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HISTORY OF THE
NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA
1819-1919
LANDING of the PILGRIMS at PLYMOUTH Dec.2 1620
WILLIAM WAY
21510809.70
Darbard College Library
H AR
UM ACADEMIA
AR
ET
CHRISTO
JAE
ECCLESIA
G. SIGIL
FROM THE BRIGHT LEGACY.
One half the income from this Legacy, which was received in 1880 under the will of
JONATHAN BROWN BRIGHT
of Waltham, Massachusetts, is to be expended for books for the College Library. The other half of the income is devoted to scholarships in Harvard Uni- versity for the benefit of descendants of
HENRY BRIGHT, JR.,
who died at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1686. In the absence of such descendants, other persons are eligible to the scholarships. The will requires that this announcement shall be made in every book added to the Library under its provisions.
. .
.
HISTORY OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
1
HISTORY
OF THE
NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS 1819-1919
COMPILED FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES BY WILLIAM WAY Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Charleston and Ninth President of the New England Society
CHARLESTON PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY 1920
US 10807.70
RVARD COLLEG JUL 2 1920 LIBRARY
Bright fund
COPYRIGHT 1920 BY THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA
Published April 1920
Composed and Printed By The University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
The New England Society having decided with its usual good judgment that its hundredth anniversary should be marked by the publication of a history of the Society and its century of use- fulness, its president, the Reverend William Way, to whom the preparation of the history was intrusted, has requested me, as president of the South Carolina Historical Society, to write a few words by way of introduction.
The president has wisely chosen to allow, wherever possible, the members and guests of the Society and their contemporaries to describe in their own words the work done by the Society during its life. The book will therefore be found a perfect treasure-house of the thoughts, cus- toms, manners, and speech, during that period, of the city of Charleston, and of a much wider circle outside its limits. For the Society has been much more than a local benevolent and social associa- tion, great as its work has been in the field of good- fellowship and charitable work. It is next to the oldest New England society in existence, and is
vi
INTRODUCTION
known and respected throughout the United States and wherever there are descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers. Indeed, many of the speakers at the anniversary celebration seem to find it an interesting and attractive fact that a flourishing society of New England men should exist in a state like South Carolina and in a city like Charleston. Yet those who know our city well know that we have always admired those who boldly think for themselves, even when differing in opinion from most of the community. Securely intrenched in our own views, we have rather liked and encouraged frank criticism by distinguished men from elsewhere. As was said to a visitor invited to speak at one of the annual banquets, and who seemed doubtful whether his somewhat heretical political views would be acceptable, "Whatever you say will be acceptable, provided you say it well."
It was the New England Society which first introduced in Charleston the practice of inviting men like Daniel Webster, William Everett, Josiah Quincy, George F. Hoar, and Charles Francis Adams to join with our own citizens, such as Chief Justice Benjamin Faneuil Dunkin, William Crafts, James L. Petigru, Professor John Edwards
vii
INTRODUCTION
Holbrook, and the Reverend Dr. Samuel Gilman, in celebrating the anniversaries of the Society. It was a good custom, and has been followed by other societies. Let us hope that it will always be continued. The sketches of the lives of the presi- dents and other distinguished members of the Society, terse and well written, will serve to recall the names of men thoroughly identified with the life of Charleston, and generally eminently suc- cessful in business and professional life, and of others well known in science and literature. Of the eight presidents of the Society in one hundred years, all died in office, and their average age at death was seventy-eight years. The combina- tion of conservatism and vigor is typical of the Society itself.
JOSEPH W. BARNWELL
CONTENTS
PAGE
ORIGIN AND ORGANIZATION
- I
PURPOSE
-
-
-
- 8
THE PRESIDENTS
-
-
-
-
- 25
DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS -
-
-
75
THE VISIT OF DANIEL WEBSTER
-
-
I88
THE CIVIL WAR
2II
FAMOUS DINNERS
-
-
- 268
THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
-
276
INDEX
-
- 301
ix
ORIGIN AND ORGANIZATION
The official date of the organization of the New England Society of Charleston, South Carolina, is the sixth of January, eighteen hundred and nine- teen. This fact is verified by the following adver- tisement which appeared simultaneously in two leading newspapers published in Charleston on January 6, 1819, the Courier and the Patriot and Commercial Advertiser:
NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY .- A meeting of these gentle- men who have subscribed for the purpose of forming a charitable and benevolent society under the above name is requested this evening at half past six o'clock at the Carolina Coffee House for the purpose of organizing the same.
The Society has actually been in session for one hundred years. It has taken a recess at the close of each meeting, but has never adjourned in its entire history. In this respect the New Eng- land Society of Charleston is unique among all other American organizations of a similar char- acter.
