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New England Society in the City of New York records

Call Number

MS 3113

Date

1805-1941 (Bulk 1889-1937), inclusive

Creator

New England Society in the City of New York

Extent

29.5 Linear feet in 28 boxes (25 record cartons and 3 oversize cartons).

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The collection consists of records of the New England Society, a social and charitable organization whose membership consisted of New Yorkers from New England. It documents approximately 140 years of the Society's internal governance, membership files, financial administration, social events, and charity work for poor New Englanders in New York.

Biographical / Historical

The New England Society in the City of New York (the "New England Society") was founded in 1805 as a social and charitable organization, whose objective was to promote the "friendship, charity, and mutual assistance" between those from and the descendants of New Englanders in New York City. At the first meeting, the Society's seventy members elected James Watson, both a former New York Senator and the meeting's host, to become its first President. The organization was formally incorporated in 1833.

To become a member of the New England Society, a candidate had to apply and be elected into the membership. By 1920, membership had swelled to over 1,200, although this number varied year to year due to deaths, resignations, and new elections. Until 1872, women were not present at Society receptions, dinners, or events. Prominent members of the Society include painter John Trumbull, financier J.P. Morgan, Mayor of New York City Seth Low, Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, members of the Tiffany family, and U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root. Some, such as Morgan, Low, and Root, also served as President of the New England Society or held other officer roles. Famous New Englanders, such as presidents John F. Kennedy and Calvin Coolidge, feature among the Society's honorary members.

Starting in 1806, the New England Society formed its Charity Committee, which oversaw the use of some of the society's funds for charitable purposes. Beginning in 1817, the Society provided annuities to support downtrodden New Yorkers who either came from or whose families came from New England, including widows, orphans, and elderly men, among others. The treasurer's records and financial documents demonstrate the continuation of this practice of charity well into the twentieth century, as the Society also liaised with other New York charitable organizations to identify and to disburse funds to those in need of assistance.

The Society celebrated its proclaimed New England values by hosting an annual celebration at some of New York City's upscale hotels. Starting in December 1805, the Society hosted its Annual Dinner (also known as the Annual Festival) at the City Hotel to commemorate the anniversary of the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock. The dinners, which were also hosted at noted New York locations like Delmonico's and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, invited many esteemed figures from American society, including the President of the United States, cabinet secretaries, senators, financiers, and industrialists. While many of these figures declined their invitations, some, such as presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, attended these dinners. These dinners often included addresses and speeches explaining the history of New England or praising its contributions to American society.

The New England Society also sought to commemorate the historical contributions of New Englanders to American history through memorials and celebrations. In 1885, the Society donated the Pilgrim Statue, sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, to New York City, which now stands at E. 72nd Street in Central Park. In 1920, the Society also supported the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, MA, by donating $50,000 for the creation of a fireproof portico to protect the nation's oldest public museum and fundraising to support the preservation of documents from Plymouth Church in Provincetown, MA. The Society had contracted the famous architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White to design the Pilgrim Hall's Portico.

The New England Society continues to operate today under the leadership of President Ellen Scordato, committing itself to promoting New England history, culture, and values in New York City. Since 1953, the Society has offered a scholarship to New York City students attending colleges in New England. Additionally, the Society's Book Award and Reginald T. Townsend Award–-both awarded at the Annual Dinner–-seek to honor publications and individuals who embody New England culture and values.

(The above note was based on materials in the collection and the website of the New England Society in the City of New York, as well as the Wikipedia page for the New England Society.)

Arrangement

The collection is organized into six series that reflect the work and documents of the New England Society:

Series I. Governance, 1805-1941
Series II. General Correspondence, 1854-1913
Series III. Membership Records, 1850-1925
Series IV. Charity Records, 1829-1925
Series V. Financial Records, 1824-1937
Series VI. Event Records, 1870-1922
Researchers should note there is some overlap in subject matter between some of the series, primarily between the various series and General Correspondence, which includes administrative, financial, membership, and event matters.

Each volume in the collection was given a unique identifier (e.g., SN-1, SN-2) by the processing archivist. These are intended only to facilitate reference and are not indicative of any overall numbering scheme found in the collection itself.

Scope and Contents

The New England Society in the City of New York records include documents produced by the organization between 1805 and 1941, primarily focused on its internal governance, financial administration, and various social events.

Governance: The series contains 12 volumes and loose records relating to the internal administration of the New England Society. This includes the volumes of meeting minutes that run from 1805 until 1941, volumes of supporting documents for those meetings, a committee book, as well as loose records of election ballots for Society officers, miscellaneous meeting minutes, and administrative documents. The series paints a picture of both the everyday administration of the Society, but also the way in which its officer board and directors were selected by the members of the Society.

General Correspondence: The series contains 9 volumes and loose correspondence. This includes the letterbooks of outgoing mail from the secretary, as well as a file of all incoming and outgoing mail of the Society. Organized chronologically, the topics cover most aspects of the Society's functions, including internal communication between officers, membership inquiries, Annual Dinner planning, communications with charitable organizations and cultural institutions, and announcements to members. For more granular details, please consult the "Scope Notes" of individual folders.

Membership Records: The series contains 5 volumes and loose materials relating to the Society's membership, including member rolls, a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, applications, and assorted correspondence. Most correspondence pertains to membership recommendations, death notifications, deaths, and internal correspondence about membership elections.

Charity Records: The series contains mostly loose material relating to the Society's charity work, including multiple committee reports, documents about specific charity cases, applications for annuities, and correspondence with charitable organizations about their services for individuals.

Financial Records: The series contains 19 volumes and loose records relating to the financial administration of the society. Records in this series include account books; dues collection books; vouchers and voucher books; bank statements and cancelled checks; investment records; Finance Committee and treasurer reports; and the treasurer's memos, which largely correspond with personal papers and correspondence about the financial administration of the Society.

Event Records: This series contains documents relating to events hosted and/or sponsored by the Society. The Annual Dinner and Festival subseries includes guestbooks, correspondence, programs, stenographer reports, and printing plates for invitations and menus from the Annual Dinner. Of particular note are some of the invited guests, which included the likes of Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and J.P. Morgan. Additionally, the series includes lectures, sermons, yearbooks, dedications, book printings, and the records of other dinners and socials. Another item that would be of interest to researchers is the Pilgrim Hall Portico documents, which include the spec report created by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White for the design of the project.

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.

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

The collection should be cited as: The New England Society in the City of New York records, MS 3113, 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

Gift of the New England Society in the City of New York, 1942

Collection processed by

Austin Davis

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:48:28 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Austin Davis, Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) intern, in summer 2022.

Repository

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