Benevolent and Fraternal Societies
After the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827, the Black population in Troy established “benevolent societies” to assist Black residents.
This building on First Street above State Street was the home of many organizations including the Troy Young Men’s Association (later the YMCA) and an early location for the banking rooms of the Troy Savings Bank prior to 1875 when the bank built the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall building at the corner of 2nd and State Streets. It was also the location for the Troy Lyceum of Natural History and where groups like the African Female Benevolent Society met as well.
Once New York State officially abolished slavery in 1827, the Black population in Troy saw a need to establish organizations, often called “benevolent societies” to assist not only the Black residents in Troy as the transition was made but also the freedom seekers who were passing through on their way north to freedom.
One of the most important groups that formed to answer that need was the Troy African Female Benevolent Society, founded on February 12, 1833. Their stated purpose was to “use our utmost endeavors to enlighten the understanding and cultivate the talents entrusted to our keeping; that by so doing we may, in a great measure, break down the strong barrier of prejudice, and raise ourselves to an equality with those of our fellow beings who differ from us in complexion alone.”
Although the group focused its energy in helping the Black community living in Troy, they also functioned as a literary society, encouraging education among their members. Their first presidents were Phebe Thuey and Hannah Rich, the wives of Alexander Thuey and William Rich, noted for being the first Trustees of the Liberty Street Presbyterian Church for Colored People.
According to the Troy Savings Bank depositors register, the group raised $100 in their first year. An editorial that appeared in the Troy Daily Whig on June 12, 1844 noted their 12th anniversary held in the Washington Market Hall. The society was then comprised of eighty women who met monthly to distribute funds to the needy and to also “pay attention to the cultivation of the mind, and at each monthly meeting compositions are received, and a large and flourishing reading circle is held every week.” The group maintained a library of over 370 books. In 1848, at their 15th Anniversary held at Harmony Hall, Rev. Henry Highland Garnett gave a speech entitled “The Past and Present Condition, and the Destiny, of the Colored Race.” On the 50th anniversary in 1883, respects were paid to the recently deceased William Rich. The society continued until the early 1890s.
Other societies also formed, including the Mental and Moral Improvement Society which maintained offices in the Athenaeum building on First Street, just south of the Troy House. The Athenaeum was also the first site of the Troy Savings Bank. At least two of the first five depositors were black women – Phebe Van Rensselaer (Thuey) and Martha Jefferson. Daniel Payne, Alexander Thuey, and William G. Allen were officers of the Mental and Moral Improvement Society. These men became noted editors of local abolitionist papers including The Watchman, The Clarion and The Colored American. The Methodist congregation formed a similar organization in 1835 called the United Sons and Daughters of Zion's Benevolent Society that worked for the relief of its destitute members.
The 20th century saw the formation of the Versatile Club, organized in 1931 as the Girls Versatile Club of Troy under the direction of Rev. H. D. White of the A.M. E. Zion Church to strengthen “religious ties” and “provide an outlet for good clean fun.” The club changed its name in 1947 to the Versatile Club of Troy, NY. Still active today meeting in various locations throughout the Capital Region, the club has sponsored lectures by noted black authors and provides scholarship support for college-bound students.