The Society was organized at the Carolina Coffee House, located on the corner of Tradd
I
2
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
Street and Bedon's Alley, which was one of the most prominent sections of the city. This coffee house was the social rendezvous of Charleston at the time. The great social functions and entertainments were held here. When President Monroe visited Charleston, just a few months after the organization of the New England Society, he was entertamed by the Society of the Cincin- nati at this famous resort. The concerts and balls given by the St. Cecilia Society were for many years held at the Carolina Coffee House.
Whereas the official date of the organization of the New England Society of Charleston was January 6, 1819, this, however, was not the date of the origin of the Society. For a number of years previous to eighteen hundred and nineteen the Society had been in existence. The New Englanders who had settled in Charleston met regularly on Forefathers' Day for the purpose of recalling the virile virtues of their ancestors, for good-fellowship, and to render aid to their less fortunate brothers. Such gatherings were held at the homes of prominent New Englanders or at the Carolina Coffee House. The citation which follows from The City Gazette and Commercial Daily Advertiser of January 8, 1819, is conclusive
3
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
evidence that the New England Society of Charleston existed prior to January 6, 1819.
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY .- At a meeting of a number of citizens who had previously associated them- selves for the purpose of forming a charitable and benevo- lent society with this title, held at the Carolina Coffee House on Wednesday evening last, January 6, 1819, the following-named gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing year:
NATHANIEL RUSSELL, President JOSEPH WINTHROP, Vice-President F. SHAW CROCKER, Secty. and Treas.
The following excerpt from an address deliv- ered by the Rev. Dr. C. S. Vedder, for a gener- ation president of the New England Society, indicates the character of the early celebrations:
A handful of New Englanders, who had been snowed out from under the lee side of Plymouth Rock, or who for other causes had decided to seek a warmer and more con- genial climate under the balmy skies of Carolina's fair coast, and to cast their fortunes with the Sunny South, got together and organized the New England Society. Among them were the founders of some of the sturdiest and most devoted Carolina families. The New Eng- landers who came to Charleston in those days were gener- ally of the sturdy sort, men who transplanted themselves : to the fertile soil of the Palmetto State with the intention of growing up with her destiny, and they did it, as the
4
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
roll of the Society will show. The New Englanders fell into the very natural and patriotic habit of gathering around a cheerful fireplace in one of the old-time inns, or at the residence of one of the members on "Forefathers' Day," and recalling anew, in pledges of steaming punch, the glorious memories of the Mayflower and her hardy and God-fearing passengers, who on that dark and freez- ing day in December first landed on Plymouth Rock after their long journey to the promised land of religious freedom.
There is another line of evidence which strongly indicates the existence of the Society prior to the date of official organization, namely, the fact that the Society had forty-seven members on its mem- bership roll at its meeting, January 6, 1819, and that it added twelve more members to the list within a few months. This is strong evidence, especially when it is taken into consideration that there was a comparatively small number of New Englanders in Charleston at the time. However, according to certified dates, "The New England Society in the City of New York instituted A.D. 1805," is the oldest New England Society in the United States. This places the New England Society of Charleston second in point of antiquity.
The roster of the original members and the Act of Incorporation follow:
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 5
ORIGINAL MEMBERS
NATHANIEL RUSSELL
GEORGE W. PRESCOTT
JOSEPH WINTHROP
SAMUEL N. BISHOP
DODDRIDGE CROCKER
DAVID W. LELAND
GEORGE GIBBES
ISAAC THAYER
TIMOTHY EDWARDS
JOHN H. BENSON
A. S. WILLINGTON
SAMUEL CHADWICK
MATTHEW BRIDGE
ROBERT MAXWELL
GEORGE GIBBON
JAMES L. CHILD JERRY WALTER
JOSEPH TYLER
PHILIP. ROBINSON
GEORGE DODD
JOSEPH MANNING
THOMAS G. WOODWARD
ARTHUR SAVAGE
SILAS HOWE
JOHN GOODWIN NATHAN FOSTER
ZADOCK GILMAN
ROSWELL SPRAGUE
JOSIAH S. LOVELL
JOHN EGGLESTON
WILLIAM CRAFTS
JOHN REED
GEORGE W. EGGLESTON
DANIEL PARISH
BAXTER O. MINOTT
JONATHAN COIT
HORACE BERNARD DANIEL PERKINS
JOHN READ HENRY WHEELER
BENJAMIN F. DUNKIN
FRANCIS SHAW CROCKER SAMUEL H. SKINNER
E. CHENEY, JR. HENRY J. JONES WISWALL JONES JOSEPH CLARKE
-
6
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
ACT OF INCORPORATION
PASSED AT A MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, HELD IN DECEMBER, 1820
WHEREAS, JOSEPH WINTHROP, JOSEPH MANNING, HENRY J. JONES, DODDRIDGE CROCKER, A. S. WILL- INGTON, GEORGE GIBBES, and WILLIAM CRAFTS, by their petition, in behalf of themselves and a number of others, prayed that they may be incorporated by the name and style of the NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY.
