Glasses clinked and tartans swirled this year on April 5th at Scots Charitable’s Annual Tartan Ball at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover MA!

As the pipers piped, 100+ guests danced and friendships were forged over toasts and fine dining. Needless to say, we were all in good company. The band, Celtic Beats, kept the tunes going all eveing while guests danced, enjoyed dinner, tried their luck in raffles and of course, dabbled in a wee dram!

The Sword Dance was a favorite tradition of many, and the dance floor stayed lively throughout the evening. We were pleased to continue the Tartan Ball tradition in celebrating the contributions and heritage of Scottish people in North America.

All contributions from the event have supported our Scholarship fund. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful sponsors. THANK YOU!

See you next year!

Scots-charitable.org

The next meeting of the Scots’ Charitable Society is scheduled for Thursday, June 27 at the Chateau Restaurant, 195 School Street, Waltham MA. Members will socialize starting at 6 PM, the dinner and speaking event starts at 7 PM.

Our guest speaker is Jonathan Lane, Executive Director of Revolution 250, this organization is focused commemorating the 250th anniversary the events that led to the American Revolution. For more details, visit revolution250.org! We’re excited to have them join our meeting!

Be sure to RSVP to Scott McKenzie, email: scotiamckenzie@gmail.com or call 603.718.5785. If you are unable to attend this meeting, you can join via Zoom using THIS ZOOM LINK!

For those attending, please RSVP with your dinner selection:

Dinner choices: Chicken Parmigiana with Penne pasta, Fish & Chips, with French fries and Cole slaw, Marinated Sirloin Tips with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable

Your voice counts. Whether you will be joining in person or via the web, your participation is important. Prior to the meeting, please be sure to review the Board of Governor’s Quarterly Reports at by logging into to the Members Only Section of the website. Reports are typically posted at leas 48 hours before the meeting. Membership Log In.

Gilbert C. Stuart was born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on 3 December 1755. His father, Gilbert Stuart, was a Scottish immigrant who owned the first snuff mill in America in Narragansett, Rhode Island. His mother was Elizabeth Anthony Stewart who was born into a prominent family in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Stuart’s artistic talent was apparent at an early age. In 1770 he was introduced to and influenced by the Scottish portrait artist Cosmo Alexander. Alexander, who was visiting Rhode Island, recognized the young Stuart’s talent. Stuart accompanied Alexander to Scotland in 1771 in order to study with him. However, Alexander died in 1772 and Stuart returned to Rhode Island in 1773.

By 1775 Stuart had moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was admitted to the Scots’ Charitable Society on 14 February 1775. He did not remain in Boston very long, sailing to England later the same year. He spent the next eighteen years in England and Ireland before returning to New York in 1793, and then living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was during this time that he painted three of his famous portraits of President George Washington. 

In 1805 he returned to Boston/Roxbury and lived on Devonshire Street until his death on 9 July 1828. He had suffered a stroke in 1824 and his health had been declining until his death. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the Old South Burial Ground.

References:

Anthony, Charles L. Genealogy of the Anthony family from 1495 to 1904 traced from William Anthony, Cologne, Germany, to London, England, John Anthony, a descendant, from England to America. Charles L. Anthony, Springfield, IL, 1904. Available online at:  https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofantho00anth/genealogyofantho00anth_djvu.txt

Gilbert-Stuart.org/biography.html

See also: Gilbert Stuart, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Stuart, for additional references.

The society has owned a ram’s horn snuff holder since 1874 that was returned to us several years ago following the death of Life member James Inglis. 

Known as a Scotch mull or sneeshing mull, the horns were often highly decorated. The term “mull” derives from the Scottish pronunciation of “mill,” a device used to ‘pulverize’ or grind tobacco fine enough to be inhaled through the nose. Sneeshing loosely means sneezing, the sometimes explosive result of inhaling the snuff.

Mulls were often made of a natural ram’s horn, sometimes artificially curved at the narrow end, with a decorated, engraved, hinged box or cup at the wide end. The lid was often silver, decorated with a gemstone or similar item. Mulls, especially the more expensive mulls, would include an attached spoon and brush or rabbit’s foot. The spoon was used to apply the snuff to the nose and the rabbit’s foot or brush for “wiping the upper lip.” Mulls were available in various sizes. A smaller mull was for more personal use while a larger, or communal, mull was intended for larger gatherings.

Our mull fits the classic description: a curved ram’s horn with a silver cap on the narrow end, silver legs to support it, a silver cup at the wide end with a hinged, engraved lid decorated with a thistle, and a spoon and brush attached by a fine metal chain (the spoon is missing). The cup still contains a bit of cinnamon colored, now-odorless, snuff residue. The lid is engraved “Presented to the Scots’ Charitable Society, Boston, James M. Smith, 1874.”

James Milne Smith was admitted to the society in 1865 and was President of the society in 1872. His son, James Milne, Jr., was admitted in 1881.

A good source of information on snuff and the various snuff boxes and mulls that were once very popular is Mattoon M. Curtis’ enjoyable 1935 book, Book of Snuff and Snuff Boxes. This is available as a hard cover book or a downloadable digital copy.