respects upon an equal footing with the members of other christian denominations.

He was accordingly elected a member of the first senate under the constitution of Maryland, immediately after the formation and establishment of that constitution, and thenceforward was almost constantly and uninterruptedly employed in the public service till a few years before his death — as a member of the senate or executive council of Maryland ; — one of the delegates in the old congress, or as one of the members of that state in the House of Representatives in the first congress under the present constitution of the United States. He had been likewise one of the delegates of the same state in the federal convention of 1787, which framed that constitution.

In all these situations he was eminently distinguished by patriotic zeal, solidity and discrimination of judgment, the prudence and wisdom of his counsels, as well as by an entire exemption from all taint of selfishness, in reference to the popular favor. To his efforts in congress, as much as to those of any other member, may justly be ascribed the location of the permanent seat of the general government at Washington, and at the expiration of his term of service in that congress, the first under the present constitution, he was associated by president Washington in a commission with the late governor Johnson of Maryland, and Dr. David Stewart, of Virginia, for carrying the plan of that location into effect. From his advanced age and growing infirmities he resigned this appointment in a few years, and shortly afterwards his mortal career was closed in death. He died in May, 1796, in the 66th year of his age.

According to the usage and discipline of the Jesuits, of whose society he had so recently becpme a member, the subject of this memoir was sent back to the college of St. Omer, to conduct a professorship in that school. After remaining a short time at St. Omer, he returned to Liege where he directed the studies of the higher classics; and it was at the period when he was thus employed, in 1773, that the order for the suppression of the Society of Jesus was carried into execution, by the expulsion of its members, the dispersion of the pupils and the shutting up of the college: that of St. Omer and all others under the government of the Jesuits within the dominions of France, — simultaneously sharing the same fate.

On this occasion our young ecclesiastic wrote an able and eloquent vindication of the Society of the, charges unjustly brought against it by its enemies. It is a subject of deep regret that a principal part of this masterly performance is lost, otherwise it should be embodied in this sketch, as well to exhibit a brilliant specimen of the genius and erudition of the ex-Jesuit, as to remove some portion of the obloquy which it is so common to heap upon that celebrated society. It was not deemed safe at the time to print it; but there is reason to believe that it was translated into different languages, and the manuscript copies greatly multiplied ; — that it was extensively used, and produced some small relaxation in the execution of the rigorous orders for the suppression of the society and the expulsion of its members, so far at least as related to the colleges of St. Omer and Liege.

The following extract is a brief summary, of the causes to which he ascribes the suppression — " These apostolic men, eternal foes to vice, whether it appeared in palaces or hovels, under regal robes or squalid rags, could never be prevailed on to come to terms with the wicked and compromise the cause of/their divine Master. Hence lascivious and irreligious courtiers leagued together, perverted the minds of weak and improvident monarchs, and formed the abolition combination."

For further elucidation of the same subject, we shall add to the above extract the copy of a paper of more modern date in his own hand writing, found amongst his papers, containing a concise account of the means resorted to by the Court of Spain to accomplish the suppression of the Society of Jesuits in the dominions of Austria and France.

" The Pope always answered the solicitations of the Bourbon ministers, that the House of Austria was opposed to the extinction — Count Matron i, ambassador .from Spain at Vienna, having concerted his manoeuvre with Prince Kaunitz, (whose character is that of a professed and open -Deist,) went into the empress queen's cabinet, (he was much in the empress' favor,) when she asked him, as usual, concerning the health of the king of Spain— Matroni answered that he was we'll, but, from his great regard for her majesty, much affected at her misunderstanding with the Holy See. She was startled at this, — declared herself an obedient daughter of the Church, and assured him that there was no misunderstanding, and asked him what he meant — Matroni then told her that the Pope wished to destroy the Jesuits, but was deterred by her declaring that she would oppose and resist the Pope, should he attempt it. She declared that she had never said so, and that she would in that, as in every thing else, obey the decrees of the Holy See. Matroni having brought matters to this issue, asked her majesty if he might communicate this to his Court. — She consented. But, says he, madam, the king is so much impressed with contrary advices, that he will give no credit to my despatches, unless your majesty will order your minister to give me an official letter to the same purport. Go, said she, to Kaunitz, and tell him to give it you. Kaunitz was called, the letter given, and Matroni immediately sent an express to Madrid. From Madrid the original official letter of Kaunitz was sent to Rome, laid before the Pope, and removed his last subterfuge." Father Hussey says he read this in Count Matroni's despatches, and a subsequent one to and from Rome.

