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Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York records

Call Number

MS 2997

Date

1785-2014, inclusive

Creator

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York

Extent

118 Linear feet

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The collection contains records (1785-2014) of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, a Scottish-American charitable and social organization. The records document the organization's administrative history, membership, charitable efforts, and cultural events.

Biographical/Historical Note

The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York was founded in 1756 to provide charitable relief and promote social ties within the growing Scottish-American community. It followed the founding of Saint Andrew's Societies in Charleston (1729), Philadelphia (1747), and Savannah (1750), as well as the Scots Society of New-York (1744-1753). In 1775, meetings were suspended due to the Revolutionary War. At that time the Society's membership included both British officers and American revolutionaries. Three members—Philip Lawrence, Lewis Morris, and John Witherspoon—were signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1784 the Society reorganized and resumed its original mission. There are few records from this early period, however, because in 1835, most documents, including the original constitution signed by the founding members, were lost in a fire.

The Society's membership was initially open only to Scottish men and their sons and grandsons. In 1897, membership was opened to men of any Scottish lineal descent. The membership of the society involved many political, commercial, and cultural leaders. During the Civil War, a number of members served in the 79th New York Volunteer Infantry, nicknamed the Highland Guard. Other prominent members include: Philip Livingston, William Livingston, Robert R. Livingston, Alexander Hamilton, John Loudon McAdam, Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, James Gordon Bennett, Alexander Graham Bell, John Lindsay, and Thomas J. Watson Jr.

Scope and Contents Note

The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York Records document several significant aspects of Scottish and American history in New York. As a social club that attracted prominent individuals to its leadership and events, and as an aid organization that served Scots in need, the Society produced records that reflect the lives of a wide variety of people within the New York area's Scottish community.

The records contain many types of material, including minutes, financial ledgers, committee records, and ephemera.

The collection is arranged in the following six series:

Series I: Administrative Records

Series II: Charitable Records

Series III: Membership Records

Series IV: Event Records

Series V: The Pibroch

Series VI: Miscellaneous Historical Material

A more detailed description of the contents of each series is included in the container list.

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Records related to almoners and to members are restricted from access for 35 years; that restriction is noted within the finding aid at the relevant series or subseries level.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation Note

This collection should be cited as The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York Records, MS 2997, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition Note

Gift of Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, 2015

Related Materials Note

The Printed Collections of the New-York Historical Society hold a collection of material related to Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York under the call number F128 HS2725 .S14.

There is also a small amount of oversize archival material, separate from this collection, at the New-York Historical Society labeled: Y-Saint Andrew's Society.

Collection processed by

Luis Rodriguez

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:10 -0400.
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Luis Rodriguez in 2017-2018. The finding aid was updated in July 2022 to reflect amended restrictions agreed between the donor and N-YHS.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024