James Stokes Society records

The James Stokes Society was established by James Stokes (1841-1918) in 1915 as a philanthropic organization to support YMCA work in Russia and Europe. Stokes (1842-1918) was born in New York City to a wealthy family. His grandfather was a founder of Phelps, Dodge and Company with William E. Dodge. Both of his parents were also active in philanthropy. Stokes graduated from New York University in 1863 and from its law school in 1865. He became a private banker and also was appointed as a director to several large bank companies, including Manhattan Life Insurance.

In the late 1850s and early 1860s he traveled to England a number of times, where he became friends with George Williams. At the age of 19 he became involved in the New York City YMCA. In 1864 he became a member of its board of directors, serving until his death in 1918. In 1862 he traveled to Paris and became interested in supporting its YMCA and had considerable success raising funds for it. In 1866 back in the United States, he was appointed a member of the International Committee. He was also active in promoting railroad associations. He continued to travel extensively, working to establish and foster YMCA work in other countries. In 1868 and 1869 he traveled to France, Italy, Egypt, Syria, and Switzerland promoting association work. In 1890 he was instrumental in raising money for a new association building in Paris. In 1898 he went to Russia and met with the Empress (Tsarina), Alexandra Feodorovna, to discuss the introduction of YMCA work to that country. Further contacts eventually lead to the establishment of a quasi-YMCA called a "Mayak" (sometimes spelled "Miyak") in St. Petersburg. Stokes purchased a building in the Russian capital in 1905 and the organization slowly expanded to Moscow before the beginning of World War I. AFter teh onset of the war, Stokes took special interst in Russian prisoners in Austro-Hungarian prison camps. he paid for the construction of YMCA huts in the Dual Monarchy, including the "James Stokes Pavilion" in Braunau-in-Böhmen in Austria.

In the last years of his life he established the James Stokes Society. The Society purchased property or provided significant financial support for a number of YMCAs in Europe and in Russia. In 1970, the Society and its assets were officially merged into the National Board of Young Men's Christian Associations (of the United States).

[Historical information is taken from, and in some cases quoted directly from Kenneth Steuer, Pursuit of an 'Unparalleled Opportunity': The American YMCA and Prisoner of War Diplomacy among the Central Power Nations during World War I, 1914-1923, http://www.gutenberg-e.org/steuer/index.html; and C. Howard Hopkins, History of the Y.M.C.A. in North America, New York, Association Press: 1951, as well as the collection itself.]