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The Scottish American History Club Newsletter
April 1999
The Saint Andrew’s Society of Albany
New York
The Society was founded in 1803 at the Tontine Coffee
House in Albany and, like so many others, was founded
for benevolent and social purposes. The Society has
continued steadfastly “To Relieve the Distressed” for
the past 196 years. The first president was John
Stevenson, a close friend and business associate of
Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence.
The “Historical Sketch of the St. Andrew’s Society”
published in 1903 records some of its activities. For
example, July 26, 1804, a resolution was adopted
expressing grief at the death of Alexander Hamilton,
“one of the first members of a kindred society in the
City of New York.” On July 7, 1810, a special relief was
granted to Mrs. Young, a native of Scotland, who was 76
years of age. On May 13, 1847, a grant of $200 was given
for the relief of suffering of the poor in the Highlands
and islands of Scotland. In the period 1900-1920, the
Society regularly issued orders to local rooming houses
and restaurants to provide “bed and board” for Scottish
laborers passing through the city.
A letter dated November 30, 1862 from Captain James Dodds
expressed thanks for support of his Civil War
recruitment drive and closed with the following: “May
each and all of you ever have enough and to spare, and
never be without a shot in the locker.” They are not
quite sure what the “shot” refers to!
Since 1899, the Society has maintained their own
building in Albany. The original St. Andrew’s Hall was
sold in 1928 and was replaced by a four-story brownstone
house. It was refurbished by David C. Lithgow, 47th
President of the Society, and a noted artist and
sculptor. The “rooms” as they are known to members are a
source of great pride and all the meetings and social
functions of the society are held in the “rooms.”
Today, the Society helps to maintain two statues in
Albany parks, dedicated to Robert Burns and Joseph
Henry. In addition, they have three burial plots in the
Albany Rural Cemetery. One of the plots has a memorial
with a life-sized statue of St. Andrew by David Lithgow.
The monument is inscribed, “Sacred to the memory of
natives of Scotland who, having sought a home in this
land, died while yet strangers in it.” Nearby are seven
headstones marking the graves of Scots interred by the
Society in the middle of this century.1
Scots of Note
Rev.
George Keith, a native of Aberdeen, became
Surveyor-General of New Jersey in 1684. He founded the
town of Freehold. In 1693, he issued the first printed
protest against human slavery.2
James Alexander, a Scot was disbarred for attempting the
defense of John Peter Zenger, the printer, in 1735.
Along with Benjamin Franklin,
he was one of the founders of the American Philosophical
Society.2
Andrew
Hamilton was the most eminent lawyer of his
time. He was Attorney-General of Pennsylvania and Chief
Commissioner for building Independence Hall in
Philadelphia. He successfully defended Peter Zenger and
was the champion of America’s freedom of the press.2
Major Stobo, a native of Glasgow, served in the Canadian
campaign against the French. It was he who guided the
Fraser Highlanders up the Heights of Abraham.2
Thomas Leiper, born in Strathaven, Lanarkshire,
emigrated to Maryland in 1763. He was one of the first
to favor separation from the mother country, and raised
a fund for open resistance to the Crown.2
Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the Republic,
served with distinction in the Revolutionary War, but it
was as a Statesman of the highest ability that he
acquired great fame. He was one of the most prominent
Members of the Continental Congress (1782-83), of the
Constitutional Convention in 1787 and Secretary of the
Treasury (1789-95). He was born in the West Indies, the
son of a Scots father and French mother.2
John Macintosh, the developer of the Mackintosh red
apple was born in New York State. His father emigrated
to the U. S. from Inverness. Apple Computers has named a
range of computers after him.3
FDR’s Secretary of Agriculture,
Henry Wallace, was a
grandson of a Scottish Presbyterian minister. His
invention of a hybrid corn, increased agricultural
production many times over.3
The creator of the gardens of Golden Gate Park in San
Francisco -
John McLaren - was born in Bannockburn,
Stirlingshire.3
General Winfield Scott was the grandson of a Scot who
fought in the Battle of Culloden. He became the
commanding general of the American forces during the
Mexican War of 1846-48.3
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, who was descended from
a long line of Scots, founded the Sisters of Charity in
1809 in Baltimore. She was canonized by Rome in 1975.3
Robert Walter Weir (1803-89), of Scots parentage, is
best known for his historical pictures, he being one of
the first in America to take up this branch of art. “The
Embarkation of the Pilgrims” (1836-40) in the Rotunda of
the Capital at Washington is by him.2
Russell Smith, born in Glasgow in 1812, was a scientific
draughtsman and landscape painter. Two of his finest
landscapes, “Chocorus Peak” and “Cave at Chelton Hills”
were exhibited in the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876.
His son, Xanthus (b. 1839), was a well-known marine and
landscape painter and painted many of the naval
engagements of the Civil War.2
Joseph Henry
Someone You Should Know
Joseph Henry’s discoveries in the field of electrical
generation, transmission, and utilization were the basis
for much of today’s advances in electricity, radio and
other communications. Henry was a ponder in the science
of meteorology. He also did extensive experimentation in
the field of electromagnetics.
