Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biographical Notes
Scope and Content Notes
Descriptive Summary
Title: Inventory of Henry L. Walsh, S. J. Papers
Creator:
Walsh, Henry L.
Repository:
Santa Clara University Archives
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Santa Clara University permits public access to its archives within the context of
respect for individual privacy, administrative confidentiality, and the integrity of the
records. It reserves the right to close all or any portion of its records to researchers.
The archival files of any office may be opened to a qualified researcher by the
administrator of that office or his/her designee at any time.
Archival collections may be used by researchers only in the Reading Room of the
University Archives and may be photocopied only at the discretion of the archivist.
Publications Rights
Permission to copy or publish any portion of the Archives' materials must be given by the
Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Henry L. Walsh, S.J. Papers, Santa Clara University. University
Archives.
Biographical Notes
Henry Walsh was born in San Francisco on November 21, 1879. Both his father, Edward, and
his mother, Alice Carroll, were native Irish. His sister Edna was a singer in the San
Francisco Light Opera, and his brother Charles became a teacher in public schools. Young
Henry Walsh was enrolled at St. Ignatius College in San Francisco in 1893 and entered the
Jesuit Order at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, CA, in 1895. As a Scholastic, he
taught at Santa Clara College for a year in 1903, then left to complete his education.
Walsh was ordained a priest at St. Louis University in 1912.
In 1913, Walsh returned to Santa Clara as an English teacher, and remained there until
World War I. He became a chaplain in the U.S. Army in 1918 and served at Fort McArthur,
San Pedro. He joined the American Legion and remained in the Reserve Corps until 1953.
Between 1919 and 1932, Walsh was appointed Vice President of Loyola College and then
Prefect of Discipline at St. Ignatius. In 1932, Walsh returned to Santa Clara and
remained there until his death in 1956. As a faculty member, he taught English, religion,
philosophy and history. His interest in the history of California, and Santa Clara in
particular, manifested itself in his works,
Hallowed Were the Gold Dust Trails,a history of the Catholic Church in the Mother Lode published in 1946, and "The
History of the University of Santa Clara," which was never published.
Scope and Content Notes
The Walsh Papers contain personal notes, research material, correspondence, and
photographs that reflect Walsh's work as poet, teacher, writer, lecturer and historian.
His personal notes include clippings and souvenirs that give a general overview of
Walsh's life; lecture notes, speeches and sermons covering such topics as Santa Clara
history and the value of a Catholic education; and some of Walsh's poems, about fifty in
number. The research material found in his papers comprise loose notes, bound notebooks,
secondary source material, and drafts of his work on the history of Santa Clara. Walsh's
research notes provide information about Mission Indians, missionary priests, and early
Santa Clara families, among other aspects of Santa Clara history. Accompanying the
complete copy of his first draft, "The History of Santa Clara," are the Jesuit censor's
comments concerning the manuscript. Walsh's correspondence captures his communication
with many people over the years including California historians and young writers seeking
advice on their poems. Other correspondence regarding personal matters is also available
in the Collection. The Walsh Photograph Collection includes photographs and postcards of
California churches, places such as Columbia and Bodie, and copies of illustrations from
his publication,
Hallowed were the Gold Dust Trails.
Guide and collection organized by Gigia Bjorn, Jan. 1979. Updated by Anne McMahon,
University Archivist, September, 1998.