New England Society in the City of New York records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
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.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Topics
Places
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
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the New England Society in the City of New York, 1942
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Austin Davis, Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) intern, in summer 2022.
Repository
Series I. Governance, 1805-1941, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The series contains 12 volumes and records most directly related to the administration of the Society. This includes the volumes of meeting minutes, supporting document books, as well as scattered copies of meeting minutes, election ballots, and other meeting material. Most of these records have been organized according to their meeting type and date, but unordered groups of administrative documents have been placed under the name of "Secretary's records." These records provide a rich image of the Society's various meetings, as well as the election of the officers and directors, which amounted to the Society's trustees.
Arrangement
The series is organized by document type and chronologically, with volumes being first.
Minutes, vol. 1, 1805-1836, inclusive
Scope and Contents
In addition to the minutes for all meetings in stated time period, this volume also contains the constitution and by-laws of the New England Society.
Minutes, vol. 2, 1837-1856, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 3, 1857-1884, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 4, 1884-1898, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 5, 1898-1906, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 6, 1907-1915, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 7, 1915-1923, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 8, 1924-1933, inclusive
Minutes, vol. 9, 1933-1941, inclusive
Book of officers and committees, 1894-1902, inclusive
Supporting documents book, vol. 1, 1894-1899, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume includes correspondence, committee reports, treasurer reports, and other documents discussed during a meeting of the Society.
Supporting documents book, vol. 2, 1899-1909, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume includes correspondence, committee reports, treasurer reports, and other documents discussed during a meeting of the Society.
Annual Meeting records, 1894, inclusive
Special Meeting records, 1894, inclusive
Annual Meeting election ballots, 1894-1906, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes the ballots cast by members at the Annual Meeting to elect the new year's governing body of the Society; for Annual Meetings and/or Special Meetings that had their own files during this time period. Ballots found with the Special Meeting or Annual Meeting records were kept together.
Monthly Meeting records, 1895 January, inclusive
Annotated by-laws, 1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This document includes handwritten annotations suggesting edits to the by-laws, such as changing the requirements and language around admission into the Society and membership.
Special Meeting records, 1901, inclusive
Special Meeting records, 1904, inclusive
Annual Meeting records, 1905, inclusive
Secretary's records (4 folders), 1906-1908, inclusive
Series II. General Correspondence, 1854-1913, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series contains 9 volumes and loose correspondence, most of which was addressed to and from the Secretary of the New England Society. The letterbooks consist of carbons of all outgoing mail from the Secretary to various figures, chief among them the Society's President, officers, and members. The loose correspondence includes both outgoing and incoming mail. The contents of these letters vary, covering topics such as membership inquiries; financial concerns; internal communication between officers; correspondence with cultural institutions about the history of the Pilgrims and materials from the Society; charity cases and disbursements; and the Annual Dinner, mostly concerning guests, tickets, and seating arrangements.
Arrangement
This series is organized by document type and chronologically, with all volumes coming first.
Letterbook, 1894-1901, inclusive
Letterbook, 1901-1908, inclusive
Letterbook, 1908-1909, inclusive
Letterbook, 1909 December - 1910 September, inclusive
Letterbook, 1910 September - 1911 April, inclusive
Letterbook, 1911 April - November, inclusive
Letterbook, 1911 November - 1912 February, inclusive
Letterbook, 1912 February - October, inclusive
Letterbook, 1912 October - December, inclusive
"Letters from Distinguished Men", 1854-1885, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes letters from notable contemporaries, such as Henry Ward Beecher, William Evarts, and William Aspinwall.
General correspondence, 1894, inclusive
General correspondence, 1895-1905, inclusive
General correspondence, 1897-1901, inclusive
General correspondence, 1898-1902, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence with Edward Towne about the history of the Pilgrims and the purpose of history within the Society.
General correspondence, 1902, inclusive
General correspondence, 1903, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a directory of charities from the United Charities organization.
General correspondence, 1904, inclusive
General correspondence, 1905-1906, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes an invitation from the New-York Historical Society inviting members of the New England Society to see an exhibit of a series of miniatures, which had been donated to the N-YHS from the NES, as well as two affividavits and correspondence regarding McLaurin J. Pickering and the 1906 Annual Election of the NES.
General correspondence, 1907-1908, inclusive
General correspondence, 1909 January - February, inclusive
General correspondence, 1909 March, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence about the production of centennial medals for the Society, as well as a proposal addressed to then-President Seth Low for the creation of a Society clubhouse.
