Henry Joseph Browne papers, 1797-1980
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#0158
- Bib ID:
- 4078408 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Browne, Henry J.
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 18.9 linear feet ( 41 boxes and 1 flat box)
- Language(s):
- English , Italian , French , Latin , Spanish; Castilian .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Scope and Content
The collection contains material related both to Browne's work as an activist and an academic. A significant portion of the collection consists of Browne's research material on John Hughes, including Hughes's correspondence, letter books, and scrapbooks.
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Series I: Research and Scholarship, 1792-1980
The Research and Scholarship Series contains Browne's research material, published articles and drafts, and lecture and reading notes
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Series II: Personal and Professional, 1944-1980
This series relates to Browne's professional duties as a priest, academic, and an archivist, as well as his involvement in community and social justice organizations.
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Series III. Urban Planning and Community Organizing, 1959-1979
This series chronicles Browne's involvement in urban planning and urban renewal initiatives in New York City and Paterson, New Jersey.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 3 series.
- Series I: Research and Scholarship, 1792-1980
- Subseries 1: John Hughes Biographical Materials, 1792-1956
- Subseries 2: Scholarly Research-- Church and Social History, 1947-1980
- Series II: Personal and Professional, 1944-1980
- Series III. Urban Planning and Community Organizing, 1959-1979
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Henry Joseph Browne papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Related Materials
Part of Abraham Lincoln collection MS#2028: Lincoln, Abraham To John Hughes, Washington, D.C., 21 October 1861, 1 a.l.s.; 2 pages
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Flavia Alaya, 1986.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Papers: Source of acquisition--Alaya, Flavia. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--07/11/86. Accession number--M-86-07-11.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers Processed CEH 07/--/08.
Revision Description
2009-02-12 File created.
2009-04-15 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Biographical sketch
Father Henry Joseph Browne, born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in 1919, was an historian, archivist, and community activist. He entered the Catholic priesthood as a young man and devoted himself, for a while, to a scholarly and ecclesiastical life. He received his Ph.D. in history from the Catholic University of America where he went on to serve as a faculty member in church history and the University Archivist. Upon leaving that position he returned to New York to teach first at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, then Cathedral College, and finally Rutgers University in New Jersey.
His primary research interests were in social and labor history as well as church history, particularly in New York City. He published a number of pamphlets and articles on these issues, and a book on the history of the Catholic Knights of Labor. Additionally, he did extensive research on and drafted a biography of John Hughes, the first archbishop of New York.
Upon Browne's return to New York after his tenure at the Catholic University of America, he became deeply involved in left-wing political activities and made a name for himself as a committed community and anti-war activist in the 1960s. He was active in both religious and secular social justice organizations such as the New York City Council against Poverty, the Catholic Committee on Urban Ministry, and the Priests' Senate. He strongly opposed the urban renewal activities displacing lower income tenants on New York's Upper West side and worked actively with community housing organizations such as the Strycker's Bay Housing Development to retain low-income housing options in New York City.
In the last decade of his life Browne left the priesthood, though he was never officially defrocked, and settled in Paterson, NJ with his long-time partner, Flavia Alaya, and their three children. He took a job with Rutgers University and continued teaching almost until his death in 1980.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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