STEVENSON, JOSEPH. - Jesuit, historian and archivist, b. at Berwick-on-Tweed (Scotland) on 27 Nov. 1806, d. in London on 18 Feb. 1895.
An Anglican pastor from 1839 to 1863, he actively devoted himself to the research and publication of documents concerning the Church of Scotland and England; when the «Public Record Office» was established in 1857, he was among the first writers and editors sent there and published 7 vols. for the Rolls Series; 7 vols. of Calendars of State Papers, Foreign Series of the Reign of Queen Elisabeth, 1558-65; and 2 vols. of the Scottish Series. Meanwhile, he renounced Anglicanism and was received into the Catholic Church (1863); after his wife died in 1869, he entered Oscott Seminary and was ordained priest in 1872. From that year until 1877 he was engaged, by government appointment, in the search for documents for the Roman Transcripts series of the «Public Record Office», in the Vatican Archives. Finally, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1877, at the age of 72, and, having completed his novitiate, continued to pursue his researches. His principal work during these last years was the discovery and publication of Life of Mary Queen of Scotts, by Claude Naus, with the addition of documents from the Vatican Archives (Edinburgh 1883); in addition, Life of Jane Dormer (London 1887), Life of st. Cutbert (ibid. 1887), and a considerable number of articles in the periodical The Month.