General correspondence, 1909 April - May, inclusive
General correspondence, 1909 June - September, inclusive
General correspondence, 1909 October - November, inclusive
General correspondence, 1909 December, inclusive
General correspondence, 1910 January, inclusive
General correspondence, 1910 February, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a letter from H.A. Cushing to Seth Low about low attendance of board members.
General correspondence, 1910 March - April, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence about a "free bed" endowed at the Presbyterian Hospital for $5,000 in 1893.
General correspondence, 1910 May - June, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes an invitation for the Society to participate in the New York Fourth of July parade.
General correspondence, 1910 July - September, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correpondence about the selection of a speaker for the annual dinner later in the year, including names like Woodrow Wilson, then President of Princeton, as well as George B. McLean, former Governor of Connecticut. Other topics of note include correspondence regarding the Pilgrim Memorial Monument in Provincetown, MA.
General correspondence, 1910 October, inclusive
General correspondence, 1910 October - November, inclusive
General correspondence, 1910 November, inclusive
General correspondence (2 folders), 1910 December, inclusive
General correspondence, 1911 January - February, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence about new events for the Society, such as a garden party, in addition to the annual dinners, as well as correspondence with the North Carolina Society about the Weeks law then facing a vote in the Senate.
General correspondence, 1911 March, inclusive
General correspondence, 1911 April - June, inclusive
General correspondence, 1911 July - December, inclusive
General correspondence, 1911-1912, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence and promotional material for a lecture before the Society by George H. Tripp
General correspondence, 1912 January - June, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes letter to members of the Society exhorting them to recruit younger, eligible members, with an application attached to the letter.
General correspondence, 1912 July - December, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence about the funeral of journalist, writer, and NES member Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912), as the President of the Society appointed multiple members to be representatives at his funeral.
General correspondence, 1912-1913, inclusive
Series III. Membership Records, 1850-1925, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The series consist of 5 volumes and loose material relating to the Society's membership, including member rolls, applications, and assorted correspondence. The applications allow a researcher to understand the requirements to gain admission to the Society, as well as trace their evolution over a period of 30 years. The assorted correspondence mostly covers inquiries from members about dues, the recommendation of potential members to the Society, resignations, and notifications of deaths.
Arrangement
The series is organized by document type and chronologically, with all volumes coming first.
Members book, 1850s, inclusive
Member rolls, 1895, inclusive
Member rolls, 1905-1914, inclusive
Member rolls, 1915-1925, inclusive
Scrapbook of newspaper clippings, 1894-1905, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Clippings cover the mentions of New England Society members in the news, mostly their obituaries in papers like the New York Times and New York Herald Tribune.
Applications (17 folders), 1894-1912, inclusive
Applications (7 folders), 1913-1921, inclusive
Applications (4 folders), 1922-1925, inclusive
R.W. Meade ancestry letter, 1894, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Letter to trace the lineage of R.W. Meade for the purposes of membership in the New England Society.
Reported deaths of members, 1896-1903, inclusive
Resignations, 1899-1908, inclusive
Membership correspondence, 1909-1910, inclusive
Membership correspondence, 1911, inclusive
Membership documents and lists, 1911-1912, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes copies of applications, notices to members about life membership, and list of alphabetized names, likely candidates nominated elected to the Society's membership between 1909-1912.
Membership correspondence, 1912, inclusive
Membership correspondence, 1913, inclusive
Series IV. Charity Records, 1829-1925, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The subseries contains 1 volume and mostly loose documents relating directly to charity, including correspondence, committee reports, case descriptions, and applications for annuities, which the Society would give to those who demonstrated need for assistance.
Arrangement
This series is organized chronologically.
Charity Committee report, 1829, inclusive
Charity applications, 1888-1893, inclusive
Charity correspondence, 1894-1896, inclusive
Charity correspondence, 1897, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes the initial endowment of the free bed in Presbyterian Hospital for $5,000.
Charity correspondence, 1908-1909, inclusive
Charity correspondence, 1910-1911, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes two charity committee reports, from March and December 1910.
Francis D. Stead and F.B. Miller charity cases, 1911-1912, inclusive
Charity correspondence, 1912, inclusive
Mrs. W.P. Robeson, J.F. Hackett, and Charles Small charity cases, 1912-1913, inclusive
Charity Committee reports, 1913, inclusive
Mary Everdell and Mrs. Willard Frazier charity cases, 1913-1914, inclusive
Harriet Brooks and Mrs. T.H. Wood charity cases, 1913-1914, inclusive
Charity Committee reports, 1913, 1919, 1925, inclusive
Series V. Financial Records, 1824-1937, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The series contains 19 volumes and loose documents relating to the financial administration of the New England Society. Documents included in this series include cash books; account books; vouchers and voucher books, which tracked the expenses of the Society; dues collection books; bank statements and cancelled checks; investments and letters of advice; Finance Committee and Treasurer's reports; and the treasurer's personal papers and correspondence, called "Memos" for the purpose of this series.
