The Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew

The 2025 Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew Scholarship was awarded on November 28, 2025 to Luke McLaren during the Society's annual Feast of Saint Andrew. Luke McLaren is a fourth-year student in Environment Management at the University of New Brunswick. Not only does he possess Scottish heritage, Luke was born in Dundee, Scotland!  Luke's maternal grandmother’s family emigrated from Lochaber, Scotland in 1835 and settled in the Mabou area of Cape Breton Island. Luke moved to Canada with his family when he was a toddler and became immersed in the Scottish culture of Cape Breton, taking step-dancing lessons at St. Ann’s Gaelic College and attending ceilidhs throughout the local communities.  While studying at UNB he has also volunteered at the New Brunswick Highland Games, held on the grounds of Government House.  Bursaries have also been awarded to Austin O’Neill, Sara Hughes and Cadence Theriault-Morley - all students at UNB.  The Fredericton Society of Saint Andr...

As I complete my third term as President of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew in its 199th year, my thoughts go to the many experiences that our Scottish ancestors have dealt with over these two centuries. It was a far different world in 1825 when this organization was formed, and a far different world when the FSSA experienced its centenary in 1925. Indeed, the world in which we find ourselves today, as we approach our bicentennial in 2025, differs greatly from even the last decade. Covid has cost all of us dearly.  Our Society, like others, was forced into isolation and distant relationships through email and Zoom calls. Thank heavens we are back to experiencing in-person meetings and gatherings. Technology has its benefits, but personal interactions are far more important and consequential. My thanks go to all those who have helped to keep the FSSA viable during the past few years. Maxine Campbell has been the institutional memory of the organization and a major force in ...

Come join us for a delightful celebration of Scottish heritage at the Fredericton Motor Inn! This in-person event is the perfect opportunity to enjoy the music of the FSSA Pipe Band, along with Highland dancing by the Saorsa Studio Highland Dancers. Your ticket includes a buffet-style full course dinner, as well as yummy haggis, tatties and neeps! Mark your calendars and get ready for the Feast! Don't miss out on this near 200-year-old tradition in Fredericton - see you there!  Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/feast-of-st-andrew-2024-tickets-1071812914279?aff=oddtdtcreator

As the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew is approaching its bicentennial in 2025, we are offering biographical articles featuring some of the more prominent persons who have been members of the FSSA. The previous article highlighted John Babbitt McNair, Premier of New Brunswick from 1940 to 1952. This article features Supreme Court Justice Oswald S. Crocket who was the first recipient of the FSSA scholarship.  Oswald Smith Crocket (1868 – 1945) Lawyer, Politician, Supreme Court Justice by Ian Andrews  In 1883 the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew established a scholarship for a deserving student of demonstrated Scottish origin who was enrolled in the University of New Brunswick. The Society gave the University the sum of $1,000 that was to be invested with the yearly interest paid to the worthy recipient. The original scholarship was offered for a three year period, but this was subsequently changed to an annual stipend. This scholarship continues to this day, with bursar...

The Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew scholarship was established in 1883 to be presented annually to a deserving student of Scottish birth or ancestry who is studying at the University of New Brunswick. We wish to thank Barb MacKinnon and Ian Andrews for their assistance in the selection process.  This year’s winner is Leah Morrison , a fifth-year mechanical engineering student at UNB, originally from Sydney on Cape Breton Island, whose family tree contains strong Scottish lineage on both sides.  Because her great grandparents spoke Gaelic, Leah decided to take Gaelic lessons in elementary school, as well as to attend Gaelic Immersion sessions at The Gaelic College  in St. Anns (Nova Scotia). To celebrate her Scottish heritage she has also attended many ceilidhs and taken seven years of fiddle lessons.  Leah has consistently performed at a high level in her studies at UNB and she currently possesses a 4.0 grade point average. Her transcript is filled with cou...

The Annual General Meeting of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew was held on October 3, 2023 at the City Club in Fredericton. It was nearly 200 years ago, on Saint Andrew’s Night, November 30, 1825 that the FSSA was founded. By an Act of the New Brunswick Assembly the Society was incorporated in 1845, over two decades before the Confederation of Canada. Planning has already begun to celebrate our bicentennial.  Before the culminating Celebration at the Feast of Saint Andrew in 2025, we hope to have several significant events designed to celebrate our Scottish heritage. From a whisky tasting evening under the direction of Frank Scott to a kilted skate on the new oval at Officers’ Square, the publication of a history of the FSSA and a special issue of Officers’ Quarters (the publication of the York-Sunbury Historical Society), featuring articles related to our organization – these are some of the ways in which we plan to celebrate... Read our newsletter.

The Fredericton Society of St. Andrew was founded on St. Andrews Night, November 30 1825, by Scotsmen who had immigrated to Fredericton around the turn of the century. The first President was Peter Fraser, a prominent Fredericton merchant. The Society closely identified itself with the founding of the first Presbyterian church, St. Paul’s, in 1832. Over its nearly 200 years of existence, the Society has made many contributions to the life of Fredericton. It supported the Victoria Public Hospital establishment and expansion, provided a scholarship fund to University of New Brunswick, and erected a memorial to Robert Burns in 1906.  Archival documents safeguarded in the New Brunswick Provincial Archives include the Constitutions and By-laws of the Fredericton Society of St. Andrew, and dates from 1839 to 1981. The collection measures .5 centimeters: 1)  Laws and Regulations (Revised and Amended of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew, Formed for Raising and Administering ...