The Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew

On October 25, 2025 the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew will be hosting a Curling Funspiel at the Capital Winter Club.   What better way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Scottish heritage in the City than by playing the game the Scots invented!  The Fredericotn Society of Saint Andrew and the Capital Winter Club have a great deal in common! It was in 1854 that John Neill, along with fellow Society members, decided that Fredericton should have a curling club.  Mr Neill had immigrated to New Brunswick from Whitburn (West Lothian Scotland) in 1842, and by 1854 was a well-established merchant in the city, who operated the hardware business of Stewart & Neil. He was also a member of the Society, having joined in 1847 — and serving as Secretary (1847 – 1852), First Vice-President (1857 - 1858), and Second Vice-President (1871 - 1872).  As John Neill later recalled, the Scottish tradition of curling was very foreign to Fredericton prior to 1854. Perhaps it was...

by Ian Andrews -  President, Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew -  In 2023 the city of Fredericton is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its incorporation in 1848. The Fredericton Region Museum has prepared a special exhibit to commemorate this important milestone in the history of New Brunswick’s capital city. The first Mayor of Fredericton was John Simpson, a prominent citizen of Scottish origin who had been actively involved in the life of his chosen community.  Since John Simpson had been a founding member of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew in 1825, the FSSA decided to research and produce a short monograph on this “citizen of Fredericton”. The booklet was edited by FSSA members Ellen MacGillivary, John Ross and Wallace Brown and was published in 1987 under the title John Simpson: First Mayor of Fredericton and the First Secretary of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew . The following biographical sketch of John Simpson is adapted from this source....