History of New England Society in the City of New York
New England Society in the City of New York, one of the oldest societies in the country, was organized on May 6, 1805 to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth Rock. The aims and purpose are described in the constitution adopted on that date.
“We whose names are hereunto subscribed, convinced that it is the duty of all Men to promote the happiness and welfare of each other, witnessing the advantages which have risen from the voluntary Association of Individuals allied to each other by a similarity of habits and education, and being desirous of diffusing and extending the like benefits, do hereby associate ourselves under the name of ‘New England Society in the City & State of New York’. The objects of the Society are, Friendship, Charity, and Mutual Assistance.”
Original founders and members numbering over 1,000, residents of New York, were inspired to band together by a love for their native New England and a desire to maintain its traditions. Present members feel a deep affection for New England growing out of their ancestry, residence, or association with a New England educational institution.
The objectives have remained strong through the years. During the 19th century the charitable focus of the Society centered on payments and annuities to needy widows and children of New England families in New York; necessities of life - such as kindling wood - distributed to the poor from New England; aid to distressed families of imprisoned debtors; grants for special projects created by inventive New England minds. In 1868, a bust of Daniel Webster was presented by a member of the Society and is now on permanent loan to Webster Hall at Dartmouth College. In 1885, the Society commissioned a bronze statue of the Pilgrim by the well-known sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward, to be erected near the East 72nd Street entrance of Central Park. On June 4, 1985 a rededication ceremony celebrating that statue’s centennial was held on the site.
Today, the focus is on education. The Society’s Scholarship Program, established in 1953, awards scholarships to bright and deserving students from the New York City area attending New England educational institutions. In 1979, the Edward M. Fuller Scholarship was established at Bowdoin College in honor of the late Mr. Fuller, Bowdoin ’28, past President of the Society, under whose guidance the Program was initiated. In recent years the Society has aided students at the following:
Amherst College MIT
Bates College Middlebury College
Boston College Providence College
Boston University Smith College
Bowdoin College Trinity College
Brown University Tufts University
Colby College Wellesley College
Connecticut College Wesleyan University
Dartmouth College Wheaton College
Harvard University Williams College
Holy Cross College Yale University
The Student Loan Fund was inaugurated in 1945 and, at present, maintains funds at 27 New England colleges and universities. It was designed as a revolving fund at each institution, with reports of activities sent to the Society at the end of the acedemic year.
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