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!
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.
Andrew Carnegie was the second child to Margaret and William Carnegie, being born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. Not long after his birth, in the mid-1840’s, the potato famine struck Scotland causing many families to fall on hard times. This forced the Carnegie family to leave for America in 1848, settling in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Soon after arriving, Andrew Carnegie would get his first job at age 13 as a bobbin boy at the Scottish-owned, Anchor Cotton Mill earning only $1.50 per week. He went on to work various jobs, such as with the Pennsylvania Railroad and a telegraph company, until eventually organizing the Carnegie Steel Company in 1865. His company would become extremely successful, launching the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and eventually it would get sold to JP Morgan in 1901 for $480 million.
Andrew Carnegie was a big believer in helping the needy, and had given over $350 million to charities in his lifetime.
He attended his first Scots’ Charitable annual meeting at Hotel Somerset in late 1905 where he was a chief guest and became an honorary lifetime member. After the meeting had concluded, he would give an extremely generous donation of $30,000 to Scots’ Charitable, to be used for the relief of Scottish born people in the vicinity. The money would go toward lodging, rent, food, fuel, and sometimes fares to distant points. Carnegie was a huge help to many less fortunate people in his lifetime, believing that the rich had a moral obligation to give back. For his generosity to our organizaition, he was awarded a lifetime honorary membership, we thank him for his generosity!
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
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.
Gregory and Alex Patnod or collectively “The Patnod Twins” became involved in 2015 through their Grandfather Ken MacDonald, who has a proud Scottish heritage, tracing his ancestors back to 17th century Scotland. From a young age Greg and Alex participated in cultural events. They were extremely grateful when they earned scholarships from the Society while pursuing their undergraduate business degrees and felt a strong desire to be more involved. As of 2023, Alex is the Director of Marketing and Communications and board members for Scots’ Charitable.
The Patnod Twins help lead new initiatives for the Society to aid its adaptation in a fast-changing world. They enjoy attending the quarterly business meetings and connecting with the leaders of the Organization with whom they grown close with. Over the last several years, they have provided hands-on volunteering for various SCS events including: the annual Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan, St. Andrew’s Gala and have spoken to undergraduates and their families at several scholarship ceremonies as they are strong advocates for engaging their generation to get involved with the Society and carry on its legacy.
On a personal level, the Twins spend much of their free time being active: hiking, skiing, traveling and boating on the Atlantic (depending on the season!). They also cherish spending time with their family and close friends.
This year, 2019, Scots’ Charitable Society took on their first summer intern, Olivia Conroy-Smith, to work full-time over an eight-week period. Olivia is originally from the outskirts of London with family in both Scotland and Ireland however, for the last four years Olivia has lived in Edinburgh, Scotland whilst studying Geography and Social and Economic History at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently 21 years of age and will be going into her fourth and final year of university in September, 2019. This summer she is a Saltire Scholar Intern, which is a Scottish program run by Entrepreneurial Scotland. Below Olivia shares her experience with being SCS’ Summer Intern:
“Hello! I’m Olivia Conroy-Smith, but most people know me as Liv, and I am writing this blog whilst I bask in the sun alongside the Charles River in Boston. I have just finished my fourth week as a working Massachusettsan and rewarded myself with a relax by the esplanade as I walk home from work. If you told me six months ago that I would be living and working in the East Coast of America for two months over the summer I would have laughed it off whilst dreaming of the possibility …. Alas, here I am in the heart of Boston, on the East Coast of America, lucky enough to be one of the fortunate Saltire Scholars of 2019.
Entrepreneurial Scotland is a Scottish program which combines a group of young talent with worldwide opportunities with the hope of inspiring and developing the next generation of working Scots to create the most entrepreneurial society in the world. After a lengthy application and interview process I was very lucky to be offered a summer placement with Scots’ Charitable Society. I arrived here in late June and will be leaving in the middle of August so a relatively short but very sweet trip in Boston.
Olivia enjoying some sun along the Charles River Esplanade on her first 4th July in America
My role this summer is to help expand the organisation’s economic revenues, design fundraising programs as well as further develop the online platforms of the charity. Within my first few weeks I learnt more about the Society and their work, attended the annual Scholarship Award Evening, guest-spoke at their quarterly board meeting as well met with different team members to consolidate ideas about the future of the charity – I think its fair to say it has been a very busy and exciting few weeks!
I am currently focusing on widening the Society’s outreach to people in the Greater Boston area with a hope of continuing and building upon the work that SCS do. It is my hope that SCS can become even more engaging and interactive with the Scottish-American community via more events, greater online presence and expansive collaborations. This past weekend I attended the Glasgow Land Highland Games in Northampton where I focused on getting to know other societies and clans that SCS may become connected to within the future.
The University of Edinburgh where Olivia studies in Scotland
I feel privileged to be contributing to the longest-standing charitable organisation in the Western Hemisphere and to make things even more exciting I am the first woman to work for Scots’ Charitable Society too – I feel like I am making history by being here and that is all thanks to SCS! My hope is that I can make a significant impact on the society whilst in Boston as well as learning from the wonderfully intelligent people around me.
From day 1 I have felt truly grateful and unbelievably excited for this opportunity and the experience has already surpassed all my expectations for the summer- I can only imagine what the next few weeks will have in store!
I will make sure to keep you all updated but for now it is see you later!
Scots' Charitable Society 