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The Albany Mechanics Society. was founded in 1793 - one of the first crafts unions in the United States. About 150 tradesmen and mechanics from Albany and vicinity met in January and appointed a committee consisting of one person from each trade to draft a constitution. The constitution was adopted in February 1794. The Society was dedicated to "protecting and supporting such of their brethern as, by sickness or accident, may stand in need of assistance, and of relieving the widows and orphans of those who may die in indigent circumstances, and also of providing the means of instruction for their children." Hat manufacturer John W. Wendell was elected president; Charles R. Webster and Bernardus Evertsen, vice-presidents, Isaac Hutton, treasurer; John Barber, secretary. Printer Charles R. Webster was elected president as early as 1799 and served until the dissolution of the organization in 1824. The Society received a charter from New York State for the purposes described above on March 6, 1801. It was particularly notable for promoting and elevating the level of education in the city. Apparently running its course, the Albany Mechanics Society was dissolved by the legislature on November 25, 1824. Dividends on its assets were paid to its contributors.
Sources: The principal narrative resource is an article on the "Albany Mechanics Society" printed in Annals of Albany, volume 7:240-44. It includes charter language, lists of officers and trustees, some historical information, and a running list of members. Somewhat derivatrive but more accessible is a sketch entitled "Labor and Laborers" in The Bicentennial History of Albany, pp. 722-23. Copies of printed and manuscript records of the society are filed at the CAP office. first posted: 7/31/01 |