The Scots Charitable Society (est.1657) of Boston, Massachusetts, The oldest charitable institution in the Western Hemisphere, was established to provide relief for local, "needy Scot people, after proper investigation." [1] It "enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Scots society in America." [2] It "became the prototype for thousands of other groups" of private charity in America.
The founding members were: Robert Porteous, William Cossar, Alexander Simson, George Thomson, James Moore, James Grant, Thomas Dewar, John Clark, Peter Grant, John Kneeland, Thomas Polson, William Anderson, James Webster, William Gibson, Alexander Grant, Andrew Jamesone, William Ballantyne, William Speed, James Ingles, John Macdonald, Thomas Shearer, George Trumble, Alexander Bogle, John Bennett, James Adams, Malcome Makcallome, and John Mason. In 1657 they agreed:
' We ... for the releefe of our selves, and any other for the which wee may see cause, to make a box. ... None give less at ther entring then twelve pence and then quarterly to pay sixpence, and that this our benevolence is for the releefe of our selves being Scottishmen or for any of the Scottish nation whome we may see cause to helpe (not excluding the prudentiall care of the respective prudentiall townsmen whose God shall cast any of us or them, but rather as an addition thereunto) and it is agreed that there shall nothing be taken out of the box for the first sevin yeers for the releefe of any (the box being as yet in its minority), and further it is agreed that there shall be one Chosen (one of good report, fearing God, hateing covetousnes) quarterly to receive the dutyes of the said box and lykewise what Legacies may be left unto it, and that the first box maister shall give up all the revenues belonging unto the said box unto the next that is chosen, and so continue quarterly until) the Company may see any Inconvenience in it or cause to alter it, and it is agreed that our children shall have the same liberty with ourselves, they entring (when they are growne up) orderly, and it further agreed that those who doth willfully neglect to pay there dutys and have entred for the space of a twelve month togethir, shall have no benefite hereafter by the said box. [3]
"Only twenty-seven years after the founding of the town of Boston the Scots had thought it necessary to establish a society for ... relief. ... The explanation is simple, for in 1652 the ship John and Sara arrived in Boston bringing two hundred and seventy-two Scotsmen, who had been taken prisoners by Cromwell. [nb 1] As the quickest way of disposing of these, they were shipped off to the colonies to be sold to service for a longer or shorter time as the case might be. There was need for aid and so the original members of the society agreed to give 'as god shall move our harts' and their benevolence was directed toward the 'reliefe of our selves being Scottishmen or for any of the Scottish nation whom we may see cause to helpe.' [4]
Members in the 17th century included George Jaffrey. [5]
"By the early eighteenth century, one of its major functions was the provision of relief to the aged on a long-term basis as a type of pension. For example, in 1718 a petition from James Maxwell was read. Mr. Maxwell who had been 'a Contributor while he was in capacity' was praying for relief in his old age. The society voted to give him 20 shillings immediately and an additional 10 shillings every quarter. Eliza Wilson, who died in 1756, had been relieved by the society for 23 years." [6]
In 1785 the society officially incorporated; signatories were John Scollay, William Erving, James Swan, Thomas Melville, James Thompson, James Graham, William Doll, William Mc'Kean, Andrew Drummond, and John Young. [7] Other members in the 18th century included bookbinder Andrew Barclay, [8] Robert Campbell ("commander of the ship Truth and Daylight), [9] John Mein, and John Smybert.