" In consequence, the brief of dissolution was got ready, and sent to France. — D'Arguillon, the minister of France and creature of Spain, carried it to' Louis XV., who, in the midst of libertinism, respected religion. He declared the brief should not be published, and ordered D'Arguillon to send an express to Rome, that moment, to prevent its being issued— D'Arguillon remonstrated, but all in vain. He left the king and sent in madame de Barri. — She found the king agitated, began with asking the cause, reproached him for abandoning the House of Bourbon, coaxed and cajoled him,«and in fifteen minutes got the order recalled for sending away the express." Father Hussey says he read this detail in Count Aranda's despatches. Aranda was the Spanish ambassador.

Upon the subject of the final suppression of the Society of Jesus, Mr. Carroll thus writes to his brother, Daniel Carroll, Esq., under date of Bruges, September 11, 1773:

" I this day received a few lines from Daniel, of July 15, in which he complains with much reason of my long silence. My mind is at present too full of other things to make any apology. After spending part of the autumn of 1772 at Naples, and its environs, we returned to pass the winter at Rome, where I stayed till near the end of March, from thence came to Florence, Genoa, Tunis, Lyons, Paris, and so to Liege and Bruges. I was willing to accept of the vacant post of prefect of the sodality here, after consigning Mr. Stourton into his father's hands about two months ago, that I might enjoy some retirement, and consider well in the presence of God the disposition I found myself in of going to join my relatives in Maryland, and in case that disposition continued, to get out next spring. But now all room for deliberation seems to be over. The enemies of the society, and above all the unrelenting perseverance of the Spanish and Portuguese Ministries, with the passiveness 3 of the court of Vienna, has at length obtained their ends : and our so long persecuted, and I must add, holy society is no more. God's holy will be done, and may his name be blessed forever and ever ! This fatal stroke was struck on the 21st of July, but was kept secret at Rome till the 16th of August, and was only made known to us on the 5th of September. I am not, and perhaps never shall be, recovered from the shock of this dreadful intelligence. The greatest blessing which in my estimation I could receive from God, would be immediate death : but if he deny me this, may his holy and adorable designs on me be wholly fulfilled. Is it possible that Divine Providence should permit to such an end, a body wholly devoted, and I will still aver, with the most disinterested charity, in procuring every comfort and advantage to their neighbors, whether by preaching, teaching, catechizing, missions, visiting hospitals, prisons, and every other function of spiritual and corporal mercy? Such I have beheld it in every part of my travels, the first of all ecclesiastical bodies in the esteem and confidence of the faithful, and certainly the most laborious. What will become of our flourishing congregations with you, and those cultivated by the German fathers 1 These reflections crowd so fast upon me that I almost lose my senses. But I will endeavor to suppress them for a few moments. You see that I am now my own master, and left to my own direction. In returning to Maryland I shall have the comfort of not only being with you, but of being farther out of the reach of scandal and defamation, and removed from the scenes of distress of many of my dearest friends, whom God knows, I shall not be able to relieve. I shall therefore most certainly sail for Maryland early next spring, if I possibly can."

Speaking of his apprehensions of a fatal combination against the society of which he was so zealous and attached a member, he makes the following remarks in another letter from Bruges to his brother :

" Before you receive this letter you will have heard of the Pope's death: in human appearance, nothing could have happened more unfortunate to us, especially in the critical moment when an answer was to have been given to the memorials of three united do BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE

courts of the family compact, France, Spain, and Naples, requiring the immediate dissolution of the society. His Holiness had himself minuted the heads of the answer he intended to make in a few days, and had delivered it to his ministers to be put into the due form. The substance of it was, that no worldly consideration, no loss of temporalities, should ever force him into any measure which he could not justify to his own conscience : that the more he saw and knew of the Jesuits, the more he was convinced of their eminent services to religion, and of the falsehood of the imputations charged upon them : that he could not therefore acquiesce in the proposal made him by the allied courts. The answer entered into a much larger detail than I here mention, and would have been a glorious testimony of his Holiness' esteem and affection for the society. How matters will go on in the conclave, and after the election of the new Pope, Heaven knows. Humanly speaking, we have every thing to dread from the combination formed against us : yet when I reflect on the atrocious falsehoods, injustices, cruelties, and mean artifices employed against us,, I greatly confide that God's providence will not permit our dissolution to be effected by such wicked means. I know his kingdom is not of this world, and that they who seek to do his divine will, and promote his glory, are not to expect a visible interposition in their favor on every occasion, or to receive in this life an apparent testimony of innocence and divine approbation."

