Joseph Conrad PlumpeAn inventory of Rev. Joseph Conrad Plumpe Papers at The American Catholic History Research Center and University ArchivesContact Information:
Biographical NoteFr. Joseph Plumpe was born on April 12, 1901 in Cloverdale, Ohio. He came from a large German-American family. His parents, August and Mary Plumpe, were average Ohio farmers and had a family of eight. Plumpe would come to enjoy nature because of his years on his family farm. From an early age Joseph was passionate about learning and attended St. Barbara's Parish parochial school from 1908-1916 before being admitted to the Josephinum Seminary by Monsignor Joseph Soentgerath. During his time at the Josephinum, he exceled in his studies and became an avid Latin and Greek scholar. He would earn his B.A. and M.A. in 1922 and 1924, respectively, before being ordained in Toledo on June 2, 1928. Plumpe went to the University of Berlin in the fall of 1928, after being accepted to the faculty of the Josephnium, to earn his doctorate in Latin and Greek language and literature. He would earn his degree in classical philology in 1932, and would teach Greek and Latin at the Josephinum from 1932 to 1941. In 1941 Plumpe joined the staff of The Catholic University of America (CUA) as a Research Associate in Latin from 1941-42 before becoming a Professor in Latin and Greek. Plumpe received tenure in 1949 and due to ill health left The Catholic University of America in 1953. In 1954, he rejoined the staff of the Josephinum as a seminary professor until the day before his death. Plumpe was also a brilliant scholar who was known for his abilities in translating and analyzing early Christian literature, Greek and Latin. Plumpe was devoted to bringing these texts to the English speaking world, which led to the creation of the Ancient Christian Writers series. This series began publication in 1946 in Westminster, Maryland, and London, England, with twenty-six volumes published at the time of his death in 1957. This series would consume most of Plumbe's scholarly efforts from 1946-1957. His devotion to this series is seen through his personal letters and to his close attention to detail in his writer's translations, as well as the publication of these translations. Also, he worked closely with other English speaking scholars within the Catholic Church in order to get the scholars to translate these texts. An example of this was his 1950 recruitment of Anglican translators who were experts in Greek and Latin. Despite the hard work Plumpe's health was failing by the early 1950s; in 1953 he experienced a complete physical collapse that kept him hospitalized until the fall of 1954. Despite his ill health he remained active in editing the Ancient Christian Writers series. His recovery in 1954 however would be short lived, Rev. Joseph Plumpe died after a failed operation in 1957. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentsThe Rev. Joseph C. Plumpe papers are divided into two series. The first series is correspondence with different translators for the Ancient Christian Writers Series, as well as editors of book reviews, and correspondence with numerous book publishers. The second series contains book reviews of volumes 5-9, 11, and 21-25 of the Ancient Christian Writers Series. These reviews are mainly newspaper clippings as well reviews from scholarly journals. This series also includes a Latin translation of Theodocius, and three homilies from the book of Matthew. The correspondence files shows how Plumpe was dedicated to getting the best translation possible but also how he formed close relationships with different translators. The Plumpe papers are extensive of his years as ACW editor but are missing his papers from his career as a professor at The Catholic University of America as well as his years at the Josephinum. Another important note is the good relationships he had with the translators because many of them were fellow scholars as well as members of the clergy. Several from the ACW were priests, with the exception of some lay professors and a few nuns. The reviews are evidence to the accuracy of the translations in the ACW series as well as Plump's dedication to this extensive project. Overall, despite the fact that these papers are missing Plumpe's years as a student and professor his work as an editor for the Ancient Christian Writers Series gives a rich understanding of his scholarship. Return to the Table of Contents ArrangementReturn to the Table of Contents RestrictionsRestrictions on AccessNone Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationAcquisition InformationDonor unknown, paper received about 1957-1958. Processing InformationProcessing completed in 2011 by Raymond Moore. EAD markup completed in 2011 by Raymond Moore. Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialReturn to the Table of Contents Index TermsThis record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms. Persons:Rev. Joseph Plumpe
Organizations:Ancient Christian Writers
Places:Ohio
Washington, D.C.
Subjects:Classical Translations and Book Reviews
BibliographyObituary from the December 25, 1957 edition of The Josephinum Review Obituary from the January, 1958 edition of the CUA BulletinReturn to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Collection
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TABLE OF CONTENTSDetailed Description of the Collection |
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