On St. Andrew's Day in 1857 the group held a 200th anniversary supper at the Revere House hotel. The society's "president was escorted from his residence by the members of the society, some of whom, with himself, were dressed in the Highland costume. They were preceded by pipers, who played national airs. The meeting was most enthusiastic, and the president gave an excellent speech." [3] "Addresses were made by Mr. Henry Grattan, H.B.M. Consul; Sir Charles Fox, builder of the Crystal Palace, London ; J.D. Andrews, Esq.; Charles W. Story, Esq,; Messrs. John C. Crowley, President of the Irish Charitable Society; James Cruickshanks, and others. Poems were read by Dr. William Wallace Morland and Jeffrey Brackett, Esq.; and national songs sung by various members of the Society and of the Caledonia Club. Letters were read by the Secretary from the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Samuel A. Eliot, Esq., and Dr. Holmes, regretting that they could not be present, and expressing sentiments of the warmest interest towards this the oldest of Charitable Societies in the States. After singing 'Auld Lang Syne' and dancing 'Ronald McDonald' the meeting adjourned." [9]
"St. Andrew's Home was established by the society at 73 West Concord Street, and opened in 1869. There, unfortunate Scotch are received and cared for until employment is found." [10]
By 1889 "the amount expended by the Society in charity was about £300; 351 applicants had asked for assistance and 306 had been relieved; and during the year several of our countrymen, who had been unable to find employment and were without means, were forwarded to their old homes in Scotland." The society's "permanent fund" totalled some $16,225. It maintained the "Scots Temporary Home" (a shelter in Boston on Camden Street) and a plot in the Mount Auburn Cemetery. [3]
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun was a Scottish writer and politician, remembered as an advocate for the non-incorporation of Scotland, and an opponent of the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England. Fletcher became an exile in 1683 after being accused of promoting insurrection. He was appointed the cavalry commander of the Monmouth Rebellion, but shortly after landing in England, he killed another leading figure. He again went into exile, this time as a fugitive and with his estates forfeit. He returned with William of Orange, becoming Commissioner of the old Parliament of Scotland.
The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King's Colours, the first Union Flag, the Union Jack, or the British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of Great Britain. It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801.
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.
The Bannatyne Club, named in honour of George Bannatyne and his famous anthology of Scots literature the Bannatyne Manuscript, was a text publication society founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general literature. The club was established in 1823 and printed 116 volumes before being dissolved in 1861.
Samuel Newman was a clergyman in colonial Massachusetts whose concordance of the Bible, published first in London in 1643, far surpassed any previous work of its kind.
Of Plymouth Plantation is a journal that was written over a period of years by William Bradford, the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. It is regarded as the most authoritative account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the colony which they founded.
The Millenary Petition was a list of requests given to James I by Puritans in 1603 when he was travelling to London in order to claim the English throne. It is claimed, but not proven, that this petition had 1,000 signatures of Puritan ministers. This carefully worded document expressed Puritan distaste regarding the state of the Church of England, and took into consideration James' religious views as well as his liking for a debate, as written in Basilikon Doron.
Blessing of the Bay was the second oceangoing, non-fishing vessel built in what is now the United States, preceded only by the Virginia, in 1607.
The Treaty of Falaise was a forced written agreement made in December 1174 between the captive William I, King of Scots, and Henry II, King of England.
The Treaty of Berwick was negotiated on 27 February 1560 at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was an agreement made by the representative of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and the group of Scottish nobles known as the Scottish Lords of the Congregation. The purpose was to agree the terms under which an English fleet and army would come to Scotland to expel the French troops who were defending the Regency of Mary of Guise. The Lords were trying both to expel the French and to effect the Scottish Reformation, and this led to rioting and armed conflict.
William Rugge was an English Benedictine theologian, and bishop of Norwich from 1536 to 1549.
James Swan was an early American patriot and financier based in Boston in the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty and participated in the Boston Tea Party. Swan was twice wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill, he next became secretary of the Massachusetts Board of War and the legislature. During the time he held that office, he drew heavily on his private funds to aid the Continental Army, which was then in dire need of funds to arm and equip the soldiers who were arriving in Boston from all parts of New England. In 1795, Swan, acting as agent for France, helped refinance the United States’ debt to France, which amounted to 2,024,900 dollars. The US government gave him, as agent for France, newly issued US Government interest-bearing shares equal in value to the amount due on the French debt. Swan then arranged the sale of the shares to investors and the payment of the proceeds to France. In effect, the US replaced its debt to France with the US’s obligations under the new shares owned by private investors. The United States no longer owed money to foreign governments, although it continued to owe money to private investors both in the United States and in Europe. This allowed the young United States to place itself on a sound financial footing. On principles of loyalty, he spent 22 years—more than a quarter of his life—in the Paris Sainte-Pélagie Prison.