Be it Therefore Enacted by the Authority Aforesaid, That all those persons who now are, or hereafter may become, members of the said Society, shall be, and they are hereby, incorporated as a body politic and corporate, and shall be known in deed and in law by the name of the NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY.
And Be it Further Enacted by the Authority Aforesaid, That a succession of officers and members, to be appointed or elected in such manner and according to such form as may be provided by such rules and regulations as they may, from time to time, ordain and establish for the good government of the said Society; and that they shall have a common seal, with power to alter or change the same as often as they may deem expedient and necessary.
And Be it Further Enacted by the Authority Aforesaid, That the said corporation shall be capable in law to take by donation, devise, or purchase, any estate, real or per- sonal, and to have, hold, and possess the same in perpe- tuity or for a term of years: Provided, The annual rent or amount thereof shall not exceed the sum of one thousand dollars; and to lease, alien, or dispose of the same, in fee or for term of years, in any way that it may deem proper;
7
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
and that the said corporation may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, in any Court of Law or Equity in this State.
In the Senate House, the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and in the forty-fifth year of the Inde- pendence of the United States of America.
BENJAMIN HUGER, President of the Senate
PATRICK NOBLE, Speaker of the House of Representatives
8
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
PURPOSE
The motive which inspired men to organize the New England Society was love. The sublime pur- pose which called it into being was charity. The birth of the New England Society was the humane response to a great need.
It is an interesting coincidence that the Society was organized on the Epiphany, the great mission- ary festival of the Christian church. The first committee appointed at the initial meeting of the Society was a committee on charity. The fol- lowing members formed the committee: Robert Maxwell, Doddridge Crocker, A. S. Willington, George Gibbes, J. S. Lovell, Timothy Edwards, William Crafts.
It would have been impossible at the time to call together seven more representative citizens of Charleston. The year 1819 experienced a very severe industrial and financial crisis, which extended over the entire country and which con- tinued for a number of years. In 1820 and in 1821 the United States government was com- pelled to borrow money at a rate of interest as
9
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
high as six per cent. The condition in Charleston was no exception to that of the country in general. There was therefore a pressing need for a benevo- lent organization such as the New Englanders formed. The appeals for assistance were of a most worthy character.
One of the newspapers of Charleston published the following appeal, which was typical of the time:
We are requested to call the attention of the charitable to the situation of a poor family from Boston, Massachu- setts, reduced to the deepest distress for want of neces- sary subsistence. They arrived here in the early part of last summer, but were compelled to remove, in conse- quence of the sickness which soon after prevailed, to Haddrell's Point. All the means which their little prop- erty afforded them of sustaining life are now exhausted, and being without friends, they are induced to make this appeal to the commiseration of the liberal and feeling inhabitants of this place. Donations will be received at this office.
An appeal to the New England Society from the Charleston Port Society also emphasized the need for such a charitable organization:
Among the sailors to whom we are constantly minis- tering, especially those sick in our hospitals, we find a large proportion are natives of the New England States, more especially from the states of Maine and Massachusetts.
IO
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
These men are found generally upon the coasting vessels that frequent this port, and during the summer are especially subject to fevers and other diseases incident to our climate. To supply their needs after they have been discharged from the hospital and are convalescing, and until they are able to ship again, requires an outlay of money by the Port Society which it cannot easily spare, however willing they may be to do so.
In view of these facts, I take the liberty, as chaplain of the Port Society and also as a member of the New England Society, to appeal to you for aid to enable us to carry on our work without interruption, and to be in a position to aid all who need help, especially such as come from the New England States. As all moneys are care- fully disbursed under my own immediate supervision, you can rest assured that whatever amount you may be pleased to donate will be worthily bestowed, and we will be only the agent in furthering the great aim of your noble Society-the aid and comfort to the sons of New England.
At this point it will be of interest to give a few illustrations of the kind of charity dispensed by the New England Society, as shown from the reports of the committee on charity:
In discharge of the important trusts committed to their keeping, your committee have adhered closely to the rule and objects that governed the original founders of this Society, in the relief for such of the sons or their descendants of New England as might be arrested by the hand of disease or chill penury in this city.
