Stevenson, Joseph

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 devoted himself actively to the research and publication of documents concerning the Church of Scotland and of England; when the "Public Record Office" was established in 1857, he was sent there among the first writers and editors, and he 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 became weary of it and was received into the Catholic Church (1863) and, his wife having died in 1869, he entered the Seminary of Oscott and was ordained a priest in 1872. From that year until 1877 he devoted himself, on commission from the government, to the search for documents for the Roman Transcripts series of the "Public Record Office", in the Vatican Archive. Finally he entered the Society of Jesus in 1877, at 72 years of age, and, having completed his novitiate, he continued to attend to his research. His principal work of these last years was the discovery and publication of the Life of Mary Queen of Scotts, by Claude Naus, with the addition of documents from the Vatican Archive (Edinburgh 1883), and furthermore the Life of Jane Dormer (London 1887), the Life of st. Cutbert (ibid. 1887) and an abundant number of articles in the periodical The Month.