In another letter to the same gentleman, he speaks of the intrigues at the court of France, against the Jesuits, and which were crowned with success, soon after the date thereof, in 1764, by their expulsion from that kingdom, in the following eloquent and touching terms :

" The death of the famous Marchioness de Pompadour, will, it is generally believed by our French brethren, occasion some great change in their circumstances ; so far is certain, that they are delivered by this event from their greatest enemy, I mean the most powerful one, and who, by her interest and influence over the king of France, could more easily than any one else, prevail upon him to view tamely the proceedings against the Jesuits, which she underhandedly encouraged

3* by all the arts, which cunning and power 'could put into her hands. The Jesuits ground their hopes upon the declared attachment of all the royal family to their interests, upon the intimate connection and intelligence subsisting between the king and his queen and children, since the great lady's death, upon the zealous intercessions of the bishops, all the prime nobility, and every order of magistrates in the different cities and towns where the Jesuits' were heretofore established. If we add to this the general discontent that has ensued upon the appointment and conduct both in morals and literary pursuits of the newly installed masters for the education of youth, we cannot absolutely pronounce these hopes to have an object merely chimerical : but I will own to you that the irresolute behaviour which has appeared so much in the French government, on many late occasions, makes me apprehend that vigor will be wanting to*bring about so desirable a revolution, as it is likely to meet with great opposition from several parliaments, whose principles are very imcompatible with those the Jesuits would endeavor to maintain and propagate in case of their restoration.

Thus you see the prospect before us gives but little cause to be content with this world, whilst past sufferings have served to strengthen, if possible, our belief in another better and more equitable than this. And indeed to a man lying under the public imputation of crimes, for which his own conscience clears him, and who is persuaded of the existence of a Deity, I know no proof of an immortality more sensible and comfortable, than this reflection, that an all powerful and infinitely just Being cannot consistently with those attributes, refuse him in another life that justice, which passion and iniquity have denied him in this. To pretend as some ancient and modern unbelievers have done, that virtue and a good conscience is its own reward, argues very little knowledge of the human heart, for many a hardy villain, from a natural alacrity and cheerfulness of mind, and possessed of worldly enjoyments, seldom finds, at least for any long time, his remorse to prey much upon him, or disturb his pleasures, whilst several good men on the contrary,/rom an unhappy temper or sickly constitution, but rarely feel any even intellectual enjoyments. I cannot otherwise account for my having fallen into this train of philosophising which I hope you will excuse, than because I have habituated myself to it, as the best relief amidst so many affecting and melancholy scenes."

When the suppression was completely effected he retired to England, where he acted some time as the secretary to the former members of the society born in the British dominions, in the remonstrances which they made to the government of France on the subject of the property belonging to the two colleges of St. Omer and Liege, most of his brethren, who had been attached to these colleges, havingalso retired to that country.

Being intimately acquainted with and known to most of the Catholic nobility and gentry of England, he was prevailed upon by Lord Stourton, a highly respectable nobleman oHhat religion, to make the continental tour with his son, in the character of governor or preceptor.

The journal which he kept on this occasion, is remarkable for its just and wise reflections, is replete with the classical taste and erudition of the writer, and indulges in a free criticism upon the journals, of former travellers over the same ground* While engaged in this tour, he wrote likewise a succinct history of England, for the use of his pupil, in the form of a dialogue, principally to guard his young mind against the general irreligious tendency of some, and the particularly hostile tendency of other writings, upon the same subject, against the Catholic faith. On his return to England, he was solicited by the then Lord Arundel, another Catholic nobleman, to reside in his family, as well for the purpose of administering in the character of chaplain, the consolations of a persecuted and oppressed religion to the members of that illustrious house, still steadfast in the faith of its ancestors, as to afford to them the singular advantages and enjoyment of his society : and being at liberty to do so, by the extinction of the society of Jesuits under whose banners he had enlisted, and to whose orders he would have paid a ready obedience in encountering the toils and dangers and privations of the most forlorn mission, he accepted the invitation which had been given to him, and became a resident in the family of Lord Arundel. In the hospitable retreat of

* For Journal, see Appendix.

Wardour castle, the seat of his noble patron, adorned by the virtues which shone forth so conspicuously in the lives of Lord arid Lady Arundel, the resort of the best society of England, the chaplain of the family was preeminently distinguished by the spontaneous attention and kindness which a respect for his talents, accomplishments, and attainments never failed to inspire : but amidst these fascinating circumstances he did not for a moment lose sight of the evangelical character with which he was invested, nor suffer the homage paid to his worth and talents to weaken in the smallest degree the spirit of true humility which had been deeply imprinted in his heart.

After a residence of a year or two at Wardour castle, he was warned by the state of the differences between England and her colonies to turn his attention to his own country, and to avail himself of the first opportunity that might occur for returning to his native land from which he had been so long separated, but towards which he ever entertained that warm and active attachment so often afterwards displayed during the course of' his long and useful career : his detention in Europe having been protracted by a latent hope, very precious to his heart, that the society of Jesus might be re-established in the Catholic states of the continent and their dependencies.