Arrangement
This series is organized alphabetically by document type and chronologically.
Account book, 1833-1834, inclusive
Account book, 1845, inclusive
Account book, 1888-1889, inclusive
Account books, 1904-1906, inclusive
Account book, 1914-1917, inclusive
Account book, 1929, inclusive
Account book, 1929, inclusive
Balance sheets and checks, 1900-1904, inclusive
Balance sheets and checks, 1906-1907, inclusive
Balance sheets, 1909-1911, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes associated correspondence.
Bank statements and checks, 1924-1926, inclusive
Bank statements, 1929-1930, inclusive
Bank statements, 1930, inclusive
Bank statements and checks, 1936-1938, inclusive
Bank statements and checks (5 folders), 1927-1935, inclusive
Cash book, 1884-1893, inclusive
Cash book, 1899-1905, inclusive
Cash book, 1903-1922, inclusive
Checkbook, 1924-1928, inclusive
Checkbook, 1928-1929, inclusive
Checks (2 folders), 1919-1924, inclusive
Dinner payment book, 1890-1898, inclusive
Dinner payment book, 1893, inclusive
Dinner payment book, 1895, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1824-1830, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1825-1837, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1829-1847, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1836-1847, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1850-1860, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1850-1860, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1850-1860, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1860-1870, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1870-1880, inclusive
Due collections book, 1880-1890, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1890-1900, inclusive
Dues collection book, 1893-1894, inclusive
Dues correspondence (2 folders), 1925-1926, inclusive
Dues correspondence (7 folders), 1929-1937, inclusive
Finance Committee reports, 1909-1921, inclusive
Finance Committee reports, 1926-1928, inclusive
Investment Record, 1917-1920, inclusive
Plymouth Church Fund records (3 folders), 1895, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Church fund was a fundraising campaign launched by the New England Society to help maintain the First Parish Church of Plymouth and preserve its documents. The First Parish Church of Plymouth was founded by Puritans of the English town of Scrooby in 1606 and the congregation emigrated to the Americas in 1620. Includes a subscription book for donors.
Treasurer's memos, 1834-1835, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1895-1900, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1907-1909, inclusive
Treasurer's memos (2 folders), 1909-1910, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1917-1919, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1917-1920, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1921-1924, inclusive
Treasurer's memos (4 folders), 1924-1929, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1935-1936, inclusive
Treasurer's memos, 1938, inclusive
Treasurer's reports, 1913-1917, inclusive
Treasurer's reports, 1918-1922, inclusive
Vouchers (3 folders), 1836-1870, inclusive
Vouchers of J.P. Morgan (3 folders), 1877-1884, inclusive
Scope and Contents
These are vouchers from J.P. Morgan's time as Treasurer of the New England Society. Additionally includes a small notebook that kept track of all vouchers.
Vouchers (6 folders), 1885-1899, inclusive
Voucher Book (Blank), 1890s, inclusive
List of Vouchers, 1894 December-1918 August, inclusive
List of Vouchers, 1918 September-1928 October, inclusive
List of Vouchers, 1928 November-1934 December, inclusive
Vouchers (17 folders), 1897-1915, inclusive
Vouchers (14 folders), 1916-1930, inclusive
Vouchers (15 folders), 1931-1937, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes several vouchers for the purposes of an charitable annuity for Mrs. Gilbert Peckham, a teacher who had injured her ankle and was thus prevented from working. Mrs. Peckham left extensive notes on most of these vouchers, explaining her situation and gratitude to the New England Society.
Series VI. Event Records, 1870-1922, inclusive
Arrangement
This series is organized into two subseries to reflect the different types of events which the New England Society held. The first subseries specifically covers material related to the Annual Dinner/Festival, while the other subseries covers materials from assorted dinners, dedications, and events.
Subseries VI.A. Annual Dinner and Festival, 1870-1913, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The subseries contains 21 volumes and loose material relating to material related to the Annual Dinner/Festival, including correspondence, guestbooks, invitation printing plates, the stenographer reports, and some of the copies of addresses given during the dinner, and applications for guests. Of particular note is the guests of these dinners, as the Society traditionally invited notable federal and state politicians, businessmen, industrialists, and other figures to their dinners.
Arrangement
This subseries is organized chronologically.
Printing plates, 1870-1910, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Approximately 10 printing plates used for the printing of invitations and menus for the Annual Dinner of the New England Society.
