Document Type
Finding Aid
Collection Number
MSS-017
Publication Date
2013
Last Revision Date
5-19-2017
Description
Dr. Annabelle M. Melville was a Commonwealth Professor Emerita of History at Bridgewater State University and a leading American Catholic Historian. She was the author of definitive biographies of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church; Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the American hierarchy; Cardinal John Lefebvre de Cheverus, the first bishop of Boston; and Archbishop Louis William DuBourg, SS, a nineteenth century bishop of New Orleans. Dr. Melville was also the first woman president of the American Catholic Historical Association and received the John Gilmary Shea Prize for excellence in American Catholic history form the American Catholic Historical Society in 1955. She held the Catholic Daughters of America chair in American church history in 1978 and 1979.
This collection largely consists of early manuscript drafts of Dr. Melville’s works. Of particular note are multiple drafts of an unpublished textbook she wrote in the 1960s, titled Americans All: A History of Our People, which was designed for seventh and eighth grade students. Biographical material can be found in the collection, including past write ups done by Bridgewater State, and through a collection of news clippings representing her many achievements and participation at events.