Edward Douglass White

November 3, 1845 Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
May 19, 1921 Washington, D.C.

• Confederate soldier until 1863 when he fell ill from starvation during the Union siege of Port Hudson, La.
• United States Senator 1891 to 1894
• Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1894 to 1910
• Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1910 to 1921

Those are some of the resume highlights of our namesake EDW. As the first Catholic Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and the second Catholic Chief Justice, White has been honored by the Knights of Columbus many times. There are at least 2 councils bearing his name, us of course, and Edward Douglas White Council 3246 in Metairie, Louisiana [www.kofc3246.org]. As well as the Fourth Degree Edward Douglas White Assembly 398 in Attleboro, Mass. Those are not misspellings; we are the only Knight unit that spells White’s middle name with two s’s. The Edward Douglas White high school in Louisiana joins that club. However we are not in error, the Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress and the state of Louisiana use the double ending. Is this heavy information? Of course not, but it’s a little bit of flavor. Much like the candy White would keep in his pockets to give to the many children he’d come across throughout the day.

His contemporaries, including his political and judicial opponents, agree to the kindness and moral character of this man. The quality of his tenure as chief justice is mixed. He is famous for his “rule of reason” decision in 1911 in the Standard Oil and American Tobacco anti-trust cases. Basically the Rule of Reason held that not all monopolies were illegal, just those that unreasonably restrained trade. An ill effect of the monopoly had to be shown.

Perhaps his best heritage to Catholics and to the United States was in simply conducting most of his life and career in a manner that brought him honor and respect. As a Catholic law professor remarked on White and another Catholic Supreme Court justice, Pierce Butler: “Each proved to protestants that they did not need to fear Catholics in high positions in the federal government. They disarmed and confused bigots. ...They showed...every Catholic boy...could aspire to great office in the judiciary.”

There have been ten or eleven Catholics to serve on the Highest Court. The eleventh, Sherman Minton, converted to Catholicism after retiring from the court. Five of those eleven make up the majority of the current court: Chief Justice John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The Roberts’ court is truly a high mark for Catholics.

The first Catholic appointed Chief Justice was Roger Taney of Calvert County, Maryland, who served from 1836 to 1864. He of the infamous Dred Scott Decision.

Parish Priest Book signing at EDW

It is a great honor to be able to welcome Douglas Brinkley to Edward Douglas White for a book-signing event. Parish Priest, as of February 19, is number 29 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list.

"Father McGivney's vision remains as relevant as ever in the changed circumstances of today's church and society."
~ Pope John Paul II

“Michael McGivney had an understanding of them all: the fathers, the mothers, the children, an everyday trinity more fragile in modern life than anyone else seemed to realize.”
~ excerpt from Parish Priest

Douglas Brinkley is a renowned New York Times bestselling author for The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc, and Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. Brinkley has authored award-winning biographies of Jimmy Carter, Franklin Roosevelt, Dean Acheson, Rosa Parks and James Forrestal. He also edited Jack Kerouac’s diaries, amongst numerous other works. He has now turned his efforts to the founder of the Knights of Columbus, and candidate for sainthood, Father Michael McGivney.

Brinkley and Julie Fenster were intrigued while during the height of the pedophilia scandals they heard of a parish priest who truly knew what the priestly vocation was meant to be. Fr. McGivney is a reminder to us of the goodness of the vast majority of our modern parish priests who strive to serve our parishes with love and devotion.

This is a very exciting time for the council. We have a unique opportunity to have at Reserve Hill this distinguished author; and I sincerely hope that you and your family will be able to join us in strong numbers to support EDW and this book. Parish Priest will be available for purchase during the book signing.

We will be inviting our own parish priests and Bishop Loverde to the event, as well as the general public and the media. A large turnout of EDW members will go far to encourage future events of this caliber.

George Nicholas Saegmuller

February 12, 1847, Neustadt, Germany – February 12, 1934, Arlington

As Reserve Hill caretakers we have a special obligation to remember this good man. George N. Saegmuller has influenced Arlington County, our nation and our lives as EDW Knights.

Originally I was going to merely list his accomplishments, and think that would do him justice. However, that would be a disservice to this gentleman, and to his family. In reading his autobiography I found several anecdotes that sum up his character.

One story taking place in England eerily depicts the mood towards Catholics in the 19th century that helped lead to the creation by Father Michael McGivney in 1882 of the Knights of Columbus in the United States. While starting out in life, and living in England in the 1860s, Saegmuller acknowledges “the first mistake...in my life”. When he arrived in Manchester, England his first act obviously was to look for boarding. He came across the Brennan family who provided a room and leads for employment. A good and decent family by his account. Brennan family's fatal flaw of the time; they were branded as “Catholics and Fenians” by a co-worker who held influence over the young and impressionable Saegmuller. Saegmuller, under social pressure moved into the home of the co-worker, abandoning the Brennans. In his own words, “This was a very despicable thing to do and I have regretted it ever since. Long afterward, when I went to Manchester on a visit, I tried to locate them for the purpose of begging their pardon, but they had moved and my search was in vain.”

Saegmuller never needed to bring this story to light, but he wanted his family to “Profit by My Mistakes”. A good man, strong in character, willing to admit his errors and humble enough to want to try and correct them.

Courtesy of David Burns, a great-great-grandson, I have provided a couple printed copies of George Nicholas Saegmuller's autobiography at the Council Home/Big House atop the mantel. You can also access the autobiography at www.burnsorama.com if you wish to read it at home.

The History Project Begins

The challenge of history is to recover the past and introduce it to the present.
~David Thelen

Who founded the Edward Douglass White Council?
Who purchased Reserve Hill?
Reserve Hill?Where’s that?
Why does the mansion have a turret?
Who is George N. Saegmuller?

As a person who became a Knight this past June I have many questions. While speaking with fellow brothers these are sometimes answered, even with multiple replies. I have been able to get some queries definitively answered. But asking and answering the questions just breed more questions.

We have begun ‘The History Project’. This will help answer the above questions and the thousand others that are important, and maybe not so important, but adds color and flavor, to who we are as EDW Knights of Columbus. I have begun reaching out to Arlington County, the Supreme Council archivist and will be approaching descendants of George N. Saegmuller.

Now, I’m asking you for help. You are a vital part of this project; this cannot be done properly without you. If you have any historic information please get in touch with me. In the coming months I suspect we will have items that need to be identified. We will need your help to clarify and identify them. We envision creating a permanent exhibit within the Council Home, and available on our Web site and in this column.

By the way, Reserve Hill? It’s the name of our land; so named because it held an encampment for reserve Union troops in support of the Federal camp at Minor’s Hill.

The turret? A water tower. Its design? Came from a beer stein, depicting the Nuremburg city wall, that G.N. Saegmuller gave to the mason to use as a scale model.

Saegmuller? Financed the first courthouse and jail for Alexandria [now Arlington] County. He created the twelve-inch telescope used at the U.S. Naval Observatory; it is still on display at the USNO. He also was the creator of the bore sight for military weapons. He was the holder of 41 patents used by the military and in his optical profession.

Please contact me with any photographs or other historic information you can share, no matter how large or minute. It’s all important to us. You can reach me at history@kofcedw2473.org, by leaving an envelope addressed to me or 'The History Project' at the Council Home or call me at (202) 352-7955.