Sons of Scotland Benevolent Association

• Sons of Scotland

The Sons of Scotland Benevolent Association was established in 1876. Originally consisting of only three “camps”, or groups of members, the Association spread throughout the Dominion of Canada. The three original camps were Robert Burns Number 1, Robert the Bruce Number 2, and St. Andrews Number 3. In 1878 these camps created a central governing body to be called the “Grand Camp”. The purpose of the Grand Camp was to ensure harmonious communication between the camps of the growing Association and to provide an administrative head for their objectives. For a short time, the Grand Camp met annually, but in our collection the various constitutions and ritual books show that it met once every three years. According to the Sons of Scotland website, a two year cycle was adopted in 1895 and a three year cycle adopted in 1939. 38 of the 66 Grand Camp Sessions have been held in Toronto- the birthplace of the Association.

Originally a male-only fraternal association aimed at supporting Scottish immigrants to Canada, the Association was beneficial to the Scottish community in other ways. This Association was charged with the duty of providing various types of insurance policies to Scottish newcomers in Canada. Furthermore, insurance plans were created to aid the sick, poor, widowed, and orphaned members of the Canadian-Scottish community. These plans also served as a level of economic security for Scottish communities in the case of the death of loved ones. The plight of immigrants was often partially alleviated through these programs. Women were especially supported through these plans as widows or mothers. Scottish-Canadian women were granted official membership in 1909 even though they have played a peripheral role in the Association since its beginning.

Membership was the most important part of the Association. Membership sparked insurance policy subscribers and provided the financial backbone of the S.O.S.B.A. At the beginning, there were only a few hundred members. In the early 1900s, that number had increased to thousands of members. In 1893, a mere 18 years after its establishment, the funds relating to insurance policies amounted to $1,090.00. In 1916, the bank balance totaled more than $500,000. According to the Sons of Scotland website, funds total of over 9 million dollars.

The mandate of Sons of Scotland Benevolent Association is to support the ideas of mutual co-operation, assistance, and friendship and to foster pride in Scottish culture. With a focus on dress, customs, sports, history, music and literature, the S.O.S.B.A. aimed to maintain a Scottish spirit in Canada. There have been five established camps in the Montreal area since the early 1900s. These camps met monthly, except during the summer holiday of July and August. As members of the Montreal district experienced difficulty in finding meeting locations, S.O.S.B.A financially supported the formation of the Scottish Centre of Montreal. Originally on Stanley Street, the Scottish Centre of Montreal moved to Stevens Avenue in Verdun in 1989 until its closure in January 2018.

https://web.archive.org/web/20181129172205/http://sonsofscotland.com/ http://news.library.mcgill.ca/happily-scottish-and-proudly-canadian-the-sons-of-scotland-at-roaar/