Guest book, 1889, inclusive
RSVP scrapbook, 1889, inclusive
Guest book, 1890s, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1892, inclusive
Guest book, 1892, inclusive
Guest book, 1893, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (2 folders), 1894, inclusive
Guest book, 1894, inclusive
Guest book, 1895, inclusive
Guest book, 1896, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1897
Dinner correspondence "official guests", 1897, inclusive
Guest book, 1897, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1898, inclusive
Seating arrangement, 1898, inclusive
Guest book, 1898, inclusive
Dinner dues collection book, 1898-1908, inclusive
Dinner stenographer reports, 1898, 1902-1903, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1899, inclusive
Guest book, 1899, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (2 folders), 1900, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes letters with Woodrow Wilson, then President of Princeton, thanking the Society for inviting him.
Guest book, 1900, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (3 folders), 1901, inclusive
Guest book, 1901, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1902, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1903, inclusive
Guest book, 1903, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1904, inclusive
Guest book, 1904, inclusive
Dinner Committee Documents, 1904-1905, inclusive
Dinner stenographer reports, 1904-1906, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (2 folders), 1905, inclusive
Guest book, 1905, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (2 folders), 1906, inclusive
Guest book, 1906, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1907, inclusive
Guest book, 1907, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1908, inclusive
Dinner addresses and speeches, 1908, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes remarks from Leonard Wood and Seth Low, the latter honoring Theodore Roosevelt, who was present at the 1908 dinner.
Guest book, 1908, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1909, inclusive
Dinner stenographer reports, 1907-1909, inclusive
Dinner addresses and speeches, 1910, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes the annual sermon, "The Puritan's Contribution Today," by Rev. Hugh Birckhead, "The Forefathers and the American Idea" by Darwin Kingsley, and additional addresses from James Thompson McCleary and President Thomas.
Dinner applications, 1910, inclusive
Dinner promotional material, 1910, inclusive
Dinner stenographer reports, 1910-1911, inclusive
Dinner correspondence "official guests", 1910-1911, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Primarily includes correspondence with the official guests of the Annual Dinner, including correspondence with the US President, various governors, bankers, lawyers, among others.
Dinner correspondence, 1911, inclusive
Dinner correspondence, 1912, inclusive
Dinner correspondence "official guests", 1912, inclusive
Dinner applications, 1913, inclusive
Dinner correspondence (3 folders), 1913, inclusive
Dinner programs, 1913, inclusive
Subseries VI.B. Other Events, 1875-1922, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The subseries contains loose material related to all events hosted and sponsored by the New England Society other than their Annual Dinner/Festival, including sermons, lectures, book printings, and dedications. Of particular interest would be the Society's involvement in the creation of the Pilgrim Hall Portico, which was designed by the famous architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White.
Arrangement
This subseries is organized chronologically.
Anniversary booklet, 1878, inclusive
Fines Dinner records (5 folders), 1895-1899, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Records of the annual "Fines" dinner held at the Union League, unrelated to the much larger and extravagant Annual Dinner.
Yearbook galley prints, 1898, 1904, inclusive
Member's Entertainment documents, 1901, inclusive
Member's Entertainment galley prints, 1901, inclusive
Yearbook, 1908, inclusive
Pilgrim Monument Memorial Dedication, 1910, inclusive
Yearbook galley prints, 1910-1911, 1913, inclusive
Yearbook, 1911, inclusive
Annual Sermons, 1910-1911, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Sermons to members of the New England Society, from Hugh Birckhead (1910) and William Grosvenor (1911).
Annual Sermons, 1911-1912, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes the annual sermons from William Pierce Merill (1911) and John Jowett (1912).
Commodore J.W. Miller Lecture, 1911, inclusive
Scope and Contents
"New England's Interest in the Cape Cod Canal"
Facsimile correspondence (2 folders), 1912-1913, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence primarily about the printing and distribution of two facsimile tracts, "The Puritans' Farewell to England Being 'the Humble Request'" (1630) and "The Abstract of the Laws of New England" (1641)
Bay Psalm Book correspondence, 1913, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence contains discussion about the printing and dissemination of a New England Society copy of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in North America which contained translations of the Bible's psalms in vernacular poetry.
Yearbook, 1913, inclusive
Yearbook correspondence, 1913-1914, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence with members and libraries about the purchase, shipping and donation of copies of the 1913 yearbook.
Charles K. Bolton Lecture correspondence, 1913, inclusive
Pilgrim Hall Portico Dedication documents (5 folders), 1920-1922, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes a specs report from McKim, Mead, and White, the famous architecture firm which the New England Society patronized for the design and construction of the Pilgrim Museum portico.