II
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
During the past year, many applications were made for relief. A close examination of these applicants satis- fied your committee that they were natives of New England or descendants and proper subjects for aid or assistance. Your committee has drawn upon the treas- urer for one hundred and twenty-five dollars: one hun- dred for the relief in part of the oldest and esteemed member, stricken down by the "hand of disease," and twenty-five dollars to aid the widow of a deceased member to remove to New York, with the prospect of earning a support as nurse in one of the hospitals in that city.
The committee on charity paid forty-five dollars for the funeral expenses of the late I. C. Duggan, who was a native of New England, and buried in our Society grounds. He died in destitute circumstances.
The committee on charity reported the case of Albert Snow, of Providence, Rhode Island, who was cared for here while sick, and his body sent home by the Society after his death.
The Reverend Charles S. Vedder, D.D., was reduced in financial circumstances during the last years of his life. The New England Society, of which he had been the dis- tinguished president, met the emergency by paying his house rent for a number of years.
March 3, 1847. The Society resolved to dispense with the customary quarterly supper in June and Sep- tember, and to donate the cost of same, one hundred dollars, to the distressed poor of Ireland and Scotland.
December 6, 1854. The Society, by resolution, donated one hundred dollars to the Calhoun Monument Association.
12
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
December 26, 1858. The treasurer paid twenty-five dollars toward the erection of a monument to the late Reverend Samuel Gilman, as authorized by resolution of the Society, June 2, 1858.
March 1, 1876. The sum of one hundred dollars was donated for the Jasper monument, to be unveiled by the Palmetto Guard, June 28, 1876.
June 20, 1876. The sum of three hundred dollars was donated toward the entertainment of the Boston Light Infantry and the Old Guard of New York, whilst visiting this city in the interests of a restored Union.
March 6, 1878. The sum of twenty-five dollars was donated toward the bust of William Gilmore Simms, in response to a request from the Honorable W. D. Porter, chairman of the committee.
December 22, 1884. The sum of twenty-five dollars was donated to the Christmas tree for the poor.
SPECIAL DONATIONS TO THE SOCIETY
September, 1820 Nathaniel Russell
Five hundred dollars
December 10, 1822 Mrs. Russell
Twenty
dollars
January, 1836
Edward Thwing Ten dollars
March 16, 1850
Robert Maxwell
One thousand two hun- dred dollars
February 19, 1862 A. S. Willington
One thousand dollars
March 31, 1862
Rev. Jonathan Cole
One hundred dollars
13
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
It remains to give an account of the Society's noblest act of piety and charity, namely, the erection of a monument to the sons of New England at Magnolia Cemetery and the dedica- tion of a section of that sacred domain as a burial place for New Englanders and their descendants.
This great work of charity was conceived in 1852 and consummated in 1871. The service of dedication took place in the beautiful city of the dead the afternoon of July 26, 1871. The account ensuing is essentially from the minutes of the Society and from the Charleston Daily Courier of July 27, 1871. The dedicatory prayer was offered by the Reverend W. C. Dana, a member of the Society. The address of Dr. Robert Lebby, Sr., chairman of the committee, followed. Dr. Lebby said in part:
"We are this day assembled in this 'City of the Dead' to dedicate a section of this silent domain to New England Society charity-a virtue which has always stood forth in bold relief, and confined not only to this Society, but common to all similar societies in this 'City by the Sea.'
"The selection and purchase of a section in this 'City of the Dead' was introduced to the notice of the New England Society in December, 1852.
14
THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
The committee appointed at that time, with one exception, have departed and gone to 'that bourne from whence no traveler ever returneth.' At a meeting of the Society held June 2, 1869, the sub- ject was again called up from the journal and a committee appointed, consisting of Dr. Robert Lebby, A. H. Hayden, and Frederick Richards, to carry out the original intention of the New Eng- land Society of providing a final resting spot for indigents and others, natives of New England, and their descendants, who might die in this vicinity."
At a meeting of the Society on December I, 1869, Dr. R. Lebby, chairman of the committee, read the following report to the Society:
The committee appointed June 2, 1869, to select a lot or lots at Magnolia Cemetery, for interring deceased indigent members of this Society and others, respectfully report that they have discharged the duty assigned them and selected three lots, as per plat annexed; and believe the same can be obtained for three hundred dollars.
The site selected is directly in front of the Orphan Asylum lots and is an eligible location for the New Eng- land Society.
The committee respectfully recommend to the Society to purchase the lots and place them under the care of the committee on charity, or a special committee to be known as the Cemetery Committee of the New England
15
OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
Society and that they be authorized, if the lots are pur- chased, to have them cleared and cleaned up.
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