Adam Marshall (priest)

Adam Marshall SJ (November 18, 1785 – September 20, 1825) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit. He briefly served as president of Washington Seminary, and later became the first Catholic chaplain in the United States Navy, albeit unofficially.

The Reverend Adam Marshall
Personal details
Born	November 18, 1785 Conewago, Pennsylvania
Died	September 20, 1825 (aged 39) Mediterranean Sea, aboard the USS North Carolina
Nationality	American
Denomination	Catholic Church
Military career
Branch	United States Navy
Years	1824–1825

Biography

Adam Marshall was born on November 18, 1785,[1] in Conewago, Pennsylvania, to Francis Marshall and Ann Margaret Staub; he had two sisters named Margaret and Catherine.[2] As a Jesuit priest, he first served in 1818 at St. Patrick's Church in York, Pennsylvania,[3] and later worked in New York, the southern counties of Maryland, and at Georgetown College in Washington, D.C.[4]

Marshall became the most powerful figure in the Jesuit mission in Maryland, eventually becoming the Procurator of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen of Maryland during the suppression of the Society of Jesus.[5]

In 1822, he was stationed at Washington Seminary (which later became Gonzaga College High School) and was placed in charge of the worldly affairs of the Jesuit mission in Maryland. In the beginning of 1824, Marshall was appointed the second president of Washington Seminary, succeeding Anthony Kohlmann. During his presidency, the students of the Seminary partook in the first civic procession in Washington by joining in the commemoration of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July of 1824. While president, Marshall also gave a speech at Georgetown College during a reception for the Marquis de Lafayette, with his students in attendance.[4]

Marshall became ill with tuberculosis,[6] which affected his lungs.[7] His physicians advised that he take a reprieve from duties at the school and recommended he undertake a sea voyage. Through the intervention of Commodore John Rogers, whose two sons were students at Gonzaga, Marshall obtained a position in the United States Navy.[4] He was succeeded as president of the school by William Matthews.[8]

Marshall was commissioned an officer in 1824 and was assigned to the USS North Carolina, a ship of the line.[9] His official position was schoolmaster to the midshipmen, but he unofficially[7] doubled as chaplain to the Catholic sailors, making him the first Catholic chaplain in the United States Navy.[6][10] The religious services on board were conducted by an Episcopalian minister whose sermons Marshall noted that he admired, and Marshall was not permitted to say Mass; rather, his duty was to counsel and hear confession.[7]

The North Carolina left port in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 1, 1824,[4] for a cruise of the Mediterranean. In the final entry of Marshall's diary, the lieutenant of the watch notes that while underway, at 2:30 a.m. on September 20, 1825, during the voyage from Naples to Gibraltar,[4] the priest died of his disease.[7] He was buried at sea at 10 a.m. with all hands on deck.[10] On October 22, Commodore Rogers communicated the news to the Secretary of the Navy.[4]

See also

• United States Navy Chaplain Corps
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
• Jesuits in the United States

References

Citations

1. Buckley 2013, p. 129
2. Thomas, Jeffrey L. (February 22, 2008). "Descendants of John Adam Staub, of Conewago & McSherrystown, Adams County, Pennsylvania" (PDF). Thomas Family Genealogy Website. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
3. "Listing of Priests who have Served Saint Patrick's". Saint Patrick Catholic Church. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
4. Hill 1922, pp. 29–32
5. Curran 2012, p. 62
6. O'Brien 2002, p. 10
7. Giblin, Gerard F. (April 1, 1962). "American Jesuits as Chaplains in the Armed Forces: 1775 to 1917". Woodstock Letters. XCI (2). Archived from the original on September 16, 2018 – via Jesuit Online Library.
8. Hill 1922, p. 33
9. Duffy, Peter (2008). "A Chaplain's Chaplain". Catholic Education Resource Center. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
10. First Catholic Chaplains in U.S. Army and Navy 1941, pp. 466–467

Sources

• Buckley, Cornelius Michael (2013). Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson, S.J. (1786–1864) and the Reform of the American Jesuits. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN 9780761862321. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019 – via Google Books.
• Curran, Robert Emmett (2012). Shaping American Catholicism: Maryland and New York, 1805–1915. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 9780813219677. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019 – via Google Books.
• "First Catholic Chaplains in U.S. Army and Navy". Woodstock Letters. LXX (3). October 1, 1941. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2018 – via Jesuit Online Library.
• Hill, Owen Aloysius (1922). "Chapter II: Fr. Adam Marhsall, S.J. (1824–1825)". 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 High School. pp. 27–32. OCLC 1266588. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019 – via Google Books.
• O'Brien, Steve (2002). "Chapter 1: "The Sword of the Spirit"". Blackrobe in Blue: The Naval Chaplaincy of John P. Foley, S.J. 1942. San Jose: iUniverse. ISBN 9780595226948. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019 – via Google Books.