Spring Pond, United States, abuts the three cities of Lynn, Peabody and Salem. In the center of these townships "is a beautiful pond". It is a secluded lake known by residents of the three cities and visitors who come to enjoy the camps, trails and natural environment of the woods. "It is in fact one of the most picturesque and romantic lakelets in Massachusetts". Stretching from Spring Pond to Marlborough Road in Salem, the pond and woods form a microcosm of beauty. On the edge of Spring Pond was once the Fay Farm, an English manor estate in New England. The mansion of Fay Farm was a well-known hotel in 1810, when the springs of these areas were believed to possess medicinal qualities. People visited the springs near Spring Pond to restore health, and worship the goddess Hygeia and drink from the rusty iron-rich water trickling from the foot of a bank. Later, some traveled there solely for fun and frolic. The hotel was then converted into a private residence. The waters of Spring Pond are conveyed by springs from an aquifer lying below Spring Pond through Peabody, Lynn and Salem. Spring Pond is listed as one of the "Massachusetts Great Ponds".
The Mechanic Apprentices Library Association (1820-1892) of Boston, Massachusetts, functioned as "a club of young apprentices to mechanics and manufacturers ... whose object is moral, social, and literary improvement." Some historians describe it as "the first of the kind known to have been established in any country." Founded by William Wood in 1820, it also had an intermittent formal relationship with the larger, more established Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. In its heyday, roughly 1820s-1850s, the Apprentices Library "[met] quarterly ; ... [had] nearly 200 members, and a library of about 2000 volumes; connected with which [was] a reading room, gratuitously supplied with the best newspapers and magazines of the city, and a cabinet of natural history. In addition to these advantages, the association [had] lectures and debates in the winter, and a social class for the study of elocution in the summer."
The statue of Robert Burns in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a work of public art by the Scottish artist William Grant Stevenson, RSA. The bronze statue, of the Scottish national poet Robert Burns, stands on a plinth of Nova Scotia pink granite with two bronze bas relief panels. The monument was donated to the City of Milwaukee by James A. Bryden.
Bishop Dunbar's Hospital was founded in 1531 by Bishop Gavin Dunbar, the Elder. The hospital was endowed by a mortification just before his death. Dunbar petitioned the King, James V of Scotland, and the charter, signed on 24 February 1531 records the King’s approval that ‘[Dunbar shall] ... found an hospital near the cathedral church, but outside the cemetery...’ It was also known as St Mary's Hospital. In the mortification, Dunbar's charitable purpose is recorded. Bedesmen were supported by a charitable foundation that emerged from the original church control until the twenty-first century. Bedesmen drew their name from the word "bede" - a prayer. The residents of Dunbar's Hospital said prayers in a cycle of Divine Office. The Bede House, Old Aberdeen was used by the Bedesmen from the hospital from 1789 to the end of the nineteenth century. The only remains of the 1531 building can be seen in a perimeter wall for Seaton Park in Old Aberdeen. The last Bedesman died in 1988. The Managers of the Hospital constituted a Charity, Bishop Dunbar Hospital Trust. The Charity ceased active operation in 2012.
Several Aberdeen trades hospitals were built by the merchants and trades associations of Aberdeen from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Traditionally hospitals had been built by the church.
The Dedham Covenant was a covenant that governed the early settlement of Dedham, Massachusetts. It mandated that only those with similar, Puritan, community values could live in the town and set about a method for mediating disputes. It also required each resident to pay their fair share of taxes for the common good. Eventually 125 men would sign the covenant.
'The Geddes Burns' is a copy of Robert Burns's 1787 Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect with twenty-seven extra pages with twelve poems and songs in Burns's handwriting bound in, and a letter to Catholic Bishop John Geddes from the poet, written at Ellisland Farm.