The GU272 Legacy

In 1838, the Maryland Jesuits sold more than 300 enslaved people to sugar plantations in southern Louisiana, in order to rescue Georgetown University from bankruptcy.  In all, the Jesuits sold 314 men, women and children over a 5-year period stretching from 1838 to 1843.  Today, these enslaved people are known collectively as the “GU272 Ancestors.” Genealogists have identified many of the original people who were sold, along with 8,425 of their descendants, living and dead. 

Thank you to Helen and DuWayne Sayles, whose generous contribution made this project possible.

In the Sayles' own words: “The remarkable story behind the GU272 Memory Project ignites the soul of every human being who struggles with the history of slavery at any time and in any place. Unlike some events, however, in this one there are ways that we are able to advance to accurately document the meaningful lives that the slaves of the Jesuit plantations led in the 1800s—and that their descendants may now celebrate and proudly continue.  The data found here on this historically-rich website will assist generations to come to find, give identity to, and connect with their ancestors from this recently recovered history.”