He was born December 17, 1797, in Albany, New York, of
Scottish ancestry. At 13 he was apprenticed to a
watchmaker. His interests lay elsewhere, however. A book
on natural science stimulated his interest and he
entered Albany Academy at 16. After finishing his course
of study at Albany, he taught rural school. At the same
time he continued his studies in chemistry and medicine.
He switched to engineering but took a job teaching
mathematics and philosophy at Albany Academy. Working
with electromagnetics, he was the first to insulate wire
for the magnetic coil and invented spool winding. He
produced a working model of a telegraph and in 1829
constructed a pioneer electromagnetic motor. He was the
first to use self-induction and the first to relate the
principal of grounding through the earth as a return
conductor.
Transferring to Princeton, he taught physics and
mathematics as well as chemistry, mineralogy, astronomy,
geology, and architecture. He was an early sunspot
observer. In 1846, he became the first secretary of the
Smithsonian Institute where he started the corps of
weather observers that developed into the U. S. Weather
Bureau.
He mobilized scientific effort for the benefit of the
North in the Civil War and was the prime mover in the
organization of the National Academy of Sciences. He
died in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 1878. His funeral
was one of the most impressive ever seen in the nation’s
capital. Among those attending were President Rutherford
B. Hayes and his cabinet, Justices of the U. S. Supreme
Court, congressmen, members of the diplomatic corps, and
representatives of the nation’s leading scientific
societies.
Memorial services for Henry were held in both the U. S.
House and Senate and Congress voted $15,000 for his
likeness to be cast in bronze and dedicated to the
increase and diffusion of knowledge. The statue of Henry
has stood in front of the Smithsonian Building since
1883. Joseph Henry was a close friend of Presidents
Lincoln, Buchanan, Johnson, Grant and Hayes.4
Albany, New York
The State of New York began as a Netherlands colony in
1625, unlike the surrounding English colonies. New
Amsterdam was well founded from the beginning and there
was not a period of enduring hardship as suffered by
other colonists. In fact, the Dutch exported grain to
other colonies the next year.
In 1664, James VIII, then Duke of York, conquered New
Holland and renamed it New York. One of the early,
famous families in America was that of the Livingstons'.
The first of the family in America was Robert Livingston
(1654-1672) born at Ancrum, Roxburghshire. He came to
America about 1672. His second son, Philip, was a signer
of the Declaration of Independence. Robert Fulton, the
inventor, married the daughter of the Livingstons and
thus got the necessary financial backing to make the
Claremont a success. The family also founded the
Albany
Institute of History and Art.
Lord Loudin was governor of New York in the 1750’s. He
was also a Scot who offered opportunities for people of
Scottish descent to settle in the New World. The Black
Watch was shipped to Schenectady, New York, in the
French and Indian War and won the honorific “Royal
Highlanders” at Ticonderoga, about 80 miles north of
Albany. After the war the privates were discharged in
America while the officers were shipped back to
Scotland. By 1800, there was a large Scottish community
in Albany.
The St. Andrew’s Society of Albany was founded in 1803.
The Albany Society has had many prominent members.
including Joseph Henry, the first director of the
Smithsonian.1
Grant’s Home in Galena, Illinois
Ulysses Simpson Grant moved to Galena, Illinois in 1860.
He had left the military and in the intervening years
things had not gone well for Grant and his family. He
took a job working for his younger brother as a clerk in
his father’s store. They rented a modest brick house on
the western branch of the Mississippi river. During this
time, Grant traveled throughout the Northwest selling to
customers.
The Civil War came and everything changed for Grant. He
would return to Galena a hero of the republic and
perhaps the most famous man in America, after Lincoln.
Four months after Grant had received a sword of
surrender from Robert E. Lee, he returned to Galena. The
town was wild with celebrations and presented the Grants
with a handsome, furnished home. It was “lovely villa
exquisitely furnished with everything good taste could
desire.” They spent little time in the
home, but it was
always kept ready for their visits.
Much of the furniture is original and the house is open
daily. Admission is free. For more information, call
815-777-0248.5
From the Editor
This issue marks six years of publishing our simple
newsletter. It began as a means of dispensing
information about the Scots of Chicago to our History
Club, but obviously we have expanded the field of
interest. Many of you have been kind enough to write and
express your interest in the various subjects and those
letters are much appreciated. We considered stopping in
January because of the press of other business, but have
decided to continue a little longer. A special thanks to
the members of my family who help and to the Illinois
St. Andrew Society for underwriting the mailings. Many
of our readers have helped with donations and that is
also appreciated.
This issue is dedicated to the St. Andrew’s Society in
Albany, New York. They have a great history and we have
hardly touched on all of their accomplishments. They are
now planning for a great celebration on their
Bicentennial. I understand the Highlander Magazine will
publish their story, with pictures, in a future edition.
For the past year, we have been compiling a list of the
St. Andrew Societies in the United States and you will
soon be able to access this information online.We
now mail this newsletter to all the Societies in the
United States.
If your Society has a written history, please share it
with us.
References
1. Roger L. Creighton, John A. Wilson, and Jay Higle
2. Scotland’s Mark on
America, George Fraser Black, Ph.D., published in
1921.
3.
www.tartans.Scotland.net
4. From the files of James Thompson
5. Bob Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of the Midwest
and Great Plaines
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